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Jan 2023

And does it affect the way you make art (for both visual artists and writers)?

I'm btwn 4-5. I can't see what I'm drawing ahead of time. I always need to do several sketches before I can visualize my drawing. I draw with a lot of trial and errors. Sometimes I can't even imagine an image-- only "verbal" descriptions would come up. Jealous of people who can just look at a canvas and see what would before they even start drawing.

P.S I dont know the scientific basis for this-- it's just for fun

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    Jan '23
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    Feb '23
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I canĀ“t see what IĀ“m drawing and IĀ“m also donĀ“t take the time to try to visualize it.
I want to train myself to get better at that because I think itĀ“s really important

Iā€™m #1-#2.
Here is some old apples I drew for a web game when I was a teenager.

But I honestly think my ability to visualize them is not innate, but comes from having practiced them in the past, like right now I can visualize an apple in a million different ways because Iā€™ve drawn SO many apples, so many ways, for so many things.
Itā€™s why we study life drawing, and get reference photos. And why more experienced artists tend to need less reference photos. :heart:ļø
I might think I am very familiar with cuscuses because I spent hours looking at photos of them (they are so cute) but then as soon as I try to draw one I have to ask myself questions likeā€¦ are the eyes round? Or angled? Are the pupils slitted like cats? Are the ears pointed? Are they thick and fluffy like a Lion? Or are they small are thin like a squirrel? Is the tail long and thick? I know itā€™s curlyā€¦ I know there were spots, but what type of pattern? Is it restricted to the back?

Even lighting works that way. The more you study lighting the better you are able to visualize it :grin: after 3 college level drawing classes and 3 life drawing classes and a whole class centered around color, I became better able to to visualize color, light, and shadow :heart:ļø itā€™s why they do drawing spheres and cubes under lights, studying how the shadows hit, and how the objects cast shadows. Itā€™s not about capturing a perfect drawing of a cube, but learning how the light impacts a simple shape first, and taking the time to study it before moving on to more complex shapes.

You might be stuck with what you got.
But you might also be able to train your brain to new tricks :grin: itā€™s worth trying and itā€™s something you can do at home for free. Just grab some simple shape objects, aim a light at them, and study how itā€™s hitting them. :grin: study how the colors interact with each other. How the shadows get cast. Etc.

:heart:ļø Btw even if you are stuck with what you got, how awesome are you for being able to art anyway?

Not being able to mentally visualize things, aka not having a 'Mind's Eye' is called Aphantasia! My husband has it, and unless he's recalling a specific memory, he's a 5 on that scale. I'm the polar opposite, at a solid 1-- I can basically watch my imagination like a movie if I'm relaxed or trying to visualize something. It makes visualizing what I want to draw a lot easier, and has a very strong impact on how I panel my comic.

This is sort of a mixed blessing, though. Artists who have an intense 'Mind's Eye' are often plagued by the disconnect between what they see in their head and what comes out on paper. It's like pulling a colorful rock out of a stream, only to find out that when it's no longer in the water, it's not very colorful anymore. It's kinda demoralizing. Trying to 'get the images out onto the paper' is a dragon I'll be chasing my whole life. It's a dragon I will probably never catch.

But those moments where you get closer to what you see in your head? GOD what a rush.

Iā€™m kind of the same, but Iā€™m def number 5, I see nothing :sweat_smile: Makes it so difficult to draw lots of the time. Even if I canā€™t visualize I can somehow sense it? Like I canā€™t see an apple but Iā€™m very aware of what it looks like when I close my eyes, itā€™s just the visual image of it which eludes me. So when I want to draw something, I know what I want it to look like, thereā€™s just no visual image there, I have to look at a ton of references and try to piece it together lol

Number 1. I can imagine an apple, make it green, spin it around, cut it in half, put googly eyes on it.. as a writer, it helps immensely with the way I wanna frame a scene bc I can imagine people in a room and change the lighting and the decor, if needed- it's fantastic in that regard. Absolutely dreadful as a perfectionist wanting to learn how to draw. You know what you wanna achieve, but your skills never match the vision in your head.. makes it real easy to give up on it fast.

...now, if only i knew how to draw or write then i'd actually get somewhere >:T

1-2 from any angle, moving if needed.
But... putting this on the canvas is a different skill entirely :pumpkin:

oo I didnt know there was a word for it. Down the rabbit hole I go!

the "Artists who have an intense 'Mind's Eye' are often plagued by the disconnect between what they see in their head" thing makes sense. I'm great with painting from reference because I can directly connect what I see with my canvas. But it's hard for me to imagine things as more colorful without using a reference-- it's skill I really want.

definitely. Learning things like building forms from basic shape/ structure has been really helpful since it helps me visualize better on the paper. Interesting enough, I'm pretty good with visualizing light and color, but only realistically. It's hard for me to alter the light to be more "creative" in my head. That's a great skill to have.

Probably means You should upgrade your brains graphic card to increase the polygon count x)

Ahaha probably that you will have the same problem I have when making thumbnails for comics, no pause button :see_no_evil:

For me, I can see something between 1 and 2, but it's very transparent. Sometimes I have a really good grasp of how I want to draw a picture, and sometimes I struggle making sense of what's in my head to put into visual form.

I've gotten into a few lighthearted arguments with a friend over this. They're strictly at 5 while I consider myself a 1 and it causes a lot of difficulty with communication.

I used to be convinced that the issue with this topic was that people were interpreting the question differently. Like obviously I don't literally and physically SEE an apple like some kind of projection, but maybe people who think they're a 5 are interpreting the question like that. With how prevalent the discussion is, though, I've had to accept that's probably not the case, lol.

Either way, it's hard to imagine being anything other than 1. I can turn the apple around, change its colors, texture, zoom in and out, etc. That being said, I can't exactly see the end result of whatever I'm about to draw when I'm just starting. Sure I've got the camera angles and posing more or less there, but there's still an element of unpredictability that comes from execution and my ideas just changing on a whim throughout the drawing. That's the kind of thing that's hard to visualize ahead of time because I just don't know what I'll do until I get there.

On the plus side, I think not being able to see a drawing ahead of time is what makes it exciting to draw in the first place.

Yeah, I'd say I'm between a 1 or 2, depending on how familiar I am with what I'm imagining. I'd say it can be pretty clear at times, and kind of fuzzy other times. BUT- I actually need my eyes open to visualise properly.

This definitely impacts my writing and drawing process- I usually listen to music and imagine scenes in my head, helping me do a lot of mental planning. For me, it feels like watching a movie that only I can see. However, this can cause frustration when I'm trying to put it to a page, where usually it doesn't look exactly like planned.

But yeah, I still do a ton of planning for my pages ahead of time, and I've accepted that it's gonna appear different to how I imagined it, which allows me to make changes that improve readability for readers.

With novels on the other hand, I feel I'm allowed to leave my vision for it intact (since I'm not drawing it myself) I just have to find a way to explain and describe things to viewers so that they can visualise it similarly for themselves.

The ol apple test huh..I visualise 1 but you will have to take my word for it :wink:

But seriously. when drawing I pre meditate (with chosen music) and can clearly visualise what I want to create (like a film or a waking dream) I constantly play out the whole comic beginning to end in my head, It helps tie those loose ends, It never comes out exactly as envisioned but when it is close its satisfying.

Brains are like sponges constantly absorbing information..so its there for everyone to unlock. For me though Its hard to switch it off once it kicks in.

I always thought this was normal for everyone but I later found this is not the case. If I didn't have that then I would struggle so I appreciate why it would be for others.

ķ•œź·¹ė§ ķ•˜ģ„øģš”? ģ“ėøŒė„¼ ė³øė‹¤.
I also have ADHD. I tend to hyper focus though if I like doing something though. Like ā€œYay, Iā€™m going to do this.ā€
Then itā€™s like the whole world disappears and I look around and itā€™s 5am :sob: I have to set alarms.