Contrast

Because doodles tend to be one color, I find that shading, wieight, and texture provide the contrast.

 

Phone Numbers

Seems like whenever I am jotting down someone's phone number the whole thing just devolves into a doodle fest.

Pen on Paper

Part of the pleasure of doodling is the feeling of the pen on the paper. For some reason, ball-point pens are more satisfying than pencil - unless it's a very sharp pencil - or other sorts of pens.

 

The Hot Corner

The upper right corner of a legal pad is always the sweet spot for doodling. Something about the way the double vertical red lines intersect the blue lines just frames it up right for me.

Post-It Doodles II

Today was actually a low output day for me. I did manage to almost cover this post-it note pad. I noticed that it has a different feel depending on which way you hold it.

Post-It Doodles

Post-It Notes were made for doodling. A neat stack of Post-It Notes just screams out to me to fill it with doodles. 

The Doodle That Started It All

Sometimes I'll fill an entire page with doodles. My father was also a habitual doodler, and I recall being so impressed with one of his pieces - which filled an entire legal pad page on the desk in his law office - that I started doodling to imitate him. I wish I could find that doodle now - or any of his doodles for that matter - perhaps there are one or two among the boxes of his papers that I have. At any rate, it's interesting the way something I consciously labored at as a small child eventually became second nature. The doodle pictured above is one I posted on my other blog, Ideuhs, back in June after reading an article reporting that people who doodle during meetings retain more information than those who don't (read the post!). That was shortly after my friend and coworker Todd Diamond suggested I start a doodle blog. The original suggestion was to create a space where others could contribute and share their doodles. I'm not quite there yet. It took me six months just to flip the switch on doodlemob.com so I could post my own doodles, but a flickr-like doodle site would be fun to do.

Origins

I like doodling on ruled paper because it provides some structure, like a trellis for a creeping plant. Often I will start out tracing over the lines, creating a rectangle or other geometric shape. At a certain point, it will give way to more a more organic form. In this case however, now that I examine it closely, it appears it was the other way around. The biomorphic blob was obviously drawn first, the incomplete rectangle providing a counterbalancing frame for its explosive energy. 

March 3, 2011

 

I think what I enjoy about doodling is that it is sort of purposeless. In fact, whenvever I wake up and start thinking that I should add something, I inevitably realize it was better left alone. I was a little worried that posting my doodles would cause me to think about them too much. But so far I haven't noticed that happening.

March 2, 2011

I've been noodling with this idea for a doodling blog. Every day I cover the pages of my notepads with doodle, at my desk, in meetings, on calls with clients. I try not to doodle during in-person client meetings. Even though it doesn't mean I'm not listening. I read that the lawyer Joseph Flom, of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, was a compulsive doodler, as was Malcom X. 

Most of my doodles end up in the trash. I save some of the ones I like and they end up in various stacks in my office. So I decided to create a place where I can post them. Welcome to DoodleMob - my doodle blog. Enjoy!