Paul Manship was the perpetual doodler; he always had a scrap of paper to take down ideas. The Smithsonian recently made a series of Paul Manship medal sketches available to the public. Although not specified in the catalog record, all the sketches are plans for wartime Merchant Marine medals; the sketches do not include his final designs but his process. When he was challenged to design a medal for the American Merchant Mariner, he wandered around tropes of waves, the compass rose, federal and maritime eagles, and other common American themes.
Paul Manship, Group of 27 Sketches for Medals, pencil and pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.310A-P