What to Doodle When You Are Bored: 40 Quick Ideas

You have a pen, an empty margin and a few minutes with nothing in them. The only thing missing is an idea, and somehow a blank corner of paper makes every idea vanish.

So here is the list to keep nearby when you are wondering what to doodle when bored: forty prompts in six small themes, each with a one-line way to draw it, and three little games for the moments when even a list feels like too much choosing. Start anywhere.

Things on the desk

• Paper clip. Draw a long, narrow oval, then keep the line going into a second, smaller oval inside it.
• Pencil. Draw a long, thin rectangle, add a triangle on one end with a dark tip and a small block on the other.
• Mug. Draw a rounded rectangle, a C-shaped handle and three wavy steam lines above.
• Sticky note. Draw a square, then cut one bottom corner with a slanted line and a tiny curl.
• Paper plane. Draw a long, pointed triangle, add a fold line from nose to tail, then trail a looping dashed line behind it.
• Key. Draw a ring, two parallel lines for the shaft and two square teeth at the end.
• Light bulb. Draw a circle that narrows into a small striped square, with a loop inside the glass.

More starters of this kind are in the list of easy doodles for beginners.

Things in the sky

• Sun. Draw a circle and ring it with short dashes, alternating long and short.
• Cloud. Draw a flat line and close it with three bumps on top, the middle one tallest.
• Crescent moon. Draw a wide C, then a tighter C inside it that meets the first at both tips.
• Star. Draw five points in one zigzagging line without lifting the pen, ending where you started.
• Ringed planet. Draw a circle, then a flat, tilted oval around its middle, skipping the part hidden behind the planet.
• Shooting star. Draw a small star and pull three lines of different lengths away from it in one direction.
• Lightning bolt. Draw a slanted line down, a short jog sideways and a second slanted line down to a sharp point.

Rain, snow and wind have their own set in the weather doodles guide.

Snacks

• Ice cream cone. Draw a tall V, cross it with slanted lines, and set a round scoop with a wavy lower edge on top.
• Donut. Draw a circle with a small circle in its center, a wavy ring of icing between them and a scatter of short dashes.
• Pizza slice. Draw a long triangle, give its short side a thick curved crust and drop in three circles.
• Cookie. Draw a bumpy circle, dot it with chips and take a bite out of the edge with three small scallops.
• Popsicle. Draw a tall rectangle with a rounded top and a short stick underneath.
• Cherries. Draw two circles side by side, then a stem curving up from each to meet at one point, with a leaf there.

Shapes that grow

These have no end point, which makes them good for long minutes. Keep adding until the space runs out.

• Spiral. Start with a dot and wind outward, keeping the gap between turns even.
• Cube. Draw a square, draw a second square up and to the right of it so they overlap, and join the four matching corners.
• Stacked boxes. Draw one rectangle, then set a slightly different one on top, off center, and keep building the tower.
• Bundle of arrows. Draw one arrow pointing up, then crowd more around it at slight angles, sharing the same base.
• Ripples. Draw a small circle and ring it again and again, a little wider each time.
• Staircase. Draw a step, across and down, and repeat it diagonally across the margin.
• Mountain range. Draw a zigzag, then a second zigzag behind it, and put a short snow line near each peak.

Tiny creatures

• Snail. Draw a spiral for the shell, a long flat body under it and two stalks with dots on top.
• Fish. Draw an almond shape, add a triangle tail at one end and a dot eye at the other.
• Ladybug. Draw a half circle, a line down its middle, a small dark head and a few spots.
• Caterpillar. Draw a row of five overlapping circles, with a face on the first and two short feelers.
• Round bird. Draw a circle, a tiny triangle beak, a curved wing line and two stick legs.
• Bee. Draw a small oval, stripe it twice, and add two loop wings on top.
• Blob monster. Draw any lumpy closed shape, then give it one big eye, two short legs and a zigzag mouth.

For bears, foxes and frogs built the same way, see the cute animal doodles.

Patterns that fill a margin

• Scales. Draw a row of joined U shapes, then a second row below it, shifted half a step.
• Bricks. Draw flat parallel lines, then short uprights between them, staggered from row to row.
• Diagonal stripes. Draw slanted lines the same distance apart and thicken every third one.
• Growing dots. Draw a line of dots that starts tiny and gets a little larger each time.
• Waves. Draw one wavy line and echo it underneath, over and over.
• Triangle row. Draw a zigzag between two flat lines and fill in every other triangle.

If one of these takes over the whole page, the guide to filling a page with a repeating pattern shows how to keep it even.

Three games for when no idea comes

Repeat and change

Draw one simple shape, such as a circle. Draw it again beside the first and change one thing: add a stem and it is an apple. Keep changing one thing, so the row runs circle, apple, balloon, clock face, planet.

Squiggle rescue

Close your eyes and draw one loose, loopy line. Open them, turn the page until the line reminds you of something, then add what is missing. A loop becomes a snail shell once it has a body and two stalks.

Fill the box

Draw a box about the size of a stamp, by hand. Fill it edge to edge with one pattern from the list above. Draw a second box touching the first, give it a different pattern, and keep going until you have a small patchwork.

When the margin is full

Turn the page and pick one theme only. A corner of sky doodles, or a strip of nothing but snacks, looks more planned than forty unrelated drawings.