Upside Down Dream Maker: Doodling Challenge! by Judi Kauffman for The Queen’s Ink

I like to give myself creative challenges. For example, I’ll change my perspective by turning something upside down, forcing me to look at it in a new way. It’s a lot of fun.

Imagine what a tree looks like with the roots at the top and the leaves at the bottom (a woodland creature wearing a green skirt, an off-beat ostrich, a pitcher carved by Shrek). Things can turn totally abstract or head in a more whimsical direction.

This time, I turned the Dream Maker stamp from RubberMoon upside down, started doodling, and before I knew it, a mix of people, animals, birds and a little green bug had appeared.

Care to join me?

Here’s how it works:

1. Turn the Dream Maker stamp so that the lip line is at the top. Repeatedly stamp it on a sheet of inexpensive paper. Experiment on this sheet until you like the way the faces are turning out. Use a pencil with an eraser if you want to be able to change your mind, or use a marker if you want to commit to the marks you make.

2. It is probably easiest to start with the eyes. The line now at the top (formerly the lip line) can be used in many ways - BETWEEN the eyes, ON TOP OF the eyes, or BELOW the eyes.

3. The pair of lines now at the bottom (formerly the eye lines) can be used as part of a beak, as part of a mouth, as part of a group of whiskers, as part of a moustache or whatever else YOU see when you look at the lines.

4. The line in the middle can remain part of the nose, get incorporated into a pair of glasses, among other options.

5. Once you’re pleased with your preliminary sketches (faces only), repeat with additional sheets of paper and add the bodies!

6. Now you’re ready to stamp, doodle, draw and color on cardstock. Artist Trading Cards (2.5” x 3.5”) are a good place to start – they’re the perfect scale for the Dream Maker Stamp, no need to fuss with much of a background. Your art journal or sketchbook, envelopes, bookmarks, tags, and card fronts are also fun alternatives.

7. Keep going beyond the samples shown. Add more: Stamp or hand-letter words, dates, additional images. Stamp a flock of birds, overlapping their bodies, but not their heads. Stamp a group of friends on the front of a birthday card. The more you invent, the more your imagination will soar!

8. Gather a group of friends or get the kids in on the act. Bake a pineapple upside down cake, wear a sock on your head, turn the clock upside down, and let the fun begin!!!

Supplies:

• Dream Maker stamp (RubberMoon)
• Fine nib black pen
• Black ink
• Markers, colored pencils