assignment drawing ideas

Artjournalist

365 Drawing Ideas for Your Sketchbook

Need some ideas for what to draw in your sketchbook? This list of 365 drawing ideas is sure to inspire you to doodle, draw, or sketch something every single day of the year!

This list of 365 drawing ideas is sure to inspire you to doodle, draw, or sketch something every single day of the year! You can choose whether to draw one drawing a day, go in the list in order, or simply skip around and choose the ones you like best!

Here are 365 Drawing Ideas to Inspire:

1. view from the park.

Parks are great sources of inspiration for drawing. Snap a few of your own reference photos of monuments, benches, and scenes that capture your eye or spend some time in the park with your sketchbook drawing the different scenes you notice.

2. Hot Air Balloon

Hot air balloons are mesmerizing to watch in the sky and can be a beautiful and whimsical thing to learn how to draw. While it’s not too common anymore to see one floating past you in real-life, there are MANY photos out there that you can use as a reference.

Snap a photo of yourself or try drawing yourself while you look in a mirror.

You might see leaves on the ground during autumn or notice them on trees in the spring and summer. Choose a few different leaf shapes to draw.

They say once you learn how to ride a bike you never forget – so why not try the same thing with learning to draw a bicycle? You can make it realistic or simply create a fun doodle.

6. Hedgehog

Hedgehogs are adorable spiny creatures most commonly found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand. Draw one today!

7. Baseball and/or Baseball Glove

This was actually an assignment we had in high school to practice realistic sketching and shading using nothing more than a #2 pencil!

8. Fruit Bowl

The classic fruit bowl still life might not sound like the most creative idea for drawing, but have you tried it? You might just be surprised. You could also draw a still life of bananas, oranges, apples, or grapes.

9. Tropical Fish

There are so many types of tropical fish to consider as an idea for things that are easy to draw – choose from an angel fish, a clown fish or even maybe a butterflyfish!

10. Skyscrapers

We see so many great examples of skyscraper architecture in our cities that there are endless sources of inspiration for types of skyscrapers you could draw. Take your sketchbook out locally to a city near you, or spend some time drawing iconic skyscrapers such as the Bank of China Tower, the Taipei 101, or the Chrysler Building.

Dragons are mythical creatures that have been a drawing subject since ancient times. Draw a dragon with a knight in shining armor, a Chinese dragon, or maybe even a friendly dragon that helps you roast marshmallows.

Unlock the power of your creativity by drawing some keys! You can choose to draw old fashioned skeleton keys or draw a sketch of the keys out of your purse or your house key.

13. Volcano

Have you ever seen a volcano in real life? Even if you’ve only seen one in movies or in photographs they can be fascinating subjects for art and sketching.

14. Sail Boat

Sailboats are often see on lakes and at marinas and can have all sorts of beautiful designs on the sails.

Draw a teddy bear, a brown bear or a grizzly bear – your choice!

Lay down on a blanket in your yard or at a park and spend some time cloud-gazing for inspiration on what to draw.

17. Family Member

You can have a family member pose while you create a portrait sketch of them, or draw a portrait based on a photo of someone you know.

What can I say about sharks? They have big teeth, they live in the ocean, and they can be very fun and popular to draw.

19. Feather

Birds of a feather…are a great thing to draw! You can make them icon style, or try to recreate a realistic feather on paper.

20. T-Shirt

Surely you have a t-shirt in your closet that would make for a great subject for drawing.

21. The Kitchen

Kitchens are where food is made and are often overlooked as the perfect place to sketch to get a glimpse into your everyday life.

22. Satellite:

Satellites are constantly in orbit around our earth, and they are very interesting looking items with many different geometric lines to use to build your drawing skills.

23. Penguin

Penguins are seabirds that live in mostly cold climates. They don’t fly but they sure do love to swim!

24. Fashion Sketch

What’s trending in the fashion world? Come up with your own fashion designs or take inspiration from some of the leading fashion designers to create your own fashion sketches.

The best part about aliens as a drawing idea? You can make them look like almost anything your imagination can think of, since it is very rare to actually see them in real-life.

26. Pirate Ship

Ahoy Matey! Pirate ships are a great thing to draw in your sketchbook and can be realistic or make your own cartoon.

27. Skateboard

The nice thing about drawing a skateboard is its not nearly as intimidating as trying to actually ride a skateboard.

Celebrate today by drawing a beautiful cake! You can choose how many layers, what kind of icing, and what type of topper fits the occasion. There are so many ideas to draw for what kind of cake you make!

29. Butterfly

There are so many different kinds of beautiful butterflies you could draw, such as monarchs or swallowtail butterflies.

30. Race Car

Vroom vroom, race cars are designed for speed. Draw your favorite kind of race car, whether it’s an old fashioned derby style car or a racecar fit for Nascar tournament.

If you have a cat you can draw a portrait of your own pet or of course you could make a cartoon cat – we all know and love Garfield the Cat and his affinity for lasagna.

With over 190 registered dog breeds by the American Kennel Club you could almost make it a daily challenge just to draw a different type of dog.

33. Super Hero

It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s super man! Draw one of your favorite super heroes or create your own!

34. Cup of Coffee or Tea

If you’re going to drink coffee or tea every day, you might as well sketch it, right? Not a coffee or tea drinker? You can always sketch a glass of water.

35. Dinosaur

Dinosaur…roar! Draw a T-rex, a brontosaurus, a triceratops, pterodactyl or a velociraptor if you wish – there are so many great dinosaurs to choose from as sketchbook inspiration!

36. Web Icons

Web icons have become so common place we see them everywhere online. Sketch some icons for your favorite social media channels or visit a site like flaticon.com  for inspiration!

Pizza can be a lot of fun to draw, especially because you get to choose the toppings! Will you make it a veggie pizza, pepperoni pizza or maybe a Hawaiian pizza with pineapple and ham?

38. Dandelions

Every kid knows if you blow on a dandelion and make a wish your wish will come true, much to the dismay of gardeners everywhere who view them as weeds. These edible flowers make for a great easy drawing idea.

39. Hair Styles

Draw a braid, an up-do, or even crazy Medusa inspired snake hair if you wish.

40. Necklace, Bracelet or Rings

Jewelry can be a very interesting thing to sketch or draw, especially if the jewelry has special meaning to you, such as a necklace or ring passed on through your family or given to you by someone special.

41. Ice Cream Cone

Ice cream comes in all sorts of different flavors, and of course there are many different shapes and sizes of cones to choose from, whether its a cake cone, a sugar cone or a waffle cone!

42. Aquarium

Aquariums are beautiful habitats for all sorts of fish and can include plants or even decorative items.

43. Haunted House

It doesn’t have to be Halloween to enjoy drawing a spooky and haunted house. Don’t forget details like cracked windows and bent railings – and maybe even a few spirits peeking through.

Whether you draw a beautiful covered bridge scene or a bridge that goes over a river or harbor through the city, bridges give you plenty of architectural inspiration to use as drawing ideas!

45. Crazy Hats

Go ahead, give yourself permission to be a mad hatter and design as many crazy hats as you can think of!

46. Chevron Patterns

Chevrons are fun to draw and there are so many different pattern variations you can try!

You could draw a chandelier, a bedside table lamp, or maybe even a lava lamp!

48. Cruise Ship

Cruise ships are designed to take tourists to view the sights and scenes along the ocean coast. Draw the view from the deck or draw the view from one you can see passing by on the coast.

49. Planets in Outer Space

Draw a single planet like Mars, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Neptune or Jupiter – or draw the whole solar system!

They say eyes are the window of the soul, and it’s true you can learn a lot about a person’s feelings and thoughts based on how their eyes look. Draw your own eyes or draw the mesmerizing eyes of different animals.

51. Caricature

A caricature is a type of cartoon drawing where something about the subject is exaggerated to be funny. For example, if your friend loves to knit or crochet, you might exaggerate the ball of yarn in their hand. Use this drawing idea to make a funny sketch of your friends, family members or even a pet or celebrity.

Everybody needs shoes to walk around, so go ahead and grab the pair of shoes you wear everyday and sketch them!

53. Dream Catcher

Dream catchers are designed to catch bad dreams and keep nightmares away. They are a lot of fun to draw!

54. Rocket Ship

Fly to the moon or a distant galaxy far, far away in your very own rocket ship you can design with this simple idea for drawing.

55. House Plants

Whether it’s a succulent, an aloe vera plant, or a terrarium, if you have anything green growing in your house it can be an excellent source of inspiration for drawing ideas.

56. Inspiring Quote

Practice your hand-lettering by illustrating one of your favorite quotes, sayings, or verse from a poem.

Guitars are stringed instruments that can instantly make us tap our feet and sing along. You can choose to sketch an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar.

58. Deciduous Trees

Deciduous trees are the type of trees that lose their leaves in the winter. Examples include oak trees, maple trees, cherry trees, and ash trees. You can choose what season to show the tree – is it spring, winter, summer or autumn?

59. Circus Clown

Clowns can be funny, happy, sad…or even scary! You get to decide which you wish to draw with this drawing prompt.

60. Fairy Tale

Illustrate a scene from your favorite fairy tale. Some examples include Snow White and the 7 Dwarves, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, or Hansel and Gretel.

Bottles come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You could draw a message in a bottle, soda bottles, apothecary bottles and more.

62. What You Last Ate:

What you last ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner is a simple and obvious drawing idea, but so few people think to actually do it and is a great idea for something to include in a sketchbook.

63. Parrot:

Parrots are colorful and tropical birds, so pull out the colored pencils or some inks to make this come alive in your journal.

What is your favorite book? You could choose to draw a stack of books or draw the cover of a recent book you’ve read and enjoyed. 

65. Elephants

They say an elephant never forgets, and if you draw one you will have a picture to remember an elephant by forever!

66. Camping Scene

Whether you want to draw a travel trailer or a tent, sketch a camping scene. Don’t forget the campfire and marshmallows!

Tigers are big cats with interesting black and orange striped patterns, making them the perfect subject for a page in your sketchbook.

Cartoon-like roses can be easy to draw – they are just a spiral and a circle. Or, challenge your skills to draw a life-like rose complete with petals and stem – just watch out for those thorns!

Zebras are native to Africa and are another interesting animal to draw that are best well known for their black and white stripes.

70. Monster

Could there be a monster hiding under your bed, or in your closet? Probably not, but you never know – which is why you should draw a bigger, more friendlier monster to protect you and scare away all other monsters.

You might remember globes from school and they make for fantastic drawing objects, especially if you are a travel or geography buff.

72. Staircase

We see steps everywhere in regular life, whether it’s in your house, in a park, or maybe even a spiraling staircase along a water tower like in the photo above I took at a nearby park by my house.

73. Peacock

My grandparents used to have peacocks when I was a kid, and they are absolutely beautiful and incredible birds with detailed feathers that are perfect for drawing!

74. The Ocean

You could create an under water scene complete with coral and sea creatures like whales, an octopus and more.

75. Crocodile or Alligator

Crocodiles have a longer, V-shaped snout, while alligators have broad U shaped snouts. Either way, you could draw a snapping good crocodile or alligator in your journal – maybe even both!

76. A Clock

What’s the time? There’s always time to draw something daily! Draw a clock tower, a grandfather’s clock, or an alarm clock.

77. Gumball Machine

A gumball machine can be a lot of fun to draw, and of course there is no rule you have to fill it with gumballs – you can always choose to fill it with a different type of candy, it is your drawing afterall!

78. Giraffes

Known for their long necks, make sure you don’t forget their third horn at the top of their heads. We love visiting the giraffes named Louis and Socks at the local zoo where we live.

79. Bubbles

Bubbles make for a great ideas for what to draw, especially because they are relatively easy for beginners and you could fill a whole page with bubbles in no time!

80. Sports Player

Do you have a favorite sport? Sketch a player in action whether its soccer, baseball, football, hockey or badminton.

81. Airplane

There are so many options for what you could draw with an airplane, whether its the plane’s exterior, the interior, the view from the window, or even possibly the pilot’s cockpit.

82. Sunflowers

Sunflowers are bright, cheerful, and one of my favorite flowers to see standing tall in the summer sun.

83. Mountains

Try your hand at this idea for drawing mountains by sketching a Rocky Mountain or Appalachian mountain landscape.

84. Bath Tub

Rub-a-dub Dub, draw a bathtub! Don’t forget your rubber duckie!

There are so many great herbs that you can use for drawing. If you grow your own fresh herbs, set them up in a way you can sketch them as a real subject or use reference photos for herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme.

86. Family heirlooms

Family heirlooms are always special, and what better way to preserve them than to sketch them in your art journal?

If you’re a lucky duck, you might even be able to see these water birds at a nearby park or lake by you, but plenty of reference photos abound – you can even use the photo I took of a duck here if you’d like as inspiration!

88. Wildflowers

Draw a beautiful landscape meadow of wildflowers, or take inspiration from botanists through history who meticulously sketched and documented wildflowers in the field.

Someone once told me I didn’t draw a very serious spider, so I gave this spider a briefcase, neck tie and his own private office with a certificate just to prove how serious he was.

90. Drawing Supplies

You already have the perfect subject for drawing in your hand – a pen, pencil, bottle of ink or charcoal set all make for great things to draw.

Fairies are enchanting, tiny human-like creatures that have wings and can fly.

92. Woodland Animals

Draw a deer, a raccoon, a fox, a squirrel, or other woodland animals with this drawing idea.

93. Hippie Van

While you may not be able to actually own and live in a hippie van, you can draw one and that’s the next best thing.

94. Ostrich

Ostriches are fun to draw – and you can decide whether or not it sticks its head in the sand! {Of course, they don’t *actually do this* but that’s the nice thing about drawing, you can use your imagination!}

Whether it is just a slice of your favorite kind of pie or the whole thing, your mouth will be watering by the time you are done drawing this one!

Eggs are a great way to practice your shadowing and depth in drawing. And don’t think you’re limited to just plain white eggs like you get at the grocery store – you can always make them different hues and sizes or decorate with patterns and shapes!

Grab a dollar bill or some loose change and try drawing it. This is a great way to practice shading, depth and more if you want to create realistic drawings.

98. Cooking Utensils & Kitchen Gadgets

Don’t use your blender that often? It’s the perfect opportunity to finally put it to use as a drawing subject! You could also sketch your pots and pans, eating utensils, or other kitchen gadgets you have around the house.

99. Your House

Where we live makes for an excellent idea of what to draw, and you can choose whether to draw the interior or the exterior.

Old fashioned radios are fascinating objects, and many times they still work even in today’s world of digital media. Go for a classic vintage radio, or maybe even draw a 90’s style boombox.

101. Fast Food

You know the drill: soda, burger and fries.

We have smart phones with us almost every day – why not draw it in your sketchbook and document that? Or, draw an old rotary phone for a throwback to the days before cell phones existed.

You could draw a hammer, screw driver, drill, saw, wrench or draw the whole toolbox.

104. Arrows

There are so many different styles of arrows you could try drawing, whether you make arrow doodles or draw a realistic bow and arrow set.

105. Jelly Beans

Known for their unique shape, multiple colors and best found in Easter baskets, jelly beans are a great idea for something to draw!

106. Game Controller

Are you a gamer? Whether it’s Play Station, X-Box, a Gaming Keyboard, or an old school Atari controller, draw a game controller that reminds you of your favorite video games.

107. Soup Can

Take inspiration from Andy Warhol and try your hand at drawing a soup can.

108. Fireworks

Let your paper be the sky for a colorful display of patterns of light.

109. Forest Scene

Think trees, moss covered rocks and maybe even a stream winding through a forest scene perfect for a landscape sketch.

110. Astrological Signs & Symbols

What’s your sign? You could draw a Pisces fish, the Scales of Libra, the Scorpion of Scorpio or the Archer of Sagittarius for example.

111. Banners

Banners are a lot of fun to draw and you can make them as whimsical as you wish. I love drawing banners in my art journals!

112. Wristwatch

Do you wear a watch? Whether its a smartwatch or a classic watch you wind up, draw a wristwatch in your sketchbook.

113. Nuts, Bolts & Other Hardware

Take a walk down a hardware aisle or go through your garage to find nuts, bolts, and other miscellaneous hardware to sketch and draw.

114. Typewriter

There is something cool about a typewriter, even if they don’t make much sense in today’s digital age…they are definitely fun to draw!

115. Bunnies or Rabbits

Bunnies and rabbits are cute, soft and fluffy. I used to have one as a kid!

Ivy is a plant that spreads, often times along a wall, window or trellis and is best known for beautiful leaf shapes – perfect for drawing in your sketchbook!

117. Machines

We see all kinds of machines in our daily lives – from the washing machine, to the dishwasher to the furnace that keeps our homes warm. You could also invent your own machine!

118. Garden Tools

A garden shovel, gloves, trowel etc are all examples of common garden tools that make the perfect subject for still life drawing ideas.

119. City Skylines

Draw a silhouette of a city skyline, whether it is a local city where you live or one you want to visit someday.

120. What’s on your desk?

Take a look at what is on your desk today and sketch it – no matter how messy your desk may be!

121. Pineapple

Pineapples were named pine apples because of their exterior resembles a pine cone. Often viewed as a symbol of friendship, these tropical fruits are the perfect thing to try drawing!

122. Hearts

You can choose to draw doodle hearts, or draw an anatomically correct depiction of a human heart.

The first steam train was invented in 1804 and many people were afraid to ride them. Today, trains are still used for transportation and shipping. You can make a passenger train or a cargo train. Draw a single box car, the engine, or the caboose!

124. Lawnmower

My husband is always talking about fixing his broken lawnmower, so I had to include it on this list. You can draw a riding mower or a push mower or even a commercial lawnmower.

125. Hourglass

An hourglass is a type of sand filled timer which you’ve probably seen more often in board games.

126. Scissors

A basic and important office supply, drawing realistic scissors can be more challenging than you might think!

127. Mailbox

Everybody gets mail, so why not sketch your mailbox?

128. Ticket

Have you recently gone to an event where you needed a ticket? Draw or sketch that ticket in your sketchbook.

129. Circles

Circles might seem like a mundane drawing idea, but there are so many great ideas for drawing circular patterns and different circle sizes!

If you are lucky enough to have a grape vineyard nearby, you can find a LOT of inspiration to sketch and draw vines! Many different types of vines also grow on trees.

X-rays allow us to see inside someone or something. You can draw an X-ray view of a person or an object.

132. Tunnels

Tunnels are a great way to practice drawing perspective, especially if you are drawing the view from the beginning to the end of a tunnel.

133. People at Work

Millions of people go t work every single day. This could be construction workers, people in your office, or even the cashiers at the store.

134. Ladders

Ladders are another great exercise for drawing perspective. There are also many different kinds of ladders – from step ladders to paint ladders to imaginary ladders that climb all the way to the clouds.

135. Playground

Draw a swingset, sliding board, the view in the sandbox at a nearby park or playground where you live.

136. Swirls

Swirls are fun to draw and can be highly meditative and addictive! Fill a page with swirls or practice drawing some swirly flourishes.

137. Dancing

Draw people who are dancing, and be sure their clothes and dance moves reflect the type of music they are dancing to!

138. Sunglasses or Eyeglasses

Set up a pair of your sunglasses or eyeglasses on a table and start sketching them.

139. Hills & Valleys

Rolling hills and valleys can give a typical landscape sketch a lot of visual interest.

140. Rocks & Stones

Are you a rock collector? Have you ever been to a rocky beach or noticed rocks along the shore of a river? Take some time to draw the details of rocks or stones.

Good fences make good neighbors, according to poet Robert Frost. They also make for great drawing subjects, whether it’s a white picket fence, a split rail fence or a wrought-iron fence.

142. Triangles

There are so many different kinds of patterns you can create just with a simple triangle!

Moo! Cows can be found on farms around the world and are a great animal to try drawing – this sketch of a baby calf is so cute!

There are over 6,300 known species of frogs in the world, which means you have a lot of choices on what kind of frog to draw! Draw a tree frog, a bullfrog, an African claw frog, or other frog of your choosing.

145. Spool of Thread & Other Sewing Notions

Do you have a sewing box? A simple spool of thread and other sewing notions can make for a great still life.

146. Tomato

Some people love tomatoes, others could leave them. Either way, they make for a n excellent drawing subject.

147. Squares and Rectangles

Drawing squares and rectangles gives you plenty of opportunities to discover new patterns in your doodles. Tip: For straight lines, use a ruler!

148. Tea kettle

How about a nice relaxing cup of tea? Sketch a tea kettle in your journal.

149. Lightbulb

The symbol for creativity and ideas, light bulbs are an invention we still rely on heavily today. Try drawing something inside of a lightbulb for an illuminating challenge.

150. Party Supplies

What do you need to throw a party? You could draw party hats, noise makers, or keep it simple with just party foods.

151. Railroad tracks

Railroad tracks are very dangerous to be around, so I do not suggest trying to go near them for sketching, but there are many pictures you can use as reference and they are great practice for perspective.

Porches are welcoming gathering places for company and the perfect scene to sketch.

153. Rainbow

Rainbows are easy to draw and a great excuse to pull out the colored pencils. An easy way to remember the order of the colors is the acronym Roy G. Biv: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.

154. Lemonade Stand

Every kid dreams of having a lemonade stand someday, and now is your chance to finally design the lemonade stand of your dreams.

Do you play piano? You can choose to draw a close-up of the keys, someone playing the piano, an upright piano, or a baby grand piano.

156. Hallways

Interior hallways can be a great way to practice drawing perspective, especially if the hallway has a lot of doors or wall decor.

157. Watch Gears

What’s inside a watch? Lots of little gear parts that make for fun and easy drawing ideas.

It doesn’t have to be taco tuesday to draw a taco. Fill up that shell with all your favorite ingredients and toppings!

159. Paint & Paint Brush

Pull out your paints and paint brushes to set up a still life scene of an artist at work.

160. Faces With Different Emotions

So often in portraits we see people happy – try drawing faces with different emotions such as angry, sad, frustrated, or calm.

161. Dishes

Dishes can have all sorts of different patterns and styles that can make for fantastic creative inspiration.

162. Fountain

Whether its an outdoor or indoor fountain, there are all sorts of interesting details to capture when drawing a fountain.

163. Puzzle Pieces

Puzzles are always entertaining. Grab a puzzle off your game shelf and scatter a few pieces around to sketch and draw.

164. Monkey

You probably can’t have a pet monkey like Curious George in real life, but you can always draw a character of your own.

165. Angels

Angels are majestic divine beings of light, and a fantastic source of inspiration for sketching and drawing.

One of the nice things about drawing hands is you always have a realistic model attached to you! Try different poses or holding different objects.

167. Pair of Socks

Do you have a pair of crazy socks? You can sketch a pair of socks you already own, or make your own crazy sock designs.

168. Bag or Purse

We use bags all the time in our everyday life, whether it’s a shopping bag or a purse where you keep your keys, wallet and more. Draw the bag itself or draw a fashion sketch of a person wearing a bag.

169. Umbrella

Rainy days are a lot more bearable when you have a good umbrella to keep you dry!

170. Beach Scene

The beach is a relaxing and serene place to sit with a sketchbook and sketch the sights.

171. Bowling Ball and Pins

Bowling can be a lot of fun, and drawing a bowling ball and pins makes for a good drawing exercise.

172. Roller Coaster

Do you have a favorite rollercoaster ride? You can draw a lifelike imitation of a rollercoaster you love, or design your own with plenty of ups, downs, twists and turns.

We often associate witches with mean and scary looking old ladies, but Glenda the Good witch from the Wizard of Oz reminds us that not all witches are bad.

174. Headphones

Love listening to music? Don’t forget to sketch your headphones.

Are ghosts real? What do they look like? Now is your chance to draw one!

176. Paper Clips

Pull out a handful of paper clips from your office desk and sketch them.

177. King or Queen

You can draw a king or queen from history, or even imagine yourself as king or queen for the day.

178. Graffiti

Graffiti is a unique form of art and perfectly legal when done on paper.

179. Ladybugs

Ladybugs are cute beneficial insects in any garden.

180. Abstract Line Art

Use this as a chance to draw stripes or have fun with experimenting with different line angles on paper.

181. Mermaid

Fictional characters that live under the sea, mermaids have captivated the imagination of sailors and storytellers for ages.

Do you have any toys from your childhood? Pull them out and sketch them.

183. Junk Drawer

Everybody has a junk drawer – that place where stuff just ends up somehow. Go through your junk drawer and pick a couple of random objects to draw.

184. Highway road

Have you been on a any recent road trips lately? Highway roads are always an interesting thing to draw.

185. Backpack

What’s in your backpack? Whether you’re a hiker or a student or carry your laptop in a backpack, there’s plenty of different styles and shapes to choose from to draw!

186. Mushrooms

Did you know there are over 10,000 different types of mushrooms? That gives you a LOT of options for what to draw, whether you draw realistic mushrooms or fantasy style mushrooms in an enchanted forest.

187. Cactus

Whether you have a cactus growing at home or want to take inspiration from a desert landscape, cacti make for excellent drawing subjects.

188. Turtle

Don’t be shy – draw a turtle! You can make it realistic, cartoonish, or somewhere in between.

189. Seashells

Seashells are abundant in the world and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, giving you plenty of creative options to explore when it comes to drawing them.

190. Photo Frames

Every piece of art needs a good frame, and this is a great prompt to make doodle frames or draw ornate frames inspired from vintage and antique photograph displays.

Where does the gate lead? You can draw a garden gate, a gateway to a new portal or maybe a gate to a haunted and spooky hollow.

192. Vegetables

Don’t want to eat your vegetables? Draw them instead!

I am always fascinated by the details in patchwork quilts. You can try drawing different quilt block designs, or even take inspiration from a crazy quilt with elaborate stitching and embroidery embellishing each patch!

194. Sunrise/sunset

The sun rises and sets every single day and that itself is pretty amazing! What’s a drawing prompt list without a sunset or sunrise?

You can draw your state or country’s flag, or choose to draw different flags from around the world.

There are many different types of bells, from bell towers to school bells to jingle bells.

197. Potato Chips

Are you in need of a snack? Next time you reach for that bag of potato chips, sketch it!

198. Your Closet

Open up your closet doors and sketch a scene of your current wardrobe. Hopefully you won’t find too many skeletons in there!

199. Vintage Photographs

Old vintage photos make for great drawing reference photo idea, especially when they feature historical lifestyles.

Heat things up by drawing flames or fire. You can draw a campfire, a fire in a fireplace, or flames surrounding another object.

201. Raindrops

Raindrops are their very own shape, and there are so many different ways you could interpret this! You could make raindrop patterns, or try to realistically capture what raindrops may look like on a pane of glass or when they fall and hit the ground.

Your choice – make a map of where you live, somewhere you’ve visited, or maybe even a map of a completely fictional and imaginary fantasy world.

203. Optical illusions

Optical illusions play with lines, shadows, and depth to create images that aren’t always what they appear to be. Play around with different ideas until you get a drawing that makes you look twice.

204. Snowman

Do you want to draw a snowman? You can make your snowman as elaborate or as simple as you’d like!

205. Steampunk

Steampunk is a type of science fiction where everything is steam powered. Think gears, flying contraptions, and all sorts of odd inventions. Prefer figure drawing? You could also draw people in steampunk attire!

206. Seagulls

These birds may be noisy, squacky, and annoying to deal with at the beach, but they are still beautiful to look at and the perfect subject for drawing.

207. Computer

We spend enough time at the computer, so take a break from the digital world and get out that sketchpad!

208. Chickens

Chickens come in all sorts of varieties – the American Poultry Association recognizes over 50 different breeds of chickens. You can choose to make this as simple or as complex as you wish!

209. Historic Scene

Scenes from history are always fun to illustrate, especially if you choose to depict a time before cameras were invented, which was in 1816.

210. The library

Go visit your local library and bring your sketchbook! You can choose to sketch the outside of the building or sit at a table where you can get a good view of the rows and rows of books.

211. Your grocery store

Shopping for food is an everyday necessity, and chances are you’ve been to the grocery store at least once in the past year. Draw some of the aisles, a grocery display case, or draw the exterior of the building.

212. Jar of Something

Everything in mason jars is all the rage in decor, or maybe you’re like me and love a jar of bread and butter pickles or homemade jam.

213. Numbers

You don’t have to be a mathematician to appreciate there are so many different ways to draw numbers! Practice hand-lettering in different styles or use basic numbers as a base for more elaborate doodles.

214. Your Bed

Researchers estimate the average person spends about 26 years of our lives in bed…which is a LOT of time sleeping! Give your bed its proper tribute by illustrating it in your sketchbook.

215. Impossible World

Maybe there’s an imaginary world where fish fly in the sky, or the moon is underwater…invent an imaginary fantasy world and draw it!

216. Speech Bubbles

How do you convey spoken words in your drawings? With speech bubbles of course! You can draw them comic book style or practice creating new patterns using a basic speech bubble shape.

217. Farm or Barn Scene

The Barn is an iconic image of the countryside, and no wonder – these giant buildings serve as a place to store farm equipment and provide shelter to animals. Draw a barn!

218. Labyrinth

A labyrinth is a meandering path that leads to the center of a shape. Traditionally circular in nature, they are often used in common times for reflection and meditation.

Go fly a kite! And if there’s no wind or you don’t have a kite, you can always draw one! Again, there are so many different shapes and types here to choose from!

220. Astronaut

Remember that rocket ship you drew in prompt number 54? What about the person flying that thing? Draw a picture of the astronaut brave enough to travel in your spacecraft.

Balls of yarn can be a fun challenge to draw, especially when you get into different types of hand spun yarns or art yarn!

Go ahead, take a chance…and draw some dice! Did you know there are more dice than just the average 6-sided dice? They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, as I learned from playing Dungeons & Dragons.

223. Pumpkins

You can draw a pumpkin patch, a fall themed still life display, or maybe even carve out a face on your pumpkin and create a jack-o-lantern!

224. Flooring

Have you ever spent time staring at the floor? I know that sounds sarcastic, but you might just be surprised how many different textures and patterns exist on what we walk all over every single day.

225. Scene from a Dream

Have any crazy dreams lately? Illustrate a scene from a dream in your sketchbook. Bonus? You can interpret what that dream means based on the image you drew!

Imagine a bench. Who is sitting on it? Draw it!

227. Garden

There are so many different things you can draw for a garden, whether its a vegetable garden or a flower garden or maybe just a peaceful place outside surrounded by plants.

228. Blue Jeans

Get a pair of blue jeans out from your closet and try putting them in different poses on a table or the floor and draw what you see.

229. Wild West Scene

Cowboys, outlaws, and a good saloon make for the perfect backdrop for a wild west scene you could draw.

230. Children playing

Kids are always a source of inspiration to draw, especially when they are playing.

231. Silhouette

Silhouettes are outlines of an object, person or place. Try drawing silhouettes of people in different poses, or draw silhouettes of everyday objects around the house.

Hopefully there are no mice in your house – but they are cute, when they don’t sneak up on you! You could draw a realistic mouse, or draw personified mice characters who live in their own burrow in a meadow.

233. Baby/Infant

Like kids, babies are another great source for portrait photos. You can use a baby you know as inspiration, or dig out those old photos of you as a baby when you were new to this world.

I’d never want to see a hippo close in real life {I hear they can be very aggressive and dangerous!} but I’m definitely okay with drawing them!

When the cold wind blows you get ice! You can draw icicles hanging from the eaves of a roof, or maybe even ice cubes that are guaranteed not to melt.

236. Favorite Animated/Cartoon Character

When I was in the second grade I was so lucky to take a cartooning class where I learned to draw Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, and more. Do you have a favorite cartoon character or anime character? Try to draw them as close as the original as you can.

237. Camera

So often as artists we use reference photos to inspire our work, but we forget the camera itself can be a great drawing idea!

238. Mad Scientist’s Lab

Think bubbling potions, beakers, and oh my, what’s that monster doing under the sheet over there in the corner?

239. Wood Texture

Wood grain can be a beautiful texture to draw, especially in pencil, ink, or charcoal. There are so many options for patterns and shading!

240. Gnomes

Who doesn’t love garden gnomes? Maybe they’re tacky, but I think they’re the perfect thing to draw – especially if you draw them in different clothes and styles.

241. Life Underground

Most of the time we think about life on the surface of earth, but there’s all sorts of things that happen underground, from coal mines to subway train stations to fault lines and magma…what world do you imagine? Draw it!

Ever hear the phrase, I’m all ears? Now’s your chance to illustrate it!

We drive in cars every day and there are so many different types we see on the road. You can choose to draw your first car, your current car, or the cars you see passing by on the street near where you live.

244. Holiday scenes

There’s so many holidays we celebrate around the world – you can choose from Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Fourth of July or maybe even St. Patrick’s Day.

245. Song Lyrics

Do you have a favorite song? Illustrate a scene from the song, or practice your hand-lettering by drawing a quote of the lyrics.

246. Parking Lot

Parking lots might not sound like that exciting of an idea for drawing, but you can be surprised what happens in them! They are great places for people watching, or you could sketch the scene of one to continue a series of drawings of places around where you live.

247. Movie Scene

What’s your favorite movie? Draw a scene from a movie you love or have watched recently.

248. Xylophone

Xylophone is pretty much the only word we could think of that begins with the letter X, so it made our list. 🙂

249. City Street Scene

Walk around the city and sketch the sights on the street.

250. Award or Trophy

Have you ever been given a trophy or award for an achievement? You could also draw trophies or awards for your pets or friends, like “Best Listener” or “Most Furry”.

Look up to the night sky and draw the stars. You could also research and draw different constellations.

From dump trucks to tractor trailer trucks to pick-up trucks, there are all kinds of trucks you can draw. Above is a picture of a pick-up my brother drew.

253. Skeleton or Skull

Skeletons and skulls might be creepy to some, but they can be a lot less scary if you opt to draw a sugar skull from the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday.

Bird watchers know there are thousands of different species of birds, which means you have a lot of options here! To keep things simple, try drawing birds that are native to where you live and can be found regularly in your backyard and parks.

255. Friend

Ask a friend for a photo or see if they would be willing to pose while you draw a portrait of them.

256. Cleaning Supplies

Fact: It’s more fun to draw cleaning supplies than it is to actually do the laundry, dishes, and other household chores.

257. Wheels

From wagon wheels to car rims, there are all sorts of different types of wheels you could draw. You could also use wheels as a base for making repetitive patterns.

258. Sled Ride

Have you ever been on a sled in the winter? You can draw kids sledding or draw an old fashioned Christmas sleigh!

What’s behind that door? You can draw the door of your house, or draw a door that captures your eye and makes you want to open it…or avoid it.

260. Diamonds

Diamonds are easy things to draw and you can play with all sorts of different patterns and repetitions with them.

261. Favorite Things

What are your favorite things in the whole wide world? Draw them!

Waves are a very cool thing you can draw, whether its realistic waves in the ocean, or simply waves of lines that create a pattern.

263. School

Draw a picture of what you remember school looked like when you were a kid, or draw all the school supplies you remember needing.

264. Abandoned Warehouse

Abandoned warehouses are cool architecture places to draw, just remember that you shouldn’t actually go into an abandoned warehouse without proper permission and safety clearances – it can be VERY dangerous!

265. Cooking Spices

What’s on your spice rack? Draw it!

266. Favorite Place From Your Childhood

What is a place you remember from your childhood? It can be any place you visited that brings back happy memories.

267. Vase of Flowers

The classic still life is the perfect opportunity to practice drawing!

268. Vacation Spot

Think back on all of the places you’ve visited and vacationed at over the years. Draw a scene of one of your favorite spots!

269. News Headline

Look to the news today and draw a headline from the current events.

270. Village

Draw a whimsical village of cute little houses.

Artists like Van Gogh are famous for painting a chair, so get your start by drawing one!

Horses are incredible creatures admired for the beauty and strength. Draw wild horses or someone riding a horse.

273. Drum Set

Not everybody has room for a drum set in their house or the talent to play one, but you can always draw one!

274. Exercise Poses

Draw a figure in different exercise poses, such as yoga or aerobics.

275. Something That Smells Nice

What’s your favorite smell? Draw something that you think smells nice.

276. Illustrate Onomatopoeia Words

Onomatopoeia words are words that are spelled exactly like they sound – and they can be fun to illustrate. Some example words are splash, buzz, pop, fizz, and swish.

277. Detective

Take inspiration from Sherlock Holmes and draw a detective on the case to solve the next mystery.

278. Mythological Creatures

Centaur, griffins, and manticores are all examples of different types of mythological creatures you could draw in your journal.

Draw a game board, game pieces or make up a design that could be used on your very own deck of illustrated cards.

280. Picnic

Set the scene for the perfect picnic lunch – hopefully there won’t be any ants to ruin the fun!

With over 200 owl species to choose from, you could draw a barn owl, a snowy owl, or great horned owl. The above picture my daughter drew when she was six.

282. Your Favorite Decade

Draw a scene from your favorite decade, whether it’s the roaring 1920’s or the fun and colorful 1980’s.

283. Flash Light

No need to stay in the dark – you can draw your own light with a flash light!

284. Bathroom Cabinet

Draw your toothbrush, a bar of soap, or anything else you may regularly keep in your bathroom cabinets.

Idioms are expressions and phrases that generally don’t make any literal sense in the real world…one example being it’s raining cats and dogs. Illustrate a silly idiom or other expression that we don’t take literally. You can find more idioms at the Free Dictionary Idiom Search .

286. Rock Star

Everybody thinks about becoming a rock star at some point, take inspiration from one of your favorite artists or bands or draw yourself rocking out to your favorite kind of music.

287. Party Animals

Draw animals going to a party. Don’t forget their party hats!

What’s hiding up in the attic of that old house? Draw it!

289. Happy Couple

Draw a couple that is happy and in love together.

290. Neighborhood

Sketch a street scene from your local neighborhood.

291. Bar or Restaurant

Where’s the last place you’ve eaten or gone out to? Draw a picture of the exterior or interior of the building.

292. Time Machine

Time machines don’t exist yet, but here’s your chance to design one that will help you travel back and forth in time.

293. Runner

They say life is a marathon and not a sprint…unless a lion is chasing you. Draw someone who is running from something, or maybe they are competing in a 5k or marathon.

294. Treehouse

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a treehouse for a day? Design and draw a Pete Nelson worthy treehouse for you to escape to.

295. Museum

Museums are full of interesting artifacts from history. Visit a museum near you or do a virtual tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History online here .

Boxes can be empty or they can be full of surprises. You can draw just one box or a whole stack of them!

Draw a humanoid-like robot, or draw a robot straight out of a science fiction movie. Cartoon robots are also always fun!

Drawing glass can be a fun way to explore drawing reflections and shadows.

299. Mechanic’s Garage

Draw a mechanic’s garage with cars needing repaired.

300. Helicopter

Did you know the fastest speed of a helicopter ever recorded is 248 mph? That’s crazy!

301. Brick Wall

Brick patterns are a great idea for something to draw.

302. Lighthouse

Lighthouses help keep sailors and ships safe while out at sea. They are also beautiful tourist attractions all around the world.

303. Gifts and Presents

Did you receive any gifts or presents recently? Draw them! You could also draw wrapped presents.

304. Christmas Tree

Deck the halls and put up a Christmas tree, in your art journal or sketchbook at least! Not Christmas time or don’t celebrate Christmas? You could always decorate your tree to be more to your liking.

Towers have been used historically for many different reasons, and they stand tall along the skyline. Draw one!

There are so many famous hotels you could choose to draw, or draw the outside of the last hotel you stayed at.

307. Ant Farm

Ants build the most fascinating tunnels in ant farms. Illustrate an ant farm to show their secret lives in their homes.

308. Battle

You could draw a historic battle or you could draw a fantasy battle between an ogre and a dragon.

309. Waterfall

There are so many waterfalls in the world, experts can’t even agree how many there are! They are beautiful cascading natural elements perfect for sketching.

310. Remote Control

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a remote control that does everything? Take inspiration from the remote control you have for your TV or design your own with custom buttons you could use in your life.

311. Bakery

Cakes, cookies, bread…mmmm…all of my favorite foods can be found at a bakery, so draw one!

312. Suitcase

Packing to go somewhere? You could draw a suitcase ready to travel the world, or draw yours.

We live on this great big earth, so draw it.

314. Mandala

A mandala is a geometric figure that represents the universe. They are often used for meditative purposes and can be so relaxing to draw.

315. Cassette Tape

Am I showing my age here? Even if everything is digital today, cassette tapes are still cool to draw in my book.

316. Antique Car

Cars from the 1900’s look a lot different than the ones we drive today! Draw an antique or classic car that was manufactured before 1970.

317. Castle

You drew the queen and king in prompt number 177, now where are they going to live? Draw a castle fit for royalty, or take inspiration from one of the famous 500+ castles that already exist in the world.

318. Lightning

Lightning can be mesmerizing and the earth is struck by lightning an estimated 1,400,000,000 times a year – now that’s electrifying!

319. Snakes

Some people are scared of snakes, but the best way to overcome that fear is to draw one on paper. Besides, it’s your imagination – you can make the snake a friendly, non-biting one!

I heard you can really draw a crowd…haha…I know, that’s a terribly punny joke but I couldn’t resist.

Swords are often seen in coats of armor and in historical fiction stories like the sword in the stone…try drawing one!

322. Compass

Which way north? Draw a compass rose.

Pigs are very intelligent creatures…and they are cute!

Be careful if you drew three pigs in the last prompt, this could get hairy and become the story of three little pigs quick, which doesn’t end too well for the wolf.

325. Anchor

Anchors are symbols of strength and safety and often used in logos and tattoo designs.

Who doesn’t love a good donut? Draw your favorite flavor donut.

327. Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are very fast to see in real life, but they are beautiful birds to draw.

328. Statues and Sculptures

Draw your own life-like statue or sculpture, or try to draw a realistic rendition of a famous statue such as The Statue of Liberty or the sculpture of Discobolus .

329. Zipper

Zippers are something we use all the time, and they are fun to draw! You can also use the basic shape of a zipper for all sorts of pattern drawing ideas!

330. Television Set

You can draw a retro TV set or draw a more modern day version of a smart TV.

That alien that you drew in prompt #25…what kind of spacecraft were they flying? Draw an unidentified flying object.

332. Scarecrow

Scarecrows are not really all that useful for scaring away crows, but they have become an iconic decoration around the fall and autumn season.

One of the popular games for kids to play in the woods is to go snipe hunting…of course you never find one because snipes don’t exist. No one knows what a snipe really is, but this is your chance to imagine what one would look like if it were real.

334. Chameleon

Chameleons are best known for being able to change their colors to blend into their environment. This is a great opportunity to practice shading or draw with multiple colors.

335. Jellyfish

The nice thing about drawing a jellyfish on paper is they can’t sting you! While you’d never want to get too close to one in real life, they are beautifully amazing creatures of the sea.

336. Unicorn

A unicorn is a mythical creature that looks much like a horse with a single horn on its forehead. They are often depicted in art and folklore, making it the perfect drawing prompt.

Tulips mean spring is coming, and they are fun beautiful flowers to draw in any weather or season. Because they are bulbs, you can even force them to grow in the winter like I did with my flowers. See my post on the seasons of being an artist .

338. Pinwheel

Pinwheels are toys that twirl around when someone blows on them. They are symbolically seen as a way of “turing one’s luck around” and often signify playfulness and happiness.

339. Palm Tree

Did you know palm trees are actually evergreen trees? They are characterized by broad fan-like leaves and usually found in tropical regions around the world.

340. Rainforests

Rainforests are home to thousands of exotic plant species and animals and are typically found around the earth’s equator.

341. Deserted Island

What would you do if you were stuck on a deserted island? What would it look like? I hope you brought a notebook and pencil!

342. Snowflakes

No two snowflakes are alike, and you can have so much fun drawing different patterns and designs of snowflakes.

343. Ball or Sphere

Balls and spheres are a great opportunity to play around with drawing different shadow angles and light sources.

344. Goldfish

Goldfish are easy to draw and are a favorite pet for many people.

345. DNA Helix

It’s crazy to think we have DNA and I even recently just did a DNA test on Ancestry.com – it’s so fascinating to me to trace back all of my ancestors. Drawing the helix is a great way to practice different shading techniques as well.

One of my favorite songs is You Are the Moon by the Hush Sound , and I can’t think but illustrating a beautiful moonlit landscape everytime I hear it.

347. Trapeze Artist

Trapeze artists are highly skilled entertainers who perform all sorts of aerial tricks on ropes. Often seen at circuses, many modern artists can be seen in cities and other places.

348. Atoms and Molecules

You don’t have to be a chemistry major to recognize that atoms and molecule diagrams can be fascinating subjects for drawing ideas!

349. Carousel

I’ve always loved merry go round carousel rides and still ride them even now whenever I get a chance. You can choose to draw the whole carousel or just draw a carousel horse.

350. Cabin or Cottage in the Woods

Draw your own artists retreat place in the form of a cabin or cottage in the woods.

351. Buttons

Buttons make for great doodles, or you can always draw a magic button that you can push for when things go awry.

352. Pot of Gold

What’s at the end of your rainbow from prompt #153? Shamrock optional.

353. Doctor’s Office

Have you ever noticed all the different things they have at the doctor’s office when you go in for a check-up?

354. Panda Bear

Panda bears are just cute and that is why you should draw one.

355. Building Blocks

Building blocks are a great way to play with different angles, lines, and shadows.

356. Ferris Wheel

Ferris wheels are popular carnival rides and a great thing to draw.

357. Turkey

You can draw a turkey – it’s as simple as tracing your hand. Of course, you could always opt to draw a turkey that’s a bit more realistic.

358. Lollipops and Candy

Craving something sweet? Draw a lollipop or another favorite type of Candy.

You could draw a city bus, a school bus, or even a double-decker bus.

360. Flamingo

Flamingos are graceful birds most well known for their ability to balance on just one leg.

361. Ukulele

Ukulele’s only have 4 strings and are smaller and higher pitched than a guitar. Both of my daughters play the Ukulele!

362. Strawberry

Strawberries are amazingly detailed when you look at one up close, making them a great option for a close-up sketch.

363. Sandcastle

Did you know people build sandcastles at a competitive level? It’s amazing what architects, engineers, and creative designers and make out of sand at sand castle competitions!

364. Record Player

We may not play records that often anymore, but they are still a totally fun vintage thing to draw.

365. Magic Wand

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a magic wand? Well, you can always draw one!

I hope you enjoyed this list of 365 Drawing Ideas and of course if you create any of these things to draw I would love to see it in our Artjournalist Facebook community group !

Do you have any ideas for things to draw that I might have missed? I’d love to hear your ideas and how you will use these drawing prompts – tell me in the comments below!

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365 Drawing Ideas For Your Sketchbook: A Year of Daily Drawing Prompts

Boosting your drawing skills requires consistent practice, but all aspiring artists know this. To make this daily commitment easier, I present a curated compilation of 365 doodling, sketching, and drawing ideas . Whether you’re a novice or an experienced artist, this list will help drawing become a seamless and fun part of your routine!

Ever find yourself eagerly opening a sketchbook only to be greeted by a mental block? That frustrating moment when you crave inspiration to put pen to paper but end up with NO IDEAS?

I hate getting sidetracked by these creative roadblocks, so I’ve brainstormed a variety of sketchbook ideas, ranging from simple to advanced. Each suggestion is adaptable to your skill level, the time you have available, and even your mood on a given day. Say bye-bye to the struggle of facing an empty page and embrace the inspiration these ideas bring to your artistic journey.

This post includes affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy here .

How to Use This List

You can approach the drawing ideas in different ways. Here are two approaches, but you may have a different plan in mind, so don’t feel like there are set rules.

Some artists use idea lists to stay in the habit of a sketchbook practice, to challenge themselves to draw things they wouldn’t have thought of, or to push them out of their comfort zone.

These are perfect for high school or college students who need to keep a sketchbook practice going for class.

Or you may simply not want to deal with coming up with ideas every day to draw. It’s so nice to look at a list and have someone else tell you what to draw!

Good Idea: Click this box to print out 80 silly drawing prompts for kids and have your wee ones draw along side you.

A Daily Sketchbook Practice

I challenge you to carve out a little time each day for drawing. The consistent practice will blow your mind at the end of the year when you see how far you’ve come with your drawing skills. (Take a moment to picture how proud of yourself you’ll feel after you’ve completed this awesome challenge. Don’t worry if you miss a day here and there; pick up the next day where you left off!)

Try your hand at different drawing styles and subject matter to figure out what you like to draw, what you need to practice more, and even what your drawing style is.

Push yourself to go beyond drawing the same, easy, go-to things you usually draw, and you will advance to higher and higher levels of drawing!

Draw Just For Fun, Or When You’re Bored

Here’s an idea: Keep your sketchbook nearby at all times. That way when you have a little down time, you can train yourself to reach for your sketchbook and do a little drawing instead of automatically phone-scrolling. You’ll be amazed at how much drawing you end up doing when your sketchbook is readily available.

If you’re feeling bored or antsy, it’s so fun to immerse yourself in drawing, and you can simply choose any idea from this list that pops out at you. Some of them are intentionally more vague than others; interpret these however you wish, and I encourage you to do a few different drawings based on the same prompt.

For most of the prompts, you choose what supplies you want to use, but a few of them do specifically ask you to use a certain tool. If you want to skip or modify these, feel free. If you are being faithful to the list, or just want a more varied sketchbook experience, make sure you have on hand:

Drawing pencils

Erasers – these are my very favorite erasers

Good sharpener

Black drawing pens

Colored pencils

Small stick erasers with holder – for detailed erasing

Tortillon smudgers

Related: What is the best drawing pencil?

365 Drawing Ideas For a Daily Sketchbook Practice

1. draw each of your hands, using the opposite hand.

It’s fun and rather funny to attempt to draw using the non-dominant hand. When I do this I notice that I am concentrating harder on drawing, and I can feel a different part of my brain waking up.

2. Cover a page in pencil and erase a plant drawing out of it

Cover the page using the edge of your pencil to lay down a graphite layer. Erase-drawing is fun because you can be very loose and painterly with your drawing. It’s definitely a different way to draw since you’re drawing the highlights instead of the shadows.

3. Eyeglasses

You can draw regular glasses or sunglasses. Set them up at an interesting angle, maybe take into consideration the reflection in them, or add your own made-up reflection.

4. Your face, but from looking at an upside-down photo of you

This taps into the same part of your brain I mentioned in prompt #1 – drawing from an upside down reference makes you realllly look at the image and draw what you SEE, as opposed to the preconceived ideas you have in your mind of how to draw a face.

5. A scene from a favorite book

Hunger Games, anyone? Or maybe you are a Catcher in the Rye fan. Heck, pick a scene from The Very Hungry Caterpillar if you’d rather.

Eggs are the perfect little items to draw. Not only are they beautiful, there aren’t any harsh lines to them, so you are forced to focus on all of the subtle shading that goes along with drawing an egg.

7. Illustrate a dream you’ve had

Pick out a moment from a dream you’ve had – that split second you just can’t seem to forget – and see what comes out when you go to illustrate it.

8. Money – watch this video for inspiration:

9. A video game or cartoon character

This could be a simple drawing or something much more complex, depending on if you want to draw an entire background as well. Your choice!

10. The contents of a backpack or bag

Draw all the fun items you carry around every day, either with or without the bag.

11. Design some new pants

Pants are the coolest. Even if you hate to wear them, you could learn to love to draw them.

12. Perspective drawing looking down a road

Find a road, any road, snap a photo, or sit and draw right there. I wouldn’t recommend sitting in the middle of the road. I guess I’d be a little nervous to sit and draw right next to the road as well. Maybe if you can pull off into a little pulloff area, you would be safe. I’ve put far too much thought into this one. BE CAREFUL. Drawing can be deadly.

13. Draw a page of overlapping quick sketches of people moving

Hey this is fun! Quick, light gesture drawings overlapping all over a page looks really cool.

14. A bunched-up paper towel or piece of paper

Get ready for some good shading practice with this one!

Make up your own UFO or go the traditional route – you know, with the lights and beam sucking something up into it.

16. Feathers

Feathers are great to draw from life, so if you happen to find a big old goose feather lying around, grab it.

17. Organs in cross section of human body

I’m picturing a medical drawing sort of thing here – like you see in anatomy books, but go for however you want to interpret this one.

18. Design a playing card (or a whole deck!)

I’ve seen a drawing assignment where you draw a self portrait as a playing card, so that’s an option here if you want.

19. Your hand in a fist

Hold your fist in any direction you want to draw it. You could even do a series of drawings on the page of different angles of your fist.

20. A terrifying monster

Make it cartoony terrifying, or actually horrifying. Make this monster the best monster you’ve ever drawn.

21. Arrange a piece of fabric on a surface to make lots of folds

Set a bright light on the fabric at an angle to give you good shadows to draw.

22. Draw 9 circles on a sketchbook page, and fill each one in with a drawing of an animal portrait

Make the circles fancy or 3-d or designy if you want. Draw the animals realistically, abstractly, comic style. Artist’s choice. Actually all. of this is artist’s choice, you powerful artist.

23. A hoodie hanging from a hook or the back of a chair

Grab a hoodie, hang it from a hook, over the back of a chair, or even from a corner of a chair, and just draw that beautiful thing.

24. Your reflection in a window at night

This was one of my favorite drawing assignments at RISD. Even though I stayed up all night doing it and may or may not have started to hallucinate because I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, either.

25. A glass of water with a straw or utensil in it

Drawing water is challenging, my friends! Especially when you add something into it so you get that fun refraction.

26. Many quick sketches of birds on one page

27. a forest, but using only straight lines.

I am curious to see how people interpret this one, so tag me on Instagram @artmakespeople if you post yours. That goes for any of these, I want to seeeeee them.

28. A corner of your home

Pick a corner, plop yourself down, crank the jams, draw away.

29. Balloons

Draw some balloons in a bunch, separate, flying away, popping, barely hovering over the floor, whatevs.

30. The view out of one of your windows

What goes on out there? Draw it.

31. A still life of shoes, either arranged or tossed into a pile

Shoes are the classic items to draw. Here’s your chance to draw several.

32. Design a candy bar wrapper

What would be your ultimate, amazing tastiest candy bar ever? Design its wrapper. Mine would be dark chocolate, peanut butter, a cookie almost as crunchy as a biscotti, and probably 3-4 peanuts under the top of the chocolate.

33. Find images of beetles and draw a page of them

Aren’t beetles so cool looking? There are some stunning beetles out there, just begging to be drawn.

34. A scene from your favorite movie

I guess this will look a lot different if your favorite film is animae opposed to Pulp Fiction.

35. Octopus

Draw yourself a fantastic octopus. If you haven’t watched the documentary, My Octopus Teacher yet, do so. It’s so good.

36. A page of robots

Robots are just always fun to draw. I mean, you can go regular old beep boop robot, or you could make up your own.

37. Illustrate a favorite song

That’s all.

38. A plate of tacos (or another favorite food)

Tacos just have that fun shape that makes you want to eat them AND draw them.

39. A quick, light sketch of a human figure, with a more detailed drawing over it

I was thinking another human figure over the first one, but really, you could draw anything you want. A face, an animal, a building, flowers…

40. Flowers, either from observation or memory

Get in there and draw those beautiful, fascinating odiferous wonders.

41. Doodled, abstract flowers

Now focus on lines and shapes and even colors if you want to.

42. I love those drawings that look like they are defying the rules of lined paper! Try this one:

Chairs are the perfect drawing models since they tend to not move on their own, they come in all sorts of shapes, and you can arrange them however you want before you draw them. Set a few up, or just draw one at a table.

44. Tattoo designs

Come up with brand new tattoo designs. Make a page of drawings, or draw a human figure and tat it up.

45. A house – as simple or detailed as you want

This is a fun one – draw your dream house, sit and draw your own house, or sit in your front yard and draw the house across the street.

Buy 2-3 lemons, set them on a surface and draw them. Or! Draw a whole bowl of lemons. Or! Or! Buy a couple lemons, chop them up, and draw the wedges or slices. So many lemon options here.

47. A flat lay of some of your favorite treasures

Fun! Gather a few of your favorite things, and spend some time arranging them into a flat lay – probably on the floor – and draw away.

48. Roses in a bunch

You can either splurge on a dozen full, sumptuous roses and draw them, or draw from a photo, but get in there and spend some time rendering these beauties. Short on time for this one? Try a blind contour drawing of roses, or even a quick sketch using as few lines as possible to get the point across.

49. A page full of a pattern

Aimlessly doodle a pattern, or go research patterns and find a favorite to draw.

50. A cell phone

Ya got a cell phone? Draw that bad boy.

51. Draw the cover art from an album you love

Scroll Spotify or the Googles for some cover art to draw. Reinterpret it if you like.

52. Microscopic items

53. Magazine Transfers

Using pencil, trace images from book or magazine covers (or elsewhere) onto tracing paper (printer paper works fine for this in some cases), lay your drawings face down onto a sketchbook page, and go over the lines with your pencil to transfer them to the page. Shade or add lines or erase to create new sketchbook drawings. Tip: Softer, darker pencils transfer more easily than hard pencils.

Clouds. Have fun turning them into cloud creatures or recognizable objects in cloud form if you so desire.

55. Your pet

If you don’t have a pet, draw someone else’s or an internet pet. I highly recommend Boobie Billie, both to draw, and to follow on Insta. 💙

56. Draw a hanging piece of clothing and shade using crosshatching

Do you love crosshatching? Now is your time to practice the hatching.

57. Toothbrush and toothpaste

Another classic duo to draw, since most of us own these items.

58. Snowflakes

Draw some snowflake doodles or cut some out and draw them from observation. Or even shoot some snowflakes with a macro lens and draw your own!

59. An undiscovered sea creature

Make up a sea creature even weirder than everybody’s favorite Angler Fish.

60. A bike or closeup on a bike part

A cool wheel close-up would be fun to draw, or turn this into a long drawing by drawing the whole bike in an environment.

61. Draw frames in your sketchbook and fill them with portraits

Fancy, ornate frames, or simple ovals – your choice.

62. Your hand flat on the table

More hand-drawing practice! Don’t skip the hand drawings!

63. The silhouette side view of an animal with its skeleton drawn over it

Draw the outline of an animal, and draw the skeleton inside. Or shade a very loose pencil shadow of an animal and erase or draw the skeleton inside. Or ink a dark silhouette and draw the skeleton with white pen.

64. Your bed

65. 1 cow, 2 pigs, 3 goats.

Ha ha, I’m picturing them in a stack for some reason. You definitely DO NOT need to draw them in a stack.

66. Copy a Degas painting

Any time you copy a painting by a master like Degas, you’ll get a lesson in light and composition. So good.

67. Draw the passage out of a book

Draw the actual words. Try to copy the typeface perfectly or use your own style of letters.

68. Stack objects from your home into a tall tower and draw it

Here’s where I make you actually draw a stack of items.

69. Fill an entire page with one long, slow scribble

This is fun and relaxing. Listen to music or a podcast, and draw the scribble as slowly as you want.

70. A celebrity portrait

Who will you choose?

71. Make up a comic book page

Just one page – the comic can be a scene from your own life, a dream, a story you heard, have fun with it!

Draw bowls set up on a table, in your cabinet, in the sink, the dishwasher. Find the bowls and draw the bowls.

73. A quote or word in bubble letters and then doodled in

I mean, bubble letters are super fun, but if that’s not your thing, block letters will suffice. And if doodling isn’t your thing, practice drawing textures or shading.

74. Your bathtub or shower

Preferably not while taking a shower. Come to think of it, a relaxing bath while drawing might be fun.

75. Equipment from your favorite sport or activity

Anything goes here. If your favorite activity is meditating, use your cool imagination for what to draw here. 🙂

76. Magazine Starters

Cut out parts of humans from a catalog or magazine, glue them into your sketchbook and draw back in any parts you cut out. You can make this funny or realistic.

77. A skeleton from memory

Try to draw al the bones in a human skeleton, without looking at any references.

78. A skeleton from a photo

Now you can look a skeleton up and draw it.

79. Candy hearts with messages

Draw some of those cute Valentine’s hearts with any little messages you like.

80. Draw your grocery list

Draw all the things you need to buy at the grocery store. If you don’t do the grocery shopping, make up a quick list without overthinking whether or not you want to draw it.

81. A landscape drawing without lifting your pen/pencil from the paper

No cheating! Don’t let your drawing utensil leave the page.

82. A stairway

Going up or going down; draw a stairway.

83. Design a new automobile as cool or wildly unrealistic as you like

You could even reimagine the Batmobile. That would be fun.

84. Wrapped gifts

You can save this one for a holiday, draw from imagination, or actually just wrap up some items for the sole reason of drawing.

85. Write a letter to a friend using only drawing – don’t forget to mail it!

You could draw out interpretations of words, draw scenes, ideas, feelings, or even drawn words.

87. Draw the first image you see when you Google ‘beautiful mountain’

There are some beauties to draw.

88. 3 different pieces of food with bites taken out of them

I mean, you can take bites out of as many different foods as you feel you need to to find those perfect 3.

89. Any type of boat

Anything from a tiny rowboat to a grand cruise ship!

90. Watch a show, and every once in a while pause it to do a quick sketch of a scene

I immediately just thought of Dexter, but that could be a little intense for some people. Blues Clues, anyone?

91. Make a t-shirt design that you would actually want to wear

Bonus points if you actually scan it, clean it up, and make a real t-shirt for yourself.

92. Drop 3 raw eggs onto a table (or a tray 🙂 – protect the surface) and draw them

You thought you got a thrill from drawing whole eggs. Broken eggshells and innards are a whole new ballgame.

93. A person diving

You could even make a series of little sketches of different diving positions.

94. Vegetables

Draw. a vegetable still life, patterns, personified veggies, spiralized, whatever floats your veggie boat.

95. Look up prehistoric tools and draw them

There are some really beautiful old tools to be drawn.

96. Draw a scene in the style of a 6 year old

Just try to make a drawing as cool as 6 year olds do.

97. Design a new book cover for a book you love

This could be super fun. You can go minimal or throw in all sorts of references to the story. ooh – maybe your favorite book is a comic or a cookbook!

Got any Amazon boxes lying around? I know you do. Draw them either arranged neatly, or kicked into a random setup.

99. A favorite toy from childhood

Mr. Bunny Boo Boo Face needs you to immortalize him on paper.

100. Tree branches

Yay! Branches are so beautiful. draw them spooky, draw them full of leaves, draw them broken, hanging, full of birds, or even in a big old vase.

101. A lamp or hanging light

To make this extra challenging, you can draw the light on in a semi-dim room. Or even draw it with light shining on some objects.

102. Slice an apple in half and draw it by only shading with the edge of a pencil (no actual lines)

Let’s practice shading spheres with this apple drawing prompt.

103. Combine 2 animals

Draw one or several of these; they’re fun to create!

104. Create a fantastical underground world that you might see if you could lift a slice out of the earth

Oh my goodness. Let your imagination run wild with this one.

105. Vines taking over a tree or another object

You’ll get your leaf-drawing practice in with this one.

106. Makeup

Draw different makeup containers, from life or from photos

107. Design a dress

Channel your inner fashion designer and design a knockout dress. For a guy or a girl. For a kid or an adult. For a human or an animal. Or an alien.

108. Grab your HB and 2B pencils and follow this video on drawing 3 different textures:

109. A page full of fish

Fish are absolutely wonderful to draw. Go black and white and focus on your linework, or go all full, beautiful color.

110. Separate your page with 8 lines, and draw patterns in each section

Lines can be wavy or straight, all across the page or not.

111. Your keychain and everything on it.

I have 2 keys on mine, so it’s pretty boring, but I know people who have TONS of keys, little toys, id’s, etc.

112. Do a pointillism drawing of your foot in any position

POINTILLISM! FOOT!

113. Snap a photo of the inside of your refrigerator and draw it – Bonus points for full color

Refrigerators hold so many secrets. This will be fun to look back on in a few years to see what was in your fridge.

114. Draw some snacks like pretzels or potato chips – Pringles would be fun, or Cheetos

Snacks are good drawing practice, and you can munch while you draw.

115. A stack of books

Books are good drawing practice. You can focus on the stack of books as a color study, hone in on the lines, treat them as an object in a larger scene, or go abstract with them.

116. Draw just the tops of trees

I saw a cool photo of only the tops of trees popping up through the bottom of the print, and thought this would be a great drawing challenge.

117. A person tripping over something

If you look up ‘people tripping’, you will get some really funny images to draw.

Sushi is just a perfect, beautiful food to draw.

119. A Halloween scene, or just a jack-o-lantern setup

So many options here. Halloween is fun to draw.

120. A campsite

You either love camping or hate it. Your campsite could be all fun and perfect, or maybe it’s a horror scene?

121. The profile of a horse drawn with scribbles

Just a side view of a horse – or even a horse’s head, maybe – but you can only use scribbles.

122. Runway Fashion

Design something over-the-top that you might see on the runway, but that no one would ever wear in real life. Need some inspiration?

123. Draw donuts

Either a page full or stacked on a plate. MMMMM you might have to go buy some, you know, for observational purposes

124. Something in motion

Like a frog jumping, a top spinning, a person dancing. Try to show the motion.

125. Earthworms

Ew, worms. These things are quite interesting when you look closely at them.

126. A Recipe

Write out a simple recipe (can be extremely simple) and add little drawings of the ingredients to the page.

127. A baseball cap

Do what you will with this one.

128. Negative Space

129. Things that fly – all together

Butterflies, birds, dragons, insects, planes, etc all together in a very crowded sky.

130. A tea party

Tea parties are fun! Draw one of your choosing.

131. Make up some new emojis

There are plenty of emojis that we don’t have the pleasure of being able to use. What are some that you can think of that you would like to design. Or redesign a current emoji you feel could be improved upon.

132. Someone laughing

This will give you practice drawing the face when it’s not at rest. Listen to some comedy while you’re drawing!

133. A whole bunch of hairstyles

Draw from hairdo pictures or make up your own.

134. A city scene of skyscrapers

Again, follow a photo, draw from life if you live near a city, or make up a fantastic city, full of the tallest skyscrapers ever.

135. A leopard print or zebra print design

Who knew drawing animal prints could be good drawing practice? Try your hand at different animal prints if you enjoy this one.

136. A sleeping baby

Draw a sleepy little baby. That cute little drooly mouth will be fun to draw.

137. A lizard tank

Complete with lizard(s) of your choice, and all decked out with lizardy toys, etc. Sub a snake or turtle if you prefer those reptiles. Heck, if you really want to, make a tiny dinosaur or dragon tank!

138. Smudgy Marks

Make marks and lines with your pencil and smudge them with your finger. Go massively smudgy or just smudge little bits here and there, but have fun experimenting with moving the graphite around the page.

139. Shopping carts

Shopping carts are intricate and interesting – draw them however you see fit.

140. An African mask

Draw more than one if you get inspired – there are some beautiful examples of African masks to get you started here.

141. Turn 3 everyday objects into living beings

Personifying inanimate objects is fun!

142. A cake

Draw anything from a simple cake to a decked out wedding cake masterpiece.

143. A balloon animal

This will be a good way to practice highlights feel free to twist up your own balloon creations if you want to draw from life.

144. A seahorse

Seahorses are so fascinating, and you can get really detailed or just make a few line drawings.

If you’re drawing from life, really pay attention to the subtleties in shading here.

146. A front door to a building

This would be a fun one to scout out and draw from life.

147. Someone crying

I don’t recommend making someone cry just to draw them, but do what you gotta do.

Hand-letter your family’s names in different styles – or all the same if you would rather.

149. Turtles

Lots of turtles, a few turtles, turtles swallowing turtles, turtles breakdancing. Anything turtle.

150. Tree stumps

This could be a good one for practicing colored pencils.

151. A mandala design or doodles in a bullseye

152. cute wrapped or unwrapped candies.

This one practically demands you use color, but could also be a really interesting pencil study.

153. A page full of bubbles

Enjoy drawing bubbles.

154. Old fashioned roller skates

You know, the old metal kind that you needed a key to expand. Or you can go with the cool sneaker-style 1980’s skates like these. (I may or may not have owned a pair of these, and totally rocked them.)

155. A page of leaves

Leaves of all shapes and colors, or just keep it simple with one leaf style.

156. Tools and screws or nails

Make a little still life if you have these items in your home.

157. A paper airplane

Ya gotta fold your own planes for this drawing prompt.

158. Funny characters

Dive into your imagination and draw some characters of your own design.

159. Seashells

There is endless visual inspiration to be had with seashells.

160. Tiny Square Numbers

Separate your page into a grid, and in each square draw a number in different styles.

161. Draw a long, winding river or stream

Draw a real one if you have one near you.

162. Logos for cars, sports apparel, or other businesses

Draw existing logos or make up brand new cool logos.

163. Ribbons or rope or string

Try your hand at drawing undulating ribbons, a coil of rope, or a messy pile of string. This is definitely good observational practice.

164. Impromptu Still Life

Grab 5 things you see just by looking around, place them together in front of you, and draw them.

165. A train

Choo! Choo! Feel free to give your train a face. You know, sometimes it needs to happen.

166. Illustrate a children’s song

Listen to a happy kid’s song over and over and over again at full volume while you draw. Or save your sanity and listen once or twice before drawing.

167. Take an old electronic item apart and draw the innards

Got anything old and broken to take apart? There are some fun things inside to draw.

168. Scissors, slightly open, pointing toward you (that’s a challenging angle!)

This is good foreshortening practice. Plus, scissors are fun to draw.

169. A pile of pencils or pens or markers or paint brushes

Drawing your drawing tools is so meta.

170. A big, wide open mouth

Discover the mysteries of the wide-open mouth while you draw. Don’t hurt your jaw if you are drawing your own mouth. Maybe alternate between life and a photo…

171. A page full of connected triangles

This is very doodly. Keep it simple or vary your shading, triangle sizes, etc.

172. This is so cool! Draw this ladder optical illusion:

173. Water droplets

Try dripping water on different surfaces to see what makes them look best.

174. Draw a whole playground

Draw the playground from one point of view, or split it up and draw the pieces separately.

175. Make a toilet tube drawing

Draw a little scene as seen through a toilet paper tube.

176. Draw a map

Of your neighborhood, school, or workplace, complete with little illustrations.

177. Design a postage stamp

Draw it the size of a real stamp or enlarged.

178. Set up a scene of different bottles and draw them

Focus on the shadows and highlights, and set the bottles up in an interesting composition. You can even crop in on the bottles so parts of them are off the page.

179. Popcorn

Either in a bowl or closeups of a few popped kernels.

180. Design an ugly Christmas sweater

Pet ugly Christmas sweaters are not off limits here. 🙂

181. Draw a fancy Polynesian drink

This is your chance to draw a tiny, colorful paper umbrella.

182. Underwear! Draw underwear!

Nothing more fun than drawing a page full of undies.

183. Your hand, palm up, fingers curled slightly

Another hand pose to give you more practice.

184. Your favorite stuffed animal

Yours from childhood, a child’s, or make up your own brand new super stuffie.

185. Open an umbrella and draw it

You can do a few sketches of the umbrella in different poses if you’d like.

186. A page full of mushrooms or other fungi

There’s a whole world full of interesting mushrooms and fungi to draw.

187. Larger-than-life fingernails

Draw some or all of your fingernails enlarged.

188. Drip Drawings

Drip ink, coffee, any drops onto your page and make a design from it.

189. A room framed

190. An open banana

Peel it mostly or just part way and draw that yellow fruit.

191. A hanging towel

More fabric folds to draw!

192. Draw your toilet

2 days in a row spent drawing in the bathroom.

193. Strangers in public

Go to a coffee shop or park and draw a person (or people).

194. Spaceships and planets

Draw space. The final frontier.

195. A doorknob

Feel free to draw your self portrait in the doorknob if you can see it.

196. Sports balls – one or different kinds

Sporty still life

197. You as a child

Draw yourself from a photo, a video, or draw a strong memory of yourself doing something from your childhood.

198. Stonehenge

Look up Stonehenge and practice drawing that cool, mysterious monument.

199. Write an outlined word and doodle/Zentangle around it on the page

If drawing letters isn’t your thing, you can washi tape a word to tangle around.

200. Marbles

Marbles are a nice little challenge to draw.

201. A pine tree

Or lots of pine trees.

202. Tablescape

Set a table and draw it – or just one place setting.

203. Follow this drawing video:

204. An open book

Face up or face down, or one of each.

Boots are good to draw – try a single boot, part of a boot, or a boot pile.

206. Doodle Tracing

Trace around some random objects, overlapping them, and doodle in the spaces. Again, if you hate doodling, try to perfectly draw a pattern, or make the objects look like they are 3d.

207. Half leaves

Cut some leaves in half and lay them on your page. Draw the other half of the leaves – you can then draw the first half if you wish, or not.

208. Elephants

All that amazing wrinkly skin will push you. Unless you go the cartoony, flat grey illustration route.

209. Copy a Rembrandt painting using pencil

I had this as an assignment in college, but we had to draw it larger than life with charcoal. It was a mess, but really fun.

210. A plastic grocery bag

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Draw one doing something.

211. Lily pads

Such great shapes- just draw the pads themselves or in a pond.

212. A person from the back

No faces to distract you, but you can still challenge yourself to find a really interesting pose.

213. Car tires

Super close-up car tire texture would be cool, or maybe a pile of tires.

214. A close up of a jeans pocket

Any jeans pocket, full or empty, color or not.

215. A tree, but only using short flicks of a pen or pencil to make your lines

This will give you license to be expressionistic with your tree drawing. Have fun with the marks.

216. A dinosaur

217. a cowboy hat.

Cowboy hats are a great shape – feel free to draw it on a head if you wish.

218. A favorite cartoon character from childhood

Who was your favorite? How old are you? Are you the Jetsons generation, Spongebob, or all about Paw Patrol?

219. The end of a plug cord

Draw the cord, too, but the focus should be on the plug.

220. A broken pencil

All those shards will look lovely in a drawing.

Draw as many or as few as you want. Draw them on a game board if you want.

222. Be inspired by this artwork by Willie Hsu:

223. a self portrait filled with patterns or shapes.

So many opportunities for this one. I’m picturing going in lots of different directions – have fun!

224. A small, secret fairy door at the base of a tree

This can be really cool and mysterious.

225. A bird skull

Skulls and skeletons are just good to draw.

226. A very loose landscape sketch from memory

Or just make one up. Make it loose and easy.

227. Butterflies

You have so many butterflies to choose from, flying or at rest.

228. A Halloween mask

Will you go terrifyingly scary or cutey cute?

229. A page full of circle doodles

Loops and circles all over the page.

230. A scene with a horizon line very low on the page, and the sky full of clouds

This can look beautiful and serene, or really ominous, or even puffy and adorable.

231. A person from the shoulders down

No neck, no head!

232. A truck

Draw a truck, any truck.

233. A hand holding a piece of fruit

Photo your hand at different angles holding fruit and see which one you like most.

234. An item from a celebration from another culture

Have you been curious about Dia de los Muertos? Or maybe some Thai lanterns seem more interesting to draw.

235. A funny selfie with a Snapchat filter

Don’t forget to actually get off of Snapchat and draw…

236. A close-up of an animal’s eye

Get really detailed with this one and then make everyone you know guess the animal.

237. An animal dressed in human clothes

Ah more fun with personifying non-human things. Or this can be a dog dressed up in your t-shirt.

238. An abstract shape tower

Play with shapes and forms.

239. Draw the side view of someone’s face

Look for different interesting photos or draw from life.

240. Sharks

Sharks are fascinating creatures and you can draw all sorts of different types if you want.

241. Flowers in the ground and show the roots underground

Imagine the roots of the flowers underground – what might they look like?

242. A sandwich

Any kind of sandwich you want to draw.

243. One object morphing into another object (source: Eddie Kisosondi)

244. a crowd of people.

This one can be as detailed or as loose and sketchy as you want.

245. Draw what’s on your nightstand

Mine is a mess. Feel free to make yours look lovely if you want to, before you draw it.

246. Draw something that symbolizes a place you want to visit

An object, a building, nature. Your choice.

247. Dried pasta – preferably different shapes

These are great to eat draw.

248. A bear lying down

Big old sleepy bear wants you to draw him.

249. A page of succulents in pots

Succulents make amazing drawing subject matter.

250. A restaurant

From a scene in a busy restaurant to a server serving someone to people leaving, or people at the bar.

251. A page full of 3-d cubes

Remember learning to draw 3-d cubes? Perfect them.

252. A movie screen with a movie scene on it

Will you draw the movie of your life? Or a movie you’ve seem before?

253. Skateboards

Skateboards being used, propped up against the wall, in a shop, what else can you think of?

254. Street signs or traffic lights

Either or both.

255. A Greek God

Yeah! Take some time to draw from a statue or a photo, or from your imagination.

256. Someone blowing a bubble

A small bubble will give you more face practice, or you can hide the face with a giant bubble. Fun!

257. A scene through a rain storm

Day or night, wherever you want, but focus on making it look like rain.

258. Ducks on a pond

Want to try color? Or black and white for this one?

259. Blind contour drawings of objects around you

Really look at what you are drawing and concentrate on drawing what you see.

260. Design a cereal box

I feel like it wouldn’t be that hard to design a much better cereal box than what is currently out there.

261. The Impossible Rectangle!

Foxes are lovely little creatures. Draw one.

263. Paisley designs

Practice your paisley.

264. Glue a few fragments of magazine images to a page and incorporate them into a drawing

This can be an abstract drawing or something recognizable.

265. Draw a large spiral on your page and make a little creature journeying through the whole spiral

Eek, what will happen during the journey to the center of the spiral?

266. Your feet

Draw both of your feet propped up and crossed at the ankle in front of you

267. Listen to your favorite music and doodle aimlessly

268. a stack of plates.

From above, straight on, or maybe draw them from slightly below them, looking up at them.

269. Sketch everything you eat for an entire day on one page

These can be quick sketches if you want.

270. Shadow drawings

Hold up items between your sketchbook and a bright light (try your cell phone flashlight) and trace the shadow outlines.

271. Draw your couch

Then sit on it for a while. You’ve earned it.

272. A pinecone

Pinecones have all those cool darks and lights and so much great texture.

273. A page full of quick little faces with different expressions

Practice drawing expressions.

274. Make a maze

It doesn’t have to be a regular old maze….

275. An ear

Aren’t ears weird looking? Draw one.

Draw many bats or just a few.

277. A brand new superhero

Ooh, what sort of superhero will you make up?

278. A castle

I immediately think of a Medieval castle, but maybe you’ll want to draw another castle entirely.

279. Pots and pans

All that metal will be fun to draw.

280. A stack of rocks

See how high you can make the stack.

281. Geometric Animal

An animal face or the entire animal made up of only geometric shapes

282. A watch

There are so many shapes, surfaces, materials that can go into one watch.

283. A page full of rocks or crystals

Set them up however you want, or scatter them around a table.

284. The inside view of a car

If you sit in a car and look around, there are endless views to draw.

285. A view from a drone

What could a drone see? Draw whatever you can imagine, or of course, photograph if you have a drone of your own.

286. A large ant

You can make it simple or cute if you’re grossed out by ants, or very detailed and realistic.

287. An arm in a cast

I have no idea why I thought this one up, but I guess it sounded like an interesting subject.

288. A flower in a vase

This is a good excuse to go buy flowers – or nab them from your neighbor. No, jk, I don’t condone that.

289. A volcano

I’m sure an exploding volcano would be fun to draw, but you can draw a sleepy quiet one if you’d rather.

290. A plate of french fries

Buy one to eat, and one to draw 🙂

291. Items flying around in a tornado

Cars! People! Furniture! Hats!

292. A tardigrade

293. fill the page with small squares and connect as many corners as you can with any kind of lines.

This is one of those mindless drawing prompts where you can end up with a really cool design.

294. Draw a recurring dream

I love dreams as drawing prompts – if you have a recurring dream, draw it out. Otherwise, any dream will do.

295. Grab the items you use to style your hair and draw them

Not much of a hair stylist? Draw any other tools. Or your shampoo.

296. The entire alphabet, and play with different letter designs

Alphabet letters are great little starter shapes that can take you in a million different directions.

297. A plant growing out of a sidewalk

Don’t you love when little plants just decide to shoot up through sidewalk cracks because they are awesome? Draw it.

298. Combine a flower pattern on the page with a lettered quote or saying

Maybe this is overdone nowadays, but feel free to put whatever twist on it you want to. Make it as lavish and lush or as minimal and stark as you like.

299. Draw a self portrait, but give yourself completely different hair

Now is your chance to play hair stylist.

300. A person on stilts

Stilts always seem to add a surreal twist to people, so se what you want to do with this drawing idea.

301. Heads of garlic

Garlic is beautiful, really. The shape, texture, matte silvery whiteness.

302. Paper lanterns

Choose what kind of paper lanterns you want to draw, and whether you want to draw them in the day or night.

303. Easter Island heads

These heads are so cool, and must be drawn.

304. A view through a window, including the window

Windows make lovely frames to the outside world, so find an interesting scene.

305. Shading practice

Separate your page up into many random, slightly undulating lines, then shade in some of the spaces to make it look like they are recessing, to different degrees

306. A jar full of something

Lights? Worms and dirt? jellybeans? Moonshine? Sand and shells? So many options.

307. 2 Hands holding

308. use a page to try to draw a perfect circle – freehand.

If you get a perfect circle, I must see it. @artmakespeople

309. Family portrait

Have fun and be creative with interpreting this prompt.

310. Different types of bees

There are so many bees. Bees are cool. Let’s celebrate bees by drawing them.

311. A person floating on water

Ahhhh I first thought of this as a soothing, relaxing water-floating pose, but get all dark and murdery if you’d rather.

312. A fence

Yes. A fence.

313. Draw siphonophores

Do we know what siphonophores are? No? Go look here.

Aren’t cacti weird and interesting? They’ll be fun to draw.

315. An empty country road

Draw all kinds of country road emptiness.

316. An empty city road

Draw all kinds of city road fullness.

317. An ant’s view looking up at something

I mean, anything bigger than an ant is fair game.

318. A plaid design

There are so many plaids- they’re actually really interesting. Just choose your favorite and emulate it.

319. Your favorite junk food

French fries, onion rings, Doritos, Funyons?

320. Blind contour drawings of your face

Blind contour drawings are the best.

321. Brooms

Draw brooms in utter detail or simply the outlines.

322. Pick one object and draw it in pencil and then in ink

How does your drawing differ with different media?

323. Spider web(s)

This will be an exercise in patience. Spiderwebs are perfect little gossamer creations, aren’t they?

324. An egg carton

(Feel free to drop some more eggs on the table), but just draw the carton. 🙂

325. Pants laying flat on the ground

Choose your angle. You can draw them from any perspective.

326. Rolls of toilet paper

Make a toilet paper still life and draw away.

327. Design an interesting barcode for a product

328. make a google doodle.

Go check out previous Google Doodles for ideas.

329. Circle art

Draw overlapping circles on your page using a drinking glass and doodle or color in spaces.

330. Swapped Sizes

Draw a large object and small object next to each other, but make the large object tiny and the tiny object HUGE.

331. Paper Curl

Cut a piece of paper into a strip, curl it around something, set it on the table, and draw it.

332. Draw your hand with fingertips coming at you

Okay, last hand-drawing prompt, I promise. Drawing from this perspective is a great challenge!

333. Smudgy Portrait

Draw a portrait in pencil or charcoal and the make tiny smudge marks in the whole thing with an eraser.

334. Layered Drawing

Do a texture-rubbing on your page and draw something over it (you can draw the textured object if you want, or an animal, something in front of you, even yourself.)

335. Negative Space Creatures

Draw a big, full-page scribble and then turn the negative spaces into creatures.

336. An old, wrinkly face

Practice drawing those beautiful skin wrinkles.

337. Muffins

Muffins are a fun food to draw – shoutout to those people who bake their own first.

338. The bottom of a shoe

Draw the bottom of the shoe straight on, or at an angle. You can choose one perspective, or a few sketches.

339. A spoon, a fork, and a knife

However you want to set them up.

340. A scene from your favorite vacation

Got a favorite vacation? What do you want to remember by drawing it?

341. Something on fire

I don’t recommend actually lighting anything on fire here, unless you are at a bonfire, and you’re the edgy person with the sketchbook.

342. Comic Panel

One square from a comic strip – make up your own or copy one.

343. Close your eyes and draw slowly and deliberately on a page

This is a cool way to draw by simply feeling and thinking about where your pen(cil) might be moving.

344. Ancient symbols, real or imagined

Look them up or create your own.

345. Yourself as a vampire or werewolf or Frankenstein

Reimagine yourself as a classic monster.

346. The inside of a box

It might be fun to play around with pointing a bright light at the box the see what kinds of shadows you get.

347. A backhoe

Big old trucks are so interesting-looking.

348. Lie on your back and draw your view in front of you

I’m just assuming here you can find something above you to draw besides the blank ceiling…

349. The floor plan of your dream home

Ahhhh grab a ruler and plan out your dream home.

350. Exercise equipment

Treadmill, weights, medicine ball, you choose.

351. Wrappers

Unwrap some things and draw the wrappers. I would personally choose candy.

352. Your initials as different animals

Turn you initials into animal friends.

353. Crushed cans

Try to get cans in different levels of crushedness, so you have some variation to draw.

354. Calendar Doodles

Draw this calendar month on a page and fill in each square with a tiny drawing.

355. Gloves

Draw some gloves off or on hands.

356. A weapon from history

It doesn’t necessarily need to be from far off history, but there are some fascinating Medieval weapons that would be fun to draw.

357. A giant ground sloth next to a tree (image source: Sci News )

358. cookies.

Practice cookie drawing. You’ll obviously need several packs of cookies for this, or make your own.

359. A lifeguard in a lifeguard chair

Drawing by the pool sounds fun.

360. Puddles

Hopefully you’ll get some good reflections to draw.

361. Personify a food or product

Pick a favorite food or product to turn into something living.

362. Peanuts in the shell

Draw that peanut shell texture while snacking on peanuts. If you have a nut allergy, draw from a photo or sub out for something else to draw.

363. Baskets with things in them

Prop baskets with interesting items and draw.

364. A treasure map

Arrgh, will your treasure map be detailed or simple?

365. 2 puppets talking to each other

What would puppets look like if they were having a conversation?

Once you’ve made your awesome drawings, why don’t you share them on social media with these arty Instagram captions! (Don’t forget to tag me @artmakespeople)

Want more drawing ideas? My lists of drawing prompts are here.

What Sketchbook Should I Buy?

Oh, goodness. I love sketchbooks with my whole heart. There’s nothing better than cracking open a fresh sketchbook and running your hands over that blank page. Especially when you have all these cool drawing ideas to choose from!!

For now, here’s a list of the best sketchbooks based on different criteria. Look for a whole deep dive sketchbook post coming soon!

Inexpensive sketchbook for sketches – this is perfect for students or someone who just wants to dash off pencil sketches to keep warmed up. This links to the 2-pack of this sketchbook.

Good everyday sketchbook for mixed media – This is a hardbound, 8.5×11 sketchbook with paper that is more heavyweight than the first sketchbook. It’s a great book if you want to be able to draw in different media, although I wouldn’t go all watercolory with this one.

High end sketchbook for serious drawings – Moleskine of course is an artist favorite, and has been for years. Moleskines are super high quality and contain some magical dust that makes you draw better. Or maybe not. But every artist should try a Moleskine once to see if you love it or not.

This is the “large” size, which is 5″x8.25″, and what many artists prefer to carry around with them.

Another wonderful sketchbook choice would be from Fabriano – I like this 9×9″ square sketchbook , but I really want to try out this one, it’s adorable!

Related: Gift guide for your favorite artist

Don’t forget to pin this for later!

• Image #26 credit: Alex Stanton
• Image #64 bed drawing credit: Todnar Bonya
• Image #86 credit: Deposit Photos
• Image #97 credit: The Arty Teacher – this is a wonderful post on looking at negative space in drawing.
• image #151 credit: Rishi Kasingh
• Image #189 credit: Popham Designs – See my post featuring them here.
• Image #222 credit: Willie Hsu
• Image #292 credit: The Guardian
• Image #327 credit: D-Designs

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Doodle something odd if you’re stuck. Draw an unusual form or squiggle to use as inspiration. Another option is to use colored paper as a starting point and rip or cut it into random shapes. Then, on one page of your notebook, scribble two or three forms. I often do this, and I frequently like the results so much that I had them made into temporary tattoo patterns

I haven’t really sketched anything since I was in H.S.. At that time, I used to do it daily. I miss it, and have tried to get back to sketching over the years, but life gets in the way. Now that things are not so busy, I will try it. Thank you for this challenge! I needed it.

I stumbled upon this and I was cracking up reading your prompts. I just wish you had a printable of your prompts that I could tuck into a sketchbook. Or maybe one that I could cut into 365 pieces and choose at random from a jar. (I’m thinking of Keri Smith’s 100 Ideas here) but either way, just a thought. Thank you for all the ideas!!

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