Doodle Fix!

by Liam Williams on 15 September 2017

We have so many different passions floating about the studio and illustration is a big one for us. So we recently popped over the bridge to Bristol so that we could get our fix—our Doodle Fix from the brilliant Jon Burgerman.

Thread Thursdays is becoming a favourite of ours. Its eclectic, creative, held in an amazing venue, plus we really love the tickets.

Who is Jon Burgerman?

Jon Burgerman is a creative who has doodled his way to the top. Originally a fine art student from the UK he has spent time (quite a lot of it) in South Korea and now resides in New York. He writes and illustrates books for all ages, is a massive Instagram stories hit and topping it all, has even been on Blue Peter.

Jon’s main purpose is to have fun and that's exactly what he does. His journey is one of hard work with lots of experimentation thrown in, but essentially, and here it is again, it's about having fun. 

He spoke all about the diverse approach he takes to his work, trying not to plan or worry too much about the outcome. His talk reflected this keeping us on our toes and changing up the topic often, it made for a fascinating story. 

If you can’t be good, be different

We love his well oiled cartoonish style. He’s got his own type and his doodles have been transformed into animations. He's incredibly open to working on many different types of projects and this book is the latest. We couldn’t leave without getting one, It’s Great To Create. It’s 101 creative exercises for everyone. So now we are scribbling until our pens run out, drawing with our other hand and sketching each others faces during our down time.

Thinking and making at the same time

Lately, I've been doing a bit of sketchnoting at the events I attend. Here's my sketchnote from the evening. No pressure. No pressure at all.

The one thing that's stuck with me from Jon's talk is how he described what he thinks about when he starts doodling—absolutely nothing! He puts pen/pencil to paper and just sees what happens. I love this idea, a true doodle, not planned, not considered, just whatever comes to mind in that moment. We think there's a lot to be said for this approach, experimentation is key to producing original work. 

Thanks Thread. See you at Something Good

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