Thoughts on Doodling

photo courtesy Moira Swiatkowski

Last weekend I was at the Maine Comics Arts Festival (MeCAF), where in recent years my bud and fellow Heeby Jeeby cartoonist, Dan Moynihan, and I make Free Monster Drawings for anyone who asks. We get a range of teenagers, adults, and kids—people of all ages, really. The two of us take requests and whip up fun little doodles with our shared set of Crayola markers. People seem to like watching us draw, and everyone walks away with a smile. I love it! I always forget to take pictures, but Dan snapped a few.

I recall one kid who was there with his parents. A budding cartoonist, he wanted to know if we had any advice for someone just starting out. At a show like this, I ask kids if they draw comics, and I tell them how easy it is to fold, staple, and photocopy their own books. I add that they should share what they make online if they can. And I say to simply keep at what they're already doing—keep drawing, A LOT.

But it has occurred to me, a better version of those 'keep drawing' words of wisdom we all tout would be to keep drawing, make A LOT of drawings, and don't worry about making bad drawings.

We all start out that way, and then at some point, someone gives us the idea to slow down and make careful drawings. That same someone introduces us to an astonishing technique: If you draw lightly with a pencil, nice and slow, you can work out all your crazy little details and nuances, and THEN you can ink over it with a pen or marker, adding even more detail! Once you're told that you can and should plan out your drawings, it sticks. Because it works! And you can put that eraser to use in the planning stage, too. Why wouldn't you work this way? It's how the professionals do it, right?

I've been keeping a sketchbook, one that I should really be drawing in more frequently. About a year ago I wrote about how I've been drawing more with markers—specifically, freehand drawing with markers. By which I mean, I put the pen to the paper and I improvise. I try to shut off that planning part of my brain, and I make it up as I got along. I invent. This is the same thing Dan I do when we make those monsters drawings up in Maine. It should be no surprise, this is what most people refer to as doodling. But I'd argue that a lot of artists aren't doodling enough. Especially if you spend a lot of time on the computer. If you hit UNDO, you're not doodling. You're not allowing yourself that free flow of blending one mark into another.

Now, I get that doodling is not for everyone. And there are plenty of styles of art and drawing where that planning stage is incredibly important. Roughing in your forms, blocking in your composition, shading, making thumbnails—these are all important steps to creating professional caliber paintings, illustrations, comics...you name it!

Where I think doodling is important has more to do with discovery. Trying things. Messing around. The more you do it, the more familiar you are with how you draw in general. The more spontaneous your ideas will be. It puts you in touch with your imagination. And it frees you up from that pressure of making mistakes. Because who cares if you make a mistake? Work with it! And if you make a bad drawing, there's still plenty more room in your sketchbook to make good drawings.

You don't have to doodle with a pen, brush, or marker, but I do think the permanence of ink switches that planning thing off in your brain. I work in pencil a lot, too—especially when I'm designing characters and roughing in a complicated pose or gesture. You can certainly make quick doodley marks with a pencil that carry a lot of energy. But when I get stuck, I'm now in the habit or breaking out a chunky Crayola marker. I fill up page after page of drawings until something sticks. I like to be able to look back at the mediocre drawings, too. Something that also gets lost with UNDO.

I'll wrap this up by bringing it back to kids...learning how to draw, having fun drawing, but also working at it—getting better at drawing. No matter how good you are, you will make a lot of bad drawings. Oftentimes, you have to pound through a rough patch of bad ones to arrive at that good one.

Draw without that light under-penciling. Forget about planning. Make time for doodling.

instamagram

I've been trying to post more over here lately, but other posting sites have been stealing me away. Blogging is better for writing and process, but Tumblr and Instagram are better (and more quick) for image posting and connecting to people. You know my tumblr, but I'm not sure I've shared that I'm in Instagram. Look me up! I post sketchbook drawings, and other photos of in-process artwork. (I'm sure I'm guilty of food-pics, cloud-pics, pet-pics, and nature-pics as well.) Hey, I'm also on Vine, which is pretty fun. But I'm not sure how to link to that (look me up: bobjinx).

Inktober is here again.

It's the month that comes only once a year, and by the decree set forth by Jake Parker (king and ruler over all that is Inktober), I've cracked open a much-neglected sketchbook and put INK to paper. Anything goes. Here's a small dent...

Ink forces you to commit in ways unlike other mediums. Something is black, or it isn't. And in a sketchbook, there is no turning back. Take these next two pages:

There are plenty of things I don't like about either of them, but there they are (numerous decisions I want to take back in plain sight). But there's no starting over on paper. Computers let you get rid of all those marks you don't like, instead of building on what you have. It's a very different way of making a drawing. And as much as I'd like to be able to go in and redo certain marks and strokes, I like that I can't.

If Adobe is listening, I would highly value the ability to password-lock the UNDO feature (thereby disabling COMMAND-Z). Set it on a timer, or something. (THE HORROR!!)

Trust me—it wouldn't be such a bad thing. The reason why you NEED undo is because the computer doesn't always get it right; it doesn't always translate your true intent. When you make a mistake on paper, it happens at your control at the tip of your brush or pen. The computer attempts to process your input, and there's a gap that exists between your brain and the screen (especially if you're still on an tablet, like me). One day that barrier will no longer exist, and then we'll remember the benefit of making a line and leaving it.

If you're traditional when it comes to inking, you have all sorts of methods in place for corrections (even if they're digital solutions), but I bet you're much more comfortable with your mark-making. If you're all digital, I challenge you to work with ink. Even if just for the next couple weeks. It's a good exercise to shut off the editing part of your brain—to just keep making marks until you're done. And then you move on to the next thing.

(don't ask.)

Hallucigenia of the Cambrian

For the past few months I've been working on-and-off on a side project with my friend, Taryn Johnson. I'm all wrapped up in the sheer weirdness that is the Cambrian sea. With Taryn's aid, I've been learning about all sorts of extinct species, my favorite of which is probably Hallucigenia, pictured above. Do a quick google search on this critter and you'll see what I mean. For awhile paleontologists weren't even sure which side was up, and they still don't agree on the front from the rear. Some even theorized it to be an appendage of a larger unknown organism! Anyway, I encourage you to read up—he (she?) is a fascinating little guy.

Here are some pencil sketches I did while reading a book by Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful life: The Burgess Shale and The Nature of History (link).







Here's a more specific study of an especially cool species, Anomalocaris. A fierce predator and a relative giant of its age, measuring a meter in length.



More studies of Hallucigenia, 0.5 to 3 centimeters long by comparison.




We've been planning a short animation that will basically take you through a continuous pan of the ocean bed‚ displaying all sorts of bizarre sea life from the Cambrian explosion.



The idea is to have objects in the foreground track at different speeds as you move along (for a multiplane parallax effect).







Even though she's been playing the role of chief Cambrian expert, Taryn is a great artist in her own right—check out this Jellyfish she painted! She'll be designing creatures as well and leading the animation effort in After Effects.

It's all very much a work in progress, and it has been fun to experiment in a slightly different style. I'll be sure to share the final product when it's completed.

Until then, look to nature for inspiration!

Pencil dump

I was clearing off the work desk to get started on some comics—figured I'd scan and post some pencils I've had kicking around.













And a few selects of some of the shorties.











Working this guy into a comic.

weirdo flower tippy tappy

Double post today! A few inks from over Thanksgiving...







The later, not to be confused with tappers.

Ricochet

For a new What the Doodle? over on Creative Juices.

Inkdump

I just realized I'm more than a year in on this sketchbook (first post)



Here's another dump of selects.











I promise to get some color work up. Lately I've been all brush and ink.



And I'd like to fill up this book before the year is out. Almost there!
You can see a bunch more by looking up my sketchbook label.

Back to school

Labor Day used to mean something else entirely.
(where I come from, school normally started a day or two after)

Dan Moynihan has a brand new "back to school" themed comic up on Heeby Jeeby today, so check that out, too.

Inking.

More from the sketchbook I've been keeping.





These last couple pages are from tonight.




You can see a bunch more from this sketchbook over on Flickr.