When I don’t know what to draw I just make marks on paper. This sketch started with me practising a few pen lines. The lines reminded me of a rock. The rock needed a climber. I gave the climber a beach. The beach needed some colour so I dug out colour pencils…
It’s a quick sketchbook doodle, but it reminded me how just a few lines can build a world. Doodles don’t have to be good – it’s just freeing and pleasing to create a scene that never existed before. With just a few marks on paper the imagination kicks in.
And mark-making boosts skills. In his book How To Draw, drawing teacher Jake Spicer suggests starting this way. This tip really helped me to get sketching again when I felt stuck last year. I went back to the beginning, practising making lines and then cross-hatching. Bit by bit you gauge how to produce the effects you want, gaining confidence. Bit by bit the marks turn into drawings!
It’s interesting where just a few scribbles on paper can take you!
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Rebekah Curtis 