Hurrah for giving the guest artists name credit on the site as well as a mini Q & A with questions such as What was your creative approach to this doodle? Why did you choose this approach? and Are there any technical tricks you used, that you can share? Many of the artists have shared preliminary sketches, or photos of their process, as in artists Jack and Holman Wang’s felt-art-plus for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 148th birthday celebration. On the section This Doodle’s Reach is a map of the world showing that the doodle was seen ion sites around the world where Little House on the Prairie is known and loved.
Included on the site is artist Matthew Cruickshank’s doodle of Sir John Tenniel, who illustrated Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The legendary animator Tyrus Wong’s 108th birthday was commemorated by doodler Sophie Diao. And Amaka Igwe, award-winning Nigerian writer/film-maker, was doodled by Data Oruwari.
The illustrators are from all over the world, working in a variety of styles and techniques. Doodles go back to the very beginning of the company when they first played with changing the Google logo to celebrate the lives of eminent persons, birthdays, and anniversaries—including the ice cream sundae! There are short bios or write-ups about the honored subjects, enough to grab the interest and make you want to know more...
Maybe there’s an idea for a non-fiction biography or a new illustration technique to be found among the more than 4000 doodles created by a team of very talented illustrators and engineers. The Doodles open up the world to our discovery of people that may not be known to us.
And exploring Google Doodles is fun!
Diane Browning