[el scoono]

I've been looking at the work on this board and I've been amazed at some the images people have produced entirely from their imagination. I'm ok at drawing from my head, but I always seem to have a few problems with lighting and anatomy that I just can't solve.

Does anyone know of any resources that could help me to learn this skill (or at least improve a little)?

[Novacaptain]

to draw well from your imagination you must know how the objects you wish to portray look and "behave". To learn this I suppose you would benefit from doing the opposite: observational drawing.

[Briareos]

I use no references at all, thats why its all f***ed up...

i bet the best way to know anatomy is to study it for 2-3 years and always use it.. if you know all the muscles and their names, and what they do, you can put 2 and 2 together when trying to problem solve..

all aspects of lighting is probably impossible to contain in your head.

[KenMasters]

i agree with novo..
with one exception..
the ability to make way for intentional mistakes, making room for style.
every artist has his or her style..
you should desire to akcnowledge beauty in everything around you...
an old rusty door, a crumpled can, a burnt match stick, light effcting different surfaces..etc....ounce you get that desire its easyier to capture it in your head and re represent it to the fullist of your imagination.

[KenMasters]

anatomy is somthing diffrent..
understanding can come from just watching people.. doing life drawing classes.. (a must) and looking at anatomy books...

just the other day i realised the color bone is curved...
i always used to draw it straight.

[Norling]

There is no drawing without reference....but there is drawing with you mind as reference and drawing with pictures as reference.

If people have studied and drawed humans for all of their lifes...no wonder they can draw other humans by only using their memory as reference. If you think that you suck at drawing without reference pictures, then it's becouse you don't know hoe your subject looks. Study for a long time, and you'll be able to use your memories as reference.

[Marakaz Buzjuz]

does drawing with reference mean that you put a picture in your background layer and you just paint over it in other layers?
so that when you've finished you'll have the same picture but then drawn by you in photoshop or paint?
If you'll answer me, please do so by sending me a message

[Hyptosis]

I spend a lot of time drawing from life and drawing shadow/lighting. I've not seen it help a bit, I may be wrong. I've been told it is hard to see improvments in your own work, i don't know. I think talent and having an eye for such things helps. This wasn't much help but just my opinion. I have always wanted to draw form my head, and of all the workings, functioning ideas a person can have, i can't draw a one of mine properly. not figured it out yet =\

[lafolli]

In my opinion, both observational and imaginative drawing have their place.
I think a lot of people learn technique and then get locked into it. If you've spent a lot of time in observational drawing then its easy to become a slave to realism, then its hard to break out of that mold and create stuff that's new and innovative. On the other hand, if not enough observational drawing is done, then your drawing will most likely have problems or flaws in a lot of areas. IMHO Observational drawing is to artists like scales are to musicians: challenging and necessary, but not something you'd play on stage. :P