Zen doodling is a wonderfully creative and productive way to help you get your mind out of racing thoughts, overthinking, or to instantly spark your creative side.

In this article, I’ll show you 7 Relaxing and Simple Zen Doodle Design Ideas to help you unwind now, whether you need a mental breather, or just want something satisfying to doodle in your free time.

Before we get started, it’s important to know what a zen doodle is.

Let’s get into it!

What Are Zen Doodles Designs?

Zen doodle designs are creative yet intricate patterns drawn in small areas that are made by drawing very simple strokes and shapes.

The most simple zen doodle design ideas use only lines, perfect for beginners!

They are most often created with some sort of ink, the most common being black pen or by using a black multi liner.

I like to think of zen doodle patterns and designs as an improvised and free-flowing form of drawing because it doesn’t require any sort of prep work, reference, or much thought.

You can doodle whatever shapes you want, making them as complicated or as simple as you like.

The result is a stunning, detailed pattern or design.

There are no rules when drawing your own zen doodle design.

So let’s try making some amazing zen doodle drawings!

7 Relaxing Zen Doodle Design Ideas to Help You Unwind

Materials: Something to draw with and something to draw on

*For these exercises, I used a 0.5mm black fineliner for thinner lines and Copic markers for thicker lines on a regular sheet of copy/printer paper (8.5 x11 inches, 20lb).

1. Triangle Zen Doodle Pattern

Time: 10-15 minutes

Let’s start off with something super simple – a triangle design!

1. Draw a Triangle Outline

Using a pen or pencil, draw a medium-sized triangle but definitely not small because you will be drawing details inside the outline.

It’s okay if the lines aren’t perfect or straight

2. Draw Thick Lines Inside the Outline

If you have a marker with a chisel or thicker tip, draw evenly spaced parallel lines inside your triangle, anywhere from 3-7 thick lines.

They can be vertical, diagonal, or horizontal.

If you don’t have a marker, you can draw over your lines 2-4 times to makes them look darker and thicker.

3. Sketch Triangles Between The Thick Lines

Now, in between each set of thick lines you just drew, draw a series of triangles between them, around 2-4 in each line using zig-zag lines.

4. Draw Vertical Lines in The Triangle Shapes

You should now have 2 sets of triangles in each row: 1 upside down set and 1 upright set.

To add even more detail to your triangle doodle pattern, draw thin lines in each upside-down triangle.

This creates contrast of detail and value within each row of triangles and gives it more depth.

And you’re done!

If you want to add even more detail and color to your design, you can color in the blank triangles.

I left a little bit of blank space in each colored in triangle to give the areas of color some room to breathe.

2. Cross Hatching

Time: 5 minutes

Cross hatching is a fantastic zen doodle design that takes little effort but looks incredibly detailed.

1. Draw a square outline
2. Starting in any corner of your square, doodle 4 tiny diagonal lines
3. Draw another set of tiny lines directly perpendicular to the first set of lines you drew, to add more detail, making them slightly longer and spacing them out a bit more than the first set you drew
4. Add another set of lines (shown in step 3 above) but make them slightly longer and space them out a bit more
5. Keep cross hatching until you’ve filled up the entire square
   • Continue to make your lines longer and more spaced out – this gives your doodle design more variation, making it more interesting and satisfying to look at

You’re finished doodle should look something like this. Pretty neat!

Cross hatching is a great way to take up some time creatively when you have a few extra minutes to spare. If you enjoy the spontaneity of cross hatching, check out these 15 Relaxing Random Doodles to Draw When You’re Bored!

3. Leaf Patterns

Time: 10 minutes

Now that you’ve had a chance to practice a bit with the previous zen doodle drawing tutorials, let’s try drawing something more recognizable: a leaf.

For this leaf zen doodle design, start off by drawing a leaf outline.

You can use a marker or pen to draw the leaf.

You can make it as big or small as you’d like.

On the outside of your outline, leave some space and draw another outline around your first one.

Continue to draw more outlines following the leaf’s shape. You can make as many as you’d like but try drawing no less than 2 more outlines.

To finish off this zen doodle, you can color in the bigger leaf (the center) or draw in leaf details to make it contrast with the rest of the outline.

This zen pattern is quite relaxing because it focuses on nature and just creating outlines.

It’s almost like tracing, where the act of drawing feels automatic yet not forced. It’s a great way to take pressure off yourself and just focus on doodling.

4. Half-Circles / Repeating Domes / Egg Shapes

Time: 10-12 minutes

This next design involves drawing half- circles / egg shapes.

There’s something so calming and satisfying about drawing circles and rounded shapes.

Like in the previous tutorials above, start off by drawing a circle or egg-shaped outline.

You can section off areas inside your circle by drawing larger circular lines.

And to add more detail, just continue sectioning off the bigger circles with smaller ones and add more tightly packed lines and details.

5. Angles

Time: 5 minutes

Drawing angles and arrow shapes can be relaxing because it literally gives you a sense of direction!

Instead of doodling random shapes, drawing angles and arrows can give you a sense of flow and focus in your art.

Sometimes when we’re stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious, it can be hard to concentrate and focus on one thing. So, having something visually directional and focused in front of us, can help us slow down our thoughts and move forward.

Talk about getting to the point!

All you need to do is draw a square outline, pick a direction, and just start drawing angles or arrows in that direction, following the flow of the doodle.

You can color them in or draw in lines for more detail.

6. Squares

Time: 5-7 minutes

Drawing squares are a great way to start making zen doodle designs of your own.

They’re super simple to draw and the possibilities of designs you can make with them are endless!

You can draw squares inside each other, making a unified, almost hypnotizing design.

Or, you can mix it up by drawing different shapes inside your square. Just stick to 2-3 different shapes so that your zen pattern keeps its stylistic consistency.

7. Rectangles

Time: 10-15 minutes

Doodling rectangles can be very calming as well.

Here’s a zen doodle I sketched, using repeating rectangles and lines.

For this drawing, I sketched rounded rectangles because I find them calming to look at. I prefer the softer edges as opposed to harsh angles because they’re more satisfying to look at, at least for me.

Do you prefer looking at rounded or hard edges in art?

Whatever your preference, adding that detail to your zen doodles will ultimately help in making a satisfying design that is specifically tailored to you.

This is important because it helps you recognize which shapes and patterns are calming and relaxing for you to look at.

You can always refer back to those shapes and designs as a visual pick-me-up the next time you’re overwhelmed or just need to unwind.

8. Random Shapes

Time: 5-10 minutes

Sometimes it’s okay to throw all sense out the window and just draw without a single thing prepped.

What’s great about doodling random shapes is that it’s a ‘go-with-the flow’ stress free exercise.

You’re free to draw whatever you’d like with no pressure to make it look perfect or a particular way.

Doodling random shapes is a great way to unwind because it allows you to mentally release racing thoughts by focusing on the present.

To get started making a random zen doodle design, draw your outline in any shape you’d like – anything works!

In the image above, I drew a pillar shape with a slanted line.

I then made random sections within that shape using thicker lines.

Then, within those sections, I doodled a combination of lines and circle to make my drawing a more intricate pattern.

The result is a very unique doodle design.

And the best part?

It was so easy!

Feel free to use whatever combinations of shapes and details you can think of to make a random zen doodle pattern.

You can use squiggles, spirals, trapezoids, hexagons, and more!

You can even color it in if you’d like.

If you need a bit of inspiration for what random shapes or patterns to doodle, check out images of abstract patterns on Google.

What Are The Benefits of Zen Doodling?

Zen doodling provides a variety of helpful benefits that can improve both your mental state as well as your drawing skills – what a win-win situation!

Here they are:

How Simple Zen Doodle Designs Help You Relax and How They Are Therapeutic

• Keeps you focused by honing your concentration on little details
• Creates satisfying and harmonious designs to look at
  • Refreshes your mind and gives you a feeling of accomplishment
• Quick and easy to complete
  • Doesn’t put pressure on you to make something amazing or to not fail
• Pulls your mind into the present away from (sometimes unwanted) thoughts
• Calming
  • Repetition allows for a form of automation leading to less straining decision-making and more freedom of flow and creativity

Drawing Benefits

• Focuses on repetition – fantastic way to practice your penmanship and linework by drawing the same thing over
• Improves your precision with pen, allowing you to get cleaner lines
• Varies your line strokes – helps make your drawings look more fluid, hand drawn, and less mechanical
• Introduces you to creating detailed drawings
• Allows you to experiment with different shapes an patterns, expanding your doodling experience and visual library

If you love doodling but want to try drawing less abstract art, check out these simple nature doodle tutorials of How to Draw Succulent Doodles Easy for Beginners, & 7 Simple Types of Flower Doodles to Draw for beginners!

More Related Art Therapy Activities & Doodle Drawing Tutorials:

• 15 Quick Doodles to Draw When You’re Bored | Post
• How to Draw Succulent Doodles Easy for Beginners | Post
• How to Draw Easy Pen Flower Doodles for Beginners | Post
• 10 Beautiful Yet Simple Types of Flower Doodles to Draw | Post
• 9 Comforting Fall Art Therapy Activities for Mental Relief | Post
• How to Draw Clouds with Pen & Ink | Post
• 15 Relaxing Simple Art Therapy Activities for All Skill Levels | Post
• Free Printable Stress Relief Cheat Sheet | Freebie
• 10 Expressive Art Therapy Activities to Try Now | Post
• 15 Anxiety Art Therapy Drawing Activities to Help You Feel Calm Now | Post
• 10 Euphoric Drawing Art Therapy Prompts for Racing Thoughts | Post

Have fun drawing these zen doodle design ideas and/or try creating your own in your art!

See you in the next post!