Are You a Cerebral Artist or an Intuitive Artist?

[Wumbl]

I'd say my process is pretty cerebral. I will build shapes, then sketch, then flat colour everything... and all of my lighting and depth will be layered on bit by bit and step by step.

While I don't always do everything in the same order and sometimes when painting I'm a bit less predictable... there's always a specific set of techniques and principles I stick to in my process. It's all pretty controlled and I either know what I'm doing or I don't finish the piece.

[JRHoch]

Cool. I never quite know what I'm doing. If after a couple of hours it looks good I keep it, if not, in the trash.

[Wumbl]

Fair enough... I tend to spend a lot more time working on things before they actually look any good but then everything comes together.

[punkarsenic]

i dont fully understand the distinction, but id guess cerebral? im methodical, i like to work things out in phases and workshop and go away and workshop again and get very very in my head about them

that said, i think i need to add some intuitive projects to my practice. i wanna do more monoprinting to hit that spot

[JRHoch]

My process is pretty unconscious. I put the pen or stylus to the surface and let the spirit take over. I try not to think.

[qwerty]

I guess I am mostly the cerebral type. I usually try to start out with as clear of an idea as possible about what I want to do, then it's a matter of trying to follow the appropriate steps. But sometimes winging it is part of the steps. And I really don't have much of a set formula; I will pretty much do things differently every time because I feel like it.

[skicoak]

For those replying cerebral, like how far are you taking it compositionally?

Are you testing panels and layouts against the golden rule? Or choosing color guides using mathematical principles ?

[baasinsimple]

The first panel is kind of an intellectual experience, everything else is just my gut. Whenever I think things out I immediately lose steam, I can't think things out anymore.

Tl;Dr: I'm not an intellectual.

[JRHoch]

I know you write "porn," so what's the difference between golden ratio and golden showers?

[qwerty]

Not that far for sure ^^;

I guess to give examples:

• Color-wise, I usually start with an ambient / main color based on what I feel like, then other colors as I go, based on (a) what I feel like, (b) the colors of the objects I'm drawing and the lighting conditions, (c) color theory. Stuff like adhering to a chosen color scheme, principles of lighting and form, and how the colors are leading the eye with contrast is always in back of mind.

• Page layout-wise, I basically just start somewhere and go. In the back of my mind is basically a big list of available options (e.g. open vs. closed vs. bleed panels, straight vs diagonal borders, panel size, number of panels on page, gutter spacing, panel breaks via artwork or speech bubbles, etc.) along with general principles on when each option is most appropriate (e.g. larger panels for more important things, panel breaks must lead the eye in the appropriate direction, bleeds or open panels for more breathing room, maintaining overall variety between pages).
  Laying out a page for me is like rapid-fire brainstorming and checking potential layout ideas against the set of rules and my own subjective aesthetic sense, then drawing something to see if it works, then continuing to check it against the 'rules' and aesthetics and refining it accordingly until I like it enough to move on.

A lot of it actually feels pretty intuitive, but the intuition is more like an ingrained set of principles and guidelines working on semi-autopilot than any kind of spontaneous flowing.

[JRHoch]

So your approach is different than the cerebral lobotomy?

[qwerty]

My whole brain can hardly keep up so I don't think I could afford to lose part of it lol

[JRHoch]

Just the parts that give you pleasure.

[sekabead]

If i draw with intuition only, my drawing become a scribble that a kid probably do better...

[OgonoArtFamily]

I'd say both. Balance is key.

[Shanny8]

Both. I use to do a ton of thumbnailing, but nowdays I do a lot of my layouts right on the page as I go along, I dont have the time and patience to thumbnail and then transfer that to a page- especially working digitally. I'd probably still do it if I were working traditionally, because I could scribble out a thumbnail, blow it up and lightbox it with blue line before throwing ink on top of it, but it seems a little extra when working digital.

While I have shortened my page creating process digitally, I've now started do more in the writing/scripting stage. I find that doing a little more scripting helps me to better set up my pages to do the art without leaving everything to interpretation; I still keep things loose, but the detail of setting it all up in the beginning allows me to finish it working loose.

[IndigoShirtProd]

I'm more cerebral: scripting, thumb ailing, multiple sketch layers when working on pages. Though, things are subject to change up until the last minute. The script can change when I'm thumbnailing and working on pages and the panel layout can change in the middle of me making pages. I've tried to be more intuitive but that just leads to me leaving out important details from dialogue and art work.

[TK-Seki]

I guess I'm a bit of a Cerebral and more Intuitive?
I've written down how rules of my worlds work, factions, etc. and have a general gist of what the plot is going to be. But as for the smaller points, fine-tuning, storyboarding and paneling? They're pretty much done on the spot. Hahahaha.

[GrimRose]

Planner I guess. I like to plan out things step by step. I will sketch like 10 pages all together, then ink them together, then colour together. Keeps the pages more consistent looking and saves time.

If I do anything spontaneous though, I often come with character designs spontaneously. I just kind of go with the flow. Also colour choice. I usually don't have a set colour palette and will kind of play around with the colours and shading on a page until it feels right

[nostalgicroxas]

Pretty sure I'm intuitive, and that's just digital art doodle. My art looked very different pre-car accident to now. I feel like I was getting somewhere with it starting to look good compared to now. I know my coloring for linearts I've printed off over the years is all done with pure intuition of what color I want where at the right time. And because it's traditional there's no easy undo button to change things around, so you just have to go with it.