Lack Of Creativity

[Taj]

I was showing some work to a teacher/ex professer today and he gave me a long explanation of how my technical ability is good, but im lacking in creativity...it was pretty depressing to hear but i do see it and in retrospect i have for a while.

Anyways im just wondering if there are any excersises to building up creative thought. Reading is one im sure of, right?

[Flynn]

Reading is a damn good way of gettin them juices flowing. I myself have a fair few books of all sizes and types, mostly by david gemmell since he is allmost a genius at writing :P

[bwkeough]

read history books with lots of photos and illustrations, find an artifact or structure and jump off from there.

the life's work of the many billions of people who have walked the Earth in the past 30,000 years is more than enough inspiration to last the rest of any one our short lives.

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Maybe try doing a project with some homogeneity. It'll give you a context.

An example of a project could be to design a silly RPG, the old kind where you encounter an enemy which is just a pic. Decide that you want maybe 100 enemies, and some different geographical regions. Then split up the monsters for each regions, and make different power levels of them.

Now consult animal books and bug books, try to come up with designs that fit each region and covers and cover as much of the spectrum as possible.

Then maybe design some human characters like city folks in different regions, special characters, and maybe an adventurer party.

The do some environments for the different regions, generic terrain and special locations.

[figure2]

I was showing some work to a teacher/ex professer today and he gave me a long explanation of how my technical ability is good, but im lacking in creativity...it was pretty depressing to hear but i do see it and in retrospect i have for a while.One definition for creative thinking is having a passion for something that is reflected in your artwork. Sometimes it takes some effort to find what ignites that passion.

Putting stress & pressure on yourself over a creative slump won't help. You can't force creativity but you can create the conditions where it's more likely to come to you on its own. In addition to the suggestions above, I would try to maintain and improve your technical skills as much as you can. Go to open life groups, draw in your sketchbook, join a landscape painting group, etc. Allow yourself to relax and think about other things.

[Taj]

Maybe try doing a project with some homogeneity. It'll give you a context.

An example of a project could be to design a silly RPG, the old kind where you encounter an enemy which is just a pic. Decide that you want maybe 100 enemies, and some different geographical regions. Then split up the monsters for each regions, and make different power levels of them.

Now consult animal books and bug books, try to come up with designs that fit each region and covers and cover as much of the spectrum as possible.

Then maybe design some human characters like city folks in different regions, special characters, and maybe an adventurer party.

The do some environments for the different regions, generic terrain and special locations.
I really like this idea.


Thanks for the help guys. By the way im looking at books to pick up, one auther that stood out was Umberto Eco, opinions?

[Noë]

I have a good one;
practice in remembering your dreams!
when you wake up, try to lay still for a moment concentrating on the images of your dreams so that they won't slip away too easy. Then write them down (all the ones you can remember) Try to use a little book for the dreams, so that you can browse it some time. I've got a lot of ideas from my dreams (now I think I'll go and practice technique :P)

love
Marleen

[Interceptor]

My favorite excersice is to put yourself in the character's shoes. This os the world they are in. Climate, technology and everything. And imagine the tools needed to do your job. Draw out all the things you think are necessary.

I also have an extra small TV right by my computer... which I leave on Space or Discovery Channel.

[masque]

you could try one of my oldest block-breakers: automatic drawing. just doodle. don't try to doodle anything (at first, at least). let the lines flow out on their own. then get in a dialog with what's being put on your paper, pick some area that looks interesting and make it more interesting. you don't have to have an objective, though some times you can develop an cool new drawing this way. the main point is to respond to your own work, building some spontaneity and discovering how much you can do with just a little beginning.

[vigostar]

I get this shit all the time.. I have no inspiration or even desire to draw and then.. POW! it comes right back.. usually when i start to work on something that Im really siked about.. I think drawing even though your creativity is lame or you dont want to even draw or create helps a person. when i dont feel like doing anything i just draw people.. ikind of mindless for me and rather relaxing... Being creative is stressfull i think.. anyways,... good luck

[sunandshadow]

Here's how I think creative design works:

1) Source image. Preferably several, like a whole stack of vogues or architecturtal digests, or a large photobook.

2) Sketch sheet: do a little doodle or color study of anything that particularly catches your attention, or assemble copies of the relevant images and pieces of images if you have them on a computer.

3) Analyze what you have and separate it into concepts, shapes, and colors.

4) Choose your new concept - either twist one or merge two. For example, say you are designing an article of clothing. As one of your source materials you chose a written description of the character who needs the outfit, and highlighted key words such as: closed-off, heart, and forbidden. Combining these ideas you get a heart which is in some way closed off or forbidden. How? Brainstorm! A lock, chains, a fence, barbed wire, castle walls, frozen in ice, blocked by a "do not enter" sign...

5) Now, go to your source images. What resonates? Oh look, here's a high collar which makes someone look very guarded, hiding behind it. Here's a rock with a chain around it. (Why would anyone chain up a rock???) Here's an X, that's another good symbol of forbiddenness. And red, that's a good color. Ooh, look at the neat shadows these prison bars make!

6) Combine elements:
http://www.gamedev.net/hosted/xenallure/conceptart/clothing/diamondclothing01.jpg

[Tully]

In the same vein as what Prometheus said, I usually find it easier to be creative within a set of constrained parameters. When you have the entire world open to you, it's almost impossible to narrow it down. It's hard to just spit out ideas when you don't have any guidelines.

So if you're going to design a character, don't say "It's a guy that lives in the desert." How does he live? What does he do? Say, "It's a desert nomad who survives by hunting small animals for food and materials." Then you can get an idea of the sorts of clothing he might wear (camel skin?) and the types of tools he'd use (a bow? a rifle? how advanced is he?) How does he get his water in the desert? Does he need storage to carry it? Does he live on his own, or in a tribe? Does he have a pack animal? A horse? A camel?

Discuss it with other people if you're having problems. Have others suggest scenarios for you that you can find solutions to. It's much easier to do this than trying to pull ideas out of thin air.

[fukifino]

Have you tried the 4th dimension? (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=60486) ;)

[Carnifex]

you could try what this guy does,he creates the same character in different styles and techniques,and it's fucking genius if you ask me.
http://artgerm.deviantart.com/gallery/