Feature image for doodle art blog post

The Art of Doodling Can Boost Your Brain and Elevate Your Mood

Have you ever seen videos on YouTube or reels on Instagram of incredible doodle patterns and thought ….. I have got to try that?   Well, me too! I LOVE doodling and I wanted to put together a round up of some of my favorites.  Grab some paper and a pencil or marker and let’s get started!

Table of Contents

The Scoop

Here is a quick bit of interesting information before we get started.  Studies show that the rhythm and repetition of doodling can reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) as well as release dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter into your brain which can increase your concentration. When you’re able to focus your mind on your drawing it can access the right hemisphere (the creative side of the brain).

Amazing Examples

The first 3 images are from the Instagram page of theartalley.  Each image will take you to a video on his page. There were so many to choose from it was hard to narrow it down to just 3.  It is mesmerizing to watch the process. All of the artists on this post are very skilled but I’m sure they had to put in a lot of time practicing to get to this point. 

  The next 3 are from Talita Arte Terapia. Tap on the picture to go to her Instagram page to see her amazing videos. If you watch the video and break the steps down one by one, with practice, you CAN get there too. You can see that these videos are sped up a good bit so the video isn’t too long, but this is not a quick sketch art practice. It takes focus, which helps you relax and enjoy the process.

The Calm Creator is the artist for these next three.  You can see the videos on Instagram.  Doodling may be thought of as an art practice or stress reliever, but I think many of these would also look great in a frame. Think about adding color to your doodle to change it up. All you need to get started is a pencil and paper and a little time. If you decide to turn it into a hobby, you may want to take a look at this set of pens that come in a variety of point sizes.

Step By Step

Here’s a step-by-step guide of one that I made. First, I noticed that the others used a pencil to draw the first lines, so I started that way too. My marker lines didn’t follow the pencil lines perfectly. No Worries… Just erase the pencil lines.

Start in the center with small circles and filled in around them.

part of step by step drawing guide

Next, draw in the shapes following the outside lines with a pencil and fill them in.

For the third ring I used curved lines that I drew spaced out a little in pencil to keep myself on track. (not sure that really matters)  and then filled in the spaces with more lines when I used my marker. When I finished the curved lines I made the lines on each side a little thicker to cover the starting points of each curved line.

Next layer, why not more dots?  draw the larger dots first and a few smaller ones in pencil just to look at the spacing. Then fill in the dots in different sizes leaving some white all the way around them.

Lastly, draw lines at different angles with a pencil and round the points where each line intersected.

And…that is it for this doodle art. On to the next one!

I have to say that I really did loose track of time while I was working on this. I’m HOOKED!  I used an ultra fine point sharpie for most of this one and a larger sharpie to fill in some of the circles but my new pens are on the way because I’ll definitely be doing a lot more of this.

Are you interested in finding a new hobby that gets your creative juices flowing, doesn’t take a big investment to get started AND is good for your brain? Well, you may have just found it with doodling.