20 aesthetic doodles in a minimal line style

Aesthetic doodles are small, thin-line drawings with plenty of empty space around them: a one-line flower, a couple of sparkles, a tiny sun. Here are 20 easy ones, and how to place them on a photo so it still looks calm.

The minimal line look

• One thin pen and one color: black, white, or a soft tone that’s already in the photo.
• Outlines only. Skip faces, shading and fill.
• Leave space. Three small doodles in one corner beat a full page.
• Mix sizes: one bigger shape with two or three tiny ones beside it.
• Draw slowly enough that the line stays even, but don’t fix every wobble.

If you want faces and blush instead, that’s a different style: see kawaii doodles.

Flowers and plants

1. One-line tulip A U with a pointed W across the top, then let the same line run down into the stem without lifting.
2. Open daisy Five thin oval petals around an empty circle. Leave one or two petals not quite closed.
3. Leafy stem A long, gentle curve with pairs of small leaves that get smaller toward the tip.
4. Wildflower sprig A thin stem that splits into three, with a small cluster of dots at each end.
5. Tiny bouquet Three stems crossed at the bottom, a different flower on each, and a small bow where they cross.

Sky and sparkle

1. Four-point sparkle Four thin curves that bend inward and meet at four points, with a smaller sparkle beside it.
2. Little sun A small circle with short, separate rays that don’t touch the circle.
3. Moon with a hanging star A thin crescent with one tiny star hanging from its lower tip on a dotted line.
4. Star cluster Three five-point stars in three sizes, with a few dots around them.
5. Shooting star A small star with three thin parallel lines trailing behind it.
6. Planet A circle with a thin tilted ring. Leave out the part of the ring that goes behind it.

Lines and shapes

1. Swirl One loose spiral that ends in a small curl going the other way.
2. Double-line heart A heart with a second, thinner heart drawn slightly off-center inside it.
3. Squiggle underline A loose wave under the thing you want to point at.
4. Dotted halo An arc of evenly spaced dots around a head, a cup or a flower.
5. Line rainbow Three thin nested arches with no color at all.

Little objects

1. Ribbon bow A small bow with long, wavy tails that trail down further than you expect.
2. Envelope A rectangle with a V flap and a tiny heart where the flap comes to a point.
3. Cherries Two small circles on two thin stems that meet at the top under one leaf.
4. Butterfly Two pairs of rounded wings and a line for the body. Leave the wings empty.

Aesthetic doodles on a photo

Put the doodle in the empty part of the photo, not on top of the subject: a sun in a plain sky, sparkles around a drink, a line heart near the edge. Small and few looks aesthetic; big and many looks busy.

1. Open Tada, an iPhone app, tap Draw and pick a photo.
2. Draw two or three small doodles in the empty space.
3. Choose My lines to keep them exactly as drawn, wiggling like a hand-drawn cartoon. It’s free and made on your phone.
4. Tap Save. It goes to Photos as a Live Photo.

To share it, see how to post a Live Photo on Instagram.

A softer hand-drawn style: Crayon Hearts

If you want a hand-drawn feel without drawing, the AI look Crayon Hearts keeps your photo exactly as it is and adds puffy pastel-crayon hearts, two tiny love letters and heartbeat squiggles around the person, all moving. Open Add effects, pick the look and tap Make it.

It uses 1 AI tada (you get 3 free) and takes about a minute. To make it, your photo is sent to Tada’s AI partners; Tada asks before your first one. See privacy.

Questions

More you can do

• Cute doodles to draw
• Scrapbook doodles
• Doodle art
• Instagram story ideas
• All guides