This is an advanced technique that even intermediate artists have a hard time doing. But practicing this early on, and alternating it with your standard drawing, will help broaden your imagination. Soon you will find yourself capable of naturally altering subjects as you draw them. Like altering your subject’s hairstyle, or moving the objects on reference. Your first attempts will probably be disappointing, but don’t fret! Memory drawing is all about errors and taking note of these errors and making a point of not repeating them. Below are steps on how you can practice drawing from memory.
Step 1
For starters, choose a fairly easy subject or reference, like a vase, a plant or in my case I chose a plate of cookies and a cup of tea.
Step 2
Take a good look at your subject, you can look at it at different angles but as you are just beginning I suggest you pick an angle and concentrate on that view. Study the light source, see where the shadows fall and how dark they are. If there are multiple light sources, take note of where they are coming from and take note of how the shadows overlap each other.
Step 3
Once you’ve had a good look, get your sketch pad and start drawing your reference without looking at it once until you’re done with your drawing. Don’t stress out too much if you can’t remember some aspects of it. Just draw what you can remember.
Step 4
When you’re done with your drawing, compare it to your subject and take note of the errors you made, remember, as mentioned above, memory drawing is all about making errors and keeping in mind not to make those errors again.
Step 5
Now get another clean sheet of paper or a blank page on your sketchpad and start drawing your subject again. Repeat these steps until you’re satisfied with the outcome.
Step 6
When you think you’ve finally drawn your subject properly, start another run by looking at it at a different angle or better yet, look for another subject you can practice on.