Almost 5 percent of our population lives with aphantasia. They cannot visualize things.
Researcher Mathew MacKisack spoke to artists, designers, and architects who have aphantasia - how do they work as visual artists without being able to visualize inside their head?
Aphantasics can remember visual details but cannot see them.
Take Glen Keane, who drew the Little Mermaid - he has aphantasia. How does he do it? It's because he knows what humans and fish look like, and combines that with drawing experience and skills to create Ariel.
Another thing - we visualize things inside the brain, but when we draw, it's right in front of us. Many aphantasic artists need to get something down on paper or canvas, or start with a pre-existing image which they can change.
Mathew's work challenges the stereotype of an artist who imagines inside and creates outside. For many aphantasics, creativity is found in the world around them.
Original article:
The art of Aphantasia: how ‘mind blind’ artists create without being able to visualise