Eleanor Kwei
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EDITOR Linda FalkenDESIGN Tim Palin Creative
Doodles featured in this book are used with permission from: A. Lindholm, L. Lindholm, E. Kwei, R. Kelly, H. Van Asseult, and W. Pomeroy
This book is part of The Art of Doodling kit and is not to be sold separately.
ISBN-13: 978-1-937994-17-4
Printed in China
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www.racepointpub.com
C ontents TurningDoodlesintoArt 4
1 JustMakingMarks 9
2 AbstractGeometrics 29
3 Organics:PatternsDerivedfromNature 37
4 RepresentationalArt 59
5 LiteralArt:WordsandSymbols 71
6 TheHardware—NotSoHard! 79
7 DoodledArtsandCrafts 88
LettingGoofYourArtwork 94
HowtoUseYourDoodleJournal 96
Turning Dood les into Art
Manypeopledoodle—whileonthephone,attendingclassesormeetings,orjustsittingaroundwaiting,withapeninhand,scrappapernearby.Itseemsthatmostpeopledoodlewhilethey’reconfinedtoonespot,engagedinaconversationorattendingalecture,andthey’reinarelaxedstate,allowingapartoftheirmindtowanderwhiletalkingorlistening.Doodlingisnotathinkingactivitybutaspontaneousone,subliminal,personal,andultimatelyrevealing.
Ifyou’veeverseenyourfriendsorcoworkersdoodling,youmighthavenoticedthatpeopledoodlethesametypesofthings—lines,words,stickfigures,geometricshapes—buthavedistinct,instantlyrecognizablestyles.Thespecificimagescanbetelling,likehabits,semiconsciouslyexpressingthedoodler’sexperiencesandwishes.
Whatifyoucouldharnessyourdoodles—thatverypersonalvisuallanguage—andgentlyexpandanddevelopthemintoartisticshowpieces?Thefollowingchapterswillintroduceyoutoabroadimagevocabulary.Ifyouarealreadyadoodler,startwithwhatyou’vealwaysdone.Ifyouarenotadoodler,trysomeoftheexercisesthatinterestyouonpracticepaper.Whenyoubegintofeelmorecomfortable,attemptsomeoftheexercisesintheaccompanyingDoodleJournal,whereeasy-to-followpromptswillhelpeaseyouintofillingagivenspacewithdoodles.
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TheobjectiveofthisguideandtheexercisesintheDoodleJournalaretoenableyoutodevelopabroaderartvocabulary.Thenyouwillbefreetoincorporateyourownsourcesofinspirationinyourownuniquestyleandexpressyourselfcreativelythroughdoodles,anywhere,anytime.Evensimpleshapescanturnintothemostelaboratedoodles.
6 • A Guide to Dood ling
Does Dood ling Help with C oncentration? Somepeoplethinkdoodlinghelpswithconcentrationbyprovidingafocusfortheeyesandhandswhilethemindabsorbsinformation.Accordingtoleft-brain/right-braintheorists,thetwosidesofthebrainoftenworktogethertohelpuscopeorhandleproblems.Doodlingisverymuchanactivityoftherightbrain(inthemoment,intuitive,instinctive,creative,musical,recognizingfacesandpatterns).Thefunction,however,maybetoaidtheleftbrain(linear,methodical,analytical,logical,reasoning,thinkinginlanguage)inprocessinginformation.
Right-braindoodling(drawingspontaneously,jfillingaspacewithoutaplan)
Left-braindoodling(planning,measuring,dividing,consideringratios)
Turning Dood les into Art • 7
Left-brain dood ling
Right-brain dood ling
8 • A Guide to Dood ling
Chapter 1
Just Making Marks
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Orion
UrsaMajor
10 • A Guide to Dood ling
Minimalist Art
Coverasmallareawithdots.Dottingquicklyoftenleavestiny“tails”thatkeepthedotsfromlookingclean.Soifyouwanttomakedotsthatareneat,takeyourtimeandplacethemdeliberatelyonthepaper.Considermixingsizesandvaryingspacing.Thentakeyourdotstothenextstagebyusingcoloredmarkers.Differentsizemarkerswillcreatearangeofdotsizes.Upclose,dotslookslikedots.
DotsInthischapter,you’lldiscoverhowthemostbasicmarkscanholdtheirowninsophisticationandbeauty.Startwithsimpledots.Well-placedabstractdotarrangementsareoftenseeninsophisticatedminimalistart,butthereisnothingnewabouttheappreciationofworkingwithdots.Fivethousandyearsago,theGreeksgroupedbrightdotstogethertoidentifyconstellationsinthenightsky.
It’shardnottoassociatecoloreddotswiththeFrenchImpressionistGeorgesSeurat(1859–1891).Hisscientificallybasedpointillismtechniqueinvolvedjuxtaposingdotstocreateapainting.
Seuratplaceddotsofpurecolorclosetoeachotherinmeasuredratios,allowingviewerstovisuallymixthecolorsonthecanvas.IfyoulookataSeuratpaintingcloseup,itlookslikeajumbleofdots.Butwhenyoustandatadistance,thedotscometogethertoformacohesiveimage.
Theleaf(above)waspaintedinthepointilliststyle.Thesmallerimageisadetailshowingtheindividualdots.Paintinglikethistakespatience,butthesubtlybeautifulresultswillbeworthyourwhile.
Just Making Marks • 11
12 • A Guide to Dood ling
LinesLinesdefinestructureanddirecttheeyestowardfocalpoints.Thereisadefinitivequalityaboutlines,includingcurvedones,butdrawnlinescandepicteventheorganicformsfoundinnature.Onewaytohavelinesbemorenaturalandforgivingistosoftenthemorusebrokenlines.Ifyou’rehavingtroubledrawingfreely,trylooseningyourgriponthepenandrelaxing(butnotbending)yourwrist.Thepentipshouldbarelytouchthepaper.
Mostarchitectscandrawverystraightlinesfreehand,andanyonecandrawalinethat’sprettystraight.Butbewarned:ifyouwanttodrawaperfectlystraightlinefreehand,itwilltakelotsofpractice!
Just Making Marks • 13
Another example of how you can soften a shape by using a light touch
14 • A Guide to Dood ling
Stripes (Paral lel Lines)
Just Making Marks • 15
Anything goes in dood ling. In this form of self-expression, there is no good or bad, no right or wrong, nothing to prove or judge. The key is to relax and simply do it.
Extra Credit Aninterestingeffectcanbeachievedbymakingyourparallellinesflowoverforms,asinastripedfabricdrapedoveranobject.
16 • A Guide to Dood ling
Just Making Marks • 17
Curvy LinesHumansarenaturallydrawntocurves.Observethecurvedlinesyouseeonthehumanbody,innature,andinobjectsaroundyou.Practicemovingyourwristtodrawsmallcurvedlines.Todrawlarge,sweepingcurves,moveyourwholearm.
ArenderingafterHenriMatisse’sDancers
18 • A Guide to Dood ling
Tocreateshapesandpatterns,makeyourcurvylinesintersect.
Becomingcomfortablewithdrawingsmooth,curvylinesenablesyoutodepictmanyeffectsofnature,suchascloudsinthesky,blowingwindorflowingwater,orthecurvedlinesofgrassandleaves.
