30 doodle ideas for photos and notebooks

The best doodle ideas come from what’s already there. A cat gets a crown, a cup gets a face, an empty sky gets a sleepy sun. Here are 30, sorted by where you draw them: on photos of pets, food, the sky, people and rooms, and in a notebook.

On photos of pets

1. A crooked crown A zigzag crown sitting a little crooked on your pet’s head. Tilt it with the head; crooked looks funnier than straight.
2. Zzz over a nap Three Zs getting bigger as they float up from a sleeping pet, with a small crescent moon at the top.
3. A thought bubble A cloud-shaped bubble above your dog with what it’s hoping for inside: a bone, a ball, a sausage. Draw it, don’t write it.
4. A halo after the crime A thin halo over a pet sitting next to whatever it just knocked over.
5. Speed lines Three or four straight lines behind a running dog and a couple of small dust clouds at its feet.
6. Hearts for the good one Small hearts floating around a pet’s head, bigger ones closer and smaller ones farther away.

On photos of food and drinks

1. A face on your cup Two dots and a small smile on a mug or a takeout cup, with the steam lines curling up like hair.
2. A party hat on dessert A small cone hat with a pom-pom on top of a cupcake, a donut or a slice of cake.
3. Spicy sweat Wavy heat lines over a bowl of noodles, and a sweating, blushing face on the bowl.
4. Arms on fruit Two stick arms on an apple or a lemon, one hand waving and one on its hip.
5. A tiny chef A stick figure in a tall hat standing on the edge of the plate, holding a spoon bigger than itself.

On photos of the sky and outdoors

1. A sun in sunglasses A circle with short rays in the plain part of the sky, then two dark lenses across its face.
2. A sleepy moon at dusk A crescent in a nightcap, drawn in the corner where the sky is darkest.
3. A face in a cloud Find a cloud that already looks like something and add two eyes and a mouth where they belong.
4. A flock of birds Five or six small tick shapes in a loose V across an empty sky.
5. A rainbow between rooftops Three arcs that start on one roof and land on another.
6. Flowers in the cracks Tiny five-petal flowers growing out of a crack in the pavement or a wall.

On photos of people

1. Animal ears Round bear ears or long bunny ears on top of the head. Follow the tilt of the head so they look attached.
2. Blush and freckles Two small ovals on the cheeks and a few dots across the nose.
3. A friend on the shoulder A small bird, cat or ghost sitting on someone’s shoulder, looking at the camera too.
4. Comic motion lines Short curved lines around a waving hand or a jump, like a panel from a comic.
5. A light bulb moment A light bulb with three short rays over someone’s head, for the photo where they’re mid-sentence.

On photos of rooms

1. Faces on furniture A sleepy face on a lamp, a grumpy one on the laundry pile, a surprised one on the fridge.
2. Plants with feelings A smile on the pot and two little arms reaching up from the leaves.
3. Stars on the ceiling Small stars and a moon scattered across a bedroom ceiling or a dark window.

In a notebook

1. A page border Repeat one tiny shape along the edge of the page: hearts, stars, waves or a vine. More in scrapbook doodles.
2. Today in six boxes Six small boxes, one doodle for each thing you did today, no words.
3. Your desk, right now Five things on your desk exactly as they are: mug, pen, phone, keys, plant.
4. The date in bubble letters Write the date in puffy outlined numbers and give one of them a face.
5. A corner of patterns Rows of small circles, triangles and waves, added until the corner is full.

Doodle on your photos with Tada

Every photo idea above works in Draw in Tada, an iPhone app, and the doodles move.

1. Open Tada, tap Draw and pick a photo.
2. Draw with your finger, right next to the thing the doodle is about.
3. Choose My lines to keep your lines as drawn and make them wiggle like a hand-drawn cartoon, free and made on your phone. Or choose Make it cute and AI turns your lines into a cute doodle that moves, for 1 AI tada.
4. Tap Save. It goes to Photos as a Live Photo.

Make it cute redraws only the lines you drew, never your photo. For a quieter, thin-line style, see aesthetic doodles.

Questions

More you can do

• Cute doodles to draw
• Easy doodles
• Aesthetic doodles
• Doodle ideas that move
• All guides