5 Tips for focusing learned from Arkham Asylum

5 Methods for 

Focusing on the Task at Hand

(Or things I've learned from playing Batman: Arkham Asylum)

It is a war to focus. The mind loves to wander. You are trying to do one thing when another important problem pops up.

This is the golden age of procrastination and distraction. The task at hand is shoved aside in favor of any of the hundred million distractions available to the modern procrastinator.

Focus is a virtue. It’s also a skill to develop and hone.

The Peril of Losing Focus on Your Task

You're trying to focus on a puzzle. Then someone is talking to you. Suddenly, this goon in clown makeup gets the jump on you. All because you weren't focusing.

In the world of Arkham Asylum, Focus is a survival skill. Focus lets you take out a mob of prisoners. Focus is life or death.

Here are some tips I've learned from playing Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Ways to Improve Focus

Eliminate distractions

Bane was already beating you senseless when a half dozen Blackgate prisoners show up. It is a little hard to focus on the juggernaut coming at you when the guy with scalp ridges is trying to punch you in the back of the head. So you takedown bad guy one then you have one less guy trying to kill you. You have eliminated a distraction.

It's not always possible to eliminate distractions. But it’s important to limit them as much as possible. You could go somewhere quiet and private to work. You could download an app that blocks you from going on a nonproductive site. Do what it takes to make focusing the easiest part of your work by giving yourself one thing to focus on.

Break the goal down into tasks

You walk into a room occupied by six gunmen. You can't take them all out. Not all at once. Take one out then you only have five slightly more skittish gunmen to deal with. Then repeat the process, one by one until the room is clear.

Break down the work into tasks. It’s easier to focus on writing a sentence than a novel. Rather than worry about the larger goal, you can focus on the steps that it takes to get to that goal. Each task brings you a step closer and gives you a growing sense of accomplishment.

Step back and calculate

I grew up on Mario with timed levels and bonuses for a quick finish. The bonus gave the player an incentive to just keep running till the end of the level. Mario required  the player to do it fast. Save the princess, stomp the helpless animal, run, run, and run. The do it fast approach can result in an inglorious death in Arkham. It can also result in unnecessary mistakes in life.

Don't sit on your gargoyle forever but don't jump the guy with the gun without a plan to take him down quickly and quietly.

Step back from the situation. Assess. Don't immediately jump into a project without a plan of attack. Observe, decide on a course of action then attack.

Don’t take on too much

You can't control the number of problems that come your way in Arkham. The game is the game. But you can control the way you play it. I spent some time in the challenge levels learning to effectively use the tools at hand. Practice eliminated one problem. It eliminated my lack of skill.

Games have a fixed number of problems to solve. Life on the other hand will gleefully just keep dumping new problems on you until you are neck deep. Sometimes the best you can do is to not create new problems for yourself.

Don't take on too many projects. With too many projects and too many problems, your attention becomes diverted. Don't be afraid to turn down a project.

Attack the tasks based on priorities

Focus on the steps leading to the goal, not the end goal. You can't get into the locked room to save the civilian if you don't first slow down and look for a grate to tear off the wall.

I find that I procrastinate the worst when I try to tackle the biggest problem. When I face a large pile of work, the size of the pile can overwhelm me and push me to push it off. So I prioritize. Tackle the tasks one by one. You could start with the simplest or the most immediate problem. Attacking that problem reduces the size of the pile and with each finished task the pile shrinks and becomes easier to face.

Focus is the key to finishing your work
and saving Gotham

Develop Your Discipline With Simple Exercises

Developing Discipline

The aim of developing discipline is to foster positive traits within yourself. This is achieved through time and effort. Don't expect it to happen overnight.

But you've already taken the first step. Now all you have to do is keep going. Don't stop. Don't give up. You'll get there.

Some Qualities of a Disciplined Person

perseverance
restraint
endurance
achievement
forethought
execution
will
focus
devotion
self-mastery
strength
self-control

Establish a Routine

Set a Goal

I set myself the goal of getting into shape. To achieve my goal, I needed to exercise and I needed to do it regularly. I needed to change my habits by eliminating bad ones and developing good ones.

Once I decided that I wanted to make this change, I started exercising immediately. I did not delay a minute. I got to work.  I didn't do much the first day but I started. After setting a goal, the most important thing is to start working towards that goal.

Train to Succeed

I had to train my body. I also had to train myself to stick to my training routine. I had to train myself to ignore the discouraging voice and focus.

I exercise every night. When I started on this path, I stumbled and I slacked off. But I let my failures push me to work harder to succeed.

Commit

I committed to my goal. I recommitted over and over. I took action in service of my goal. I found tools that helped me.

I created a log in a spreadsheet to keep track. Each day, I see what I accomplished the previous day. I push myself to build on successes and make up for failures. As much as I've committed to exercising, I've also committed to filling out my log every day. I've tried other methods like setting a schedule of when I would exercise and for how long or using an app. But those methods weren't right for me so I dropped them.

Level Up

Life is like a computer game, only no reset. There are levels and little rewards to gather along the way. Each victory opens the door to new challenges. After I started cutting out bad foods, I had the challenge of incorporating healthy foods into my diet.

There are always opportunities to gain little rewards. In Lego Batman, there are studs. A single stud is not much much but they add up to great rewards. You just need to take the time to collect them.

Set limitations

In addition to goals to achieve, consider setting personal limitations. These small sacrifices can be the keys to achieving the greatest rewards. Limitations are commitments. You are committing to not do something.

I set a limitation, I cut out deserts. At first this felt like a great sacrifice but it wasn't. I  knew I would feel better without the junk in my life. Deserts were just a deeply ingrained habit that I had spent years reinforcing. I would walk down the candy and cookie aisle in the supermarket and feel a craving. I felt ridiculous and weak but I wasn't weak. I honored the commitment I had made. In time the craving went away. I have never regretted my choice.

 

Be the Mission

I wanted to be in shape. I didn't have a number, I had a feeling. When I was out of shape, I didn't feel like myself. I was really sick and tired of not liking how I felt. I desperately wanted to feel like myself. I did the work and now I feel more myself than I ever did before.

Bonus Level

Create a new mission. Set new goals and commit to them. Decide the destination you want to reach and take the steps.

So, I'm still working on discipline. I have accomplished many goals since getting into shape but I have so many more goals to reach.

For me, my mission has never been about transforming into someone new. It's always been about being and becoming more myself.

Develop a Good Habit

To reach my goal, I committed to exercise daily. After that, I made new commitments and stuck to them.

Start with a light exercise to create a good habit. Pick one good thing you can do. Commit and make time to do it. By creating one good habit and sticking to it, you have proven that you are a disciplined person. That is what disciplined people do.

Ideas for Habits

1. Pick up pennies (You could imagine you're playing Super Mario Brothers)
2. Make your bed every morning
3. Write a 1000 words per day
4. Do the dishes every night (It's nice waking to a clean kitchen)
5. Study any subject for 30 minutes per night
6. Read one chapter of a book a day

Why I Bought $5 in Scratch-off Tickets

Buying Into A Fantasy

There's a scratch-off dispenser at the supermarket in my town. It's an obnoxious machine that appeared in the store a couple months ago. There's a lighted scrolling banner on the top and it doesn't give change. I didn't buy from that machine.

I went to the Hallmark store next to the liquor store to buy them. There's something off about the Hallmark store. Everything feels kind of old and yellow. It feels vestigial. I would be surprised if they made a sale in the last month. I suspect it's the lottery tickets that keep them in business.

I don't normally buy lottery tickets for myself. I have trouble shelling out money for nothing in return and that's what it feels like. On occasion I will put my two dollars in a pool (mainly cause I've convinced myself that they'll win if I don't and I'll spend the rest of my days kicking myself).

I gave the man behind the counter five dollars and asked for five one dollar tickets. I stuck the tickets in my pocket and went back to work.


I wondered if maybe, just maybe I wouldn't be parting with my hard earned money for nothing. Maybe I would get something. I traded my money for the possibility of something.

I went home with the tickets. Five chances to win something.

There were no visions of future purchases dancing in my head. That's not what I would do with the money. If I ever won a million dollars, a thousand dollars, a hundred, it would go straight into savings. I love the comfort that a healthy savings account offers.

I wouldn't want a mansion. I would not want a Porsche. I would want to know that all those stressful and sucky aspects of daily life are taken care of. I would want to know that I'm in a better place than I was before. I would want to have that cushion. Money doesn't buy happiness but having it can be a comfort.

I guess the reason I bought the tickets was because I'm in the market for dreams. That's what they sell. That's what people buy. The slogan in New Jersey is "Give your dreams a chance".

I bought the tickets to buy them and I got the transient hope of getting money and the definite possibility that I would get no money. Either way I got something different to write about out of the deal.

A Ninja Changed My Definition of Discipline

"Discipline is doing the work...every single day."

-Izzy

Searching for Answers

I never thought about discipline until I realized that I wasn't and I wanted to be. So I did what I do whenever I have a problem (or a random question that pops into my head).  I googled it.

I came upon the story of Izzy. He dreamed of being a martial arts master. He started training to become a ninja. He made the choice, the sacrifices and he went for his dream. He is an inspiration.

When I read his article, my definition of discipline immediately started to shift from slightly negative to very positive. My definition of discipline used to be tied to the idea of penalty and control. It's changed to an idea of dedication and commitment.

I am a writer, an artist and I have dreams. I realized that discipline was the virtue I needed to develop to achieve my goals. I learned from his example that it takes discipline to make dreams real.

Role Models

“The biggest adversary in our life is ourselves. We are what we are, in a sense, because of the dominating thoughts we allow to gather in our head. All concepts of self-improvement, all actions and paths we take, relate solely to our abstract image of ourselves. Life is limited only by how we really see ourselves and feel about our being. A great deal of pure self-knowledge and inner understanding allows us to lay an all-important foundation for the structure of our life from which we can perceive and take the right avenues.”

-Bruce Lee

So many people that I admire possess self-discipline. Their self-discipline allowed them to become amazing and well-accomplished people.

I have always admired warriors. My personal admiration for warriors was never just about cool gear or the Hollywood image of a single person taking on an army. It was the idea that through training and dedication, they became someone stronger and more capable than ever.

Working on it

In retrospect, my revelation about self-discipline was a long time coming. But there were a hundred revelations that I had to have before I could reach it.

In my own haphazard way, I was working to develop self-discipline without realizing it. I would decide on certain goals then I would struggle to find a path to reach them. Sometimes I gave up, sometimes I failed. Getting the work done was a struggle.

I started setting myself up to achieve each goal. I forced myself to do things in support of my goals. When my sabotaging, procrastinating brain would tell me to do another thing or nothing at all, I had to fight to keep going.

I still have to fight. Discipline isn't an absence of the desire to procrastinate, it's the will to overcome that desire. It's about doing the work.

Discipline makes the impossible possible. I've achieved things I thought were out of reach by embracing self-discipline.

Lessons to Apply

• Set specific goals.
• Take action towards the goal.
• Make the sacrifices.
• Hard but worth it.
• After the goal is reached, the sacrifice becomes a step that you took towards your goal. It becomes a source of pride and a part of your achievement.
• Change takes time.
• One website quotes that it takes 21 days to adjust to any life change. Make the change, dedicate yourself to it and keep working at it till the change is the new normal.
• Discipline is a skill to practice and develop.
• You'll make mistakes. To screw up is human. You'll fail and falter then you'll get back up and keep working.
• Make the Commitment.
• Renew your commitment daily.
• Do it for yourself.
• Do it because you want to do it.
• When you wake up and the Oneiroi are calling you back to sleep, remember you have work to do. Get moving and do it.
• Overcome your the barriers.
• Identify each barrier and break through.

Four Sci-fi and Fantasy Films that Deserve More Attention

Occasionally fantastic films will just turn up, seemingly out of nowhere. As though a traveler from an alternate dimension dropped a blockbuster from his dimension in my mailbox before sauntering off to the reality where people have giant lobsters as pets and reality television shows about talentless rich people are outlawed.

There are some movies that you watch and you feel like you should have heard of it sooner. You wonder how you could have gone years oblivious to the film.

These four films appeal to my personal taste for quirky escapist fantasies. They're fun and strange worlds. Each one had moments that I never expected or imagined.

I think the best thing a movie can do is excite the imagination and these do that for mine.

Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel (2009)

A British pub comedy about a trio of guys who travel through time.

During a typical night out with the boys, a time travel fan finds himself traveling through time. It's all fun and closets until he learns that even though he's seen the future, he might not have one.

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel on Wikipedia

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)

A French adventure fantasy about a novelist living in Paris in 1912.

Adèle Blanc-Sec is a famous novelist and adventurer dealing with a pterosaur, mummies and other issues in her quest to help her sister.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec on Wikipedia

Cool World (1992)

A cop works to keep order in a city full of anarchist doodles.

Holli would do anything to become a real girl. Detective Harris will stop her from tearing two worlds to pieces. Jack Deebs is an ex-con comic book artist prone to bad decisions with the chance to be a hero.

Cool World on Wikipedia

Immortel, ad vitam (2004)

A French Sci-fi film about a god's last day on Earth before his death sentence is carried out.

Horus has one day to live in 2095 New York City. Nikopol becomes a host to the god after a mechanical failure releases him from prison early. Jill is a mystery that her doctor is determined to solve.

Immortel, ad vitam on Wikipedia

Century Old Comic Strips

Those who forget the past are destined to miss out on a lot.

Comics have been in newspapers for over a hundred years. The past is filled with some very interesting artifacts.

Comics are the product of the artist and the era. What was acceptable then might not be acceptable now. They are a glimpse into another world, another time and another person's point of view.

Krazy Kat (1913 - 1944)

During its run, it was beloved by many in the artistic and intellectual sets. It lasted for a long time due to publisher William Randolph Hearst's dedicated support.

The comic starred Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse. Krazy loved Ignatz. Ignatz hurled bricks at Krazy's head. Krazy didn't mind but Officer Pupp was usually on hand to show Ignatz to a jail cell.

It's an example of simple done well. Some strips were sweet with Krazy rushing to bring ice cream to some kittens (4-23-1916) and others were just plain odd with Ignatz holding Krazy at gunpoint (2-15-1919).

Little Nemo in Slumberland (1905 - 1926)

By August Olson [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Little Nemo in Slumberland is the story of Nemo's adventures in a world of dreams.

Winsor McCay was a skilled artist. His comics are elaborate. He created different worlds for Nemo and his friends to explore. He was also an innovator. Any fan of McCay needs to see his Little Nemo Cartoon. It is a mix of live action and animation. He created four thousand drawings for the animation.

Recently, I received in the mail the biggest book I have ever owned. Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream published by Locust Moon Press. The art is fantastic and grand. I think he would be proud to see the influence that his work has had.

Mr. Skygack, From Mars (1907 - 1917)

A Martian's observations of life on Earth. Simple, interesting, fun.

My interest in Mr. Skygack was peaked by a single image of a kid in a Skygack costume. It's fantastic. It reminds me of Comic Con.

It's the kind of strip that I could imagine obsessing over if I was a kid then. Well, maybe I wouldn't have obsessed over the strip but the character. Before aliens were common, he was a fully formed alien visiting from Mars and exploring all the oddities Earth had to offer.

Read Them

Enjoy them, learn from them.

Krazy Kat and Little Nemo can be read at The Comic Strip Library
Mr. Skygack can be read at Comic Book Plus

Dear Disney, Sally is a Princess

Dear Disney,

You missed a princess. You left Sally off your list of Disney Princesses.

Sally is the kind and courageous deuteragonist of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

It's a glaring omission to refuse her a place in the Disney princess pantheon.

Maybe you think she's not a princess. But I would like to point out that Mulan was a soldier and Pocahontas was the daughter of the Chief. They are not princesses.

She is a princess in every way but title. Though she is the love of the Pumpkin King.

Sally is a great role model for little girls.

• She promotes self acceptance. She looks like uniquely herself. She doesn't try to change that. 
• She overcomes obstacles, including imprisonment. 
• She shows wisdom, when she recognizes the folly of Jack's plan and fights to save Santa Claus. 
• She's giving. She packs a lovely picnic basket for Jack to enjoy while he works in his laboratory. 

I say it's high time for Sally to take her place among the Disney Princesses.

Signed,
Kit

Tidying a Disordered Brain with a Computer Game

A Brain Out of Order

For the last few days, my brain has been completely out of order. I'm at stress level orange. I haven't been able to focus on any one drawing for longer than a few minutes. I keep skipping from idea to idea.  I've nailed down a few causes for my problem but cures are harder to come by.

Sketchbook

My sketchbook reflects my disordered brain. The pages are filling with doodles and half-hearted, half-conceived ideas. I push myself to keep going. I'm at 154 hours of practice. But drawing isn't helping my state of mind.

 Binging on Media

I've been binge listening to Welcome to Nightvale, watching Rocko's Modern Life and playing Lego Batman 2.

Nightvale

I'm not normally a shipper. But Welcome to Nightvale has the sweetest love story. <3 Cecil and Carlos <3

Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life is classic. I haven't watched it since I was little. I like it even more now. I get more of the jokes.

Computer Games

The last immersive computer games I played were Tomb Raider, Simtower and the Sims. My greatest joy in Sims was cheating remorselessly. The one thing I remember best about Simtower were those evil roach infestations. I wasn't so great at Tomb Raider. Lara died a lot. But that was a long time ago.

Lego Batman 2

I bought Lego Batman 2 on Steam Powered. I wanted something fun as a reintroduction to computer games after a decade away. I got exactly what I wanted with Lego Batman 2.

I had a couple technical glitches but after a little cursing I got it up and running.

This is a cliche but the graphics are amazing. Granted, this is being written by a person who last played a plot and story line computer game on a computer that ran on Windows 96

So far, my favorite location in the game is the Batcave. It speaks to my fangirl psyche. I get to wander around my own personal Batcave. I really appreciate having a whole city to explore where I can get jumped by handgun wielding penguins.

I like the keyboard controls. It didn't take long to learn them.

It may not cure my disordered mental state but saving Gotham City has proven to be a good way to focus and relax.

Illuminating Identity

I have been thinking about who I am lately. There is the person that I am and how I'm perceived. Art is the only place where those two people are united. The artwork is how I'm perceived and who I am. The goal is to develop my skill and my style so I can better express who I am and what I feel.

I spent time over the weekend exploring the illuminated manuscripts at bl.uk. The bl.uk is a fantastic resource. It has scans of beautiful illuminated manuscripts and a very useful keyword search.

I also watched several tutorials on graffiti. The Steven's Art Studio Advanced Graffiti Tutorial is the best I have found yet. Illuminated letters seem to be old school Wildstyle to me.

As I explored the illuminated manuscripts, I started doodling my name. I think it's important to be willing to experiment. Try the same thing over and over, and refine with each step. I started with the top Kit then started experimenting with incorporating new details like the outline and the swirls on the second Kit.

As of 11/10/14, I'm at 134 hours. Aside from exploring illuminated manuscripts and graffiti, I'm working on learning perspective and drawing dynamic poses by quick sketching complicated perspectives and difficult poses. It's time to get back to work.

Drawing Samurai

The mission continues. 

Current Total - 123 Hours.

Big Obvious Revelation

The only way to get better is to work at it.

Draw, Study, Draw again, Study some more.

Everything drawing will have mistakes. There will be problems to be overcome. As long as you keep moving forward and learning ways to avoid those mistakes in the future, then you're doing great.

This Drawing

Phelan Davion has a fantastic collection of stock photography on Deviantart. I based my samurai drawing off one of his photos.

I find that I like drawing warriors. I like their strength.

I know I'm improving. I feel in the process and I can see it in the result.  I will focus on the fact that I created a drawing that I really like and enjoyed working on. I will also apply the lessons I've learned from working on this.

The Last Page of a Sketchbook

I remember in grade school reading a book about a girl that kept notebooks. She wished that someone would come along and give her a clean notebook so she could have the pleasure of starting fresh with clean and empty pages. She didn't want to have to fill those last pages. I don't feel that way. 

I filled every page of this sketchbook. I filled it with Moomin, life drawing, Batman, Kirby, birds, and exercises. A variety of random stuff. 

I can flip through the pages and see my progress. I can see the benefits of my training (Current total=113 hours). When I first opened this sketchbook, I couldn't have accomplished the drawings on the last. 

I can also see the many areas that I need to improve.

Flipping through the pages, I had a vague revelation, an undefined epiphany. I want to get better. I want to do something with this activity that makes me happy. I don't know what yet. But I'm going to work on that.

The Last Page

The Brick of Love

I'm at 106 hours. I spent my lunch with Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse. Here's Ignatz pitching a brick of love at Krazy.

I am very dissatisfied with my skills with shadows and shading. It helps to think about where the light is coming from by imagining the little lamp shining on the scene. 

My favorite tutorial on shading and shadows so far is Proko's. 

The only way to get better is to get back to work. So I'm going to do just that and keep working my way through every tutorial I can get my hands on.

10,000 hours to Mastery

It's a myth. But it's also a truth. 10,000 hours of meaningful study and practice could make someone a master.

I have been drawing for years. But I've never been satisfied with my level of skill or the results of my efforts.

So I'm making a concentrated effort to become a master using a method that had worked for me in the past. I'm keeping a time sheet. As of today, I'm at 103 hours. I have a long way to go before I reach 10,000 but the way I look at it, I'm one-hundredth of the way there.

Simple Ideas for a Brighter Day

Fashion Magazine Collage

Materials
glue stick
paper or index cards
scissor
fashion magazine

My favorite sources for collage materials are fashion magazines. They are convenient and every color can be found inside their pages. 

Tip - Glue sticks are easy and doesn't cause the paper to wrinkle. Index cards are thicker than paper and hold up better to glue than printer paper.

Doodle Your Morning

Tools

Mirror

A white board marker

While you’re brushing your teeth, take a few moments to give yourself a mustache or a pirate hat. 

Tip - Test the marker to ensure it erases easily before going Picasso on your bathroom mirror. A new marker is cheaper than a new mirror.

Mashed Potato Man

Materials
A plate of mashed potatoes
A spoon

A big plate of mashed potatoes and a spoon can give you all the joy of making snowman with none of the frostbite.

Tip - Peas make good eyes, smiles and buttons. Carrots are perfect for noses.

Technicolor Applesauce

Materials
Apples
Frozen Fruit
Kitchen

Homemade Applesauce is simple. It’s apples and a little water. 

Put the cut and peeled apples in a saucepan. 
Add some water. 
Bring to a boil on the stove. 
Turn down to low and add the cover. 
Let it cook till the apples are soft. Stir occasionally.
Mash the apples. 

That’s it. It takes a little time and effort but it’s 100 times better than anything in a jar. 

So how do you make colorful applesauce? 

Step 1. Put that food coloring away. 
Step 2. Add a handful of fruit prior to cooking.

Red? Strawberries or cherries.
Blue? Blueberries.
Yellow? Peaches.
Purple? Raspberries.


Tip - Frozen fruit is perfect for this. Don’t bother defrosting them. Just add the frozen fruit to the apples before cooking. 

What Do You Want to See?

Exploring Visualization 

Determine Your Intent 

Decide what you want to know. It can be good practice to write it out. Sitting down and writing out your intent forces you to really consider what you are trying to accomplish or learn.
 

The White Room Visualization

The white room gives you a place to start. It's a place where you can be perfectly comfortable before pushing your way through the looking glass into a new and strange place.

Prepare

This will take as long as it takes. Find a quiet and private space. Relax. Sit up straight. Close your eyes.

Visualization

You are standing in a room with white walls and a hardwood floor. Above you is a glass dome light. It radiates a soft even light. In one wall, there is a window that looks out onto a bright blue sky and green fields. In the opposite wall there is a door. When you leave this room, you will find yourself somewhere different and beyond any place you can reach in the physical world. When you're ready, open the door.

Tips and Points

There's no instant gratification in this but there is great satisfaction. If you want an instant answer, buy an eight ball. 

Your answer lays beyond the door. But it's not looking for you, you're looking for it.

You can revisit the white room as many times as you need. Always start in the white room. The landscape around the room may change in your absence. 

Choose a landscape to explore. Jungle, city, beach? Go where it feels right. Let the visualization evolve naturally as you move towards your answer. Elements may appear and new doors may open.

Focus on finding an answer. Push expectations out of your mind.

What do I see?

I am frequently surprised at the way the answers come. I find answers to my questions but not always the ones I think I’m asking. Sometimes it answers a question I need to ask (kind of like Jeopardy). Sometimes I find a symbol that fits into a larger message that I don’t understand yet. It has taken me time and experience to learn to understand what I find.

How to Improve Your Mental Visualization

You have to work on it. It will take hard work to see improvement. It may be frustrating, time consuming and trying. Do you want to give up yet? 

The simplest way to make it easier is by choosing exercises that are fun and engaging. 

These exercises are best completed in a place that encourages focus. Some people like quiet, some people like noise. Do what works for you.
 

Exercises to Improve your Ability to Mentally Visualize  

Draw Common Objects

Drawing from your memory is an active task that needs you to visualize to accomplish it. The better you get at visualizing, the easier it becomes.

Steps

1. Close eyes, open mind.
2. With eyes closed, choose one object ( ex. apple, tree, bird, a dog). Whatever comes to mind.
3. Take a pen and pad (with your eyes open). Draw as many variations of the object as you can. Think of the object (eating apples, buying them at the supermarket).
4. When you run out of ideas, stop drawing. Put the pad away.
5. Look up pictures of the object. Study them.
6. A day or two later, draw the object again. Try to remember the pictures you studied.

Accuracy and artistic skill do not count. The point is not what's going on the page but inside your mind.

Try to remember the images you study. Pick elements of the pictures. (Do you see a pictures of a really cool tree? What makes it so cool? Remember that element to put it in the drawing.)

Variation: Close your eyes while you draw (after all, this isn't about the drawing, this is about the remembering).

Play a Movie in Your Mind

You have watched a movies, it's time to watch it again.

1. Close your eyes. 
2. Think of a movie (preferably one you've seen many times). 
3. Pick a scene. 
4. Think about what the characters are doing in the scene.
5. Play the scene inside your mind.

For instance, I have seen the movie Evolution a few times. While hunting an alien bird of prey in a mall, one of the heroes gets the idea to stand at a microphone and make noises to attract the bird. That scene always sticks in my head because when my dad watches it, he always starts imitating Sean William Scott. So I can see the movie playing on the television and my dad.

The goal is to see the scene playing. It can be easier to visualize a memory in motion.

I have found success with both exercises. But these are just two ways and there are so many more.

Monster Doodle Magick

Draw a Few Monsters and Make a Little Magick

Monstrum

a divine omen, supernatural appearance, wonder, miracle, portent

definition taken from An Elementary Latin Dictionary by Charlton Thomas Lewis

A monster can be a sweet creation of Jim Henson or a horror movie villain. Either way, they’re unique and beyond what we define as typical.

Personally, I like the Latin definition of monster. Monsters should be strange, fun and powerful. They should evoke a reaction.

Your monsters can embody ideas, emotions or intent. They can represent the elements or ideas. When empowered, they can be a source of aid.

How to Get Help Finding a Lost Object

Tools: Paper, Pen

Draw a furry little guy. Empower him. Ask him for help. 

For instance, ask him to find that gold bear your mom lost. Tell him it’s okay if he can’t find it. Just ask him to look for the gold bear and if he can find it, ask him to bring it back to you. Thank him for helping (Remember, he is doing you a favor).

 

Tips and Points for Drawing Unique Little Monsters

 

Enjoy yourself. Have fun. Be positive. Get excited. Experiment.

Embrace diversity. Unintended marks can make your drawing unique. 

Don't try to be perfect. Be yourself. I was born with a curve in my spine. My spine's not symmetrical and neither are my drawings. That's life and that's nature.

Get to know your monster. Tell yourself a little of his story. Does he hang out with dust bunnies? Does he manage a dive bar on the dark side of the moon?

Pick a point and start. Draw the eyes or the mouth then develop the rest of the head and body from there. This is assuming he has a head and a body. Neither feature is strictly required.

Less can be more. You are conveying an idea. You can do that with a few of lines. A smiley face is two periods and a 'U'.

Meditating through Dance

Meditation

The iconic concept of meditation is seated on the floor with legs crossed, eyes shut, and mind empty.

Sitting in contemplation is not relaxing to me and does not promote a sense of well being. Relaxing music has the paradoxical reaction. I don’t like sitting quietly because I do that enough.

Dancing at Midnight

To meditate, I crank the volume on my iPod and I dance. My mind and heart race. I work through the thoughts in my mind. I keep working until I reach a moment where everything is still.

Stories form in my mind. These visions frequently guide me towards solutions to my problems. They give me new perspectives on situations or ideas. I find strength in embracing the possibilities I can conjure with my mind.

The purpose of meditation is contemplation and to find peace. I can achieve both of these goals best when I'm moving and listening to music.

Why midnight? I like midnight. Also I don't want an audience. I can be as ridiculous or serious as I want.

Be a Toymaker

Tips for Creating Your Own Toys With 3-D Printing

Why not make your own toys? Dream up a character and make it real.

With 3-D printing, you can be a toymaker.

Here are some hints that I learned from making my toys.

Shapeways is a very reliable and user friendly site. You can upload your own models or order 3-D prints of models uploaded by other users.

Blender is a brilliant, free program that makes 3-D modeling accessible to anyone with a computer.

Tools: Blender, Shapeways

There are a multitude of tutorials and guides available that teach how to use Blender, including the comprehensive Blender Wiki (there is a wiki for everything).

Every sculpt starts with an image. Generally, I sketch out my idea then photograph the sketch and upload it to my computer. A scanner might be better but my scanner is more trouble than it's worth.

For sculptures, like my little Batman, I'll start the sculpt by roughing out the biggest parts (like the head and torso). After the biggest shapes are in place, I add further details.

Then I delete one half of the sculpt and create a mirror modifier. The mirror modifier reflects the image over a chosen axis.

As I work on the sculpture, I save iterations of the file (ex. LittleBat1, LittleBat2). This allows me to go back if I make a big mistake.

I find it simplest to sculpt in parts. The head, the neck, the belt, the legs, the arms, and the torso are all separate pieces. When I import the final .stl file to Shapeways, a solid object is printed from the intersecting parts.

To create the symbol on his chest, I drew a quick bat symbol and traced it in Blender. Then I used the knife projection tool to project it onto his torso. Before using the knife projection tool, I subdivided the faces on the torso (This improves the result of the projection). Then I selected the faces of the bat symbol and extruded the image.

It takes time to learn to use Blender and to learn how to design for 3-D printing. I learned by doing it. 

Come up with a project for yourself (ex. Sculpt Yakko, Wakko and Dot). Then complete the project from concept to print.

Chances are the first few sculpts will not be as good as you hope. But each project is a learning experience and a chance to develop a valuable skill. 

Above all else, have fun. You're making toys!

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/lunafactiondesigns

Embrace your Emotions and Draw

Learning to Draw with Emotion

I enjoy sketching. I have been studying to improve my skills as an artist. I have also been working to increase my satisfaction with my work.

I study the artwork of others and apply those lessons to my own work.

My favorite artists create work that is more than realistic. They elevate reality to a higher standard.

In my pursuit of becoming a better artist, I look to them. Among my favorites are Skottie Young and Dustin Nguyen. 

They create work that is vibrant. By studying them, I have learned to infuse my own work with emotion.

It's still new to me. I need to remind myself to think about what I'm drawing and why I'm drawing. I don't think anyone will feel a connection to my drawing if I can't.