Hey guys!
This video is gonna be so fun!
This is something that you guys have requested for a long time.
I do a lot of sketchbook videos on my channel.
You guys, for some reason, LOVE those "how to fill your sketchbook" videos.
So I'm here with another one, but this one is geared toward everybody!
If you are a new artist, or a professional artist, this is for you!
So I'm gonna show you how to fill your sketchbook with some lighthearted, fun doodles!
Ahh!
The first sketchbook idea is to go outside and collect some stuff!
Then draw it!
You can bring them inside.
You can stay outside.
Whatever suits your fancy.
I decided to collect some leaves.
It is fall in Ohio right now, so I really enjoyed all the fun colors!
The reds, and yellows and oranges...
Right now, I am painting them with watercolor.
Mostly focusing on the color.
Oh!
A side note.
My sketchbook is a watercolor sketchbook.
I can link it below if you're interested.
But you're gonna see me going back and forth between painting and drawing a lot in this
video.
You don't have to paint.
You can use whatever works for you.
These ideas will still work.
After I laid down the color, I went in with a pen.
Nothing special.
Then I just drew some veins and outlined the leaves to give it a fun appearance.
So these were just some fun doodles.
And anybody can really do this.
You can even trace your leaves, if you're collecting leaves.
That's how easy this one is.
So, I really liked that.
Let me know if you plan on trying this one, and what you would draw!
Or... if you've already done this before, what did you draw?
That's the question of the day.
Now, we are going to practice shading with gradients!
This is one of my absolute favorite doodle ideas for a sketchbook.
This is why: so if you have a new art supply, and if you're not quite sure if you like it
yet.. or if you just want to get used to it... this is a really, really great way to do it.
It makes it more fun than just a regular swatching page.
You can kind of drag things down and see how it works.
See how it fades away.
But also, if you are a new artist, and you're trying to learn shading techniques, this is
equally as beneficial for you.
What you're going to do is you're going to repeat this process, and it's gonna stick
with you.
It's gonna become muscle memory.
And you'll be able to apply it to bigger art projects.
Not to mention... look how pretty this is once you're done!
It's such a bright happy page.
Alright, if you want something that is super easy, not very time consuming, fun, and you
don't really have to think a lot...
I would suggest doing line patterns.
This is what I like to call an introductory zentangle exercise.
So if you feel intimidated by zentangles, or maybe just a little too impatient for something
like that... you can do line patterns.
They're kind of like mini zentangles on a line across your page.
What I am doing is just choosing very simple shapes: triangles, circles, and short lines.
That's pretty much it.
You might see a couple squares.
I'm just drawing new lines alternating between purple and blue.
And yeah.. making something a little bohemian.
This maybe took 20 minutes.
Iike this because, if you feel intimidated by zentangles, as I said - this is a really
great way to relieve that pressure and coax you into it.
If you don't know what zentangles are, in a nutshell: they're basically a lot of lines,
shapes, and patterns in an area.
Like on a piece of paper or in a shape.
They are fun.
The fourth one!
Cartoon people.
What?
Miranda.
What?!
That might seem intimidating if you're just starting out, but I promise you... it's not.
This can be a fun exercise no matter what level you are.
So what I did is...
I didn't even use references.
You can make your people up.
You can use references.
Or you can draw people you know that are sitting around you or from memory.
What I did was I decided not to worry about anatomy.
Not to worry about shading.
Only do a black and white drawing with a pen or a marker.
Whatever you want.
Yeah.
Anatomy just didn't really matter.
I thought... you know, if there are flaws... it'll make it quirky and give it its own unique
style.
So I tried to draw my people doing fun everyday things.
Like the one girl.
I don't know.
Moose ears?
I don't know what she's doing.
The guy, he's scratching his head with his briefcase (in his other hand).
I bet a lot of people do that.
Especially on Wall Street.
And this girl is just chilling in bed.
Probably procrastinating on whatever homework assignment she has.
The next one!
Pick out an animal that you really like, because it is time to get experimental.
This may seem intimidating because, again, you're drawing a face.
But here is the trick!
You can go on Google Images and search for some clip art.
You don't need to copy it exactly.
Because we're getting experimental.
But the simpler the better.
So I'm drawing a fox and coloring it in with some watercolor paint.
You can use a marker, a crayon... whatever you have, really.
You'll notice I am not shading this.
Cause again... doodles are our friends in this video!
I'll say that over and over again.
Doodles are our friends.
Here I am getting experimental.
This is when I start making up lots of crazy stuff.
You saw me splatter some paint off my paint brush.
All I did was flick the paint brush and... whoop!
That paint just falls right off.
Now I'm focusing on lots of little shapes.
So all these little lines here... they represent fur.
You know what?
No shading was needed, because you don't really have to know how to shade to make a cool doodle,
right?!
Just tons of little lines.
And more lines.
And it's a fun time!
Now I am going to carry that concept of lines to other parts of my picture.
I drew some long lines for these plants.
And then some pointy ovals...
I guess that's what you could call them.
Pointy ovals.
And boom.
Now we have leaves.
Just repeat that over and over again, and now it looks like we have some really detailed
plants.
But the secret?
All we really did was squiggly lines and pointy ovals!
Repeat it, and whoa.
It looks like you just created something really intricate!
In reality, it's pretty simple.
Just focus on shapes.
You can add color to it.
Whatever you really want.
You don't even really have to do an animal.
But it's amazing what you can create when you just keep adding shapes and lines together!
Alright, this one might actually call for some watercolor or some ink... or some sort
of wet media.
Spray your paper with water if you have paint.
And then, lay down some watercolor.
Use some bright, fun colors.
And make a galaxy.
Or if you don't want to do a galaxy, you can make this blob anyway, and just draw on top
of it.
How cool?!
You could put a zentangle in that!
Anyway, I am doing a galaxy with lots of bright pinks, purples, blues, and greens.
I wanted it to be as colorful and saturated as possible.
That's what we did.
Then I let that dry.
Took a gelly roller... which is a white gel pen.
I added lots of dots to it for the stars.
Later, I got some white acrylic paint, and I added brighter dots for that extra pop.
Here it is when it's done.
Boom!
Look how happy that looks!
Everybody loves a good galaxy, right?!
Oh my WORD!
Have you guys ever been at that point where you had to keep fixing your mistakes?
Or maybe you used the wrong medium, and it won't erase off the page?
So annoying, right?
Especially every time you flip to that page, and you see your mistake staring right back
at you.
Well you know what?
We do not need that kind of negativity in our lives.
So what I did, was I painted my page a happy yellow.
I'm forgetting about that shape that won't erase.
I'm gonna cover it with this stationery card.
You can cover it with whatever you want!
A piece of toilet paper.
A paper towel.
A magazine clipping.
Whatever you have.
You know what?
You don't have to stare at your mistake any longer, because it's gone, baby!
Gone!
HAHA.
Scammed you!
Alright, but if you do a stationery card like me... you can be weird and put a secret message
inside.
Have you ever really wanted to express yourself, but you didn't have anything in mind to draw?
Maybe you just want to move your hands... and you don't really care what you're making
cause you just want something therapeutic!
Well do I have the solution for you!
You can do blob patterns.
It's really similar to the line pattern thing.
It's kind of like a less time-consuming zentangle.
But this one, I feel, looks soooo pretty once it's done.
It's amazing.
So what you do... pick out a couple colors, and just do some blobs.
It kind of looks like a bunch of rocks on a page.
Or a mosaic.
Whatever.
You don't have to use watercolor though.
You can use like markers or something.
Once it's all said and done... take a marker or pen of your choice (that will show up over
your color), and just do patterns inside of each blob.
I'm doing bumpy polka dots, smooth polka dots, different lines, different shapes.... and
I'm making it repetitive inside each little blob.
What's really nice about this is if you don't have time to do this in one whole sitting...
each shape is already broken up for you.
You can just revisit it... fill in a couple shapes with a different pattern.
If you run out of pattern ideas, you can close your sketchbook.
Come back to it later.
That's okay!
You can even use some of the patterns here that I am using.
In fact, I definitely recommend that.
You'll see I'm using x's, little hashtag looking things like baby crosshatches... uh these
little scribble up-and-down zigzag lines... stars... there's so many possibilities.
In the end, it looks very modern, but kind of minimalistic and also kind of convoluted.
It might make you feel really proud of yourself.
You might take a step back and be like, "wow, I could be a wallpaper designer or something!"
I mean, this thing made me feel pretty cool.
I don't know.
It was just really fun to make.
Up close, it didn't really look like anything amazing because there's so many little segments
that you have to fill in.
But, once you look at the big picture, it looks amazing.
If you think you want to lift your artistic self-esteem, this is absolutely the exercise
for you!
I hope you give it a try.
Let me know if you've ever even heard of this before.
This is a relatively new thing for me.
I am very curious to see if you guys have ever done this before.
Alrighty...
I kept hinting at zentangles, guys.
And... well... this also isn't quite a zentangle.
A full-blown one, anyway.
We are going to do something similar to the last one with repeating patterns.
We're going to do it inside of our name.
So if you want to do very complicated zentangles inside your name, you can.
Or you can do simple patterns like me.
I'm still gonna call it a zentangle.
Cause yeah.. makes me feel special.
Anyway, draw your name in bubble letters.
Or just choose a word that you really like.
Song lyrics.
Or just the word happy.
Something.
I'm just using a black marker.
Nothing special.
Adding some shadows under the name.
And then doing the pattern thing inside each letter.
You can carry that pattern over to multiple letters.
Do different ones for each letter.
Whatever you really feel like doing.
You can do... because this is your sketchbook.
Anyway, after that, I thought... why not do more lines and shapes?!
I picked something that I really like... which is plants.
If you haven't guessed that.
Ha.
And then I took a green crayola marker, and I'm just drawing them now.
You can sketch them with pencils first if you feel more comfortable doing that.
Or you can apply the concept of lines and shapes from earlier.
So I drew a squiggly line, and then these pointy oval things.
They kind of look like green beans.
And then another line.
More lines coming off it.
And soon, after repeating this entire thing...
I have a page full of really cool looking plants!
Whoa!
Okay, back up a couple seconds.
I just saw a fly come in and out.
*laughs* Off topic.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this video.
These exercises are, again... as I said...
meant for people of all artistic levels.
Whether you feel like you're a beginner, or maybe you've been doing art for years and
you just want a mental break... and you want to just not really think a lot, but do some
fun stuff.
These are for everybody.
I hope you enjoyed this, as I said!
If you're new to the art family, please subscribe!
I have videos every week here.
It is a fun place!
Thank you so much for watching, everybody!
Have a good day.