Does Anybody Practice Drawing From Memory?

[Obscura]

I'm wondering if anybody here practices drawing stuff from memory. Meaning, you'll see a person on the street or at work, and then during lunch or at home, you draw what you remember.

I'm trying to do this but it's not very easy. If you have any tips, much appreciated.

[dramspringfeald]

I do, well mostly for backgrounds and events.

The way I do it is to set there with a pen in my hand. Then I start some kind of white noise, usually a fan or shower on cold. then start drawing the subject I remember.

Think of it as low level hypnotism.

also find books like
http://www.amazon.com/The-Memory-Book-C ... 0345410025
http://www.amazon.com/Boost-your-memory ... B004R9P9RO
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curio ... memory.htm

and the like. it should help.

[bunbun]

Not sure if this is an advice or not but...
Whenever I use reference, I make sure to remember and think before I draw.
I make sure I know what I am doing instead of tracing blindly.
If I don't, touch it, feel it, imagine it, let my body remember how the stroke is like.

On the street, I love look at people and lighting of background.
I trace their body lines in my brain.
I heard of suggestions of bringing sketch book everywhere you go to draw in public, but I'm too embarrassed to do so.

Compare to memory, dessin classes work more efficiently as memories can make mistakes. }:

[planktheory]

When I think of memory drawings it makes me think of figure drawing class, where we have any where from 30s to a minute to study a pose, and then draw it from memory. The older the memory the more likely you're just going to make it up--not that there's anything wrong with that. When you're learning art, you're learning how to see things.

I think a much better form of practice is a blind contour drawing. Where your eyes never look at what you're drawing, and try to draw something with one line and eyes on the subject. But above all else, practice practice practice.

Come to think of it, I read an article on memory, and the way our brains access it, and in the process of accessing memory, we change it with associations, what we're feeling beforehand, things like that... but that's just strange conjecture and I'm derailing the subject.

I think Drawing From Life > Drawing From Memory.

[Loveli]

I do, well mostly for backgrounds and events.

The way I do it is to set there with a pen in my hand. Then I start some kind of white noise, usually a fan or shower on cold. then start drawing the subject I remember.

Well I do work better like that!

I do draw from memory too (I am not that good mind you, I only draw anime and other types of comics and death nature or objects). What I do is that I don't essentially memorize what I want to draw, I more like try to study it. If it's an object I turn it around in my hands and trace it whit my fingers, sometimes I close my eyes and imagine the object in my mind, I am a kinetic learner (learn better when I do or touch things) so doing this kind of leaves the object better printed in my memory. Whit people I kind of analyze the way they stand, their body language, the way their clothes fall, etc. Instead of trying to memorize all of them I concentrate on the details. Then I seat and try to remember it, I close my eyes and picture it in my mind, just like when I am going to draw something that I just imagined and then well I draw normally! xD Not sure if all this rant may help you, but I hope it does!!

[darkphilious]

I tried, but it's always better if I have a reference.

[Deji]

I only draw from memory when I've drawn something many times already and I'm sure I can pull it off without a reference. Or when I want to check if I can pull it off without the reference, so I check the reference later anyway to see how I did

Otherwise, nope, I always use reference! And I recommend everyone to do the same!