Not sure what to doodle? Pick anything from the lists below. Each idea is small enough to finish in a minute or two, and none of them needs drawing skill. If you can draw a circle, a line and a wobbly square, you can doodle all of these.
This post has more than 100 doodle ideas grouped by theme, plus a few ways to get going when the page feels too blank.
- Use what's in front of you. Look at your desk and draw the first three things you see.
- Pick one shape and change it. A circle can become a sun, a cookie, a face, a wheel or a flower.
- Set a timer. Two minutes, one idea. Short time limits remove the fear of making a mistake.
- Use any pen. A ballpoint, a marker or a pencil all work. Doodles are meant to be casual.
- Fill a page with a grid. Draw a grid of 3 by 3 boxes and put one tiny doodle in each.
Food is a great place to start because the shapes are simple and cheerful.
- Cupcake with a swirl on top
- Slice of pizza with dots for toppings
- Ice cream cone with two scoops
- Donut with sprinkles
- Cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows
- Watermelon slice with seeds
- Strawberry with tiny seeds
- Pancake stack with syrup
- Taco
- Sandwich with layers
- Boba tea with a wide straw
- Pineapple with a spiky top
- Avocado half
- Cherry pair
- Popcorn bucket
- Cookie with chocolate chips
- Lemon slice
- Birthday cake with candles
- Sushi roll
- Coffee cup with steam lines
- Sun with a smiling face
- Crescent moon with stars
- Cloud with raindrops
- Mountains with a snowy peak
- Pine tree
- Round tree with a trunk
- Daisy
- Sunflower
- Leaf with veins
- Mushroom with spots
- Cactus with a tiny flower
- Rainbow
- Wave with foam
- Seashell
- Snowflake
- Lightning bolt
- Butterfly with patterned wings
- Bee
- Ladybug
- Little fish
Pattern doodles are the most relaxing, since you repeat one move again and again.
- Rows of tiny hearts
- Polka dots of different sizes
- Zigzag lines
- Stripes
- Waves
- Scales
- Checkerboard
- Spirals
- Triangles in a row
- Diamonds
- Stars of different sizes
- Overlapping circles
- Plus signs
- Crosshatch
- Arches
- Dotted lines that make a path
- Rows of leaves
- A border of flowers
- Bubbles
- Rows of raindrops
If you enjoy these, you may like the structured version. Read about tangle-style pattern drawing or try 14 easy tangle patterns with step by step directions.
- Your name in bubble letters
- Your initials inside a shape
- A word written in wavy lines
- A word with a different pattern in each letter
- A letter turned into an animal
- Block letters with a shadow
- A word with a vine growing around it
- Fancy curly capital letters
- A short quote in your best handwriting
- Numbers drawn as characters
- Your name inside a cloud
- A banner with a word on it
- Letters made out of stripes
- Letters with stars around them
- A date you want to remember
Want a name page to color in? Try the name coloring page tool, which turns a name into a page you can color. It uses credits.
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Key
- Umbrella
- Backpack
- Headphones
- Lamp
- Mug
- Sock
- Glasses
- Book stack
- Plant in a pot
- Bicycle
- Alarm clock
- Toothbrush
- Sneakers
- Envelope
- Balloon
- Paper airplane
- Camera
Round shapes make animals easy. Start with a circle for the head and add ears, a nose and eyes.
- Cat face
- Dog face
- Bunny
- Owl
- Penguin
- Frog
- Turtle
- Elephant
- Fox
- Bear
- Whale
- Bat
- Snail
- Hedgehog
- Duck
- A monster with too many eyes
- A robot made of boxes
- A castle in the clouds
- A tiny house on a mushroom
- A dragon curled around a mug
- A ghost with a scarf
- A potion bottle
- A spaceship
- A planet with rings
- A cactus in sunglasses
- A cat riding a rocket
- A tree with a door
- Add a shadow. One side shaded makes a flat doodle look solid.
- Give it a face. Two dots and a curve turn a lemon, a cloud or a cup into a character.
- Add a border. Line, dots or little flowers around a page make it look finished.
- Repeat it. One cupcake is cute. Twelve cupcakes in a row is a pattern.
- Mix a few colors. Two or three colors are enough. Matching colors look neat.
- Outline in dark pen. Go over pencil with a black pen and erase the pencil.
Doodles you've drawn in black ink are already coloring pages. Try coloring them with markers or pencils, or use a gel pen for details. See our coloring techniques post for easy ways to add shading.
If you'd like ready-made pages for when you don't feel like drawing, browse the cute coloring pages or the animal coloring pages.
Start with an everyday object near you, or fill a page with one repeating pattern like waves or hearts.
Doodle often. Even five minutes a day helps. Copy simple shapes and keep a small notebook for practice.
No. A bit of wobble gives a doodle charm. Neatness comes with practice, but it isn't the point.
A pen and paper. If you want to add color, a few markers or colored pencils are enough.
Many people find it relaxing and a good way to let their mind wander. It is a casual hobby rather than a treatment for anything.
