January doodles are the easiest way to make a blank planner page feel warm instead of empty. A few fineliner lines and a touch of icy blue or soft pink marker turn a margin into a tiny cocoa mug, a curled up cat or a snowman on a bench, and none of it takes more than a few minutes.
Below are 31 small scenes to fill the corners of your planner, bullet journal or notes app this month, ordered from the quickest sketches to the ones with a little more going on. Pick whichever matches your mood today and work your way down the list as January goes on.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
Start with the snowman since his shape is the most forgiving in the whole list: three stacked circles, slightly flattened where they rest on the bench. Draw the bottom circle widest, then narrow each one as you go up, and keep the gaps between them small so he reads as one solid figure rather than three floating balls.
Ink the bench as two simple horizontal lines with short vertical slats underneath, then give him stick arms, dot eyes, a triangle nose and a scribbled scarf. Add a small mug in one hand with a soft pink marker swirl for the cocoa and a curl of steam rising above it.
If the arms end up too long, shorten them with a quick white gel pen cover rather than redrawing the whole figure. Swap the fineliner scarf for a strip of icy blue marker if you want more color than line in this one.
Keep the bench shorter than the snowman is tall so the proportions stay cozy rather than stretched out.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
After the bench, try something flatter and more graphic: a pair of mittens draped over a radiator rail. Draw the radiator first as a simple row of four or five vertical ribs between two horizontal bars, kept perfectly even by eyeballing the same gap each time rather than measuring.
Once the ribs sit straight, drape two mitten shapes over the top bar so they overlap it slightly, one hanging a little lower than the other for a natural, just-pulled-off look. Add a quick zigzag cuff pattern in soft pink marker and a couple of curved steam lines rising off the wool.
If the ribs come out uneven, a kneaded eraser can lighten a stray pencil guideline before you ink over it, or just ink slightly thicker ribs to hide small gaps in spacing. No radiator at hand to reference? Any row of evenly spaced vertical lines does the same job.
Finish with a dot pattern in icy blue along the mitten cuffs for a knitted texture without drawing every stitch.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Warm Grey
Carry the fresh-start feeling into a torn calendar page, a subject that is really just a rectangle with character. Draw the page as a square with a ragged, uneven top edge instead of a straight one, small jagged peaks and dips to suggest the paper tearing away from a spiral binding.
Add two or three small circles along the torn edge for the hole punches, then write a bold number inside the square in your own block lettering, with a thin ring binding sketched above it in icy blue. A curling corner at the bottom right, shaded with a few soft pink hatch lines, sells the paper feel.
If the torn edge looks too neat, go back over it with smaller, less regular jags using the fineliner tip at an angle. No calendar on your desk to study? Any torn piece of paper nearby shows you how the edge actually breaks.
Try the same page design later in the year with a different month number once you like how this one reads.
Palette: Charcoal Black,Icy Blue,Soft Pink
Move from paper to fur with a cat curled into a tight comma shape on a blanket. Sketch the body as one soft curved line that loops almost back on itself, then tuck a small round head into the curl with two triangle ears and a closed, sleepy expression.
Ink the outline first, then add a folded blanket underneath made of a few wavy horizontal lines, filled with a soft pink plaid pattern of light crossed strokes. Keep the cat’s own fur marks to a handful of short lines along the back and tail rather than covering the whole shape.
The curl is the part most likely to go wrong, so if your first loop feels too tight or too loose, keep a reference photo of a sleeping cat open beside you and trace the general curve before inking. If you only have one marker color today, use icy blue for the blanket instead and skip the pink.
A single closed eye line and a small smile is all the expression this cat needs.
Palette: Charcoal Black,Soft Pink,Icy Blue
If you enjoy drawing cats like this one, the cute cat doodles for beginners guide has more poses to try.
Keep things warm with a single mug of cocoa as its own small subject, a good one for a tiny margin space. Draw the mug body as a simple rounded rectangle with a curved handle on one side, kept a touch wider at the top than the bottom so it reads as a proper mug rather than a cup.
Fill the top edge with a scalloped line of marshmallows, each one a soft puffy square with rounded corners, and ink two or three curling steam lines rising above them. Color the mug itself in icy blue and leave the marshmallows white, then add a few tiny soft pink dots for sprinkles on top.
If the steam lines end up too stiff, loosen your wrist and let the line wobble slightly as it rises, since steam is never perfectly straight. This whole doodle works as a true ten minute sketch, while a forty minute version adds a wood grain pattern to a small saucer underneath and a thin ring of condensation.
Try it next with a candy cane resting against the handle for a second cozy touch.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Step outside the window for this one, a sled propped against a short picket fence. Draw the fence first as three or four evenly spaced vertical posts with pointed tops, connected by one horizontal rail, since getting this straight line level first makes everything leaning on it look right.
Angle the sled against the fence at roughly the same tilt as a leaning ladder, two curved runners underneath a flat wooden deck made of a few parallel lines. Add a short rope looped at the front and a scatter of soft pink dots along the ground for scattered berries or a fallen mitten nearby.
If the sled’s angle looks off balance, check that its lowest point touches the ground and its highest point rests against the fence, the same way a real leaning object has two contact points. Dust the fence tops and ground with a few icy blue dry-brush style flicks of marker for snow.
No fence reference handy? Any photo of a picket fence online shows the post spacing clearly enough to copy.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Challenge your sense of weight and balance next with a pair of ice skates hanging by their laces. Draw one skate boot first in profile, a simple curved shape narrower at the toe and wider at the ankle, with a thin blade line running underneath that curves up slightly at both ends.
Mirror a second skate facing the opposite way so the pair hangs symmetrically, then connect them at the top with crossed laces tied in a loose bow, the knot sitting at the exact center point between both boots so the whole pair hangs level rather than lopsided.
If the blades look too thin and disappear, thicken them slightly with a second fineliner pass, since a blade that vanishes reads as a shoe rather than a skate. Color the laces in soft pink and run a thin icy blue line along each blade for a cold metal shine.
Keep the boots small and the blades slightly longer than feels natural, since skate blades always run past the heel.
Palette: Charcoal Black,Soft Pink,Icy Blue
Give the cold a character with a round penguin bundled against the weather. Build the body as one tall egg shape, then add a smaller white belly patch inside it and two tiny wing shapes at the sides, kept close to the body rather than sticking straight out.
Perch a pair of earmuffs on top of the round head, two soft circles connected by a thin curved band that follows the head’s curve exactly rather than sitting flat, which is where this doodle most often goes wrong. Color the earmuffs in soft pink and give the penguin a small orange triangle beak and two dot eyes with a hint of blush.
If the earmuff band looks too straight, redraw it as a gentle arc that hugs the head shape before adding the pads. Swap the earmuffs for a knit hat if you would rather skip the trickier band shape altogether.
A tiny icy blue snowflake falling beside the penguin finishes the scene without adding much extra line work.
Palette: Charcoal Black,Soft Pink,Icy Blue
Match the fresh-start mood of January with a small stack of new notebooks. Draw the bottom notebook as a simple rectangle seen slightly from above, then stack two more on top, each one shifted a touch to the side so the pile reads as three separate objects rather than one thick block.
Keep the eye level low, looking almost straight across the stack, so each notebook cover shows as a thin flat band rather than a wide open face, which is what makes a stack look like a stack instead of a single book lying open. Rest a pen diagonally across the top cover and add a thin ribbon bookmark hanging from one side.
Color one notebook cover in soft pink and another in icy blue, leaving the third plain white for contrast. If the stack leans too far in one direction, nudge the top notebook back toward center before inking the final outlines.
Try the same stack later with a mug and a candle added beside it for a fuller desk scene.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Build a small world inside a circle with a snow globe scene. Draw a perfect circle first by tracing around a coin or bottle cap, then add a short rectangular base underneath with a thin horizontal line to mark the join between glass and wood.
Inside the circle, sketch a tiny house with a triangle roof, one small window and a short chimney, kept small enough that plenty of empty space surrounds it inside the globe. Scatter a handful of small white dots or soft pink flecks around the house for falling snow, and add one curved highlight line along the edge of the circle to suggest glass.
If the house looks cramped against the circle’s edge, erase and redraw it smaller rather than widening the globe, since the empty space around it is what sells the glass dome feeling. Shade the base in icy blue with a simple wood grain pattern of a few parallel lines.
A thin curved highlight near the top left of the glass is the one detail that makes the whole circle read as transparent.
You Will Need
- round object to trace a circle
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Bring in some wildlife with a fox wrapped up for winter. Start the head as a rounded triangle, pointed at the nose and wide at the ears, then add a slim body curving down from the chin so the fox sits upright rather than standing on all fours.
Wrap a long scarf around the neck in two or three loose loops, letting both ends trail down past the body at slightly different lengths so it looks tossed on rather than perfectly folded. Ink a fluffy tail curling around one side and add the classic white patches at the chest and tail tip by simply leaving the paper blank there.
If the ears come out too rounded and the fox starts to look like a cat, sharpen the tips with a couple of quick extra lines, since pointed ears are what read as fox rather than any other small animal. Color the scarf in soft pink with a scribbled texture, and add two icy blue snowflakes drifting near the tail.
Keep the eyes as two small almond shapes angled slightly upward for that alert fox expression.
Palette: Charcoal Black,Soft Pink,Icy Blue
Slow the pace down with an empty armchair facing a frosted window, a scene built from mostly straight and gently curved lines. Draw the chair first as a simple boxy shape with rounded arms and a tall back, keeping the front legs shorter than the back of the chair appears so it reads as sitting at an angle rather than flat on.
Place the window behind it as a simple grid of panes, then frost the lower corners with soft pink crystal patterns made of small branching lines, heaviest in the corners and thinning out toward the center of the glass. Toss a folded blanket over one arm of the chair and tuck a single book onto the seat.
If the chair looks flat and stiff, round off every hard corner slightly with the fineliner, since armchairs are never perfectly square anywhere. Light the scene from the window side so the chair’s near edge catches a thin icy blue highlight while the far side stays plain line.
For more ideas in this same cozy window mood, the winter doodles for beginners list is worth a look.
Palette: Charcoal Black,Soft Pink,Icy Blue
Keep the warmth going indoors with a round teapot tucked under a knitted cover. Draw the pot body as a wide rounded shape first, then add the spout curving out from one side and a small curved handle on the other, checking that both sit at roughly the same height so the pot looks balanced rather than tipping.
Drape the cozy over the top like a soft dome, letting it dip slightly between bumps so it looks knitted rather than solid, and add a little pom pom on top for good measure. Color the cozy in soft pink with a simple cable stitch pattern of a few vertical zigzag lines, and leave the spout and handle in plain line with one icy blue steam curl rising from the spout tip.
If the spout and handle end up uneven in height, nudge one up or down before the final ink pass, since a lopsided teapot is the easiest mistake to spot at a glance. No teapot nearby to check proportions against? Any rounded pitcher or jug works the same way.
Add a single teacup beside it next time to turn this into a small tea set scene.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Move back outside with a small bird feeder hanging from an unseen branch. Draw the feeder as a simple house shape, a triangle roof over a rectangular box with a thin perch bar sticking out the front, and keep the whole thing small enough to leave room for the bird beside it.
Perch a plump robin on the bar, its body one rounded oval with a smaller round head overlapping the top, and give it a soft pink blush of color across the chest area where a robin’s red breast would sit. Scatter a few tiny seed dots on the perch and ground below.
If the bird looks too flat, add two or three short curved lines along the wing to suggest feather layers without drawing each one individually, a quick texture trick that works on almost any small bird. Hang the feeder from a thin rope at the top and dust its roof with icy blue snow.
This one also makes a nice quick version: skip the feeder entirely and just draw the robin alone on a snowy branch.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Return indoors for a pair of fuzzy slippers kicked off at an angle. Draw one slipper as a simple rounded shoe shape with a slightly raised toe, then place the second slipper turned a little differently, maybe tipped onto its side, so the pair looks just-removed rather than perfectly lined up.
Texture the fuzzy trim around each opening with a row of short, loose scribble lines rather than one smooth edge, since that broken, fluffy line is what sells the slipper material. Color the trim in soft pink and leave the sole in plain line with a touch of icy blue shading underneath for shadow.
If the fuzzy texture starts looking too neat and combed, vary the length and direction of your scribble marks slightly, since real fleece trim is never even. Swap the trim pattern for small dots instead of scribbles if your pen nib feels too fine for loose scribbling today.
A single dropped sock nearby adds a small story without any extra difficulty.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Give the cold a friendly character with one large smiling snowflake, a good subject for practicing symmetry. Start with a plus sign of two crossing lines, then add two more diagonal lines through the same center point so you end up with six evenly spaced arms radiating out, the real trick that keeps a snowflake from looking lopsided.
Build each arm identically with the same small branch marks at the same distance from center, checking one arm against its opposite before moving to the next pair. Once all six arms match, add two simple dot eyes and a small curved smile near the center where the lines cross.
If the arms end up uneven, rotate the paper as you draw each one so your hand always moves the same comfortable direction, rather than twisting your wrist differently for each arm. Color alternating arms in icy blue and leave the rest plain white, with a tiny soft pink blush under each eye.
Try drawing several of these at different sizes scattered down a page edge once this single one feels steady.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Keep practicing symmetry with a single knit hat seen from the front. Draw the main dome shape first, slightly wider than tall, then add a folded brim band at the bottom made of a few horizontal ribbed lines running all the way around.
Top it with one generously oversized pom pom, drawn as a scribbled circle of short overlapping curved strokes rather than one smooth outline, since a real pom pom never has a clean edge. Color the brim band in soft pink and the pom pom in icy blue, or swap the two if you prefer the pom pom to be the warmer color.
If the hat looks like it is tipping to one side, check that the pom pom sits directly above the center of the dome rather than off to a corner, the simplest way to catch a lean before it is inked. For an even quicker version, skip the ribbed brim lines and just block in a plain band of color instead.
Place two hats side by side next time, one slightly smaller, for a matching pair look.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Work on light itself with a single candle flickering against a dark window. Draw the candle body as a simple cylinder, slightly uneven along the sides since real candles drip and soften, then add a small curved flame shape at the top with a pointed tip leaning gently to one side.
Light the whole scene from the flame, meaning the candle’s near side stays mostly plain line while the far side gets a few soft shadow strokes, and the windowpane behind it darkens the further it sits from the flame. Color the flame core in soft pink fading to white at the tip, and shade the window glass in a deep icy blue.
If the flame looks stiff and symmetrical, tilt its point slightly off center and taper one side more than the other, since a flame leaning perfectly straight up reads as artificial. No real candle to study the shape from? A birthday candle on any cake photo shows the same gentle taper and flicker.
A thin wisp of smoke above the flame is an easy extra once the basic shape feels steady.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Return to something warm and simple with a round bowl of soup. Draw the bowl as a wide shallow oval seen slightly from above, then add a thinner oval just inside the rim to mark where the soup’s surface sits below the bowl’s edge.
Fill that inner oval with a few wavy horizontal lines to suggest liquid, then scatter two or three small floating shapes on top, a slice of carrot or a sprig of herb, kept simple and few so the bowl does not get too busy. Rise two or three curling steam lines above the bowl, thinner and more frequent than a mug’s steam since soup tends to steam more gently and widely.
If the bowl looks tilted or oval in the wrong direction, check that its far edge curves upward more than its near edge, the basic rule of drawing any round object from above. Color the broth in soft pink for a tomato soup feel, or swap to a warm yellow if you only have icy blue and pink markers on hand.
A small spoon resting across the rim finishes the scene without much extra effort.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Shift gears with a small clipboard holding a short list, a nice subject for practicing clean straight lines. Draw the clipboard as a simple rectangle with a rounded top edge and a small metal clip shape pinched at the top center, two short curved lines showing where the clip folds over the paper.
Rule a few horizontal lines across the paper for list items, then add a small checkbox at the start of each line, leaving one or two boxes checked with a quick tick mark. Keep the handwriting inside the lines loose and quick rather than neat, since a tidy scribbled list reads more natural than careful lettering.
If the clip at the top looks too complicated, simplify it down to a plain curved bar, since the overall clipboard shape reads clearly even with a simplified clip. Color the clip in icy blue metal tone and add a soft pink sticky note peeking out from behind the board.
Try swapping the goal list for a packing list or a reading list next time using the same clipboard shape.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Contrast warm indoor life with cold outdoor weather in a small houseplant beside a frosted windowpane. Draw the pot first as a simple trapezoid, wider at the top than the bottom, then build the plant above it from a few overlapping leaf shapes, each one a simple pointed oval growing from a different spot near the pot’s rim.
Vary the leaf sizes so the plant does not look too uniform, with one or two leaves reaching higher than the rest, and add a thin stem line connecting each leaf back down to the soil line. Frost the window glass behind the plant with soft pink crystal branches creeping in from the corners, leaving the center of the pane clearer.
If the leaves start overlapping too much and the plant reads as a blob, leave a thin gap of white paper between each leaf’s outline, the simplest fix for a tangled looking plant. Shade the pot itself in icy blue with one or two lines near the rim for a ceramic shine.
For more plant shapes to borrow from, the guide to drawing different leaves is a handy reference.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Zoom out to a small landscape with a log cabin tucked into snow. Draw the cabin as a simple rectangle topped with a triangle roof, then add a small chimney poking up from one side of the roof, kept narrow so it does not compete with the roof shape for attention.
Set the eye level low, looking almost straight at the cabin’s front door, so the roof shows only as a thin triangle sliver rather than a wide visible top surface, which keeps this reading as a front view rather than an aerial one. Draw one or two small windows glowing softly in soft pink, with a curl of smoke rising from the chimney in a loose wavy line.
If the smoke looks too stiff and straight, let it drift to one side as it rises, the way real smoke bends with even a light breeze. Bank icy blue snow drifts against the base of the cabin walls and along the roofline.
A few small pine trees sketched beside the cabin round out the scene if you want to add a bit more next time.
Palette: Charcoal Black,Soft Pink,Icy Blue
Bring back a friendly animal with a polar bear tilting its head up to catch falling snow. Draw the body as one large rounded shape sitting upright, then add a smaller round head tipped back slightly so the muzzle points up toward the sky, the small tilt that gives this whole pose its playful feeling.
Keep the limbs short and stubby, two front paws held slightly open near the chest as if reaching for the snow, and leave the fur mostly as plain white paper with just a few short curved lines along the edges for texture. Scatter several icy blue snowflakes falling toward the open mouth, some closer and some further to suggest depth.
If the head tilt looks too extreme and the neck disappears, keep a short visible curve between jaw and shoulder so the bear still reads as one connected body. Add a soft pink blush on the cheeks and nose for warmth against all that white and blue.
Try the same catching pose later with a different animal, a fox or a dog, once the head tilt feels comfortable to draw.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Slow back down with a half finished jigsaw puzzle, a nice exercise in drawing irregular shapes that still fit together. Draw a loose rectangle as the puzzle’s final boundary, then fill about half of it with interlocking puzzle piece shapes, each one a simple wiggly edged square with a knob on one or two sides fitting into the next piece’s notch.
Leave the other half of the rectangle as scattered loose pieces lying at random angles outside the filled area, some flipped to show their plain cardboard back instead of the picture side. Color a few of the connected pieces in soft pink and icy blue as if the puzzle image is a winter scene, leaving most pieces in plain outline.
If the interlocking knobs and notches look too fiddly to draw accurately, simplify every piece to a plain square and just vary the gaps between them instead, since the scattered half finished feeling carries the idea even without perfect puzzle logic. A steaming mug set just outside the puzzle’s edge adds a nice finishing touch.
Keep the loose pieces at clearly different angles from each other so the scattered pile looks random rather than lined up.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Return to something small and cozy with a hot water bottle tucked into a soft cover. Draw the bottle’s rubber shape first, a wide rounded rectangle narrowing at the top into a short neck with a screw cap, then wrap it in a knitted cover that bulges slightly wider than the bottle underneath.
Stitch a simple heart shape onto the front of the cover using two curved humps meeting at a point, kept slightly off center for a handmade look rather than perfectly symmetrical. Color the cover in soft pink with the heart left in plain outline or filled a shade darker, and add a thin icy blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle.
If the knitted cover looks too flat against the bottle shape, add a few short curved fold lines near the bottom where the fabric gathers, the same wrinkle trick that works on any draped fabric. No hot water bottle to check proportions against? Any thermos or flask shows a similar neck to body ratio.
A small loop of ribbon at the top doubles as a hanging tab if you want to add one more detail.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Widen the view with a simple path of footprints crossing a snowy field. Draw the ground first as a low horizon line near the bottom third of the page, then add a trail of footprints walking away from the viewer, each pair slightly smaller and closer together as the trail recedes toward the horizon.
Keep every footprint the same basic oval shape, just scaled down gradually, since that steady size change is what makes the trail look like it recedes into distance rather than sitting flat on the page. Shade the open snow around the footprints lightly in icy blue, leaving the footprints themselves as slightly darker indents with a thin pink-tinted shadow on one side of each print.
If the footprints start looking scattered instead of walking in a line, lightly sketch a single curving guideline first and place each print just to either side of it, the same trick as drawing stepping stones. A single bare tree silhouette near the horizon gives the empty field some scale.
Try the same trail later with paw prints instead of boot prints for a different story.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Have some fun with motion next in a duck caught mid slide across a frozen pond. Draw the pond as a wide flat oval first, shaded lightly in icy blue with a few thin curved lines across the surface to suggest ice cracks and reflections.
Place the duck off to one side with its body tilted at an angle and both feet splayed out behind it, legs drawn slightly blurred or doubled with a second faint line to suggest the slipping motion, a simple trick that reads as movement without any complicated action lines. Give the duck a surprised little expression, eyes wide and wings held slightly out for balance.
If the duck looks like it is simply standing instead of sliding, lower its body closer to the ice surface and exaggerate the tilt a bit more than feels natural, since cartoon motion always reads better pushed slightly further than real life. Color the duck’s feet and bill in soft pink against the pale ice.
A few bare reeds poking up at one edge of the pond frame the scene without much extra work.
Palette: Icy Blue,Soft Pink,Charcoal Black
Go simple again with a single pair of earmuffs hanging from a wall hook, a good palate cleanser after the busier pond scene. Draw the hook first as a short curved line jutting from a small circle base, then hang the earmuffs below it with the headband looped directly over the hook’s curve.
Build each ear pad as a soft rounded circle, slightly flattened where it would sit against an ear, connected by a thin curved band that dips down in the middle before meeting the hook. Color the pads in soft pink with a scribbled fuzzy edge similar to the slipper trim technique, and shade the metal hook in icy blue for a cold hardware shine.
If the band looks too stiff and straight across the top, curve it more generously so it clearly hangs rather than stands, since a hanging object always sags a little under its own weight. A small shadow cast on the wall behind the earmuffs adds depth with only one or two extra lines.
Try hanging a scarf from the same hook next time for a quick variation on this setup.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Add a little food into the mix with a jar of marmalade beside a slice of toast. Draw the jar as a simple cylinder with a slightly wider rim and a round lid on top, then fill the body with a few horizontal squiggles and small circular shapes to suggest chunky orange peel suspended in the marmalade.
Place a triangle slice of toast leaning against the jar, its crust edge bumpy and uneven along the top and its surface dotted with small holes, with a swipe of the same marmalade spread across it in soft pink-orange. Tie a small fabric circle over the jar lid with string for a homemade preserve look.
If the marmalade inside the jar looks too solid and flat, leave a few small gaps of white paper between the squiggles so light appears to pass through the jar, a quick trick for suggesting glass and jam together. Shade the glass jar itself with a thin icy blue line down one side for shine.
A small spoon resting against the jar’s base finishes the scene nicely.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
For more small food subjects like this jar, the food doodles for beginners list has plenty of easy ones to try.
Build a small skyline next with rooftops silhouetted against a rising winter sun. Draw a simple row of three or four rooftop shapes along the bottom third of the page, varying each roof’s height and angle slightly so the row reads as a real street rather than identical copies.
Place a large circle sun low behind the rooftops, its lower half hidden behind the roofline, and ring it with a soft pink glow fading outward into the surrounding sky, the light source for the whole scene sitting right there behind the buildings rather than overhead. Keep the rooftops themselves in solid dark silhouette with no inside detail, since the contrast between the glowing sky and the flat dark shapes is what makes this doodle work.
If the sky glow looks too evenly spread, concentrate the strongest soft pink color close around the sun and let it fade to icy blue further up toward the top of the page. A thin dusting of icy blue snow along each rooftop edge adds a last cold touch against all that warm color.
Chimneys with thin smoke trails on one or two roofs add a little more life to the skyline.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
Close the list with the one doodle made entirely of lettering and simple shapes rather than an object or scene. Sketch the word January in bold, rounded block letters first, keeping every letter the same height so the whole word sits level across the page rather than bouncing up and down.
Once the lettering is inked, scatter small star shapes around it, a mix of simple four point sparkle stars and plain five point stars at different sizes, spaced unevenly so they feel scattered rather than arranged in a grid. Color about half the stars in soft pink and the rest in icy blue, leaving a few plain outlined for contrast.
If the lettering comes out uneven, draw two faint guideline rules in pencil above and below where the letters sit, then erase them once the fineliner ink has dried completely. For a quicker version, skip the block lettering and simply write the word in your normal handwriting with the same star scatter around it.
This design works well as a recurring header doodle at the top of each new planner spread all month.
Palette: Soft Pink,Icy Blue,Charcoal Black
What to Do Next
Pick whichever doodle matches your mood today, grab a fineliner and a scrap of smooth paper, and work through the list at your own pace across the month. Keep your icy blue and soft pink markers nearby for quick accents, and let the page fill up one small cozy scene at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What pens work best for january doodles like these?
A black fineliner in a fine or extra fine tip works best for the main line work, since it gives clean, confident outlines at planner margin size. Add icy blue and soft pink alcohol markers or brush pens afterward for small color accents only.
Do I need to be good at drawing to try these ideas?
No, every idea here uses simple shapes like circles, ovals and triangles built up into a small scene, so no advanced drawing skill is needed. Start with the easier ideas near the top of the list and work down as you get comfortable.
How long does each january doodle actually take?
Most of these fit comfortably into ten to twenty minutes, which is exactly why they suit a planner margin or a quick notebook break. A few of the scene based ideas can stretch to forty minutes if you add extra detail.
Should I ink straight away or sketch in pencil first?
Sketch lightly in pencil first if the subject has tricky proportions, like the ice skates or the snow globe, then ink over it and erase the pencil once dry. Simpler shapes like the snowflake or candle can often go straight to fineliner.
What if I only have one marker color instead of two?
Pick whichever color suits the subject better and skip the second one entirely rather than substituting a different shade, since one consistent accent color still ties the whole page together. Icy blue tends to suit snow and ice subjects, soft pink suits warm indoor ones.