Doodling 101

First, you need some materials to draw with. Pencils, crayons, markers, anything will do! Personally I love to work with colors, but many people work with black and whites. For pens, I recommend Sharpies. For markers, crayons, and pencils I would recommend Crayola. Any cheaper brand isn't worth your money, they are cheap and bad quality.

If you want to doodle with straight lines you will need a ruler. Just an old plastic ruler will do! Fun, right? If you want to have large amounts of details then you will need a pencil sharpener if your working with pencils, and a crayon sharpener if you are working with crayons.... Now if your working with pens, you won't need a pencil sharpener! :)

Another item you will need is paper. Regular printing paper will do, and you can pick up a large pack of 200-500 sheets of it almost anywhere! You can use white paper board, or even note book paper. Personally I wouldn't recommend notebook paper because it is so thin, it rips easily and leaks through even easier!

When you start To Doodle use your imagination! Close your eyes and go into thought for just a second... think of patterns, swirls, colors, or anything else. Decide where your pen should touch the paper first! Your doodle doesn't have to be anything in particular. It does not have to be a person, or landscapes, flowers or hearts. It can be anything you want! The entire idea of doodling is to unlock, use, and let your imagination go wild!

Nothing you draw is "wrong", it's all perfect because it's drawn by you.

Another thing is to save your doodles, they are all awesome. Saving them in a folder to use an reference or inspiration later is always great!

Once you have an idea for your doodle and your excitement, just let go. Start drawing... now!
You can do it, don't worry about messing up. Remember it's your drawing, therefore, you cannot mess it up! Scribbles and colors, patterns and designs, go wild!

Put that design from your head, that excitement from your heart, down on the paper! Just do the big parts for now, and don't stress over the details too much for now.

If you want to sketch down your designs first in pencil then color over them, remember to sketch lightly. If you do not sketch lightly you can dent, rip, or ruin the paper, and see the sketch lines through the colors.... Especially if your using a light color.

Now it's time to add details to your doodle. The large portions of the drawing are done. Now add smaller details, small lines, dots and little swirls. Maybe some scratch patterns in the crayon using a tooth pick. Blend the colors using markers, etc. I love to add a dotted frame around my doodles, sometimes in different colors! Lines and swirls are great details as well.

Now don't forget to sign your art, it's art even if it's called a doodle! Sign with your name or a symbol, an initial or pen name!

Now that your doodle is finished, what do you do with it? Well I know from experience that family loves doodles, (especially grand parents, or in my case, (my Grandmom! XD) Hang it on your wall, or save it to make a collage. Give it to a firend, or scan in into your computer, and post it on your blog, or post it on deviantArt. deviantArt is social website for artists! Find it at http://www.deviantart.com.

I have heard other ideas like making cards for kids in the hospital, or homeless kids, (or so on.) Children can turn their doodle art into cards for family! Once again don't forget to use your imagination, you are an artist after all! Do something creative with your new art!

If when you finish your doodle and you step back and look at it for a few moments you don't like remember that we are all still learning. Do not expect to be perfect the first time, or the next time, or the next. Don't expect to be perfect ever! Over time you will improve, I promise. Just keep at it, and let your imagination and heart guide you!

Keep going! Save your old drawings to look back upon, and see your improvement over the days, months, or even years. That always helps me!

It's your drawing, it's just how you like it! So remember, it's just right for you!

Still need a little help with doodling? Or want to take your doodling to the next level and dive into art journaling? I recommend you check out Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls