Doodling can have practically anything as its subject, from flowers and kittens to trees and clouds. One of the most common subjects of doodling is words though. Whether it's a name, a title, or just random letters or symbols, these doodles are some of the most naturally occurring ones. After all, if someone is trying to take notes in class or in a business meeting then pretty soon the words on the page will start metamorphosing into doodles.
The Basics of Word Doodling
Word doodling is quite simple, and it doesn't require any great skill since it draws on the common knowledge that people have regarding language. Perhaps the most basic form of word doodling are bubble letters; letters that are fully drawn and could be colored in rather than just being simple lines on a page. Simply drawing bubble letters for the word "red" and then filling them in with a red pen is a simple, easy word doodle.
From this basic staging point word doodles can get as cray and intricate as the doodler wants to make them. For instance someone might want to doodle a word so that the way it's written looks like what the word represents. Writing the word "razor" in sharp letters that have an illustrated sharp edge makes the doodle that much more eye-catching, for instance. Sketching out the word "crocodile" so that it has scales, a bulky leathery look, and so that the e on the end has an eye and a mouthful of teeth is another way to make a word doodle a little more noticeable. Writing the word "forest" so that it's made of trees, or the word "jungle" so that it's composed of vines and flowers is another way of accomplishing this.
Another form of word doodling is graffiti letters. For those who've seen graffiti style letters they cover a wide variety of styles. Some styles are written with the letters practically on top of each other, while others are big, looping scrawls that require stepping back and looking at the whole to be able to read. Some graffiti styles incorporate additional decoration (such as making letters look like they're melting, or carved from ice), and some keep the look as plain as possible so that the words are legible. It's entirely up to the doodler which style will be embraced for his or her words.
What is Symbol Doodling?
While words are symbols, not all symbols are words. For instance the symbol for the birth sign Taurus (a circle with a crescent above it for horns) is a symbol. Symbol doodling is much like word doodling, but it can seem more complicated. Instead of working with letters, one simply doodles a symbol and changes it in some way.
Take the example of the birth signs. A doodle might alter them slightly to make them look more like the things they're supposed to represent (twins for Gemini, fish for Pisces, a bull for Taurus, etc.), adding hints of detail while still keeping the original symbol in place. Whether it's the Nike swoosh, the Saturn ring, or even Wal-Mart's smiley face symbols are open season for doodlers the same as words and letters are.
When doodling a symbol it's important to just let the creativity flow. What makes a doodle a doodle is that it's fairly idle, and it lets the doodler's mind relax while creating images. A symbolic doodle shouldn't require looking up an image on a smartphone or in an art source book to recreate it; simply draw what comes to mind and alter it as you see fit. For instance, while you might not remember exactly what a caduceus (the staff with the twin serpents worn by medical personnel) looks like, you can probably improvise something from memory. Once you have the basics set up you could alter the snakes so they're more realistic, perhaps having venom drip down the staff from the snakes' fangs. Maybe you decide to replace the wings on the staff with bat wings, just to add to the heavy metal look. Whatever changes or alterations you want to make to the symbol are completely up to you; it's your doodle, after all.
The Advantages of Word and Symbol Doodling
Doodling has a number of advantages for the mind, but word and symbol doodling can have even more benefits for doodlers. Writing down facts helps people remember them, and when someone doodles a key term or word then that word will find its way right into that person's memory banks. This can be particularly advantageous for when it comes to a client's name, or a particular vocabulary word that is going to be important on an upcoming exam.
The same is true for symbols. In addition to making the necessary marks on a page, doodling a symbol means that it will become easier for the doodler to both recall and to draw again at a later date. This can be particularly valuable for symbols that are going to show up often in one's professional capacity, such as when one is a chemist or a historian. Solidifying the symbol's place in a memory bank is important, and it can also be fun and relaxing if one files that symbol away by doodling about it when his or her attention starts wandering to other subjects.
There's No One, Right Way
The important thing to remember for any and all doodles is that there's no right or wrong way to make them; only your way to make them. Additionally, due to the nature of doodles, you can make them anywhere and with any kind of materials.
There's also no words, letters, or other symbols that are "off limits" when it comes to doodles. These doodles can be done in any language, and in any style or writing, whether it's Egyptian hieroglyphics, Greek, Latin, or the rumored symbols of the train-hopping hobo language of the 1930s are all fair game when it comes to word and symbol doodling.