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Home » bullet journal doodles

6 Fun & Easy to Draw Back-to-School Doodles

August 17, 2021 2 Comments

Here are 6 fun and easy-to-draw back-to-school doodles for your bullet journal or planner! Add a weekly art or doodle box to your bullet journal or planner so you can try them out when inspiration strikes. You can also use them for headers or note spaces. These doodles are super easy and fun to try! Try all sorts of variations once you get the hang of drawing these simple school sketches.

Originally Posted September 19, 2019 – Edited July 22, 2021

Back-to-school Doodles Header

Table of contents

  • Supplies
  • Back-to-School Art Doodles: How to Draw a Pencil
  • Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Chemistry Flask
  • Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Clipboard
  • Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Ruler
  • Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw an Open Book
  • Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Sticky Note
  • How to Draw a Pencil Planner Doodles | ChocolateMusings.com

Supplies

All you need to doodle is a pencil and some paper, but if you want to outline your drawings with a pen, use an archival pen so it doesn’t smudge when coloring. Keep in mind that you need to let the ink completely dry even when using an archival pen. Sometimes it’s a couple of minutes or it might be more. It really depends on the pen & the paper you’re using.

I drew all of these in pen because it’s easier to see in the picture examples, but I would draw them in pencil first and then finish off with pen & coloring.

Crayola Supertip markers are some of my favorites to color with because they have such a variety of colors, and they are relatively inexpensive. But you can use colored pencils, Tombow markers, or anything else you have on hand or leave it uncolored if you want.

Archival Pens I Recommend:

These are archival pens I’ve personally tried out and use. I always recommend doing some experiments on your pen test page in your notebook to see how long it takes for each pen to dry.

  • Winsor & Newton Assorted 5-Pack Fine Liners – my personal favorite is .3 mm
  • Zebra Zensations Assorted 6-Pack – again I reach for the .3 mm width pen
  • Sakura Micron Assorted 6-Pack – I usually switch from the 02 (.3mm) & 03 (.35mm) pens
  • Copic Multiliner Assorted 9-Pack – this one also has my favorite width of .3mm
  • The Pigeon Letters 3 Pack Assorted Monoline Markers – which come in .25mm .35mm & .45mm

Back-to-School Art Doodles: How to Draw a Pencil

The pencil doodle is one of my favorites! And you can customize it in so many ways.

  • Start by drawing two parallel lines
  • Then add a point where you connect the two lines with diagonal lines.
How to Draw a Pencil Part 1 - Back-to-School Doodles for your Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #BTS #backtoschool #doodles #backtoschooldoodles
  • Add curved lines to separate the body and show the sharpened part of the pencil and a curved line for the lead.
  • On the other end, add thin rectangles at the end of your first parallel lines
  • Then add shorter parallel lines for the eraser.
  • Cap it off with an oval or curved lines for the eraser.
  • Add some additional lines down the center of the pencil
  • Finish it off by coloring your pencil sketch.

You can see that I added a little darker color on the left-hand side of the pencil. This shows that the light is coming from the right-hand side. You don’t have to add shadows, but they add a little dimension to the drawing.

How to Draw a Pencil Part 2 - Back-to-School Doodles for your Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #BTS #backtoschool #doodles #backtoschooldoodles

Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Chemistry Flask

Since most flasks are see-through, you will have to show the outside and inside of the container.

  • The top opening is an oval with a lip, so start by drawing an oval inside another oval.
  • Once you draw your top ovals, add parallel lines down from the center oval, but don’t extend them too far.
  • Draw the curve of the bottom of the flask. If you’d rather draw a larger oval you can do that in pencil. Sometimes it’s helpful to follow the same curve as the top oval as they have similar shapes.

Note: The bottom of the flask is another oval, but that oval won’t connect all the way through. This is when it’s helpful to draw with a pencil so you can erase unnecessary parts before inking in your doodle.

How to Draw a Chemistry Flask Part 1 - Back-to-School Doodles for your Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #BTS #backtoschool #doodles #backtoschooldoodles
  • Connect the bottom oval and the parallel lines with two diagonal lines.
  • If you didn’t draw this line initially, add the second curved line showing the inside bottom of the flask. I usually don’t connect the bottom lines, but you can if you want!
  • Finally, you can add measurement lines and color the flask. You’re done with this fun back-to-school doodle!
How to Draw a Chemistry Flask Part 2 - Back-to-School Doodles for your Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #BTS #backtoschool #doodles #backtoschooldoodles

Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Clipboard


Idea: use this clipboard art doodle for the notes section in a weekly planner spread or as the day/date indicator for a week.

  • Start by drawing a rectangle, but don’t close off the box at the top middle (or draw in pencil and erase later).
  • Then draw a short line on the inside near the top for the clip part.
  • Add a curve in between the unconnected lines at the top.
  • Add two curved lines to connect your center curve to the straight line and add a circle at the top.
  • Include some details like paper (or several sheets stacked on the clipboard). Draw the sheets of paper under the clamp, but on the inside of the clipboard.
  • Finish off your adorable clipboard with color or details!
How to Draw a Clipboard Part 2 - Back-to-School Doodles for your Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #BTS #backtoschool #doodles #backtoschooldoodles

Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Ruler

You might not think about sketching a ruler since usually, it’s one of the tools you use to draw! But you could use this doodle in so many ways in your planner or bullet journal. Add curved edges instead of hard, rectangular edges, and adding the metal tip as you find on some wooden rulers, it really dresses up this little back-to-school doodle!

  • Start with horizontal parallel lines
  • Add vertical lines to the ends of the two original lines.

Tip: If you want curved corners, don’t connect the two sets of lines and draw little curves before connecting them.

  • Add a longer set of marks then add shorter lines between each of those long lines to create measurements.

Optional: If you want the metal tip, add a thin line to the top and connect it to your ruler.

  • Finally, color away! You don’t have to stick with the traditional brown if it doesn’t go with your color scheme!

Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw an Open Book

I have to admit that this is one of my favorite back-to-school doodles. And you could use it as part of a reading log if you wanted, as well.

  • Start out your doodle with three vertical parallel lines. The centerline is the middle of the book.
  • To make the pages, draw a curved line on the top and bottom connecting your parallel lines.
  • Curve up near the center and curve down on the edge, similar to a slight S turned on its side.
  • Add a curved line for the spine of the book at the top and bottom of the center.
  • Draw two more vertical parallel lines on the outside of the book.
  • For the next step, add the outside box for the cover.
  • Add additional curved lines to add more pages to the book, following the original lines.
  • Color in your doodle!

This one may take some trial and effort to get the page curves and the cover to look right. But once you do, I’m sure you’ll find some excuses to use this sketch in your planner!

Back-to-School Doodles: How to Draw a Sticky Note

Aaaah the sticky note or Post-it ® note. I use these all the time in my planner, not just the doodle, but the real thing. Where would we be if we didn’t have sticky notes? You can answer that if you like, but I’m just being silly.

This sketch is one of the easiest, and it has ample space to write in, so you can use the area for so many options in your planner!

  • Start out by drawing a square and leave the bottom right corner unfinished. (Of course you can draw in pencil and erase it later)
  • Next draw a diagonal line connecting the two corners (see step #3). I went out of order from the illustration below. It’s easier to draw the diagonal line first then draw curved lines.
  • Now add two very curved lines to a point showing the page is curving up.
  • Erase any unnecessary pencil marks and color it in if you wish!

I hope you’ve enjoyed some of these back-to-school doodles and will try them out in your planner! I’d love to see your creations, post on Instagram, and tag me @ChocolateMusingsCreates. Here are some other recommended posts you might enjoy!

  • How to Create (and Use) One Line Per Day in Your Bullet Journal
  • 10 Easy Halloween Headers in Your Bullet Journal + Video Tutorial
  • Plan With Me: February Monthly Calendar Doodles (+Video)
  • January Review: Hello February (What’s Changing & Staying) + Video
6 Fun & Easy Back-to-School Doodles for your Bullet Journal or Planner | ChocolateMusings.com #doodles #howtodraw

2 Comments
Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Creating Art - Watercolor, Painting & Drawing, Get Creative, Planner Spreads, Tutorials & How To Tagged: back-to-school, bullet journal doodles, doodles, drawing tutorial, how to draw

Whimsical Watercolor Travel Theme: April 2020 Planner Set Up

March 31, 2020 1 Comment

Bullet Journal Theme: Whimsical Watercolor Travel - bright colors & an illustrated feel to the graphics provide a fun, whimsical day-brightning theme for this month's plans. | ChocolateMusings.com #bujo #bulletjournal #plannertheme

Welcome to April! I know I’m ready for a new month, how about you? Here is my Bullet Journal theme for April – I call it Whimsical Watercolor Travel.

There are so many places I’d like to travel but haven’t done it. I could blame it on life, and kids, etc. But in reality, I know that it’s because I haven’t made it a priority. Maybe I’ll change that once the world calms down a bit.

April Theme: Whimsical Watercolor Travel

City Skyline Pencil Sketch - Bullet Journal Welcome Page | ChocolateMusings.com #sketch #bulletjournal #welcomepage

Honestly, I penciled in this month’s theme about 3 months ago – not knowing that most of the world would be on a complete travel ban and in the current situation we are in due to the worldwide pandemic. But that doesn’t mean I can’t dream, does it? In fact, I think the ability to dream and plan outside of our circumstances is keeping most of us sane right now.

I’m a firm believer that we all need some whimsy in our lives, and I think I added just the right amount to this month’s travel theme.

Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Water Reflection Detail Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Close up detail of Lettering Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Watercolor bullet train bullet journal weekly layout travel theme | ChocolateMusings.com #bullettrain #bulletjournal #weekly

I decided to experiment with watercolors and see how masking fluid worked in my notebook. First off, I masked off the entire building skyline on the welcome page. Secondly, I masked off part of the brick mortar in the bullet train weekly spread.

Spoiler alert: the masking fluid worked perfectly, and I plan on using it again.

Watch for my blog post demonstrating how to use masking fluid in your planner because I love using masking fluid + watercolor paints.

Side note – if you’re looking for some great quotes for your planner – check out my post where I compiled 75+ quotes on resilience perfect for motivation! I collected them with the idea that I wanted to calm the chaos and take control over what I could control.

Pages in this Month’s Planner

The pages I included in this month’s plans are:

  • Welcome Page
  • Monthly Calendar View – this page also has space at the bottom to write my goals. Look for the one with the suitcase & street signs.
  • Weeklies for each week with lots of room to make notes or make journal entries. Pro Tip: need more room? Attach an extra piece of paper to the page with washi tape.
  • The weeklies are: Hot Air Balloons, Bullet Train, Little Red Truck with Flowers, Metallic Bicycle, Flying Red Wagon
  • The last page for this month is my Brain Dump Page. By the way, if you don’t like the term “brain dump” find my list of different names for brain dump here. The brain dump page is essential for me. I love having a place to write down all the random thoughts that don’t have a home otherwise.
  • Not shown – I added a weekly task checklist with washi tape to each page. I’ll add a blog post about this later.

Go ahead, pin your favorites.

Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Bright fun watercolor hot air balloons - weekly bullet journal layout travel themed | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor
Watercolor bullet train bullet journal weekly layout travel theme | ChocolateMusings.com #bullettrain #bulletjournal #weekly
Whimsical watercolor bike painting with metallic watercolor dots - horizontal weekly layout | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor
Little red truck with flowers bullet journal weekly layout, fun whimsical watercolor | ChocolateMusings.com #weekly #watercolor #bulletjournal
Travel theme bullet journal monthly calendar - watercolor suitcase & street sign | ChocolateMusings.com #monthlylayout #bulletjournal #travel
Yellow Airplane with Cloud Text Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #headerideas
When wagons fly whimsical weekly bullet journal vertical layout | ChocolateMusings.com #wagons #weekly #bulletjournal

Things I learned while creating this month’s whimsical watercolor travel theme:

  1. Go easy on the water. The Scribbles That Matter notebook holds up to a lot of watercolors, but even its pages become saturated and bleed-through if you use too much water to blend paint on the page.
  2. The second thing I learned: Masking fluid works very well! I wasn’t sure how well the paper would react to the masking fluid, especially peeling off the masking fluid once finished.
  3. The third thing I learned while creating this month’s whimsical travel theme is that coming up with a lot of different designs for hot air balloons on the fly (ha!) was hard. Hmmm, maybe I should make a page of pattern ideas – it would work for hot air balloons or Easter eggs.

I have to admit that the watermelon one is my favorite – I also love the nod to Charlie Brown design on the end.

Bright fun watercolor hot air balloons - weekly bullet journal layout travel themed | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor

Bullet Trains in a Bullet Journal

By the way, it’s not the first time I’ve used a bullet train in my bullet journal. I find it funny to use a bullet train in a bullet journal. January 2018 featured a bullet train for my future log. In this case, I painted with Crayola markers instead of watercolor paints!

If you’re curious, here’s a tutorial on how to paint with markers. Wondering what supplies you’ll need? You need a kitchen plate (no joke!), Crayola markers, and a water pen or water brush). Creating doesn’t have to be complicated.

Sparkle Watercolors Vs. Regular Watercolor Paints

Another fun thing I learned is that sparkle watercolors bleed more than regular watercolors. Ok, it’s not really ‘fun’ per se, but it’s good to note. Be aware of how much water you use if you use sparkle or metallic watercolor paints in your bullet journal.

FYI: I’m not going to stop using them. #becausesparkles

If you follow me on Instagram, you might notice that I love using circles of all kinds in my bullet journal. You can create a lot of whimsy and use fun colors in your bullet journal just by coloring in a circle and adding spots of color.

Finally, I learned how to create a super fun new cloud font. It’s fun and not complicated!

Yellow Airplane with Cloud Text Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #headerideas

What Did You Think?

It felt good to try some new, fun techniques and to paint. Painting always soothes my soul. I would recommend finding something that creates peace in your life, especially when dealing with a stressful or unknown situation.

I hope you enjoyed this whimsical travel theme and that it inspired you to try something new or experiment with a new technique.

Keep in mind that your planner doesn’t have to be all about making plans and crossing off your to-do list (because let’s be honest – you crave a little creativity to spice up a boring planner). I think in addition to getting things done, it can be about learning, creating & documenting. That’s how I use my planner, and I encourage you to try using your planner for building your dreams and recording more than just your tasks.

Wishing you joy and creativity every day - Tricia

1 Comment
Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020, Planner Spreads Tagged: 2020, april, Bullet Journal, bullet journal doodles, plan wit me, travel, watercolor, whimsy

About Me


Hi! I'm Tricia, the creative behind ChocolateMusings.com, I know how it feels to lose your inner muse. After years of darkness (which I call the dark ages of my life), I found my inner muse hiding in the forgotten corners of my soul, I vowed never to lose sight of her again.

Bullet journaling helped reignite the passion for art and living life again while organizing my days. I also discovered modern calligraphy and watercolor. Since then, my use of the bullet journal system has evlolved and I call it 'creative planning'. Here on the blog, I show you how to use your planner to ignite your inner muse and explore creativity and art while staying beautifully organized and living a joyful life.

I invite you to grab some good chocolate and dive into my musings. Let’s ignite your inner muse.

Read more on the about me page. You can also find my policies and disclosures here.

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