>>3617580how old are you? i guess you are young, maybe not, but the advice is also good for oldfags like me.
two things: 1. imagination always needs references, but not merely visual ones. 2. imagination is like a muscle, it needs exercise.
imagination and creativity feeds on experiences. you can't imagine something (somehow close) to what you've never experienced, and you can't imagine "well" if you don't practice a lot. you have to experience more, and more diverse, and sat for a while to think about what you've experienced..
-READ A LOT, WHATEVER, from artists biographies to philosophy or science (light divulgation books are ok to start). f.e. there are lots of very good artists that base their work in the study of science.
- LISTEN to ALL KIND of music, and read about the different genres, learn about what generated them.
- WATCH ALL KIND of theater or movies: don't stick to what you like and you'll learn more. dive into what is not your usual taste, read about directors, techniques, the context of every piece.
- TRAVEL. long trips are great, but even short trips can open your mind and your taste, you don´t even need to pack anything. take a short train or bus trip and observe with an open mind, look at the people, the landscape, listen to the sounds, observe and absorve.
- WRITE. take notes, write and write and write about what you just have experienced, from reading a book to beeing rejected as an artist. ask yourself about how you felt in front of anything you have experienced. look, i started doing this and ended writing scripts for theater and documentaries.
- SURROUND yourself with creative people. yes, we can be assholes, i know, and rejection is always a risk. but you'll find good people too. and you'll learn a lot, talk a lot about creative stuff, exercise imagination a lot.
treat imagination and creativity like a sport: you'll never be good at it if you don't watch other people doing it, practice a lot and do it with other.
