Building a concept of a dragon drawing on an art software program and it is inspirational stuff, seeing the basic frame of the dragon coming through and the indications of light and shadow, this is a quick video from the IDrawGirls.com website featuring many more videos of creative inspiration fantasy work
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Monday, 23 February 2009
Finding Your Inner Creative Mind
Being creative is something that anyone who draws anything wants to be and sometimes we lose sight of our creativity for whatever reason and this is a post all about finding your inner creativity which is somewhere you will want to go so that you will always draw some good sketch ideas and create whatever you want on demand.
To find your creative streak if you have lost it or have simply lost focus is something that can be easily brought back from the dead, a renewed and refreshed outlook on the creative tasks at hand that have to be accomplished are set out in the following ways:-
Inspiration - when we are inspired to create we do just that create, we can assign methods to gain inspiration.
Determination - This is linked to inspiration in some way and it is the energy of being determined that will drive you on.
Motivation - Following on from determination comes being motivated builds up reasons in your own mind why you must do your tasks.
Planning - Plans incorporate the other three points above and using this you build an excellent plan that will never fail.
Lets go into detail about inspiration and what could inspire you further.
For this part you will need to find out what really stimulates your creativity, and for each person it could be something different. For example I am inspired by multiple things like looking at my comic book collection, watching a few dvds or reading some books, inspiration is a wonderful thing once you appreciate that there are others artistic creations out there to help you visualize drawings and interpreted new ideas and concepts.
When the mind keeps active and is interested in the stuff that the person likes then good things happen for the processes of creativity to take effect, we tend to look at the visual concepts first and then see how we can incorporate them into our own works.
Being determined helps the process of inspiration to be carried through by wanting to be inspired and this follows through with the realistic goals that every creative person should adhere to, also a determined mind brings about action based on the desires that someone wants to have. Working out your end goals could make you more determined in the long run.
Motivation is almost the same as determination but there has to be some special focus or reason that all this creativity matters to you or you wouldn't be doing it at all, the very fact that you are determined makes you motivated and this is a good thing for a creative mind to prosper.
Together with good planning of your creative ways you will find a daily routine and way of working that suits you better than it would if you had not planned your creative endeavours beforehand and going through a to do task list is an easier thing to handle as you have all the jobs you need to get done all laid out in an agenda that is customized for you by you.
Finding your inner creative mind can be as much an exploration of you, than it is just simply finding a way of visualizing ideas on paper, by the very realization of what you like and what you enjoy and strive to get accomplished should be anyones main life goal, so make time for your inner mind to be free and creative by soaking up what suits the artist that you are.
Music can help your mind become free to flow the energy of creativity....
To find your creative streak if you have lost it or have simply lost focus is something that can be easily brought back from the dead, a renewed and refreshed outlook on the creative tasks at hand that have to be accomplished are set out in the following ways:-
Inspiration - when we are inspired to create we do just that create, we can assign methods to gain inspiration.
Determination - This is linked to inspiration in some way and it is the energy of being determined that will drive you on.
Motivation - Following on from determination comes being motivated builds up reasons in your own mind why you must do your tasks.
Planning - Plans incorporate the other three points above and using this you build an excellent plan that will never fail.
Lets go into detail about inspiration and what could inspire you further.
For this part you will need to find out what really stimulates your creativity, and for each person it could be something different. For example I am inspired by multiple things like looking at my comic book collection, watching a few dvds or reading some books, inspiration is a wonderful thing once you appreciate that there are others artistic creations out there to help you visualize drawings and interpreted new ideas and concepts.
When the mind keeps active and is interested in the stuff that the person likes then good things happen for the processes of creativity to take effect, we tend to look at the visual concepts first and then see how we can incorporate them into our own works.
Being determined helps the process of inspiration to be carried through by wanting to be inspired and this follows through with the realistic goals that every creative person should adhere to, also a determined mind brings about action based on the desires that someone wants to have. Working out your end goals could make you more determined in the long run.
Motivation is almost the same as determination but there has to be some special focus or reason that all this creativity matters to you or you wouldn't be doing it at all, the very fact that you are determined makes you motivated and this is a good thing for a creative mind to prosper.
Together with good planning of your creative ways you will find a daily routine and way of working that suits you better than it would if you had not planned your creative endeavours beforehand and going through a to do task list is an easier thing to handle as you have all the jobs you need to get done all laid out in an agenda that is customized for you by you.
Finding your inner creative mind can be as much an exploration of you, than it is just simply finding a way of visualizing ideas on paper, by the very realization of what you like and what you enjoy and strive to get accomplished should be anyones main life goal, so make time for your inner mind to be free and creative by soaking up what suits the artist that you are.
Music can help your mind become free to flow the energy of creativity....
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Forging Dragons By John Howe
John Howe is a fantasy art legend in my mind and one that has created several paintings and art pieces for such iconic imagery of The lord of the rings aswell as several other fantasy worlds and realms.
And forging dragons is his book which delves deep into the dragon design, more like a process of the way he works giving notes and advice on certain techniques and thoughts of each project within his book. With detailed illustrations and sketches throughout he attempts to evoke the atmosphere of diverse dragons and provide a history of sorts to the dragons mythology with extracts from some other sources which serve as examples for which John can illustrate how he tackles a certain dragon in a different way.
One of the most fascinating things about Johns art is that it is easy to get caught up in seeing his artwork being processed and feeling the desire to draw along with him as you are reading. I find this true a lot with some of the other top fantasy artists, that I just want to get started straight away and almost skip past reading the book, but then I realize I have to read on.
Watch this short video with John giving a little personal introduction to the book Forging Dragons
The exploration of dragons as myth is the fantasy stuff of dreams and it is the imagination of drawing dragons that appeals to many especially from an artist who seems to do it almost effortlessly.
John Howe is an artist to study if you are interested in the intricacies of watercolour painting as he is a master of watercolour, as I once read a book about the process he used for a Lord Of The Rings Gandalf painting for which he built up lots of glaze layers or washes and created a misty fog effect before creating more detailed shades of paintwork at the foreground with Gandalf being the off centre focal point and here is that painting.
See some more of John Howes Work on Lord Of The Rings Concept Paintings
Popular John Howe LOTR Paintings
More John Howe Lord Of The Rings Paintings
Waterstones John Howe - Forging Dragons Synopsis and Review
Monday, 16 February 2009
Epilogue Fantasy Art Gallery
I often am a browser at times and can just spend hours on end looking at the many galleries on Epilogue - The Fantasy And Sci-Fi Art Gallery To look at other fantasy art is the most inspirational thing any artist can do. Of course just like Elfwood there are a mix of professional artists and just fans of the genre but as an artists I believe we can learn from the art of anyone, professional or not.
As you'll find new ideas in the strangest of places, take Youtube for example there are various videos which are from excellent artists and then from people whose drawing may not be perceived as good, but I say rubbish, the very fact that any artist is having a go means they are celebrating the fact that they love the art form of fantasy art and that is good enough for me and inspiring to watch no matter what the result turns out like.
The good and well intentioned forum users in the Epilogue forum entitled The Common Room is a fabulous place to see others work unfinished or not and to discuss each others work.
In addition to the fantasy art forums there is a tutorial section that goes through many things any artist might need to know about certain things like selling your fantasy art on Ebay or commissioning art and many more helpful resource articles.
So if you are into the mechanics of fantasy art and want an extra outlet for your work then Epilogue is a friendly place to get to know other artists and highly recommend getting to know people there.
As you'll find new ideas in the strangest of places, take Youtube for example there are various videos which are from excellent artists and then from people whose drawing may not be perceived as good, but I say rubbish, the very fact that any artist is having a go means they are celebrating the fact that they love the art form of fantasy art and that is good enough for me and inspiring to watch no matter what the result turns out like.
The good and well intentioned forum users in the Epilogue forum entitled The Common Room is a fabulous place to see others work unfinished or not and to discuss each others work.
In addition to the fantasy art forums there is a tutorial section that goes through many things any artist might need to know about certain things like selling your fantasy art on Ebay or commissioning art and many more helpful resource articles.
So if you are into the mechanics of fantasy art and want an extra outlet for your work then Epilogue is a friendly place to get to know other artists and highly recommend getting to know people there.
The Fantasy Art Of Amy Brown
Amy Brown is a fantasy artist and she sketches, paints and creates fantastical images of fantastic fantasy fairy creations. Amy Draws Faeries with a beautiful eye for detail and the fantasy wonder of these delicate creatures and she has many books and ornaments designed by her, but perhaps my daughters favourite is the Amy Brown Fairies Coloring Book
.
Amy's fairy artwork has been published in a book entitled The Art of Amy Brown and also a volume 2 featuring more wonderful artwork and Amy has become something of a specialist in drawing and painting fairies and this is a good example to specialize in an area and then build on that success, although quite largely Faery Art has remained her top priority she has been known to dabble in a few other fantasy genres of the art form, but again she is a fairy artist first and foremost.
I suppose one of my favourite pieces of hers(and there are many!) has to be Rose Spell it just has so much to say and the atmosphere of the piece is just really soothing with two fairies stood releasing rose petals into the wind and the stony pillars contrasting against the skies background and the red dresses of the fairies become the focal point with their wings spreading out at the back of them.
Amy has been painting and drawing faeries for years and professionally for nearly twenty years and was inspired by many other artists like many artists should be as well as films of fantasy and creative inspiration. Whenever I think of fairies I simply think Amy Brown.
Other Fantasy Fairy Art Websites
Fairyworld
Fairie Amber
Flower Fairies
Also, check out Kirstens Fairy Art Blog
.Amy's fairy artwork has been published in a book entitled The Art of Amy Brown and also a volume 2 featuring more wonderful artwork and Amy has become something of a specialist in drawing and painting fairies and this is a good example to specialize in an area and then build on that success, although quite largely Faery Art has remained her top priority she has been known to dabble in a few other fantasy genres of the art form, but again she is a fairy artist first and foremost.
I suppose one of my favourite pieces of hers(and there are many!) has to be Rose Spell it just has so much to say and the atmosphere of the piece is just really soothing with two fairies stood releasing rose petals into the wind and the stony pillars contrasting against the skies background and the red dresses of the fairies become the focal point with their wings spreading out at the back of them.
Amy has been painting and drawing faeries for years and professionally for nearly twenty years and was inspired by many other artists like many artists should be as well as films of fantasy and creative inspiration. Whenever I think of fairies I simply think Amy Brown.
Other Fantasy Fairy Art Websites
Fairyworld
Fairie Amber
Flower Fairies
Also, check out Kirstens Fairy Art Blog
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