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
Table of contents
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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!
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!
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!
