Studying from diagrams.

These are basics that so obvious they nearly need not be named. But - trust me - you can and will if you do not think about them!

1: First get your diagrams exactly RIGHT!

-Be precise.

When taking measurements you mean to memorize, you need to be sure those measurements are exactly right. But it’s really not. We usually take our measurements by just putting our pencil over the image and comparing it to another part. It is only natural to do the same for measurements we mean to commit to memory. This is not as exact as we like to think though. With diagrams, a ruler is a must.

-Before starting, check your axioms.

You may be surprised at how often your starting assumptions are wrong. If stuff does not work out the way you feel it should, make sure your basics are perfect. An example, during my skulls project I found out that when I draw a freehand square, the height is usually 110%-120% longer than the width. This can turn out to be quite a lot when constructing or taking measurements.

-Cross-reverence: double check!

-Several Diagrams that go together? Make sure they are in the same units and proportions and that they measure up right together.

 It is very frustrating and confusing when you find out during memorizing that one diagram is not done in the same way as the other. Make sure these diagrams match up before starting.

-write down the numbers.

“About half” is a difficult thing to remember. ½ is a lot easier.

It is best to use as many different faculties of the brain as possible when committing to memory. A pretty strong one –at least for me- is numbers. Writing down proportional lengths and sizes in numbers helps me a lot.

Keep it clean, keep it simple.

When memorizing, having something clean and easy to understand will help you a lot. Make sure any diagrams that you mean to study from are as clean and simple as possible.

 

Memorizing.

If the above conditions have been met, memorizing will proof easy.

Use as many different faculties of the brain as possible.

Try using verbal, visual, audio and active memory in conjunction when possible.

When possible, verbalize things you want to remember. Speak them out loud, then write them down. When possible, execute the act multiple times. An accompanying picture is good, but only having the picture to remind you can be a thin base in the long run.

It takes time; preferably many times.

-bad memory? Rinse and repeat. You do not have to stay on it long; 15 minutes a day is enough. Just do it many times. Nothing like just good old-fashion repeating ad infinitum to get information in there.

Minimize outside interference.

You need to concentrate and that means no interruptions. No music and such while memorizing!

Short term to long-term.

To make sure your knowledge stays in your memory right, it is imperative that once in a while you check if it’s still right. And use it regularly; as in more than once a week.

A new Method for Study

The problem

Studying art is a difficult thing. I should know; I have been endeavoring it for over 20 years. Some of the reasons it is so difficult are:

• -art is hardly a closed and clear area of study. Just defining what art is gives nearly everyone a headache. Which objects fall into the category art is harder still, and what is relevant to your studies is just about up to yourself. With visual art as study, you could even argue that watching TV or playing a game is study.

• -because our area of study is so broad, it can become hard to know when we are studying, and when we are procrastinating; engaging in activities that contribute little to none to our advancement.

• -there are so many fields and area of study it is hard to take an overview of them, let alone master all. Added to that, nearly everyone states that his/her area of expertise is the key to master all.

• -many forms of art study need you to study in ways that are not taught in school.

• -as most art-books will not fit your personal situation, a lot of time can be spent figuring out what to study and from where.

Through the years I have been racking my brain on these issues, trying to find what to study to improve time and again. It seemed however the things I needed to do quickly mounted and I got quite frustrated with my lack of progress. Added to that the fact that studying 5-6 different fields at once usually only served to confuse me.

My solution

Recently, I followed a course in Agile Scrum and got excited at the work-method. I wanted to try it; right away. Yet, as I am an independent creative running just a one-man company, chances at working in a team are limited.

However, self-study and self-improvement are subjects that are at hand on a daily basis. It occurred to me, with a little tweaking, Scrum would be perfect for studying art.

Why? Because:

• -Scrum does not need for the end-result to be completely defined; simply a rough idea of where you want to go is enough.

• -Scrum gets rid or minimizes activities that distract you from your goals.

• -Scrum gives you fast results and the chance to change your goals based on those results it also gives you the chance to study what you feel is important or interesting at that moment in time.

• -Scrum, when implemented right, gives you the chance to figure out what and how to study at the moment it becomes relevant.

• -Scrum requires little documentation and planning activities; and what little it does require is easily converted to a log that can be re-read when our memory fails us and our gained knowledge has become vague.

Scrum encourages focusing on one subject and then moving onto a next. While the classical way of learning has us switch between many subjects on a daily basis, this does not strike me as a natural way of learning at all. Studies have shown a person working on multiple project loses a lot of time switching from one project to another. Would it not be doubly so when using ones memory and storing information in your own mind is concerned? Taking one subject and concentrating on that while ignoring the rest is a technique I see used by even my own young kids - with great results. Only once a subject is mastered do they turn to the next subject and make that their ‘obsession’.

The danger in employing a method of ‘studying whatever you feel is right’, is that you lose track of where you are going. Yet Scrum has periodic checkpoints built in where you check your course and can adjust it if needed. Basically, you get to obsess as much as you like, then have to get your head back above water at set times to see where you are going.

How is it done?

What exactly Scrum is and how I have adopted it for study I will explain in a later article.

Right now, I will give just a very short summary of how I work:

•  -I keep a ‘product backlog’ stating my long-term goals.

• -every 2 weeks, I start a new project.

• -on the first day of that project, I will pick the most important items from my product backlog.

• -every goal is split into parts, with none of the parts exceeding in my estimate more than a day’s work.

• -every day I write a short ‘log’, documenting what I have done the previous day, and what I am about to do. If I run into problems or find I need additional work to reach my goal(s) I will state them here also. These new items will either be added to the backlog, or traded with other items to be included in the current project.

• -as a part of reviewing the project’s effect I will add write a blog-post about my project in my ‘advance in art’ blog.

• -as a part of reviewing to project’s process, I will write an article here which should contain new insights into my method.

• -a new project will usually start right away.

I’m hoping my method of study is useful and inspiring to you as a reader. I think it could be of great use to people studying art, but in other fields as well. I would be happy to answer any questions.