How to draw with imagination

We all sit down to draw sometimes and when the pencil hits the paper, our minds draw a blank. So what do you do when the seemingly endless flow of creativity comes to an abrupt halt? In this article, I will give you a few tips on how to work with your imagination to ease the pain of "artist's block".

By Mandy J W

• Merge elements together. Don't be afraid! Things don't have to make sense in the world of art, so take advantage by mixing different images together. In the image to the right, instead of having traditional hair, the hair takes an organic form and gradually tapers to a small section allowing for a smooth transition from the hair to the smoke.
• Create an atmosphere. Mixing images together is great, but make sure the emotion of the piece isn't lost. Focusing the piece on a theme or an emotion can make the otherwise juxtaposing image quite coherent. For example, the theme here is death, so I've used smoke, which dissipates quickly to represent death. Likewise, the dripping ink is symbolic of death because of the placement along the neckline.
• Use reference materials. It can be helpful to use a reference image for different details of your drawing, but don't limit yourself to images; reading stories, researching topics and recalling memories of events can all be very good reference materials. In the example, I used reference images of smoke and a close up of a dragonfly wing, but the real inspiration came from research I had done much earlier on day of the dead. 

These are only a few tips to get you started, but the best way you can exercise your imagination is to practice. I will continue to write on this topic, so check back often for more tips on drawing with imagination.