Be a Doodler!

Meet Joe. Joe likes to doodle. But Joe was told not to doodle because it was a waste of time. Then Joe got a paid job to DOODLE! 
See Joe's inspiring story, then try a little doodling yourself!

All you need to be a doodler are pencils or markers or Sharpies (for older children/adults) and copy paper or your sketchbook.

Why should you doodle? Doodling helps to generate fresh ideas. Doodling distracts the mind from focusing on a given problem, allowing the unconscious mind to kick it around and inspire solutions. Doodling has even been shown to help us listen more intently to “boring” lectures! So instead of a distraction, doodling may actually help us to be better at whatever we are doing!

These doodles will be simple, fun line drawings. They can be cartoon-like. They don’t need to be realistic. They don’t need shading. Sharpies are great for doodling – no need to erase!

Here is a fun way to practice doodling. Give everyone a piece of copy paper and a marker or Sharpie. Pencils are okay if you can avoid using the eraser. Choose a simple fun theme, such as girls’ things, sweets, flowers, bugs, or fast food. Then doodle as many of these items as you can think of. Fill up your paper with doodles!

The above doodle is by illustrator Jake McDonald. 
You can see more of his doodle patterns at https://www.behance.net/gallery/10220405/Doodle-Patterns 

GAME: Doodle Buddies

Materials: pencils, pens, markers, or Sharpies (two different colors are great!) and any white paper (copy paper is perfect)

The first player draws (that is, doodles) any type of line on the paper. It could be a squiggle, a swirl, a zigzag, or anything else. Here are some examples. What do you see in these doodles?

The second player then turns the doodle into a picture of something using a different ink color. It helps to turn the doodle in different directions until you see something in it that you could draw. Now it is player two’s turn to draw a doodle for the first player to finish. Players (doodle buddies) continue to fill up the paper with their shared doodle art, then both artists can sign and date the finished artwork. From https://www.instructables.com/id/The-Doodle-Game/

Our next art project celebrates Earth Day, wildlife, and photography! Check out Wildlife in the City!