Doodle Drawings

Develop your doodle drawings technique by trying out this exercise called "Close Your Eyes And Create".

Here's what you need to do:

•   Find a pen (not a pencil) and a piece of paper and get comfortable.

•   Place your paper sideways to give yourself some space.

•   Play your favorite music.

•   Take a few deep breaths.

•   Put your pen on the paper and close your eyes.

•   Try to feel your way into the music and move your pen across the paper as you respond to the music.

•   Allow your hand to move whichever way it wants to. Don't think about what you are producing, just let the pen do its thing.

•   Experiment with the length of time that suits you. If you stay too long, you probably won't make anything out of the busy scribble.

•   When you stop moving the pen, open your eyes.

•   Study the result. Can you see anything within the myriad of lines -- a face, an animal, a building or maybe symbols? Use your imagination to find a multitude of objects or things.

•   When you spot something, grab your color pencils, a felt tip pen or whatever is your preference and bring it out by emphasis.

There's nothing to stop you from turning your page around as you study your doodle drawings to find symbols. Just keep rotating your page until you stumble upon something that catches your eye.

If you think your page is too messy, do another and remember to keep it shorter than last time. This is an excellent exercise because you are only seeing lines and shapes. It's a great way to kick start your creativity.

I didn't think I'd be showing anyone my doodle drawings, let alone this first attempt, but I want you to experience it, to see how liberating this exercise is and how you can benefit from it.

Ok, now I have to admit that when I first did mine, I used a pencil so it hasn't scanned very well. You should still be able to see what I managed to highlight with color pencils.

I recommend a pen because it makes objects more prominent and easier for you to identify. Also, if you need to erase, you won't ruin your original doodle.

Here is my first musical doodle:

It's interesting to note how you subconsciously highlight things that pertain to your life.

Here is how I interpret mine:

I figure that I am the girl in the center. My granddaughter calls my husband "Boo-boo" (long story) and I find it intriguing that the female figure has a ghost figure to the left and more ghosts to the right. Then there is the hand symbol for number one. That confirms he is a very important person in my life.

I must tell you that I added the fingers to give the hand symbol more clarity, you are allowed to fine tune your doodle however you like! That was the only adjustment I made.

I saw some waves here and there so I colored them blue. I also colored in some plants. (Yes, I love the water and plants).

I think the yellow part is meant to represent the sun on the plants, I can't quite remember what I was thinking at the time, I did this one some months ago now!

The point is that I wasn't actively looking for things pertaining to me, I was involved in bringing out the shapes of things I recognized. It was only later that I realized its meaning. Spooky, hey?

But wait, there's more!

Once you finish the above process, you can now move on to creating an entirely new canvas using elements that you particularly liked in your original doodle drawing.

Leave the scrawl behind and select outlines that you liked.

You created images that normally would not come from your imagination so this new artwork is unique and completely original to you.

This exercise is not only good fun but it motivates you to continue drawing and creating.

I really regret not writing down the name of the song that I was listening to so please remember to do that on your sheet.

This idea was introduced to me by a lovely lady named Leah from Creative Everyday. Thank you, Leah.

You only need to let go and play with new ideas when you draw, you will surprise yourself and your interest will never wane.

Doodle drawings can be much more than idle scrawl so make sure you take the time to discover why they evolved from your pencil.