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Minimalist

Marker doodle illustrations for KDP books (AI)

kdpbook.io can illustrate your whole KDP book in the marker doodle style: each main character first gets a reference sheet in this style, and every page is drawn from those sheets so the characters look the same from cover to last page. It is recommended for 9 of the 36 book types (including kids' coloring book, kids' activity book and guided journal) and prints in color and black & white.

Casual felt-tip doodles with wobbly lines and a few pastel highlighter fills, like a bullet journal.

Family:
Minimalist
Color:
Color and black & white
Audiences:
Early readers, Middle grade, Teens (young adult), Adults
Book types:
9 recommended
Use this styleAll styles

Making coloring books for kids and adults? AI coloring book generator.

Marker doodle illustration sample: a young red fox reading an open book on the mossy roots of an old oak, as felt-tip doodles with pastel fills, little stars, leaves and a rising sun
Every style draws the same subject, a fox with a book under an oak, so you can compare them
The look

What marker doodle looks like

Casual felt-tip doodles: slightly wobbly black lines of even weight, a few flat pastel highlighter fills slightly offset from the outlines, little stars, dots and leaves scattered around, and lots of white paper, like a bullet journal.

Best for

Guided and gratitude journals, planners, notebook and sketchbook covers, self-help books, kids' activity books, workbooks and kids' coloring books.

Better avoided for

Picture-book storytelling and dramatic or realistic scenes.

Made for

Books that suit marker doodle

In print

How marker doodle prints on KDP

  • Its black-and-white version is black doodles with open shapes to color, which prints cleanly on black-and-white pages.
  • In color it prints on white paper: KDP's standard color uses 50–61 lb (74–90 GSM) paper and premium color 60–71 lb (88–105 GSM). KDP recommends premium color for image-heavy books such as children's books and cookbooks.
  • On black-and-white interiors, KDP asks for printed lines of at least 0.75 pt and recommends gray fills of at least 10%.
  • KDP needs images at 300 DPI or more at print size; every illustration is prepared at that resolution.

Compare what each interior costs with the printing cost calculator, and read how to choose the trim size and paper.

Consistency

Same characters, every page

Before the pages are painted, each main character gets a reference sheet in this style. Every illustration is drawn with those sheets as references, so faces, clothes and colors stay the same from the cover to the last page. Text is never painted into the art: titles, captions and dialogue are typeset on top.

Early readers Middle grade Teens (young adult) Adults

Prompt tips for marker doodle

  • Lists of small things work best: coffee cups, plants, stars, arrows, clouds.
  • Ask for lots of white space so the doodles breathe around your text.
  • Choose two or three highlighter colors and keep them for the whole book.

Similar styles

Other minimalist styles, and how each one differs from marker doodle.

  • Flat vector illustration sample: a young red fox reading an open book on the mossy roots of an old oak, in flat geometric shapes with no outlines, a limited muted palette, a sun and layered hills
    Flat vector

    Flat geometric shapes without outlines, where marker doodle has wobbly felt-tip lines and a few pastel highlighter fills.

  • One-line drawing illustration sample: a young fox reading an open book at the foot of a tall, looping oak, drawn as a single unbroken black line with lots of white space
    One-line drawing

    A single unbroken line with generous white space, where marker doodle has wobbly felt-tip lines and a few pastel highlighter fills.

  • Scandinavian folk illustration sample: a symmetrical folk-art oak with birds, acorns, red flowers and hearts on cream, with a young red fox reading an open book on the mossy roots of an old oak at its center
    Scandinavian folk

    Symmetrical flowers, leaves and birds in red, navy and mustard, where marker doodle has wobbly felt-tip lines and a few pastel highlighter fills.

About marker doodle

Which books suit the Marker doodle style?

Marker doodle is offered for kids' coloring book, kids' activity book, guided journal, planner & logbook, educational workbook, self-help book and more. You can still pick it for any other book type, or describe your own style.

Can Marker doodle be printed in black and white?

Yes. Marker doodle has a black-and-white rendering for B&W interiors, which KDP prints for less than color.

Is marker doodle good for a planner or a journal?

Yes, it is made for them: kdpbook offers it for guided journals, gratitude journals and planners, where small doodles decorate the pages.

How is marker doodle different from one-line drawing?

Doodles are casual and playful, with many little elements and pastel fills. One-line drawing is a single elegant unbroken line on white.

Make it with kdpbook

Illustrate your book in marker doodle.

Describe your book, keep this style, and watch every page get painted with the same characters.

Use this style

2,000 free credits · no card required