Paper, Electronic and Other Doodle Options
Welcome to the Better Machine Quilt-a-long based on my book 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.(Find all of the previous Lessons HERE. Sign up for emails of the class HERE.)
Today’s Topic: Paper, Electronic and Other Doodle Options
Good Morning, Quilters!
This week is dedicated to a very important topic–doodling! (I bet your grammar school teacher never said that to you?!)
Today, I will share some of my favorite ways to doodle and encourage you to share yours!
Whether you choose paper electronic and/or the other doodle options, I hope you will take from today’s post that any doodling is good doodling! It can be on scraps of paper, in a sketchbook, on a white erase board, digital. It really doesn’t matter how YOU doodle. It matters that you do doodle.
I change doodling methods frequently. It’s more fun that way!
A few of my favorite ways to doodle:
- Old School Pen/Paper
- Boogie Board
- Transparent Overlay
- Ipad/Apple Pencil and Procreate App
Pen and Paper-Always My Favorite Method
I LOVE an excuse to buy a new notebook and a batch of pens. And now I blame it on YOU–“It’s blog research!”
The key is to find a pen and paper combination that you like. For example, I love Flair on newspaper, but I don’t like the feel of a fountain pen on newsprint.
My favorite pencil has always been the Dixon Ticonderoga-best lead, dark color, never breaks. (Is it weird that I have such a strong opinion on this!?)
Favorite markers–Flair markers--never fail markers! Love all the colors!
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens-dark ink and slightly soft brush nib–elevates a basic doodle!
Fountain and Dip Pens-My husband received a MontBlanc fountain pen as a gift–he never saw it again! I also like the Speedball Map Set with Dr.Ph Martin Ink or Higgins Ink
Watercolor Pencils are also a fun way to doodle. Complete your doodle with a wash of water. It’s like magic! I have a 12 pencil set from Caran D’ache that I love!
Boogie Board
I really like the feel of doodling on my Boogie Board. It is a liquid crystal display and comes with a stylus for doodling. Push the button to clear the doodle. The Boogie Board is lightweight and comfortable to hold and has proven to be quite durable. I have been tossing mine in a suitcase for several years and it is still going strong. If you like a doodle, the best way to save it is to take a photo. There’s an app for saving doodles, but I found it cumbersome. The Boogie Board is transparent. You can lay it right on your quilt to test motifs.
Transparent Overlay
Yesterday, we discussed how to make and use a vinyl overlay. I use this method frequently to test design ideas.
Some quilters suggested using plexiglass as an overlay–another great idea!
Ipad/Apple Pencil and Procreate
You might like the post: Doodle the Movie! created on my I pad.
All of the doodle videos I’ve shared on YouTube (Quilt with Lori) have been created on my Ipad Pro with an Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. I love using it, though I doodled happily for more than twenty years without one. Electronic doodling is not necessary to good quilting.
I’ve tried other methods of electronic doodling, and found this to be the most natural. It is as easy as drawing on paper and has the advantage of being digital–with all the options digital provides.
If you are in the market for a tablet, make sure it is compatible with a pencil. Not all Ipads are compatible with the Apple Pencil.
The Procreate app is the best. It is easy to use and costs around $10. Like any software there is a learning curve. I am not very adept at learning software, but by watching YouTube videos I’ve learned a lot. I’m pretty sure Procreate is only available for Mac tablets.
White Erase Boards
Many readers have mentioned they love to practice designs on white erase boards. Great idea!
Erase boards are easy and light weight. No wasted paper.
If you like this style but don’t like cleaning the board, try the Boogie Board above.)
What’s YOUR Favorite Way to Doodle?
We’d LOVE to hear!
Your Diva Duchess of Doodle Dandy,
Toodles,
Lori
PS…This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase, at no additional cost to you, I might receive a little “pin-money”. Thank you for supporting LKQ in this way!
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of LoriKennedyQuilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thanks!You might also enjoy my motif books: Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 and More Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3
HI
HAPPY 4TH!
i have made a specific composition book just for doodling. One will not be enough! I’m going strong getting the hang of where to start and stop. Have not moved to fabric yet…. but have sandwich ready. Decided I need to get one design down pat rather than being overwhelmed with so many options. Having fun!
What is the difference in the Free Motion Quilting 1, 2, 3 and the More Free Motion Quilting 1, 2, 3. Is the first better for beginners?
Both books are for all levels of quilters. The first books was very popular and quilters wanted more step-by-step tutorials for motifs. Both books include skillbuilding chapters and set up and supplies. “More” includes seasonal motifs and several motifs quilters would like: scissors, needle, thread.
Hope this helps!
I love Notability and Apple Pencil. I can import a photo of my quilt, then I can figure out what quilting I want, where it should be and even the size of the motif.
I also use it when taking notes. I can type, write, doodle, color, and add any color from the spectrum.
I’m confused about the ProCreate app- you said you used it on your Ipad but then said it was only available for Mac tablets- I never heard of a Mac tablet- only Ipad and android,
I think—but I may be wrong —a tablet is a computer that does not have a keyboard. It’s flat like a tablet. The Mac brand is called an iPad. Again that is how I use the terms. Hope I haven’t lead you astray.
I took the advice of another quilter doing this challenge and found an app for my iPad that I love. I doodled thru an entire action packed shoot em up movie last night….huh imagine that! Two hours of quality doodling! I also have around five art pads or books in various places in house whenever the mood strikes me!
What app did you download?
Not bragging but to give some perspective on my experience., I went to university at age 54 to earn an art degree. The students around me were from age 19-23.. Some were going on to advanced degrees. I was not going
in that direction. The advanced program had room for only certain number of students so there was competition to get selected. My friends were bemoaning the fact that they were required to have an in person interview during the application process and to bring in their sketch book. The professors interviewing them assumed if you were an
art major, you had a personal sketch book… maybe for years duration. My surprise was that they had them, some since elementary school but most during high school. ( IF I had to produce one, it would be collection of backs
of envelopes.. LOL) The surprise to the students and the cause of the bemoaning was they had to let the interviewing panel of professors hold the sketch book, look thru it, and ask questions. Excuse this but one girl told me she rather flash her underpants, her sketching ( DOODLING) was so personal. Guess what, I learned
many lessons at university.
Another good app to use with apple pencil us Goodnotes. It’s about $7.
I use GoodNotes too. But Procreate is better for design work IMHO
I have designed and practiced on my boogie board, but didn’t know I could remove the “backgrounds” to use it as an overlay. Hurray!
I’m not understanding the transparency of the Boogie Board. Can you see your quilt through the screen ?
Yes. The Boogie Board is not clear but you can see your quilt through it.
I’m a beginner on this digital doodling pad, but out of curiosity I looked to see if I could find anything compatible with my Kindle – which is bigger than my cell phone. I don’t have an Ipad – aren’t I out of date??? Anyway, found one called Sketch, which has the delete to erase, and different colors of “inks” to choose from. Seems to work well, and could go onto larger pads if I had one.
Diana
I love to doodle on my iPad with the Notability app and my Apple Pencil. I also use old transparencies and dry erase markers to audition stitching on quilts, and several notepads on hand – always a sketchbook on hand!
Hi Lori. One more option to look at…wipeboard.com. They sell spiral notebooks with pages that are wipable when you use a whiteboard marker. Pretty convenient when you don’t want to waste paper, and easy to “erase” little goofs and draw over them.
I hadn’t thought of using my iPad but now I’ve realised that I can take a photo of my quilt top and then try out various designs on the photo with my Apple pencil.
My doodles were horrible with a pencil until I saw you had a Unibal pen with liquid ink in one of your photos. I tried one I had on hand and it was better, but I also had the Pilot Precise V5, extra fine with the same liquid ink and the difference in my doodling was HUGE…easily a 90% improvement! Now I love to doodle. Lori, like you said: everyone is different. Your suggestion to try what works best for you was freeing…in my doodling AND quilting!
Draw Free is a free app for PCs.
Thank You… seams everyone has Ipads. not me. going to install it on my phone and PC…yea!
I read a lot and often have books that will end up in recycling. I use a fine line marker and doodle in those. Paper is like newsprint and can be stitched through when you are happy with a design.
I’m in the process of shrinking my library and what a good idea to use the old books and mags as sketch pads. I love this sharing!!
I bought some extra clear vinyl and made 4 doodle mats. I just had a hint for others… The vinyl wanted to stick to my wooden cabinet for my machine… so I used the parchment like sheet that the vinyl came with and slid it between the vinyl and the cabinet, so it would glide so easily. I just left the edge open to sew my fabric border. It worked GREAT! Thank you. I just ordered some dry erase pens!
Okay, so I’m a little behind in getting through the lessons but thought I would share an app I found that I like for doodling: https://sketchbook.com/ – if this link doesn’t work search for Autodesk Sketchbook. It’s available for Android and Apple, (apps) and I have it on my Windows 8 laptop too. I use it on a 10″ Android (Samsung Galaxy) Tablet the most. I find drawing with my fingertip can get me into a rhythm that helps when I hit the sewing machine. I just use the “undo” button to do over and over. You can open an image and use it as the background (hint: quilt block photo) and draw on it repeatedly. You can save your “doodles” also. It does much more but this is what I found it useful for as I’m no artist!