Doodle Hunting
Characters I cut out from my Doodle Hunting exercise.
When the blank page is intimidating and overwhelming it can really help to have some go-to exercises to get your ideas flowing. One technique I often use is Doodle Hunting. It helps me to get into the creative flow and tap into subconscious ideas. The exercise starts in a way that does not require any thinking and then later in the exercise you are tasked with making connections that engage your creative thoughts. I teach a 16 minute Skillshare class on my method if you prefer video learning.
Follow these steps to give Doodle Hunting a try:
Materials
Plain paper- printer paper is fine.
Pencil
Black Pen
Colored Pen (optional)
Step 1
Turn on some of your favorite music and use a pencil to draw a continuous line that fills your sheet of paper. Make any kind of shapes that feel good to you.
Continuous pencil line
Step 2
Relax your mind and look for abstract or representational shapes in your drawing. It is a process similar to looking for imagery in clouds. I’m drawn to animals, so I tend to see a lot of animal shapes. Once you’ve found an image outline it in black ink.
Black outlines of creatures and shapes.
Step 3
Add color if you want to liven up your images a little bit.
A little bit of color adds some fun.
If you’d like more information about this process in video form, check out my Skillshare Class.