Doodle On!
The lunch break is over and there are three more hours of classes to sit through. You can’t bring yourself to listen to the wise ones drone on and on so you start scribbling at the back of your books and before you know it…Voila! You have one awesome doodle — often the kind of drawing that has no audience and even less artistic merit. But over the years, that has changed. With the likes of Chris Glasz, Matthieu Bessudo and Lizzy Mary Cullen embracing the form to create designs that are gripping yet quirky, doodling soon became a phenomenon that was not merely accepted by art lovers across the world, but a community that everyone could be a part of without having to shy away thanks to the lack of conventional artistic talent. Inspired by not just these names, but simply the love for doodling, two college-mates decided to offer to this country One Big Doodle — a community to express artistic experimentation through scribbles that otherwise got lost in the back pages of notebooks, gathering dust. Conceived by Abhijeet Sathe (Bing) and Jaideep Khare (Jedi), OBD proves that doodling is serious business!
From a blog to a hugely popular Facebook page in the span of just a few months, it is about time we wrote about our partners in crime.
Presenting our exclusive tête-à-tête with One Big Doodle!
ST: From a blog to an insanely popular Facebook Page, how and why did the transition happen?
OBD: We’ve loved doodles since we can remember. The blog began when our in-house doodler got himself a tablet and suddenly, the lethargy of taking a picture every time he doodled wasn’t an issue anymore. We got a huge array of doodles over a couple of years, and one fine night, One Big Doodle was born. That’s pretty much all there is to it.
ST: We all have doodled to pass time, how did you end up making an art out of it?
OBD: The answer to that lies in late-night conversations in a college hostel where us founders of OBD were neighbours. We realized over time that any form of literature, music or visuals can be an art-form to reckon, as long as the artist believes in it and puts real effort into it. Aesthetics aren’t just about following set patterns – they’re also a lot about breaking patterns.
ST: Why Facebook? Was it just a strategy to get popular?
OBD: Today, Facebook is the easiest and the most intuitive way to publish any art or opinion. Our most important goal for now is to build a community of doodlers, and Facebook works just perfect for that.
ST: Was the fame and success something you expected or are you guys pleasantly surprised?
OBD: Oh we’re immensely surprised by the response. We’re just very glad the idea appeals to so many people. We’ve got big plans coming up in due time, we’re hoping our good run continues!
ST: How would you describe OBD to our readers?
OBD: OBD is a doodling community. We all doodle in some form or the other, and all that creativity need not find its way to waste. We’re trying to curate a page where if you’re a doodler, you will be published. In the future, OBD will take your art places and reserve all rights of the art with the doodlers.
ST: You have a section where people can request for doodle, what is the most bizarre request you guys have ever received?
OBD: There was the entire saga about Flying Rambo Duck, Pirate Dog and the Norwhal. Don’t even ask. We’re actually thinking of writing a comic with some of those characters.
ST: Now that you have started off on this journey, where do you guys want to head sooner or later?
OBD: The underlying idea is to get our doodlers breaks and widespread the idea that you CAN make a living out of just your art, so long as it reaches an audience that will truly appreciate it.
ST: Words of wisdom to people who make doodling an art from the masters of doodling.
OBD: However bad you may think you are, don’t stop. Ever. If you think you’re good, well, send us your doodles!