Matt Cram
Sketchbook Drawing Ideas
Drawing in your sketchbook is a wonderful way to develop your skills, explore creativity, and document your experiences. Here are some diverse drawing prompts to inspire you, organized into categories for ease of use.
Personal Drawing Prompts
- Document Your Favorites:
- Draw everything you like to eat as if you’re documenting it.
- Draw your favorite place in your home.
- Draw your drawing tools.
- Draw everything you like to eat as if you’re documenting it.
- Self and Space:
- Draw a self-portrait from memory, then from a mirror, and compare the two.
- Draw the contents of your room or living space either as individual items or as a complete scene.
- Draw a map of your house or even just your room.
- Draw a self-portrait from memory, then from a mirror, and compare the two.
- Everyday Objects:
- Draw the inside of your car.
- Draw your workstation.
- Sketch a cup of coffee or tea from different angles and perspectives.
- Draw your shoes (classic)
- Draw the inside of your car.
- Pet and People Portraits:
- Draw as many portraits of your pet or a child as you can in 45 minutes.
- Create a series of quick portraits of your family members in different moods.
- Draw as many portraits of your pet or a child as you can in 45 minutes.
Explore and Observe
- Meals and Social Settings:
- Draw a meal with each item separate. Label everything.
- Draw a dinner party, including quick portraits of each person at your table.
- Sketch the interior of a favorite restaurant or café.
- Draw a meal with each item separate. Label everything.
- Vehicles and Machinery:
- Draw a car from an extremely close perspective for dramatic effects.
- Draw a machine such as a car engine, motorcycle, or tractor.
- Illustrate a bike or scooter.
- Draw a car from an extremely close perspective for dramatic effects.
- Nature and Scenery:
- Draw a live plant.
- Draw various trees.
- Sketch a local park or garden.
- Create a series of seasonal landscapes from the same location.
- Draw a live plant.
- Observational Drawing:
- Go to a place where people are waiting or engaged in conversation (like airports, hospitals, restaurants) and draw stealth portraits.
- Engage in a drawing scavenger hunt to find and sketch different objects or scenes.
- Draw different types of public transport, like buses or trains.
- Go to a place where people are waiting or engaged in conversation (like airports, hospitals, restaurants) and draw stealth portraits.
Digital and Online Inspirations
- Skeletons:
- Draw a dinosaur skeleton.
- Draw a human skeleton.
- Draw the skulls of small or unusual creatures.
- Draw a dinosaur skeleton.
- Online Exploration:
- Use Google Street View to draw a location you’ve visited or wish to revisit.
- Draw an aerial landscape.
- Go to Pinterest and draw as many faces or figures as you can in 45 minutes; bonus if you exceed 15.
- Find a sketcher you admire and imitate their work by drawing similar subjects in their style.
- Draw an experience or trip you had, either as a series of snapshots or a detailed documentation.
- Use Google Street View to draw a location you’ve visited or wish to revisit.
- Public Figures:
- Choose a public figure and collect a bunch of images. Then, draw as many portraits of them as you can in 45 minutes.
- Create caricatures of famous personalities.
- Choose a public figure and collect a bunch of images. Then, draw as many portraits of them as you can in 45 minutes.
People in Action
- Dynamic Scenes:
- Draw people playing music.
- Draw people cooking.
- Draw people working or engaged in their tasks.
- Sketch people playing sports or involved in athletic activities (e.g., tennis players).
- Draw street performers or buskers in action.
- Draw people playing music.
Imaginative Drawings
- Creative Characters:
- Draw characters from a book, excluding those from movie adaptations.
- Illustrate you and your friends as characters in a movie or book.
- Create your own superhero or fantasy character.
- Draw characters from a book, excluding those from movie adaptations.
- Pattern and Fantasy:
- Fill a page with intricate patterns and words.
- Create imaginary portraits or fantastical characters.
- Design a new creature or mythical being.
- Draw a dreamscape or surreal scene from your imagination.
- Fill a page with intricate patterns and words.
Practice and Skill Building
- Focused Studies:
- Draw multiple hands on one page (or another challenging item). Study them closely, use tutorials, and work with models.
- Conduct a deep study of facial features like eyes, mouths, and noses.
- Create detailed studies of different textures (e.g., fur, metal, fabric).
- Draw multiple hands on one page (or another challenging item). Study them closely, use tutorials, and work with models.
- Detailed Observations:
- Draw the detailed pattern on a shirt, quilt, or other fabric items.
- Illustrate a complex still life arrangement, paying attention to light and shadow.
- Sketch different types of architecture from your area, such as historical buildings or modern structures.
- Draw the detailed pattern on a shirt, quilt, or other fabric items.
By exploring these prompts, you can enrich your drawing practice, hone your skills, and capture a wide range of subjects and experiences. Enjoy the process and let your creativity flow!