The art that you make, and the art that makes you.

[Storm Fox]

Throughout my time, I’ve come across two kinds of artists…

Those who plan, plot, design, and draw.
The type who have a specific idea of what they want, and obtain what they intended, or at least something close to that.
Where an individual creates what they want in a straight forward and simple process.

And then there's the other kind, those who work with something random, and let their creation tell them what it will become.
Where no amount of planning and preparation can guarantee a particular outcome.
The individual may have an idea of what they want, but as they work, it turns into something completely different.

And so with that, I’m curious to know about the methodology of the artists around here, and how you would be described as an artists.

(Hopefully you took the time to read this before voting, but if not, you can change your vote if necessary.)

[Alsek]

I started at the latter and've been moving steadily towards the former over the past few years.  Getting a much better outcome as a result.

[redyoshi49q]

I usually do and prefer the latter, but I have done the former as well.  I will sometimes start with the latter method, and switch to the former about halfway through the process when I see a potential outcome for the piece I'm working on.

[Hoagiebot]

I chose the option, "I draw what I want (I usually have a plan and I stick to it)"

When I daydream, I experience my fantasies and my characters as if I were in some kind of immersive interactive movie.  I can see the backgrounds, I can smell the air, I can hear their voices, and I can feel the characters' feelings.  When I draw on paper I am trying to create a still capture of one of those fleeting scenes before it fades away.  I build the entire scene in my mind kind of like it was a CGI-rendered 3D scene, and then I try to translate that mental image onto paper as best as I can, sometimes with varying results since my artistic skill can't hold a candle to the images that I see in my mind.  Because of this, I look upon some of my more elaborate drawings kind of like how many people would fondly view their favorite old vacation photos-- for me many of my drawings capture a moment, a time and place where I was at (in my imagination) and wish that I could return to.

[Old Rabbit]

When I do a drawing for a commission or request, I generally plan, sketch
and get approval for how the finished work should look.

When I draw for fun it pretty much has a life of it's own.

So it's both ways for me.

[Storm Fox]

Answering my own question…

I definitely come from the second group, I’ve tried to draw a hand full of various ideas, but always end up with something different.
Somewhere during the initial setup of a scene, drawing placeholders for characters and other things.
I come to find that what I’m planning out and what I wanted are two different things.

I used to fight it, trying to get a drawing to look the way I had originally intended in my mind.
But I eventually came to find that it was far more difficult to try and change things, (often repeatedly), in a vain attempt to mach my original idea, than it is to see what I can do with what I have.
So now I just let things drift where they may, and if what I’m drawing starts to look or aim in a given direction, I just go with it and see what I get in the end.

Even now, I've been working on a new drawing, I started with the faces, positions, angles, etc. But as usual, nothing lined up right and I couldn't make anything look right.
And so much so, to the point that what I made was so different from what I originally intended, that it would be easier to start from scratch than to modify or fix what I already had.
And so I just go with it, and let it become what it becomes, playing with light and shadows, colors and backgrounds, etc.
As I get closer to completion, everything starts to get more solidified and unlikely to be changed, but somethings are still up in the air and I won't know until it's completely done.

[Battery]

I see myself as a combo of both.
Usually I get ideas spontaneously and I quickly write or sketch the idea down in my sketch book.  From there I plan/rewrite/redraw so the idea works better and is more clear.
I do this when I work on comics too, but i usually have an idea what i want to do first. When i start I just go with whats on my mind and let ideas flow, while still following the outline I set for myself, till I run out of steam and then take a break, once I feel recharged I go back and continue where I left off. And after I have most of it done I go back and edit it and rework it.

I personally don't like having endless possibilities when drawing or creating. I like having limitations, I believe having limitations lets the imagination and creativity flow better.

[wolfnevets]

Aloha! I voted "other". I find that both processes work for me.
One thing that I wished I had more control over is "turning on" the switch to actually produce something. Currently I  have been in a very dry spell.

[Sheeta]

A little bit of column "A" and a little bit of column "B".  Occasionally C, D, and Q if the mood hits me.

Like Old Rabbit said--if it's for a commission or a project, I tend to go with the idea that has already been established.  But with my own stuff it's pretty much an "All of the above and more" option.