5 questions with quietly doodling
Having been a fan of @quietly.doodling’s works, I decided to slide into her DMs to chat about the idea of co-designing a t-shirt. We met up for coffee at Equate Coffee the day after Christmas in 2022 (crazy to think it was so long ago!) to toss around some ideas.
The project got put on the back burner for a bit until we reconnected after my trip to Korea last year. I showed her some of my photos from Korea that captured the vibe I wanted to convey, and Yen effortlessly turned them into illustrations that were just spot on. Sure, there were a few tweaks along the way as we fine-tuned the designs. But after over a year in the works, the 'What The Waves Tell Us' tee finally came to life.
Here's a peek into her creative process:
Where do you get your inspiration from for your doodles?
I started doodling in in 2020, when the pandemic hit and suddenly the world turned very bleak overnight. I can look back and laugh at myself now but I genuinely thought the world was ending soon and was going through a bout of anxiety.
At the time, I was also going through a messy career transition. To cope with these changes, I started to doodle. One of my biggest inspirations at the time was @Constantbageltherapy – I liked how they manage to capture emotion in simple doodles and found that it made me laugh and gave me comfort at the same time.
These days, most of my doodles are shower thoughts and I like to think of them as a shorthand for feelings I don’t yet have the vocabulary to describe.
Do you have a favourite doodle, and why is it significant for you?
My favourite doodle is this short comic about my bunnies. I doodled this after my bunny, Wooly (bunny with the dark nose), passed away suddenly. Shortly after he passed, we got another bunny to keep Tofu company but she wasn’t too fond of him.
This comic is about how Wooly and Tofu met and the times they spent together. I wanted to capture a very simple story, from the perspective of my bunnies about what friendship means and hoped that one day Tofu would accept her new friend (Mochi) like how Wooly accepted her.
This piece is quite different from the usual doodles I put up, but I guess it’s the things closest to your heart – not the most popular artworks – that mean the most to you.
What do you like most about our collaboration?
I love the message behind the t-shirts and how contemplative the concept was. In a world that never knows rest, the collaboration is a reminder that it’s alright to slow down. Portraits Collective celebrates the human experience through photography while Quietly Doodling uses digital art as a medium. Nonetheless, I love how we can both come together and create something that is authentic and meaningful.
How do you go about transforming a photograph into a doodle? And how do you ensure that the original essence of the photo remains intact while adding your own artistic flair?
The original photo was contemplative and already had a sense of emotional depth to it, which made it easy to resonate with. To translate the same feeling to a doodle, I focused on the human element and simplified the details of the surrounding, Communicating and discussing with you also gave me a greater understanding of what the photograph meant to you and its messaging. It was a joy to work on this piece!
P.S. did you spot her signature character?
What exciting projects are you currently working on, and what can your followers expect to see from you next?
There are so many ideas I’m toying with! From handmade crafts to wearables, I hope to go out of my comfort zone and try launching items I’ve never done before. Ultimately, I hope that whatever I make resonates with people, no matter the medium.
This collaboration with Yen/quietly doodling has truly been a dream come true, and I'm thrilled to share our creation and the process with you. Here's hoping you adore the tee as much as we do!
- L, founder