A long week­end is quick­ly approach­ing us here in the US, so if you find you’ve got some extra time, why not try this fun exer­cise: Use water­col­ors to dab or brush a spot of paint on the paper and then cre­ate a char­ac­ter from it (in pen or pen­cil). Illus­tra­tor Mar­i­on Bar­raud reg­u­lar­ly does this to great effect—her doo­dles are imag­i­na­tive and delight­ful. With just a few dif­fer­ent flicks of the brush, she’s able to pro­duce diverse mon­sters with a ton of personality.