Sketchbook Assignment: Doodling 20 pts. How many times have you heard
someone say, with a self- belittling tone of voice, “I can't really draw, I can only ...
Sketchbook Assignment: Doodling 20 pts How many times have you heard someone say, with a selfbelittling tone of voice, “I can’t really draw, I can only doodle”? If you decide to take doodling seriously and develop it into finished pieces, you will be working in a form of abstract drawing that can be very sophisticated. One of the features that denotes doodling and distinguishes it from scribbling is that it has designed patterns instead of randomly placed marks. You build one line off another, until the drawing grows into larger and larger forms of designed patterns. Doodles can be as unstructured as figures 1.5 and I.6, as elaborately structured as the freehand one in figure 1.7, or as mechanically exact (perfect shapes, ruler use, etc.) as those done with templates and stencils. The main feeling you want to focus on when doodling is letting the drawing unfold by itself on the paper. Doodle Exercise: Set aside a period of uninterrupted time for this exercise, creating a quiet and relaxed atmosphere, perhaps with some music. Instructions: Create 2 drawings on separate sheets of paper in your sketchbook. 1. Unstructured: For your first drawing, start anywhere you want on one sheet of paper and let the first line flow out of a feeling. Without planning, randomly let the next line grow out of what is already there, repeating this over and over, until your drawing takes on an overall look that you like and gives you a feeling of being finished. Be sure to fill at least 75% of your page. Change from one kind of pen or pencil to another, to give the drawing a variety of thick and thin line and some interesting textures. 2. Structured: For your second drawing, start anywhere you want on a new sheet of paper, with a single line that flows from your feelings. Then stop and do some loose planning. For instance, think in terms of whether you want mostly angular lines or curved ones, whether you want dotted, striped, or plaid textured areas, and whether you want a little or a lot of white space left over. Let your general ideas repeat themselves over and over in the piece; repetition is one of the things that will organize the overall look. You can repeat ideas in smaller or larger forms or with thicker or thinner line. However, keep the general plan loose enough that it allows for new ideas to grow out of existing ones. Again, remember to fill your page!
