Summer Drawing Project–Lesson 3

Another week, another scribbling challenge. This time with added ‘doodles’.

The essence of this week’s lesson is to gradually gain a little control and thoughtfulness, but to still maintain a sense of energy and spontaneity.

Task 1 – cover small pieces of paper (about size of your sketchbook page) with a scribbled pattern – any type you like. Use a coloured paper or perhaps magazine page paper.  Use the same marker and scribbles that make an all-over scribbled pattern. You could use an oil pastel and scribble lots of spiral; you could use a biro to scribble bands of long zigzag lines or lots of spiky lines in random directions; or perhaps a continuous line of curves and swirls or………….

Task 2 – Rip a section from each scribbled paper and then rip the rest up into a series of any shapes you like – strips are easy if you find the ‘natural direction’, maybe then rip the strips into smaller shapes …… rip any shapes you like but the simplest are probably the most effective.

Task 3 – Stick the larger ‘section onto one page and arrange the smaller fragments on the opposite page in any composition you like.

Task 4 –Now to the ‘doodling’ stage.  Using a marker than makes a contrasting type of mark to the original marks on the scribbled paper, discover ways in which you can extend and join up the original scribbles from one scribbled strip or fragment to another. You can draw into the original scribbles as well as onto the plain sketchbook page. You could extend the scribble lines or may be add further lines between them. Try to reflect the original scribble style but feel free to make interesting variations in your doodles in response to the rhythms of the original scribbles. Notice how the scribbled felt pen spirals have been developed into doodles of twirls and curls as the finer pen lines meander around across the void and then ‘land’ onto the next scribbled paper strip and snake their way in amongst the original spirals again.

Task 5 – Rip up a scribbled paper and make an interesting composition onto another scribbled paper – a good way of using some of those surplus fragments!

Enjoy your doodles. 

Next lesson, Monday 26th May.