Art and Culture, How to improve your Fantasy artwork
">Fantasy art is different than any other kind of art because it is often composed of things that don't exist. These things come from your imagination and while you can't grab a unicorn and ask it to sit still so you can draw it there are some techniques you can use that will improve your fantasy art.
Practice, Practice, and More Practice
You probably already know that practice is the single most important key to improving your ability to draw or paint fantasy subjects. But did you know that there are two major kinds of practice and that you should be doing both?
Drawing from sight is the first way you should be drawing. You should be spending a lot of time drawing familiar and real life objects. This can be anything at all and it will improve your fantasy drawing and painting even further if you choose related subjects. By related subject I mean that if you like to draw unicorns you should be drawing horses and if you like to draw dragons you should be drawing lots of lizards and reptiles.
Making the Connection between Real life and Fantasy
The very definition of fantasy means you have artistic license to draw anything you want. You could draw a five thousand pound dragon that flies around with wings the size and texture of a butterfly's wings. But would that make sense? Even though you are drawing fantasy creatures, objects, and scenes, you still have to do it in ways that make sense. Musculature moves in certain ways, bones and skeletal underpinnings cause bodies to move in expected ways, and to look certain ways. By drawing and understanding real life object and creatures you will improve your fantasy creatures and objects by making them look real even though they aren't real.
Drawing from mind is the second type of practice you should be doing on a regular basis. Get a blank piece of paper and let your imagination run wild. This is where the fantasy will come out. Draw things that are similar to real life objects and also try to create things that have almost no recognizable equivalent. Don't be afraid to explore and try all kinds of crazy ideas - just let the visual ideas flow. This is an exercise in creativity and it will generate lots of ideas. These ideas and images can at a later point be hammered out into more advanced drawings and paintings.
Techniques for Fantasy
Distortion is the number one technique when it comes to drawing fantasy objects and creatures. It implies a change in proportion or characteristic. What happens when you make the eyes of the creature larger? It has a dramatic effect. The important thing to remember about distortion is that it is relative. If you draw the whole elephant bigger you just have a bigger elephant. But if you draw its ears unusually large you have an elephant that maybe can fly. Make just the mouth and teeth larger and you have a creature that could be quite an intimidating eating machine. Try distorting only certain sections of creatures, figures and objects. The effect is remarkable. Visual Metaphors and Visual Symbolism
There are many accepted and implied visual metaphors that work well in fantasy drawing. Large mouth and teeth, as I mentioned, do well for intimidating and scaring. Large ears mean something hears well, and a large nose implies better sense of smell. Large things generally move slowly while small things generally move faster. Wrinkles imply age and taut musculature implies strength and speed. Think about all of the various visual metaphors that are available to you and try using them. I just listed a few but there are literally an unlimited number of them.
Colors also play an important role in fantasy and in visual metaphors. Brightly colored objects and creatures can signify danger or beauty (or both) and distorting colors can be very effective. Green often is the calling card of reptilian like creatures and pinkish hues often symbolize youth. Blacks and browns tend to signify dark and mysterious while white is linked to good. Play with the colors you use in your artwork and be aware that the colors have symbolic significance that is often not consciously recognized yet subconsciously very important.
You will improve your fantasy artwork by practicing and this is well understood but remember that there are four different realms you can draw upon to improve. Draw things from the real world, draw things from your imagination, distort things in the real world, and make use of the obvious and not so obvious symbolism in things.
The Free Online Fantasy Art School is loaded with lessons on how to and how to improve your artwork: Fantasy Art School
Related Tags: artist, painting, technique, drawing, fantasy art
Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
Recent articles in this category:
- Avebury Stone Circle - Does It Have Magical Powers?
Avebury is the site of an ancient monument consisting of a large henge. Its construction was spread - How To Successfully Manage Your Digital Photo Collection And Prevent Catastrophic Loss
Wow.... talk about digital explosion, progress in leaps and bounds. In just a space of 20 years we h - A Short But Fascinating Look At Tin Lunch Boxes
Tin lunch boxes went through a great period of revolution throughout the central part of the last ce - Buy A Unexpected Gift Not Your Normal Gifts
No matter what the personality of the person is, you can always opt for the personalized gift sets t - Laser Tattoo Removal Facts To Know
Untold numbers of folks, perhaps even more, walk around having tattoos. A few are visible, some are - The Reason For High Tattoo Removal Costs
Occasionally, you really need to need some thing really bad in your life to put up with the costs th - Honey Bee Magic - Controlling Taste, Texture, And Flavor
There is a great deal of pride that you get from making your own honey, plus it usually tastes bette - Toy Model Trains; The Coming Of Age.
Did You Or your children grow up with Thomas the Tank Engine? Did you ever read them the story of "T - Most Popular Woodworking Crafts And Projects To Do
Is it finally time for the yearly vacation? It's always very hard to wait for the vacation to take p - Scientifically Proven To Add Years To Your Life Keep Your Mind Active And Even Expand Grey Matter
Do it yourself homemade projects have always fascinated me and I always have something on the go.My
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Scientists Today are using Satellite Photos More for Humanitarian Need Rather Than Espionage
Have you ever had the opportunity of seeing real life satellite photos? Well, in the past few weeks, - Japanese Kanji symbol translation for your tattoo.
There are three types of Japanese symbols to choose from when considering a Japanese style tattoo. K - Holly 'red Beauty' (ppaf #14750)
>A Compact, Disease Resistant Holly - 22 Years in the Making! Dr. Elwin Orton of Rutgers University - Miroslav Klabal is an Art Dealer With a Difference
Giving a vent to one's feelings and expressions is not an easy task. Art is one form that can be mad - Find your Favorite Online Casinos
The interest of gamblers in online casinos is constantly on the increase and so is the number of cas - Understanding Dress Up Games
Some parents are concerned about their daughter's safety online. They wonder as she sits down at the - Ingredient of Indonesian Dishes
INGREDIENTS OF INDONESIAN DISHES Indonesia dishes are amongst the most delicious in the world, - Bass Fishing - Learn the Facts That Can Help you Catch the Trophies
In the fishing world largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are two of the more highly coveted fish ind - Giclee Prints - Affordable Fine Art
"Giclee" is a style of fine art, which incorporates the use of modern day printers, predominately 7- - Beach Decorating for Adults and Kids; From Bathroom Décor to Beach Dioramas
One way to bring back memories of a summer at the beach is through beach themed decorating. It is al