When it comes to creating hand lettered art, doodles are a great way to embellish a design. Since summer is in full swing, I want to share five easy beach doodles that will be a perfect complement to all your favorite summertime quotes!

When it comes to drawing, many people get intimidated and feel like their lack of formal training or natural talent means they really can’t do it. In reality, though, drawing is all about basic shapes and forms. We’re going to break these five images down into their simplest shapes and you’ll see how easy it is to create them. Let’s get started!

5 Easy Beach Doodles

Sunshine

To form a fun sunshine, start by drawing a simple spiral. Then, you’ll draw a series of short lines all around it. I usually draw 8 lines, evenly spaced around my spiral. Finally, you’ll color it in! There are lots of other variations to create a sun, the most basic of which is just a circle with lines around it. Feel free to experiment and put your own spin on your drawing.

Beach Umbrella

One of the things I always associate with the beach is an umbrella. To draw one, you’ll start by creating an arch that’s just slightly slanted to one side. At the bottom of the arch, draw a scalloped line to connect the two ends. Divide the shape you’ve created into sections by drawing short lines that from the center of the arch to each of the scallop points. Add a diagonal line right through the center for the umbrella’s handle. Now you can color in the sections of the umbrella in any colors you like.

Starfish

The first step in drawing a starfish is to create a star shaped outline with slightly rounded lines. Don’t worry about getting a perfect shape; every starfish is different. Add small dots on each arm of the star. Finally, fill in the space with color.

Seashell

There are many different types of seashells; in fact, we could do an entire series of posts on various ways to draw them all. Today, we’re going to stick to a spiral-like one that I believe is called a shark eye. The first step is to draw a line like the one on the far left. It starts like a spiral then extends slightly out to the side. Next, you’ll add a dot at the center and draw a line connecting the dot to the other end of the line. Draw a series of short curved lines around the shape to give it a spiral feel. You’ll also draw another line connecting the top of the shell to the end point. For a more detailed look, add some very short accent lines around the edge, then color in the shell. You may want to color the last section slightly darker to show that it’s the inside of the shell.

Happy Crab

Draw an oval to form the main body of the crab. Then, draw three bending lines on each side of the body. At this point, it will look like a spider. Next, you’ll draw slightly curving lines below each of your existing lines to create the shape of the crab’s legs. Add eyes and a smile, as well as two front claws. Finally, all that’s left is to color in your happy crab!

I hope you enjoy these quick and easy beach doodles. For more tips and tutorials on hand lettering and embellishments, check out the Hand Lettering section of the website and my books!