Can doodling a flock of birds help you think more creatively? YES! Here’s how…
Each week I’m bringing you #CreativeThoughtThursday – a concept I’ve been pondering, which I hope will help you think more creatively not just Thursday but everyday.
Let’s focus on VIEWPOINT
This idea came to mind as I was designing this week’s online art class for the kids (and new class for us adults… yah!). This week we were cartooning “The View from Above”. The idea was to draw a flock of birds, and imagine what they were seeing from above. What would you picture? There are so many possibilities to draw!
As I started designing this, I found myself thinking about the viewpoint. This drawing really reminded me of all the creative ways to use the concept of viewpoint in my drawing as a way of seeing things differently.
What do I mean by viewpoint? In this example from my Cartoon Club online class with the kids, I’m talking about what the birds in the sky see as a result of their position. I guess that’s obvious – really it’s more how they see the landscape. What it means for the drawing is rather fun!
I start by drawing in my birds at the top and making them quite simple and big in relation to the rest of the picture. I do this so that their viewpoint is exaggerated. Next I draw in the landscape. This too I exaggerate by sketching it in as a curved line. Doing this reinforces the fact that their viewpoint is completely different than my usual perspective. I imagine what, and how they might see. It becomes super fun to draw in the features of my imaginary landscape, to warp it, to add funny cartoon characters and make it contrast with my big simple birds above.
This makes for a really creative drawing. It’s fun to draw different scales within the same cartoon illustration. It makes me think more creatively as I imagine what the flock of birds might see. I could apply this to lots of other drawings I realise. Maybe I could be a cat looking down from my high perch at the ground below. Or I could flip it around and be a cat looking up at the baby birds above. I realise that anything can take on a whole new perspective when I change my viewpoint. That helps me to think more creatively.
You can have a go with this idea on your own. Play around with some different viewpoints and different subjects. See what happens. You will wind up drawing a different picture than I did in our online art class with the kids. That’s great. It will be your unique cartoon viewpoint. That’s the entire point! Ready… Let’s get creative!
Online Art Classes
for Kids and Adults who love to Doodle!
Are you always doodling? Do you love to create cartoons? These are the art classes for you! I've created a small, friendly group that works together in our online art class. We’re open to anyone who likes to sit, doodle and dream up cartoons. There are drawing classes for kids (ages 8 - 12), young children (ages 6 - 7) and even adults.
