This is a doodle in one of my notebooks
I doodle pretty much all the time, which has led some to query whether it is actually doodling or conscious art. My general attitude is: something I’ve started as a few random lines which has then warped and weaved into something else is a doodle. This picture is a good example of that, no matter how complex it may seem.
It has started as a few lines which I’ve then embellished and augmented, and yes I will agree that it is complicated and dense with detail. This is mostly because something here and there will suggest a shape and I will then go with it.
A doodle that grew into something else
Then I get doodles that become something else, something more like a coherent piece. This usually happens when I’ve moved on to other things and then come back. There’s not usually any motivation other than to keep filling the page, but I’m usually starting to think about composition, even if what comes out is a poor reflection.
I still don’t usually have any great plan, but you might not necessarily know that if you come to the piece unexpectedly, and I’ll usually have writing around it because that’s what I’ve either started with, or I’m trying to carry on something from an adjacent page.
So, this might be deliberate
Then there are the more conscious attempts at making pictures. They’ll still usually start with some random lines or swirls, but it will be recognisable as a discrete object, character or monster. There will have been some design thought process in there somewhere, usually…
I used to do group portraits to illustrate the adventurers in our Dungeons and Dragons games, way back when. This evening Lady P asked if I would do one for her favourite character over in her gaming group and I’ve agreed.
Should be equal parts fun and frustration I think as my doodles meet my perfectionism. Just keep listening for the muttering.
