I love your vids. Helps a lot as I've always struggled visualizing things, it's bothered me since I was a kid, but I only learned about aphantasia a couple years ago. It's also just super nice watching videos like this, about art, from an artist I genuinely really like! There are lots of good artists on youtube, but my idiot brain doesn't click the same way when they're not directly someone whose art I enjoy.
I don’t know how your videos appeared in my algorithm, but this style of rambling + drawing content is something I’ve been looking for for a while. Keep it up and thank you.
I have recently come across a couple of videos regarding aphantasia just by coincidence, which lead me to reading a bit on the matter, as well as reading reports from people discussing their experience. These are just my thoughts and not something i regard as facts myself, but i feel like the expectations people have to what could be considered aphantasia is on a broad spectrum, making it very difficult to evaluate. The way the brain interprets visual information even when you use your eyes is much less detailed than what one might think, as the brain is pretty good at getting rid of details outside of what you are focusing on, if this wasn't the case it could very well drive you insane. I think the minds eye works like this too, and in order to see the full image of whatever you are imagining, you would have to focus on every part of it for a long time. A mental image isn't the same as using your eyes, and i don't think anyone should expect to be able to imagine something and instantly see it as vividly as if it's real when you don't have the instant input of light hitting your retina. It's just as much the idea of the object as it is a clear, visual image, and i think that's what's normal for the majority of people. I assume even people with a photographic memory must have allready seen the thing they recall as an mental image(?). When you mentioned imagining a flame in the video, an image of a campfire popped up in my brain. It reads to me as a campfire immediately, but i can't tell you all the details of the scene without focusing on that specific part first, like the shape of each log, or the more vivid light and colors of the flames. I don't think being able to draw something you see in your brain like it's from a real reference is normal, like at not at all, not even for most especially skilled artists. When it comes to complex objects like human anatomy for instance, everyone have to build their ability to visualize by memorization, i.e. hundereds and thousands of hours of studying. If this wasn't the case, shouldn't some artist just be able to draw someone they know the face of especially well anatomically correct just from visualizing it, even without having practiced drawing faces beforehand? I have never come across someone who have claimed to be able to do that. Just some rambling thinking out loud here. I've enjoyed your last few videos, the things you say really hits me as the concepts and issues you describe is so similar to my own situation, but you are much better at drawing tho.
My argument and my personal studies have informed me there is some ways to be able to do just that and that some artist in fact can just reference details in their minds eye because I've had fleeting moments of doing just that so I'm curious to explore it as much as I can to see if there is more to it then most people realize.
Great video! But I'm wondering. When you say visualize a flame in your mind. Are you supposed to actually see a flame? When I close my eyes I've never been able to see something as if it was an actual object. Closest I get is that I feel like I'm clarifying the idea of what a flame is when I close my eyes. But it's not like I'm seeing it, like an object I could touch.its more like i think about a memory of a flame. Like a campfire trip. And I can remember how the flame looked, and how the campfire and the environment around it looked in the memory. But yeah I'm just seeing blackness with my eyes closed. And some faint fleeting images that might as well just be memories of what a flame is. If this makes sense.
That is how I experience a visualization as well. I've described it as not literally seeing a blue apple in my mind, but more of I'm feeling the sense that I am looking at a blue apple. As you said, like experiencing a memory. I don't doubt the reality of Aphantasia, but I do feel a lot of people have a misunderstanding of how things appear in the mind's eye. It seems like folks expect a sudden, vibrant scene to appear out of nothing. Why would we thumbnail if we can just clearly 'see' the image in our head, you know? Why work from reference materials?
My belief is that we can only be informed by our lived experience and I actually believe some people are able to see vividly like there is a screen behind their eyelids. I also believe is a trainable trait.
I feel as though not only is aphantasia poorly researched and discussed but also few people know how to improve it (if you believe it can be), people nowadays can put on insane muscle mass and that's through generations of body building culture and sports science. I think there is a some very interesting components to the minds eye as a vibrant visual way of feeding your artistic endeavors.
When someone says picture a flame, I don't see shit. Sure, I can try to think about how a flame looks and what properties it has but I literally can't see anything at all. I would never describe anything in my imagination as seeing something (not even close to it) The only thing i feel like ive seen in my mind are dreams
I love your vids. Helps a lot as I've always struggled visualizing things, it's bothered me since I was a kid, but I only learned about aphantasia a couple years ago. It's also just super nice watching videos like this, about art, from an artist I genuinely really like! There are lots of good artists on youtube, but my idiot brain doesn't click the same way when they're not directly someone whose art I enjoy.
I really enjoying seeing artists I've known about for years talk about their art process/art theory. Thanks, Doxy
I love your tutorials pls don't stop! thx a lot for taking the time to help us out!
I don’t know how your videos appeared in my algorithm, but this style of rambling + drawing content is something I’ve been looking for for a while. Keep it up and thank you.
I'm glad you found it if it provides some comfort!
I have recently come across a couple of videos regarding aphantasia just by coincidence, which lead me to reading a bit on the matter, as well as reading reports from people discussing their experience.
These are just my thoughts and not something i regard as facts myself, but i feel like the expectations people have to what could be considered aphantasia is on a broad spectrum, making it very difficult to evaluate.
The way the brain interprets visual information even when you use your eyes is much less detailed than what one might think, as the brain is pretty good at getting rid of details outside of what you are focusing on, if this wasn't the case it could very well drive you insane. I think the minds eye works like this too, and in order to see the full image of whatever you are imagining, you would have to focus on every part of it for a long time. A mental image isn't the same as using your eyes, and i don't think anyone should expect to be able to imagine something and instantly see it as vividly as if it's real when you don't have the instant input of light hitting your retina. It's just as much the idea of the object as it is a clear, visual image, and i think that's what's normal for the majority of people. I assume even people with a photographic memory must have allready seen the thing they recall as an mental image(?).
When you mentioned imagining a flame in the video, an image of a campfire popped up in my brain. It reads to me as a campfire immediately, but i can't tell you all the details of the scene without focusing on that specific part first, like the shape of each log, or the more vivid light and colors of the flames.
I don't think being able to draw something you see in your brain like it's from a real reference is normal, like at not at all, not even for most especially skilled artists. When it comes to complex objects like human anatomy for instance, everyone have to build their ability to visualize by memorization, i.e. hundereds and thousands of hours of studying. If this wasn't the case, shouldn't some artist just be able to draw someone they know the face of especially well anatomically correct just from visualizing it, even without having practiced drawing faces beforehand? I have never come across someone who have claimed to be able to do that.
Just some rambling thinking out loud here. I've enjoyed your last few videos, the things you say really hits me as the concepts and issues you describe is so similar to my own situation, but you are much better at drawing tho.
My argument and my personal studies have informed me there is some ways to be able to do just that and that some artist in fact can just reference details in their minds eye because I've had fleeting moments of doing just that so I'm curious to explore it as much as I can to see if there is more to it then most people realize.
Great video! But I'm wondering. When you say visualize a flame in your mind. Are you supposed to actually see a flame?
When I close my eyes I've never been able to see something as if it was an actual object. Closest I get is that I feel like I'm clarifying the idea of what a flame is when I close my eyes. But it's not like I'm seeing it, like an object I could touch.its more like i think about a memory of a flame. Like a campfire trip. And I can remember how the flame looked, and how the campfire and the environment around it looked in the memory. But yeah I'm just seeing blackness with my eyes closed. And some faint fleeting images that might as well just be memories of what a flame is. If this makes sense.
That is how I experience a visualization as well. I've described it as not literally seeing a blue apple in my mind, but more of I'm feeling the sense that I am looking at a blue apple. As you said, like experiencing a memory. I don't doubt the reality of Aphantasia, but I do feel a lot of people have a misunderstanding of how things appear in the mind's eye. It seems like folks expect a sudden, vibrant scene to appear out of nothing. Why would we thumbnail if we can just clearly 'see' the image in our head, you know? Why work from reference materials?
My belief is that we can only be informed by our lived experience and I actually believe some people are able to see vividly like there is a screen behind their eyelids. I also believe is a trainable trait.
I feel as though not only is aphantasia poorly researched and discussed but also few people know how to improve it (if you believe it can be), people nowadays can put on insane muscle mass and that's through generations of body building culture and sports science. I think there is a some very interesting components to the minds eye as a vibrant visual way of feeding your artistic endeavors.
I gotta say this is a really great video and discussion. I feel this should be talked about more often. Wonderful vid 👀👌💯
awesome.
Dude the tutorials are great, you are very cool
When someone says picture a flame, I don't see shit. Sure, I can try to think about how a flame looks and what properties it has but I literally can't see anything at all. I would never describe anything in my imagination as seeing something (not even close to it) The only thing i feel like ive seen in my mind are dreams