Drawing From Memory: Fun Exercises to Build Visual Recall (and Why Your Brain Is Messier Than Your Desk)
Let’s start with a slap in the face: Most artists have garbage memory. Yep, I said it. We stare at our subject, draw a perfect hand, and then—bam!—turn the page and suddenly can’t remember if a thumb bends like a banana or a brick. Here’s the truth: the human mind forgets, distorts, and Frankensteins reality the second you look away. But the only way to go from slave to reference photos to being a badass visual storyteller is to train your memory like a brawler in a dirty gym.
Why bother? Because every artist wants to invent, exaggerate, and own their vision. You can’t do that if you’re stuck tracing your phone screen for every detail. You need recall that’s quick, flexible, and strong enough to spit out monsters, dreamscapes, and real-life drama without getting tripped up by “where does the elbow go?”
Confession: My First Attempts at Drawing From Memory Looked Like I’d Never Seen a Human Face
Seriously. It’s like my brain swapped out eyes for potatoes and put ears on upside down. But every time I tried again, something clicked. The more I flailed, the stronger my recall got. Memory is a muscle—ignore it, and it shrinks; work it, and it gets dangerous.
Step-By-Step: Rust Dawg’s Bootcamp for Building Killer Visual Memory
Step 1: Draw, Look, Hide, Repeat
Pick any object—your hand, a cup, your cat, or a photo.
Study it for exactly one minute. Then HIDE it.
Draw from memory. Don’t peek! No matter how wrong it feels.
Now, put the real thing back and draw it again, this time while looking. Compare. Circle what you missed or got weird.
Rinse and repeat. This is the grind, and it pays off like nothing else.
Step 2: The “Flash Glance” Drill
Glance at a complex reference—like a crowded street scene or a bizarre pose—for 5–10 seconds.
Look away and sketch the main shapes, lines, and gestures you remember.
You’ll suck at first. But after a few sessions, you’ll notice your brain “grabs” more info every time. Your memory file size just doubled.
Step 3: Storyboarding From Yesterday
At the end of the day, draw a comic strip or storyboard of three things you remember seeing that day—faces, animals, outfits, street scenes, whatever.
The less reference you use, the better. This is about training your “snapshot” brain.
Review your actual day (photos, mirror, reality) afterward. Note your weak spots—and your weird memory inventions.
Ingredient Hack: “Memory Chain” Drawing
Draw a shape or object from memory. Pass it to a friend (or yourself tomorrow). They add something—also from memory. Keep chaining, no reference, until the whole thing is a glorious, surreal mess.
This builds memory, creativity, and the confidence to invent.
Quick Fixes for Common Memory Flops
If you keep forgetting proportions, isolate one feature each session (just ears, just hands, just noses).
For recurring “brain farts,” make tiny notes on what trips you up: “eyes too high,” “thumb backwards,” etc.
Repetition, not perfection, is the goal—your mistakes are the map to stronger recall.
Dirty Reality: Why Drawing From Memory Feels Impossible—And Why That’s Actually Fantastic
1. Your Brain Hates Details, Loves Patterns
Here’s the scientific dirt: the human mind is a pattern-eating machine, not a photocopier. You remember gestures and shapes, not every vein in a hand or every hair on a cat. The best artists learn to cheat—boiling forms down to what matters. Forget photo-perfect—focus on the “feel” and the flow. The rest is noise.
2. Failure Is the Only Shortcut That Works
You’re going to butcher a lot of drawings at first. The weird, mutant heads and broken backs are proof your mind is sweating, stretching, and laying down neural tracks for next time. Every “wrong” memory drawing is one less mistake you’ll make when it counts.
3. Memory Isn’t Just for Realism—It’s the Secret Weapon for Style
Look at any cartoonist, comic artist, or monster maker who draws wild, believable worlds. They’re not using reference for every line. They built a memory bank by failing forward, recycling, and riffing on what stuck. Their style comes from how their brain warps reality, not from tracing perfection.
Ingredient Hack: Memory Speed Sketches
Set a timer for 30 seconds per drawing.
Cycle through ten objects or people you saw that day—draw each from memory, no stopping, no looking up.
Your brain starts prioritizing the essential lines, angles, and negative spaces. This is visual recall bootcamp.
Quick Fixes When You Hit a Memory Wall
If your drawings get stuck, pause and try tracing a real version of the thing you keep flubbing. Notice the “hidden” lines or shapes your memory skipped.
Keep a “memory failures” page in your sketchbook. Every time you mangle something, add it to the wall of shame. Review and redraw a week later—you’ll be amazed at the jump.
Personal Confession:
My breakthrough with memory came when I stopped trying to win and started trying to notice—how does my mind warp a hand, or shrink a chair, or invent new animal legs? The distortions are a roadmap to my creative DNA.
Survival Wisdom: Supercharging Your Visual Recall—Make Memory Drawing Fun, Not Torture
1. Turn Memory Drills Into Games
Play “draw and pass”: sketch something from memory, then hand it to a friend who adds the next piece (also from memory). No peeking, no reference, just pure recall and chaos.
Do “memory monster mashups”: think of two animals you saw this week—draw a hybrid from memory. The less accurate, the more hilarious and revealing.
Host a “sketch from memory” night with friends, using prompts like “your first bike,” “the weirdest sandwich you’ve ever eaten,” or “that nightmare you still remember.” No Google allowed.
2. Layer Your Studies: Draw, Recall, Invent
Draw something from observation first.
Redraw it from memory—even if it’s a hot mess.
Then invent a variation—put your subject in a new pose, environment, or time period, using only your mind as the guide.
You’ll build not just recall, but true visual imagination.
3. Keep a “Memory Sketchbook”
Devote one sketchbook (or a section) to nothing but memory drawings, even if they’re ugly.
Date each entry. Over weeks, you’ll see leaps in accuracy, detail, and confidence.
Flip back every month and redraw old flops—you’ll be shocked at how much you remember (and how much your creative choices shift).
Ingredient Hack: Mnemonic Marks
When observing something tricky, invent a quick mnemonic: “Eyes halfway, ears start at brow, wrists at hip.”
Chant these while you study, then recall them while drawing. This anchors details deep in your brain’s attic.
Quick Fixes for the Overthinker’s Block
Stuck on “getting it right”? Embrace the weirdness. Draw with your non-dominant hand from memory. Make mistakes on purpose and see what surprises you.
Do tiny “memory warmups” before every session—five faces, five hands, five random objects you saw today.
Never punish yourself for a mutant result. Celebrate it—your mind is inventing, not copying.
Personal Confession:
Some of my best designs—creatures, faces, weird architecture—were born in the fire of memory drawing gone wrong. The more fun you have, the faster you’ll grow.
Final Word: Drawing From Memory Is the Artist’s Superpower—Earn It, Enjoy It, and Use It to Stand Out
Let’s get brutally honest: The artists who get remembered, the ones who create worlds, monsters, stories, or icons—they’re not just “good at drawing.” They’re masters of visual recall, pulling characters, places, and moments straight from their brains. If you only copy what’s in front of you, you’ll always be one step behind. The second you can draw from memory—even a little—you become a creator, not just a renderer. That’s the upgrade you need.
You don’t get there by wishing or by worrying about perfection. You get there by screwing up, laughing at the mess, and trying again, day after day. Treat your memory sketches as battle scars and trophies. Over time, the lines get cleaner, the forms get stronger, and your imagination gets wilder. One day, you’ll be drawing stuff nobody else could even imagine, let alone find reference for—and everyone will want to know your secret.
Confession: My Sketchbooks Are a Graveyard of Bad Memory Drawings—But They’re Also the Birthplace of My Best Ideas
The creative freedom you unlock is worth every mutant hand, twisted cat, and inside-out bicycle you ever drew from memory. Don’t quit. Don’t wait for permission. Start today, and keep going until your brain starts showing off.
Ultimate Survival Wisdom: Make Memory Drawing Your Daily Jam
Practice every day, even if it’s just five minutes of drawing what you saw on your commute, at lunch, or in last night’s dream.
Make it a ritual. Warm up every session with a memory sketch before reaching for reference.
Laugh at the failures, brag about the improvements, and share your weirdest results—they’re proof of growth.
So, close that browser, turn away from your phone, and try drawing your own damn hand without looking. Keep at it. The power you’ll gain is worth every fumble.
See Also:
“Keys to Drawing” by Bert Dodson (killer memory exercises)
Kim Jung Gi’s sketchbook videos (the undisputed king of drawing from memory)
#memorydrawing and #drawfrommemory on Instagram for challenges and inspiration