Fantasy Art – Imagination Meets Reality!
I love fantasy art! Obviously I’m not alone. There is a huge market for this genre and it has many applications from paperback cover art to video games to the film industry and even comic books. People love to be absorbed in other worlds whether of their own making or those created by someone else.
When it comes to drawing or painting fantastical scenes and characters, in most cases the imagination of the artist must be able to meet the real world on good terms. In other words, to create that which is not real, one must first understand the world of reality. Knowledge of figure drawing is essential to anyone seriously interested in fantasy character development and rendering. A strong understanding of perspective is critical in creating believable scenes and environments which would otherwise exist only in the artist’s mind. Wherever possible, it is often best to go so far as to set up props, models (human or otherwise), and costumes for reference. Even with all this, the artist must then be able to manage a sense of freshness and believability in rendering the artwork, even as though he were painting from the real world. Is it worth it? Absolutely! The fun and excitement of inventing one’s own universe is motivation enough to take the pains necessary to do it right!
I couldn’t agree with you more on this. I do love to be absorbed in other worlds, because let’s face it, sometimes the world we are in just doesn’t meet up to our expectations, and we want a world we can call our own, where we have total control over what happens.
I think that’s why people love fantasy art, movies, literature etc. It’s escapism with cultural value!