This is a longshot, but do you have any advice for artists who have aphantasia? (If you've never heard of it, it means an inability to picture anything in your head) I have to use references for absolutely everything and sometimes those references don't exist. I'm also confined to "realistic" art like portrait drawings because at least I can find references for that or make my own, but drawing anything else is nearly impossible. I don't want to be confined to just portraits anymore. Any advice?

Yes, I have some mild form of something like that! I can’t conjure up images of things inside my head. Even when I’m reading, there are many things I can’t picture (like a character’s body, face, etc.). However, when I do picture things, it’s usually of things I’ve seen before (duh) like a road or room I’m familiar with. 

I would suggest building up your visual library. Of course, I’m guessing you’ve already tried that. Remember that a lot of drawing is just muscle memory. If you keep drawing a body over and over, eventually you will be accustomed to drawing that body without needing the picture, in your head or otherwise. 

In the event of drawing characters (especially in action) I usually act out how the character is with my own body. The important part is feeling how these emotions come out in your muscles (Do you feel tense in your jaw when you’re angry? How can you portray that in a character?) Doing these in front of the mirror can also be helpful. 

Here is a good podcast episode from Sycra where he talks about “analytical versus intuitive methods for artists”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roJbujRJ7ds

For artists with high intuition, drawing skills may come easier to them, though they can’t really explain it. For analytical artists, we must break things down and analyze them in order to build our skills. One is not better than the other; it is simply a different way of learning. I think you would find this analytical approach helpful! 

-Mod Future

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