Mr Doodle

Mr Doodle, born Sam Cox, is a British artist renowned for his distinctive, playful style of densely packed doodles that transform everyday objects, walls, and canvases into vibrant works of art.

He creates intricate patterns that blend whimsical characters, abstract forms, and surreal elements, often working spontaneously without pre-planning. Mr Doodle's art has gained global recognition, featured in exhibitions, murals, and collaborations with prominent brands. His mission is to bring joy and creativity into everyday life, making art accessible and engaging for audiences of all ages.

What inspired you to become an artist?

I used to absolutely love a game called Crash Bandicoot, it was my first real obsession. I was so captured by the way the characters looked, the art style and design of the game, the levels, the soundtrack, everything really. That game made me make my own characters that were similar and even try and develop my own games one day. So for a long time since I was about 4 years old for the following decade I kind of wanted to design video games for a career, I was also making comic books a lot too. But later when I became a teenager I sort of decided that what I really loved was doodling and I began to slowly let that consume everything I did in the best possible way.

⁠What materials and techniques do you most enjoy working with?

Big fat paint markers! I love using them. I like spray too, but my favourite has got to be a classic Mr Doodle black marker.

Who or what are your biggest artistic influences?

Keith (Haring), Kanye (West) and Crash (Bandicoot). The combination of those three things has probably been the largest artistic influence on my work besides people I actually know, like Morgan Davies my ex teacher now creative director for team Doodle, or Phil Wrigglesworth my ex University Tutor, those two guys have been really strong inspirations for the direction of my work over the years.

Is there a particular piece of your work that holds special significance to you?

The house is the one I dreamt of for the longest and probably the most obvious choice. The animations I made for The Trouble With Mr Doodle are also really special to me.I also love the music album I’m releasing soon too, that’s very significant to me because it features songs, some of which I wrote over 9 years ago but re-recorded in a new way. So it has a decades worth of work in it, telling Mr Doodle’s story, and I like it a lot.

What has been the most challenging project you’ve worked on?

Hmm, I don’t know really. Life’s a doddle for Mr Doodle, so it’s all really enjoyable and hard to say something is hard work, but that’s doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not challenging. I guess maybe the 50 hour doodle marathon was naturally the most challenging.

⁠How do you handle criticism or feedback on your work?

I love it, I love the fact people have an opinion on it. I genuinely really enjoy it when people say I’m a con artist, a haring rip off or that their 1 year old could do a better job. Maybe that’s weird? I dunno, I don’t mind. I guess I’m just glad it doesn’t seem to bore people, even if some of those people hold a negative opinion, I’m happy it provokes a discussion. I don’t wish anything negative to people who hate my work, I appreciate them and hope they do, one day, have themselves a very doodley day.

Is there a dream project or collaboration you’ve always wanted to pursue?

I want to draw a million doodles and I’m going to take it happen. I don’t tend to dream of projects that are out of my control, like if I said I’d love to work with Banksy or doodle a spaceship for Elon Musk. You can’t depend on those things, so I don’t think about them and if they happen they happen. What I dream about is building a doodle town, colonising as much of the world as I can with doodles, creating more than anyone has ever created.