There is Nothing Childish About Visual Storytelling:
Doodling, Sketching & Coloring
The other day, I came across this interesting piece of information and I thought to myself: who better to share this with than all of you here on the blog. This is what I discovered- Adult coloring books are on the rise!! Say what? Yes, adult coloring books are on the rise and two of the top ten selling books on Amazon (at the time of writing) are actually adult coloring books.
Let me just start by saying, I wasn’t even aware that there was a demand for adult drawing books. So to discover that they are so hot that bookstores can’t even keep up stocking their shelves was a surprise to me.
Most people are getting into doodling, coloring, drawing because it is relaxing and gets them to take a break from the electronics. Go figure!!
Doodling, drawing and creating all sorts of art is not for creatives only. They are very useful ways of keeping the brain active and sharp. Putting pen or pencil to paper (whether drawing or writing) helps us think. It can make you become fully aware of ideas, concepts, and emotions. It is a great tool for enhancing creative thinking.
Looking back on how I learned to draw with the sewing machine, I see that doodling helped me a lot with practicing to stitch designs. I simulated stitching on a sewing machine, by doodling without picking up the pencil till the design was complete. Throughout his article, you’ll see some designs I doodled in my sketchbook and directly onto fabric.
Doodling Fosters Creative Thinking
Doodling, sketching, and coloring are different ways of creative thinking for adults and children alike. Sunni Brown is a woman on a mission to get adults to do more of that. She leads a “revolution” (her word, not mine) to get people to communicate more visually. Get this! Her focus is not on creative types- No way! It’s in corporate America because we all (creatives and non-creatives) need to think creatively. She teaches that there are significant connections between doodling and thinking, sketching and problem solving, and visual language and creativity.
Sunni argues that as children, no one teaches us to doodle and draw – it’s inborn. And then, when we go to school, we’re taught to forget that way of thinking to learn the new and unnatural way of thinking and communicating with alphabets and words.
Doesn’t she sound totally convincing? She does and so I’ve decided to embrace my doodling some more- not so much for creating art – just for thinking and expressing myself.
Your Turn
Are you doodling, sketching or coloring? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. As always, I love to hear what you’ve got to say.
Warmest Regards
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Also published on Medium.
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