Chapter Twelve - I have no idea what day it is anymore: Drawing from your Memories:

Now according to the book drawing from memory opens up a whole new world of drawing opportunities, because all your subjects are safely tucked away in you mind ready to be used anytime day or night. Problem is that I think mine are so tucked away I’m not sure where to find them anymore.

There is a process you use in order to capture an image, in your mind, to be able to successfully draw it at a later stage. The process is as follows: One, use your vision (I really would have never), take a good long hard look. Two - Perception, this the way in which you process and understand the sensory information been fed back to you. In order to fine tune your art of seeing, feed your memory as much information using all your senses, sight, smell, hearing, feeling (if you can), tasting (again only if you can, not to sure a good lick of bark or grass on a summers morning is a great way to understand a subject, but you get the point). Taking time to really see an object helps with been able to recall it later, the longer you spend studying a subject the easier it will be to recall it.


A few tips the book mentions; always try observe your subject at eye level, until your skills of visual memory are really good and well exercised. Eye level is the easiest way in which to remember something. Also look at your subject from as many viewpoints as possible, back, front and side views and also concentrate on the distance you are from your subject. More than 30 to 40 feet away you might not get all the details you need and too close you will loose the outlines you need in order to draw the subject later. Ideally you need to be far enough to see the whole subject but close enough to see the detail as well.

Remember that perception, experiences and memories can distort the way the brain stores information, even though your eyes record the image as it is. So knowing and studying your subject is important in helping you develop your visual memory. Your memory is fragile and at first your drawings won’t look like the actual subject, but that’s why sketching from physical objects helps with the accuracy of your memory.

You can practice your visual skills at home with any object around the house. Take a good look at, say, your lamp, when you think you’ve got all the information you need try sitting down and drawing it.

On to Project 12: Drawing a verbal memory:

This project was hilarious, I can honestly say my verbal memory is shocking! And if I where the worlds only forensic artist you could count on the fact that no criminal would ever be caught!

The project lists out a verbal description of a potential suspect: White male, 25 to 35 years old, wearing a slightly coloured crew neck shirt. Long thin rectangular face, high cheekbones and a square jaw with a large chin. He has stubble on the lower part of his face. His hair is medium brown, straight and thin. It hangs on his forehead, is wispy, messy and looks dirty or wet. Normal ears, with a loop earring in his left ear. Wrinkles on the forehead. Dark thick, bushy eyebrows that almost covered his whole face. Dark, small creepy eyes and a wide fat nose with big nostrils. Mean looking mouth with a thin top lip and fat bottom lip.

So armed with this information I set out to draw my criminal, the book coaches you through a few steps like, first draw and egg shape for the face, then draw the outer facial features, bottom and then upper features.

Needles to say I came nowhere close, but had a good laugh when I saw what the suspect should look like :)

Not to sure who this is - I think the only thing I got right was the loop earring.

The suspect! 

Next we move on to Chapter 13 and still lives!

(Please note: that photo examples are taken from "Drawing for Dummies by Brenda Hoddinott'' and the  above views are not representative of her and are purely based on a 3rd party view being Me! All snippets taken directly from the book are stated as been so)