Improving Visual Memory. Help.

[ThatWierdGuy]

Hello everyone,

 

There has been something frusturating me for the past month. Drawing is one of my many hobbies, and I'm pretty good at drawing what I see right in front of me. However, when it comes to drawing what I see in my own head, I have to draw it as quickly as I can because the picture in my head fades away quickly. (the basic idea is there, but the details are gone, and in drawing details are important) Well, I went to get some tests done and found out that my visual memory is below average. This was a surprise to me even though I've been drawing for only 5 months. I didn't expect much, but below average? Jeez. Its very frusturating for a person who is looking to improve his art skills.

 

So, I started surfing the net on and off for the past couple of weeks searching for ways to improve my visual memory. What I found out so far that it IS very possible (like improving you IQ), but nowhere does it tell me HOW to improve visual memory. I found one site but you have to pay for information, plus I dont know if its reliable (could be just a scam). Then I searched amazon.com. I found a bunch of books on improving memory, but nothing on improving visual memory. I'm sure some of these books on improving memory has a section on visual memory, but I don't know which one's.

 

So, recently I decided to join a forum that might focus on memory specificly. Unforutunately, I have yet to find a forum that focuses on memory, but I did stumble upon this forum. So I was wondering if you guys can help me out. Do you know any tips on how to improve visual memory? Any books or links (even forums, if its allowed to link other forums) , anything, would be very helpful.

 

Thanks.

[C1ay]

Have you looked through http://www.google.com/search?q=visual+memory+exercises I would think that memory exercises in general should help.

[ThatWierdGuy]

Ahh yes, I did a search on exercise a week ago but they were mostly programs you had to pay for. Perhaps I should search harder.

[niviene]

Ahh yes, I did a search on exercise a week ago but they were mostly programs you had to pay for. Perhaps I should search harder.

 

Have you tried memory exersizes at all? Maybe all memory is connected....

[GAHD]

Yeah, I do exercises myself. picture an orange, spin it around in your mind, give it some kinda feature and just think about it, slice it in half picturing how it looks to slice an orange, rotate the halfs.

 

Stuff like that, if you concentrate, helps build your ability to visualise. Still lifed drawing is good exercise too.

[niviene]

Those are good suggestions... I remember something like that in school many years ago where they suggested we draw a stapler; then rotate it in our minds 90 degrees one way, 90 degrees up or down, then draw it again, etc etc. Kind of like logic problems wh ere you have to hold a lot of info in place in your head and add new stuff to it (unless you write it down instead of doing it the lazy way) ;)

[JMJones0424]

No need to frequent a spammer's site for visual memory drills. One tool that I've used frequently is called the Kim's Game. It's easier to do if you have another person set the game up for you, but if you don't cheat, you can play the game yourself.

 

In order to play, you need 20 random items, a table, and a sheet or something to hide the items from view. For each item, there are five identifying qualities: Shape, Color, Size, Condition, and Appears to Be. (For example, racecar, red and blue, 4 inches by 1.5 inches by 1 inch, scratched and slightly rusted, matchbox car.) Randomly place the 20 items on the table and cover with the sheet. Remove the sheet and observe the items for 60 seconds, without taking notes, and then either cover up with the sheet or turn away. When beginning the game, immediately after the objects are covered, write down your observations on the five qualities for each of the twenty items, one point for each quality, perfect score is 100. As the game gets easier, incorporate a time delay and distractions between observation and reporting. Eventually, you should be able to go about your normal daily routine and still get a nearly perfect score when observing in the morning and reporting in the evening. If you are doing the game yourself and have noone to set it up for you, then you must take precautions to prevent cheating. Have a bag of 50 or so random items and grab a handful and throw them randomly on the table before covering up with the sheet. In order to get points for correct observations, you must also correctly identify the relative position on the table of the item.

 

Using this method as a guide, you should be able to devise mental exercises that suit your circumstances and needs.