Doodly do.

[kfops]

One of the things that I wonder about sometimes is that fact that even though I do art, I'm not want to always produce art, or even make a lot of spur-of-the-moment doodles in the margins of stuff, or what-ever

Comments

[kfops]

Yeah, I think some people can misconstrue doodling as not paying attention at all, but I know a lot of people where it actually allows them to absorb the information better. Maybe it's a left-brain/right-brain thing.

I used to doodle in class... or more so, I used to just outright draw pictures in class; binders, pages, margins, desktops... I had to spend a few lunch hours scrubbing some of my "artwork" off desks!

I have wondered if doodling is a good way to grease the mental wheels, though. I also think that I was always shy about my work, so didn't like to put it in an "uncontrolled" environment.

They're just wee drawings, they'll never make alone!

[lilsongbird]

I am one of those doodler types. I think with me it keeps me sane. I am one of those who is in constant motion when not sleeping, my brain racing with ideas. I have difficulty writing them so I sketch stuffs to remind myself of what I want to remember. because I struggle with writing from a brain injury, many of my notes for exams were done as sketches.

[kfops]

I had a friend in university that used to take all her notes in art history by drawing the art and then annotating the drawings with stuff. I dunno if it really worked for her, but she did pass the year where I was one of the 2/3 that failed. Maybe that says something right there.

I think keeping a visual notebook is a great idea though. I used to always have a sketchbook on my person, but unfortunately my last few jobs have made that rather unfeasible. Coupled with going through periods of really being unable to open stuff up for critique. Not that one gets much critique mind you, but still.

When you sketch out notes for exams, do you find yourself making symbols that represent stuff, or actually trying to visualise an entire "thought"? I'm curious!

[urocyon]

Used to doodle a lot in high school and college, mostly retarded little D&D jokes and crap like that. Then real life crushed my soul.

In college especially I also found re-drawing what I was trying to learn helped--nothing like sketching your own flash cards to drive home the subtle identifying differences between those hundreds of similar-looking fish or birds. :P

[kfops]

I could totally see the goodness of doing sketches for flash cards.

In university the only way I could memorise all the art (plus artist, date, medium, original location, current location, and historical importance) was to make flash cards out of photo-copies from my text-books. And that really only helped me get some of the info.

Drawing your own cards would probably help really drive home the subtle differences between the critters.

I used to do a lot more art in high school. I wonder if there is a connection with keeping the doodlestuff going... doodling is like idling the art-engine. Sometimes mine is turned off and when I want to use it I find the battery dead!

[urocyon]

I think you already knew the answer when you originally posted--gotta keep the headmeats exercised or they atrophy. The life drawing sessions you started were probably a really good step in that direction, even if you grumbled about going to the artistic equivalent of the gym. A lot of my creative hobbies got put aside under the burden of trying to be a responsible adult and by now I feel like I've forgotten how to be creative; and like you I find it hard to force myself to get back to the levels where I once was. Plus I've been having a hard time getting subsidized for being a lazy shiftless do-nothing so I can spend all my time sketch-doodling and geetar-noodling and such, damn it all!

[kfops]

Yeah... my question wasn't totally if I should be doodling all across everything, but if it was the "norm", or if I just happened to know a few people that seemed to have to put pencil to everything that came across their path.

But I think you're right... keeping the brain-meats pliable is important and regularly sketching is a good thing.

I think your comparison of my life drawing studio to a gym is sort've appropriate. Though I did enjoy what I'd done, I found it difficult to do the extra 3 hours in the evening; I'd get home just in time to go to bed and start my work-day in 7 hours.

But man, there totally has to be a way to do nothing and get paid for it. Time to start a consulting firm!