Do You Doodle?

–Well, you should!

Hi, everyone!

This week, I wanted to talk about a subject that I know everyone has been familiar with at least once in their life–doodling! Studies have shown, and even NPR has reported, that doodling has several benefits for your mind, body, and soul!

Mind:

An article from TIME detailed a study that concluded that doodlers retain more information from mundane settings than non-doodlers.
The theory behind this is that “Doodling forces your brain to expend just enough energy to stop it from daydreaming but not so much that you don’t pay attention.”  Kind of like how some people (myself included) chew gum while taking tests because it keeps the inattentive part of their mind focused on something simple, while the attentive part can more easily focus on the task at hand. So next time you find yourself nodding off during a boring business meeting, reach for some paper and let those doodles fly!

Body:

Ever heard the phrase, “If you don’t use it, you lose it?”  Well, that’s the honest truth.
A great way to maintain or improve dexterity in your hands is to doodle!
By drawing small, intricate shapes, you’re working out your brain’s ability to control fine motor skills, as well as beefing up those muscles in your arm and hand to combat atrophy. Think of it as really, really minute cardio that ultimately has a significant impact!

Soul:

Doodling is the purest form of artistic expression because it’s coming from a place deep within your subconscious that just has this urge to create!  And by providing yourself an outlet for this urge, you’re actually calming yourself and relieving stress. Ever noticed how at-peace kids seem to be when they’re coloring? The reason the market for “grown-up coloring books” or the Zentangle craze has taken off is that people are finally realizing the personal benefits of partaking in these activities.

So if you’re a compulsive doodler, now you finally have validation for your so-called “fidgeting.”  And if you’re not a doodler, this is the perfect opportunity to become one!

The best part?  There are tons of ways to doodle, and none of them are wrong!

Whether you’re into making and repeating simple shapes:

Or you want to get a little crazy with colors:

All doodles are good doodles!

You can even take existing works and doodle over-top of them to give them a little something extra:

Here’s a pressed daisy I adhered to my page, and then I began making little doodles around the edges with a black Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen.

And here’s an ink splotch that I created, and then I drew lots and lots of tiny little tendril-like circles all over it.

Here’s a close-up of the little guys.

Companies like Sakura make it super easy to doodle effectively with their line of acid-free/archival ink Sakura Pigma Micron Pen(I use them for the majority of my doodles).

With point sizes as small as .20 mm, it’s even easier to fill up a page with doodles!

Most of my drawings are done in my handy-dandy Hand Book Artist Journal, and I’ve found that doodling is a good way to use paper that would have otherwise been wasted by markers that have bled through:

(Geometric shapes are a personal favorite of mine.)

I especially love doodles which radiate out from the center, which is why mine usually end up as mandalas:

Sometimes, I like a doodle so much that I proudly display it:

This one’s hanging above my desk on the wall!

As a confessed doodler, I implore you all to join me and let me know in the comments what kinds of things YOU like to doodle and WHEN you find yourself doodling the most!