Creative Drawing is so much easier thank you . . . that you might already be doing it
How many of you doodle? I am a huge doodler. My mom will tell you she’s not artistic but I can tell you that if you looked on the kitchen counter she has at least one or two pieces of paper or old envelopes that she has drawn repetitive patterns or just circles or # type images. She says she does it a lot when she’s on the phone. It gives her hands and eyes something to do while she’s talking. I don’t think she’s the only person that does creative drawing, without thinking they are doing creative drawing. Wink wink.
Creative doodling is fun and serves a purpose. It kills boredom. How many times have you been watching a movie where the character is sitting in a classroom and it’s almost the end of the day and they’re just staring at the clock and they’re tapping their feet or tapping their pencil or doodling either on their desk or on paper or on their body or something else they’re not supposed to. It’s almost a natural phenomenon.
Creative doodling on its own can be fun. Let’s talk about how you can get started. You literally only need a piece of paper and a pencil to get started. If you’re like my mom you could grab an envelope that came in the mail that you haven’t recycled yet.
You can use lined paper, you can use graph paper or you can use paper you snagged out of the office copier. I used to take so much printer paper out of my dad’s printer at home. Sorry Dad I’m pretty sure you already knew this but I’m apologizing now or something I did thirty years ago. LOL
To get started in some simple doodling there is this fabulous blogger called the Activity Mom, who writes about drawing through the alphabet. She takes one letter of the alphabet and teaches you how to turn it into an animal or creature.
Check this out it’s super impressive and very easy to follow. I use this with my summer camp kids who are in elementary school and they absolutely love it! I print out each of the different letters on pieces of paper and they can take their time on whatever letter and drawing they please.
I got this image from her website. You can check them out there or on Pinterest.
Creative doodling can be as simple as a stick figure. Try drawing one standing up, then sitting down, then running. It’s just that simple. You can make stick figure animals and creatures as well. This website outlines a TON of things to try for your next boredom buster!
Some of my favorite books growing up were Ed Emberley’s Thumbprint Drawing book . We used to fight over checking it out in the school library as kids. There was one version and now there are TONS of different themes.
They’re much more than 20 different theme books with different topics like Halloween and people and animals etc. He also has a series that’s based on different colors.
But the cool thing is all you have to do is stamp your finger or thumb down on a piece of paper and turn it into a doodle. How seriously easy and adorable is that?! You and your kids can also follow him at www.edemberley.com. The fun never stops with these books.
When you first start out with doodling or sketching I recommend a number 2 pencil or a 2B, 4B pencil. The LED is softer and easier to erase. This site has some pretty cool instructional images of how to draw eyes, nose, ears, and bodies. It’s not quite as step-by-step as somebody who is a novice in drawing but this might be for somebody who’s familiar and comfortable with pencil and paper. Obviously you need to dedicate some time and concentration to doing this. And don’t think that you’re going to be able to draw the perfect eye the first time. It’s like riding a bicycle. It takes some time and practice and some patience to go on top and pretty soon you’re a pro and doodle at your leisure without thinking about it.
You don’t have to be a Vincent van Gogh on your first go-around. Keep your artwork simple. You can draw with a pencil and eraser and some paper. You can look at other people’s Doodles and try to copy them.
You can check out books from the library that are step-by-step artist instruction books . With the World Wide Web almost anything is possible when it comes to finding inspiration for your doodles.
Check this little gem out that I found at a thrift store. 642 Tiny Things to Draw. They sell it on Amazon and it’s a cute little portable sketch book for tiny things. Every page is literally a blank piece of paper with a prompt typed on it.
For example they ask you to draw an eraser or they ask you to draw a Bitcoin, Perhaps they ask you to draw the people on a front door or a spy camera. They’re all tiny little things that only take a minute or two to draw that just get you into the practice of drawing everyday.
As you can see there are tons of ways to get started becoming a doodler. I have a feeling you probably already are you just may want to increase the amount of time that you doodle with a little extra practice and possibly some books or images for guidance. When I find images that I like I typically screenshot them onto my phone and use them as reference when I want to go back and draw.
Take a chance and start doodling today! Happy Arting!
