Pareidolia and Art

[nimadez]

Hi, I have a question and sorry for my bad english language...

when you draw or paint something, you realize your imagination or draw/paint what you see in canvas or paper?!

for example, when I draw circle like face outline, I see eyes, nose, lips and other things in my mind on paper, then fill the areas (like copying!) and see another details and fill area again...and so on...
or when draw one eye, unconsciously visualize another eye, then nose coming, ears, lips and at last I have a complete face!!

for example, when painting sky and clouds, I see lots of faces in clouds and begin to drawing them...

I really can't imagine something and draw it on paper, I just can visualize and draw what I see on paper!!!

I draw more than 1000 of faces by visualization, from alien and bug like beings to humans and elf's, but problem is I just see faces!!! no tree, gun, house, nature or even another parts of body...

also I see multi-million faces in clouds, mountains, gardens, and any other chaotic random patterns...even TV noises!!!...

is it normal?!

I think suffer from unusual high level of creativity, another idea is right-parietal part of my brain is abnormal (because this area related to recognization of face)

note: I don't complete any art school, I learn art by this visualization....

Thanks & Sorry for my bad grammar

[Mirana]

The human face is easy to construct or abstract (like: :) ) and if you have studied faces more than objects (which everyone does on a normal basis) then they will be easier to "make up."

also I see multi-million faces in clouds, mountains, gardens, and any other chaotic random patterns...even TV noises!!!...

is it normal?!

Yes. Our brains like to put faces on things; to find familiar shapes in forms.

[Hyskoa]

If I were you, I would definitly consult a doctor. And a psychiatrist. And an optometrist. And a faith-healer. And ofcourse a verbal coach for the verbal diarrhea. It's a rare affliction which makes everything in your life sound artsy fartsy. Extremely dangerous and quite lethal.

Good luck.

[CCThrom]

Yeah it's normal... the term is "pareidolia". Though it sounds like you've got it pretty bad. Look it up on the internet. Maybe start here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

[nimadez]

Dear Mirana, I don't see something like this ":-)", I see complete face, even see pupils, nose corners, form of lips and even inside ears...they even sometimes have hair...even have perspective...(but never have color :))

Dear Hyskoa, I don't suffer from mental illness or schizophrenia, I just see them and I know there is all inside my brain...I never call them spirits, angels or telepathy from ghosts...there is all reflection of my mind and concepts...
when I am depressed, faces I draw feels more depressed, when I am happy, faces express good emotions...

I don't post it here to find cure, I feel good with it...All I need to know is, does anyone use such visualizations to drawing arts or just use mental imagination!?

[nimadez]

Ohhhhh...dear CCThrom you makes me happy!!!!...

I read wikipedia link, this is exactly what I experience!!!

I even have that auditory illusions (but I don't said that here, because peoples think I suffer from schizophrenia), yes...I can hear or make musics within my brain in Right-temporal lobe, almost like opera musics or sound of wind...like lots of womans singing AAAAaaahhhaaaa with rhythms I produce....

special thanks to you...

[Elwell]

CCthrom beat me to the pareidolia link. There are specific regions of the brain dedicated to face recognition, because it's so biologically/evolutionarily important. It sounds like yours may be wired up a little unusually, kind of like the way some people have synesthesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia). It almost sounds like you have the opposite of face blindness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_blindness). Although not strictly "normal," it doesn't sound like a problem, and could lead to some interesting art.

[nimadez]

yes, my illustrations is almost faces and characters...I have realllly good ideas in creature design, but there are lack of technical knowledge...I learn many technics by myself with over-time practice and read some books, but my works still looks like unreal and amateur...good example is my avatar...first I draw a bug, then paint over it and bug slowly turn to reptile like something, when add more details, I saw this alien like creature and finished my work...
my arts usually more like hybrid of many creatures...almost have snake inside this hybrids :)

But I still practice and learning, hope become good character designer...
Art is not my job, Im professional computer engineer and web designer/developer, I love art just to realize my visualizations...

Here is the some few examples of my sketchbook, All from pure visualizations...

http://nimadez.fileave.com/sketchbook.jpg

I don't understand why all of my faces looking at left-side!!!
Possibly this is about brain hemispheres!!!

http://nimadez.fileave.com/alien.jpg

This is my latest CG painting, done by Corel Painter X and some re-touching in Photoshop CS3

Sorry if look amateur

[nimadez]

I think slowly understand why Art could be talent...and how talent most be developed by practice and study of technical knowledges...

[aussiedeza]

I draw more than 1000 of faces by visualization,

note: I don't complete any art school, I learn art by this visualization....



Your never going to get anywhere like that start doing some referenced/life studies and of course learn the basics.

[nimadez]

Dear aussiedeza, first thanks for your idea, but...

I don't want to be professional artist or become another andrew jones, I'm professional Web designer/developer in high-end IT company and I love my job...
I practice art only as fun, to express my creativity, to fill my free times, it's like playing game for me...I use Art as a tool to free my mind, get relax, boost my creativity and lost in vivid dreams...
Another problem is I don't have enough free-time to practice drawing from reference/life and other guides...

I'm not serious in art, I just play with it...like kids!

[CCThrom]

I'm glad you appreciate the link... and by the way, I'm also rather sensitive to seeing faces in clouds, wood grain, floor tiles, etc. My last apartment had some blue speckly linoleum floors and I would constantly pull faces, characters, sometimes full figures out of the patterns.

I never had audio with it though... sounds like maybe synasthasia. That's when a sensory input comes in through a different sense channel than normal. Like some people can literally see music, or smell color... things like that.

I had a friend in college who was a jazz musician that learned to paint. He could actually see music while he was painting. His paintings were mostly still lifes but the colors and brush strokes, to him, were instruments and musical notes. Interesting stuff.

[nimadez]

Im not sure if this is good place to show my amateur drawing and paintings, but it's highly related to topic name...because all of them created by pareidolia visionaries!!...I see them before realize them!!!
I think pareidolia have relationship with some of the great artists in the human history (exclude me :))

I really feel shame to post this amateur works here, please don't laugh :)

http://nimadez.fileave.com/sketchbook1.jpg

http://nimadez.fileave.com/OrangeDesert.jpg

(first is from my sketchbook and second is digital painting in Painter X)

[nimadez]

WoW thats interesting to painting musical instruments, he most be more sensitive than me, possibly have my disease in higher degrees!!!

I thing prehistoric cave paintings and shamanic arts have some relationship with pareidolia, but not as a natural disease...more like artificial drug-induced synasthasia and hallucinations!!!

I screw-up google and wikipedia for 2 years, but never find "pareidolia" article, all I find is synasthasia, hallucination, hypnogogic trance and other stuff...CCthrom you are my angel...now I feel more comfortable about my disease, because I know it's name :)