Doodles and SuperDoodles

SuperDoodle, by Warren (The Doodle Daily)

SuperDoodle, by Warren (The Doodle Daily)

A while back I stumbled upon (tweetled?) The Doodle Daily, a clever creative crash course in the art of doodling.

Actually, Warren, the blog’s creator wouldn’t call it that. He’s a fair share less pretentious than that. He originally set out to create and share a doodle each day for a year. He succeeded. And he got stuck succeeding, so we all can benefit from his so-far-bottomless fount of doodles.

I’d actually almost forgotten about Warren and his addictive designs until yesterday. He materialized out of the ether. Poof!

Okay, so it wasn’t really a poof. But he did post a comment that sent me somersaulting back to his doodle blog to catch up on his creative enterprise. And much catching ensued including the dazzling image above.

Deft doodle design! I like it a lot, but why? It’s just another dandy doodle, dude.

Or is it?

There are doodles and there are doodles. There are dumb-ditty-doodles and there are whipper-doodles. (Also Labradoodles, but they’re really far off topic, and I’m hoping to limit my present acrobatics to merely-slightly-off-topic…)

So what makes a whipper-doodle special? What defines a super whipper-doodle? Warren sums up his SuperDoodle thus:

Simple, clean
classic

He’s on to something. Of course whipper-doodle rules are far from universal, but it does seem that at least a few essential ingredients can be found. Perhaps simple, clean and classic should be on the list. Classic might be too limiting, though I understand what Warren’s going after here. It’s a familiar design despite being original. Or it seems familiar. It exudes familiar canonical design roots, perhaps…

I’d suggest that there’s more to it though. In this doodle, for example, there’s symmetry or near symmetry. Warren’s SuperDoodle combines two separate, reverse mirror images. The symmetry is instantly appealing, especially so because the design is a bit complex, a bit ornate. And yet Warren’s inky oracle plays with the symmetry, plays with the viewer really, by distorting the scale of the nearly symmetrical half. Perhaps the composite consists of two conceptually symmetrical halves that deviate in execution. Now I’m approaching the sort of gassy verbiage upon which dissertations are built!

Suffice to say that a whipper-doodle is more evolved than a dumb-ditty-doodle. It contains a sort of universal design appeal. I think of the glorious paisley in its infinite iterations, or the minimalist lines of prehistoric hieroglyphs or globally familiar brands such as the Red Cross, the Jewish star, the Nike swoosh. (If tucking these dissimilar entities into a single rucksack and calling them “brands” offends, please excuse. This is not my intention. Simply overlook that last sentence and leap-frog to the next paragraph!)

After the first flush of my aesthetic crush fades, I catch myself asking what compels me, what draws me into Warren’s doodle? It’s clean and elegant, but it’s also playful. The near symmetry flirts with me, cocks her ringleted visage coquettishly and bats her eyes, smiles just enough to draw me in. I study the image, my eyes volleying back and forth, back and forth verifying accuracy, chuckling at the elements shrunk and stretched just enough to intrigue… I am drawn in. And I am smiling. Thank you, Warren.

3 Comments to “Doodles and SuperDoodles”

  1. Warren says:

    Thank you for this truly amazing analysis of my doodle design and blog. It is always so rewarding to hear the feedback of others, knowing that my work generates discussion and is not just merely pen on paper.

    Having started this project over 2 years ago, I sometimes look back in amazement and question “Did I actually do that?”

    When I read feedback and realize that I have drawn you in, made you smile it in turn puts a smile on my face, gives me purpose to keep the project alive and I reach for the pen and get myself lost in a whole new design.

    The power of the pen, letting your creativity reign is so enticing that at times I will not even realize what I am drawing, until it is done. It always takes on a life of it’s own and being able to share that with others is my gift to you.

    Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your beautiful words.

    My motto for my world doodle challenge is “Uniting the world, 1 doodle at a time” your feedback re-enforces that dream.

    All the best and keep on doodling
    Be sure to stop by the Doodle Daily, we are guaranteed fresh every day

    Warren
    TheDoodleDaily

  2. virtualDavis says:

    Pleased to hear that you liked my meandering reflection, Warren. Two plus years is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations! Have you considered ways of repurposing your doodles into a unified package such as a Vook or an app? I can think of a really enticing interactive model for the latter if you’re at all interested in chatting some time, though you’re undoubtedly already light years beyond my parochial concept…

    Know that the power of your pen has proven again and again with your doodles. And your creative spirit. And your discipline to set and meet the goal to share a fresh doodle each day. You are undoubtedly succeeding in achieving the lofty ambition of your motto, one doodle lover at a time!

    Thanks again, and look forward to your future creations.

  3. […] about my recent posting Day# 893 called Superdoodle.  The write up was featured in the blog of “VirtualDavis” in his article called “Doodles and SuperDoodles”.  It is so rewarding to see someone look deep into your work and find nuances that you might not […]