The Most Challenging Doodle Ever...

...was Stitch, and it really shouldn't have been that hard. This was requested by one of my 6th grade boys, mostly because he can do a spot on impersonation of Stitch's voice. I readily agreed to draw it, thinking that there's no way it would be that hard to draw. I mean, it's a Disney character for goodness' sake, it's not that complicated of a design. Not only did I barely finish before kids started streaming through my doors, but I almost killed an eraser that day from multiple tries to get it right. I have no idea why Stitch was such a hard thing for me to handle, but I still cringe slightly whenever I remember this doodle.

Pooh-san

Winnie the Pooh is known as 'Pooh-san' here in Japan, and he is the subject of this week's whiteboard doodle. I was literally singing the theme song the entire time I was drawing him. He was requested by quite a few of my sixth grade girls, and I decided to draw him to welcome the arrival of fall.... which was many months ago now. As I look out upon the mountains of snow outside my office window, I can't help but remember fall fondly. Honestly, spring and fall are the best times of year in Japan, and while I do appreciate having four distinct, beautiful seasons here, there are times when I just get sick to death of snow.

Kitty-chan

This isn't the most detailed whiteboard doodle I've done, or the best, but it is one of my favorites, simply because of why it was drawn. All the drawings I've done up to this point were originally for my fourth graders, who were first graders when I first came to Japan. They were also the class I was with during the Tohoku Earthquake a couple years ago now, and they are hands-down my favorite class ever. Always have been. So, I originally started drawing things the fourth graders requested, with an occasional request from the sixth graders (who benefited from following the fourth graders' class) thrown in there. This drawing is one of my favorites because a little girl named Ai requested it, who is the ONLY girl in the entire class of very rambunctious (well-behaved and sweet, but super energetic) fourth grade boys. She asked me, in a very quiet voice, if I would draw her a Kitty-chan (Hello Kitty), even though she thought it was kind of selfish of her to even ask, as she was the only one who liked it.

I drew her name in kanji and a Kitty-chan the very next week; she was almost in tears she was so happy when she saw it, and all the boys danced around her in a circle and cheered and celebrated that she got what she wanted.

Ninja Drawings are More Fun

Of course, one could argue that this isn't a proper ninja drawing, as you can see it. This particular ninja is Naruto, who is from the anime of the same name. After One Piece, I think this is one of the most popular animes among young boys currently. I had a lot of requests for Naruto, and I ended up really enjoying drawing this. Getting the perspective on the hand right was tough, but it turned out well. It's a shame this photo didn't turn out better, as there's lots of orange and yellow highlights I did in his hair and jumpsuit that you can't really see at all unless you get close. One of my fourth graders asked how I got the yellow, as they thought I was still using the school's markers, which are limited to black, red, and blue. Little did he know that by this point, I had already bought my own set of markers for use on whiteboard doodles, as the school's markers were running out of ink at an alarming rate. I was going to tease the kid by telling him I made it by mixing red and blue, but I thought it best not to mess with his color wheel studies.

One Piece Mania

After drawing Chopper from One Piece the week before, the children wanted to see other characters from their favorite show go up on the whiteboard. Usually I try to space out character requests that are too similar, but I decided to give in this time and draw Luffy, the main character from One Piece. I admit I know very little about this show, but I DO know that Luffy is a pirate who can stretch out any part of his body, ala Mr. Fantastic, and that all my boys worship him.

You Can't Ride this Chopper

This week's whiteboard doodle was Chopper, who is a character from the super popular anime One Piece. Pretty much all my kids requested him, but I have to admit I never understood his appeal. I don't really think weird moose/reindeer looking creatures in giant pink hats are cute, but hey, what do I know? If the popularity of both One Piece and Chopper is any indication, then I have no understanding of what classifies as 'cute' in Japan. It suppose it doesn't really matter though, as long as I get to see my students do happy dances when their request finally goes up on the whiteboard.

Samurai Movies

Rurouni Kenshin is a now 10 year old Japanese comic and anime series that I loved when I was younger, and for its anniversary they made a live-action movie, which of course I had to go see. It was a really awesome movie, and I was super proud of myself for understanding the entire thing as well (I was a little concerned the old Japanese grammar forms and Samurai speaking style might throw me). Rurouni Kenshin also ended up being one of my favorite whiteboard doodles when I drew it for the kids after summer break finally ended. I was surprised how many of the 4th graders recognized a 10 year old anime character, but I guess it's still pretty popular in Japan.

The photo at the top of the page is the official poster for the movie, which you should all go see if it ends up heading to the States. The middle picture is the overall whiteboard doodle, complete with my message to the kiddies, and the bottom picture is a close-up of just Kenshin's face. Because he's beautiful like that.

Giant Robots of Doom

The last week before summer vacation, I decided to draw a Gundam for the kids (it's a cartoon about giant battling robots that's super popular in Japan with young and old alike, for those not in the know). Both my 4th and 6th graders loved it, but they did something I didn't quite expect. The 4th graders, as soon as class was over, promptly ran out of the room, and came back literally dragging the 5th grade teacher into the room. He, in turn, freaked out more than the kids did upon seeing the whiteboard doodle. Turns out he is a giant Gundam fanatic, and he ended up telling me the model number of this particular robot, what episode it originally appeared in, and who piloted it. I now know more about giant fighting robots than I ever wanted to, but I'm glad that he enjoyed it. ^-^ I was also impressed that the 4th graders knew the 5th grade teacher well enough to go run and grab him when they saw this. I guess that level of friendliness is something that happens in a school with only 60 students.

I Shouldn't Draw When I'm Tired...

....because then I try to encourage the kids to skip class and re-instate nap time in school. This is Tarepanda, who is a very tired, lazy, and sleepy panda character that was super popular in Japan about, oh, 10 years ago. This was very disappointing to me, as I love Tarepanda and was expecting to find character goods of him just lining the streets. Apparently he's been replaced by a lazy, relaxed brown bear called Rilakkuma, who I don't really like all that much. It's a shame, really, because Rilakkuma goods actually DO line the streets here now. Still, I occasionally luck out and find a Tarepanda item in a used store, or in a back corner of a stationary shop. Needless to say, all Tarepanda items that I find come home with me. At least my disappointment of finding little to no Tarepanda goods is off-set by how much my fourth graders still love him apparently (much to my surprise), which was enough to request him for a whiteboard doodle.

Gotta Catch'em All

So after Mario, Pikachu was the next most requested thing by my fourth graders. Therefore, as requested, one week after Mario, a Pikachu was diligently drawn on the whiteboard by yours truly. This was a mistake of epic proportions, as the children then decided to request almost every Pokemon ever created for the following week's drawing. I only barely know the first 150, so being bombarded with Pokemon names from the now over 600 of them (in Japanese too, which are apparently completely different from the English versions... consider me enlightened) was a bit overwhelming. I personally find Pikachu cute, so I was happy to draw this, but I had to gently break the news to my fourth graders that even if I drew Pokemon every single week until I went back to America, I'd never finish drawing them all. So they chose something else to ask for instead. ^-^

The Time I Failed at Drawing Mario

So I mentioned last week how I started drawing white board doodles for my kids at my elementary school, and they freaked out and loved it. Right after I drew the Totoro, I went to Tokyo to meet up with some visiting family, and didn't see them (between my trip and other things) for two weeks straight. Before I left, my fourth grade students shyly asked, if it wasn't too much trouble, if I could draw a Mario when I came back. Of course, I couldn't turn down that many puppy dog eyes at once, so Mario was the first thing I drew after coming back from my vacation.

In my estimation, it was a failure. It was my first time drawing something so big (the Totoro wasn't actually that large), and I barely managed to finish it in time before the kids came streaming through the doors into the English classroom. Due to that, I wasn't able to fix his funky left eye, and it was bugging me pretty badly. That is, it was bothering me until all the fourth graders started bouncing around, jumping up and down, started hugging me, and chanted 'Shari-sensei remembered!'. Then I decided I was pretty glad I drew a Mario for them.

Whiteboard Doodles and Children's Smiles

Many months ago, I found myself with some free time while preparing for one of my classes at my elementary school. I always have class with my fourth grade students second period, so I use first period to gather any materials and set up any games I'll need for them. I misjudged the amount of time I would need, and having another five minutes or so before the kids came in, I decided as a spur of the moment thing to draw a little doodle of myself up on the whiteboard to welcome them in.

The kids freaked out. They thought it was awesome, and immediately tried their best to read what I had written up on the board. Then they asked if I was going to draw something next week. I shrugged, and said I'd think about it.

When next week came, I didn't go in my usual 15 minutes or so before second period; I went to the English classroom as soon as first period started. I had decided that I would draw them something again, and it would be one of my favorite things in the world: Totoro.

If I thought the kids had freaked out the week before, they absolutely lost their minds when they saw Totoro. They started jumping up and down they were so excited, and again, just like the week before, they tried their best to read the English words I had written along with the drawing on the board. They didn't have the heart to erase it, so the sixth graders saw it in 4th period (they hadn't seen the one I'd drawn the week before), and they freaked out almost as bad as the fourth graders. They did a lot better at reading the English though, lol. As the sixth graders laughed at their teacher trying to mimic my drawing with a red marker, I realized that this was something I had to continue; the kids enjoyed it too much not to keep doing it. It's been quite a few months now, and my kids expect to see a drawing on the whiteboard as soon as they come into the room. I also have many requests from the kids, more than I think I'll ever be able to finish. I've been posting the drawings on facebook, but again, not all my family and friends use facebook, so I decided to start putting them up here as well. Blogger also allows me more words to tell the stories behind and reactions to each of my whiteboard doodles. I hope you all enjoy them, and look forward to more to come! (Also, as always, click on the images to embiggen them.)