In today’s article, we will dive deep into a very fun and easy technique you can use in Procreate and traditional illustration and it’s Doodle Art.
This technique can be used by everyone, the beginners and the veterans of illustrations since it’s really something that everybody can easily learn but it was already used in the past century as many artworks were discovered as proof of this art.
To better understand all about doodle art we will structure this post into distinctive parts: the theory and the practice in the second half of this article, so stay with us until the very end!

Doodle Art: What it is and How it Started?

The word “doodle” will probably bring to your mind something “childish” or something we used to do when we were kids as a way to entertain ourselves during a boring school lesson, or while we were talking on the phone with someone that was getting all of our attention, however, you should know that doodling is a real form of art on its own, and it started way back in the centuries, as we have historical proof of sketches and doodles made since the 17th or even way more back, since the prehistoric era.
But what exactly is a doodle? A doodle is a simple graphic representation that can have a symbolic meaning or just abstract lines and shapes. Keep in mind that doodles are different from scribbles, as those are made without raising the hand from the paper.

Doodling: Behavioral Hints

A lot has been said about the psychological meaning of doodling as an act; graphologists and behaviorists have spoken about doodling as an act of focusing, as they say, this act helps to avoid distractions in a situation that requires attention, and to confirm this theory a study has been made in the University of Plymouth. Two groups of students were asked to listen and remember a list of information: one group was allowed to doodle while performing this experiment and the other one wasn’t. The result showed that doodlers were capable to retain 30% more information compared to the non-doodlers group.
So it seems that in fact, doodling may have some therapeutic effect on the brain and memory.

Doodling as a way of Decluttering your Mind

Speaking of the therapeutic effect of doodling, it’s very interesting to notice that doodles are often used in art therapy as a way to relax and slow down, and they are very common in the journaling and planning crafts, just as much as journaling has a therapeutic meaning for some crafters as well. In fact, in the book “The Bullet Journal Method” written by Ryder Carroll is mentioned how the author developed the journaling technique as a way to “unplug, recharge, and declutter” not only his material surrounding but also his life.

Notable Doodlers

Before we jump into the “practical” section of this article, we want to mention some of the most famous doodlers in the art field.

Leonardo da Vinci

Just as proof of how old the doodling art is, it’s important to note that some doodles/sketches were found in Leonardo da Vinci’s papers.

Keith Haring

Born in 1958, Keith Haring is still one of the major street artist who had a big influence on art, pop culture, and even fashion. He drew murals and graffiti with simple, clear, and visually recognizable doodles which, however, managed to contain symbols full of meaning, such as touching themes such as love, war, racism, poverty, and also social issues of importance for his time such for example AIDS. The doodle has always remained the stylistic hallmark of haring which has also been licensed to be applied to major brands such as H&M, Lacoste, and Converse, just to name a few.

Hattie Stewart

This self-proclaimed London-based “professional doodler” with her colorful and bright technique depicts a world where everything is flooded in doodles, rainbows, hearts, flowers, and abstract backgrounds. Her works are both handmade and graphically edited.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

He used to doodle on his manuscripts while working on his novels and books. His papers are full of doodles alternated with long written pages.

Time to Doodle!

So here we are to learn some easy and fun doodling, are you ready? Let’s start!

One of the first time to know is that using the right Procreate brush is key to developing good doodle art: of course, you are free to doodle with the brush you like but in this tutorial, we are going to practice with a non-textured brush with pressure sensitivity on, be sure to enable your streamline so you won’t struggle when you create round shapes! The higher the streamline the smoother the lines will be.
What we are going to draw today is a group of little kawaii and cute cartoon creatures that you may print out just like that in black and white to create super fun kids’ paper crafts, or just paper crafts for all ages, kids, and adults. For some basic knowledge on procreate you can have a look to our latest post here:

https://creativefab.seotoolsagency.com/the-artistry/procreate/secret-procreate-tips-you-can-try-now/

The Basic Ball

We start with the most basic of all shapes: the ball. This can become a thousand different things: all you have to do is keep in mind that each single element looks like a letter from the alphabet: mouths are a C or a V or a D. And for the eyes, those can be little peas or little V as well!

In this case we moved the balls once done and created a dango :

Easy Mountain Bouncy Creatures

How cute are these little friends? Just start from a big D on a side: duplicate as many times you want and add some basic facial feature, using alphabet as a reference : X for the eyes, B for sunglasses, C or V or upside down U for lips! Now create several little lines of friends!

Happy Watermelon 

This is all about V and C: 

The happy watercolor is made of 3 consecutive horizontal C, and a big V upside down. Be sure to add seeds and a little happy smiley face!

Little Shy Bunny

As proof that doodle art is super easy and fun and it doesn’t need such great designing skill, we are adding an almost black and white kawaii element, the bunny. Yes, because you don’t need to be a master of colors, some doodles perform great in black and white only!

The bunny only consists of a big, soft and bouncy C and a curvy M as bunny ears. Be sure to add a tiny fluffy tail and little eyes!

And this is it for today! We hope you enjoyed this time with us and cannot wait to hear from you and have your feedback on these amazing little easy doodling tutorial!