Like my friend, I’ve always tried to find time each day for creative play. I think doodling is a great way to get jazzed up for the morning’s activities, but for some reason the reverse is true in the evening when I find it relaxing and soothing. I doodle on anything that holds still - postcards, photo mats, index cards, whatever is handy. When my favorite art supply store had a sale last month I treated myself to a beautiful small scale artist’s sketchbook that will hold a daily dose of doodling along with drawings and journal entries.
A distinct benefit of doodling is that it can lead to drawing if you let it. Even the most random or abstract marks begin to look like leaves, flowers, animals, figures or faces. The more you use your pens and markers, the better you understand how to control the lines and shapes you create. The more you use your eyes and hands together, the more fun it becomes.
Doodling Loves Company!
Entice a group of friends to start doodling journals, swap ornaments or postcards, send mail if the group is in different cities or share snacks and your creations in person if people are close by.
Meanwhile, here are four super easy projects to help you get started:
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1. Doodle A Poodle & Mat A Cat
It’s fun to cover pre-cut mats with doodling, but this time the mat takes back stage to the doodling and words that are centered within the opening.
Pick two or three pens in colors that please you. I used Sakura Gelly Roll® Moonlight® pens in purple, pink and blue. Use one color for most of the line work, the other(s) for small accents. No need to be realistic, the goal is to create something that is part pattern and part cartoon. If you work large you may want pens with wider nibs, but for small projects fine points are the best choice.
Instead of a poodle or a cat, doodle a flower or plant, vase, hat, funky sunglasses, leaves, butterfly or whatever you choose. Tip: Make a few quick sketches on inexpensive paper before you make the drawing you plan to mat. That way you know it will fit. I used bright white watercolor paper that has a slight texture, but smoother Bristol board or cardstock are both good options.
If you’re not sure when to stop, place your drawing and mat where you can glance at it for a day or two. Trust your eye. If it seems to need more (more swirls, more colors, more pattern to fill some of the areas, or anything else) keep working on it. It’s not a race or a contest. Some artists work on their pieces for weeks, months or even years, revising or adding again and again.
2. A Doodle A Day Keeps The Doctor Away Journal
One of my college drawing teachers had us tear an expensive sheet of drawing paper into tiny confetti-size pieces as a way of teaching us not to be intimidated by “good” supplies. It annoyed me, but I’ve never forgotten the lesson. This little sketchbook, a Cartiere Miliani Fabriano Artist’s Journal with 12 elegant colors of Fabriano Ingres 90 gsm mould-made acid free lightfast paper cost over $20. I’m keenly aware that most people would fill it with Important Drawings made during Meaningful Travel, interspersed with Serious Thoughts. I, on the other hand, loved the colors and decided to give my daily doodles a nice home. Who knows, I might add collage, draw with pastels, or take the book in another direction at some point. I will show how the Journal evolves in months to come.
For now, I have doodled on the front cover only, using Sakura Gelly Roll® Moonlight® pens. Treat yourself to a nice sketchbook with good quality paper; make sure it’s a size that feels right. I like something small enough for purse or tote bag - this one is 5” x 7” - substantial without being too heavy.
3. S is For…A Letter Made Better
S is for Sara, sunrise, spoon, sunrise, surf, sand, seven and Sakura!
Craft stores sell a wide variety of inexpensive, pre-painted wood letters and numbers. They’re a great surface for doodling. They’re fun for kids and teens to make for themselves or as gifts. Single letters look great on doors or inside a locker; they’re a fun activity at a party, ideal as take home favors. Spell out a word or date for a wall, mantel, or as party décor.
I used Sakura’s PenTouch® Gold for the lettering, added pattern details with a Sakura Gelly Roll® Moonlight® pen and more PenTouch Gold, but you can use as many colors as you want. Words can curve and swirl with the shape of the letter as shown, or you can construct rows like in a book. Combine big and small sizes, or keep them all equal.
4. Ornament Swap Tin
Die cut shapes like holiday ornaments are a fun surface for doodling. Host an Ornament Swap with a group of friends and each person will have plenty to hang on next year’s tree. Each person can decorate a slim tin so the ornaments will have a good home the rest of the year - an ornament on top announces the contents. Or make tins filled with ornaments to give as gifts. If you start now you’ll be finished long before Santa’s services are needed. Tuck pens and ornaments into a baggie and take it with you when you go to the doctor’s office; doodle an ornament or two while watching a movie on television - you’ll have dozens before you know it. It’s an easy, portable project with minimal materials needed.
Start with heavy watercolor paper or cardstock, die cut the shapes, doodle with your favorite Sakura pens (shown: Gelly Roll® Glaze® and PenTouch® Gold).
Options: Instead of holiday ornaments, die cut bookmarks or gift card envelopes, gecko lizards, butterflies, Easter eggs, donkeys or elephants, school letters, stars, flowers, or other shapes.
Ornament die: AccuCut
Tin: Artist’s Own
Check out all of these exciting doodling pens at www.sakuraofamerica.com!
To find the products mentioned in this article and shown in these layouts, check with your local scrapbook retailer. Browse our Premier Retail Stores for coupons to a store near you.
