100 Art Prompts, Numbered One to a Hundred

One fixed hundred, numbered 1 to 100, dealt as a sheet of ten with a tick box for each.

100 Art Prompts, Numbered One to a Hundred

  1. A full glass and the room bent inside itNo. 1. Whatever is behind the glass bends at its edges. Draw the bend.
  2. A plug pulled halfway out of its socketNo. 2. The pins, their shadow and a cable bending away. Draw the gap between plug and wall.
  3. The cables behind the desk, followed from plug to plugNo. 3. One line per cable. Where two cross, decide which goes over.
  4. The coat on the back of the door, as it hangsNo. 4. Folds fall from the hook. Start there and follow them down.
  5. The contents of your pocket laid out in a rowNo. 5. Leave even gaps between them. The row reads better than a heap.
  6. The gap under the nearest doorNo. 6. A dark strip, a line of light, and whatever shows of the floor beyond.
  7. The thing nearest your left elbowNo. 7. No choosing. Draw it the size it really is.
  8. Three things from the drawer nobody sortsNo. 8. Pick by shape, not use: one long, one round, one awkward.
  9. The underside of the table you are sitting atNo. 9. Look up from below. Brackets, screws and pencil marks all count.
  10. The view through the nearest doorway and nothing either sideNo. 10. The door frame is your border. Stop where it stops.

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All 100 prompts

1 to 10: In front of you 10

  • A full glass and the room bent inside it No. 1. Whatever is behind the glass bends at its edges. Draw the bend.
  • A plug pulled halfway out of its socket No. 2. The pins, their shadow and a cable bending away. Draw the gap between plug and wall.
  • The cables behind the desk, followed from plug to plug No. 3. One line per cable. Where two cross, decide which goes over.
  • The coat on the back of the door, as it hangs No. 4. Folds fall from the hook. Start there and follow them down.
  • The contents of your pocket laid out in a row No. 5. Leave even gaps between them. The row reads better than a heap.
  • The gap under the nearest door No. 6. A dark strip, a line of light, and whatever shows of the floor beyond.
  • The thing nearest your left elbow No. 7. No choosing. Draw it the size it really is.
  • Three things from the drawer nobody sorts No. 8. Pick by shape, not use: one long, one round, one awkward.
  • The underside of the table you are sitting at No. 9. Look up from below. Brackets, screws and pencil marks all count.
  • The view through the nearest doorway and nothing either side No. 10. The door frame is your border. Stop where it stops.

11 to 20: From memory 10

  • A bicycle with every part where you think it goes No. 11. Finish it before you check a real one. Then mark what surprised you.
  • A dog you have met, in the pose you remember No. 12. One pose only. The ears and the tail carry most of the likeness.
  • The clock you look at most, hands where you last saw them No. 13. Numbers or strokes? Decide from memory, then check the real one.
  • The face of the last person who made you laugh No. 14. Start with the mouth mid-laugh and work outwards from it.
  • The kitchen you knew best as a child, seen from above No. 15. A plan view: the table first, then what stood round it.
  • The way to school or work as one long strip No. 16. Left to right, start to finish. Give the dull stretches less room.
  • What you ate yesterday, in the order you ate it No. 17. A row of plates, cups and wrappers. The gaps can be the hours.
  • Your first classroom, from your own desk No. 18. Draw the back of the head in front of you. It will come back.
  • Your front door, drawn without going to look No. 19. Which side is the handle? Where is the letterbox? Commit, then go and see.
  • Your street's skyline from one end to the other No. 20. Roof shapes only, as one outline along the top of the page.

21 to 30: Two things in one 10

  • A clock that is also a fried egg No. 21. The yolk is the centre pin. Let the white run where the numbers would be.
  • A coat stand that has come into leaf No. 22. Keep the hooks. Hang one scarf among the new leaves.
  • A kettle that is also a steam train No. 23. The spout is the funnel. Lay track across the worktop.
  • A lamp post that is also a giraffe No. 24. The neck is the post and the lamp is the head. Give it knees.
  • A sandwich that is also a bed No. 25. The filling is the bedding. Tuck somebody in between the slices.
  • A snail whose shell is a caravan No. 26. A door, a window with a curtain, and one small chimney.
  • A staircase that is also a piano No. 27. Every other step is a black key. Someone has to be climbing it.
  • A teapot that is also a lighthouse No. 28. The spout sends out the beam. Put rocks and sea at the base.
  • A violin that is also a rowing boat No. 29. The bow becomes an oar. The sound holes are where the water gets in.
  • A whale that is also an island with a village No. 30. Houses along the back, a jetty at the tail, washing on a line.

31 to 40: Wrong size 10

  • A cat the size of the sofa it is sitting on No. 31. It still thinks it fits. Show the cushions giving up.
  • A city built on the cap of a mushroom No. 32. Streets follow the curve. Something should hang off the edge on ropes.
  • A door too small for anyone but a beetle No. 33. Draw a full-size doormat next to it so the scale is clear.
  • A mountain small enough to use as a paperweight No. 34. Snow on top, a tiny path, and a page of homework held down beneath.
  • A mouse-sized orchestra tuning up on a windowsill No. 35. A matchbox for a stage and a thimble for the drum.
  • A pencil sharpener the size of a shed No. 36. Lean a ladder against it and pile the shavings like a haystack.
  • A snail as long as the bus it is waiting for No. 37. Put both at the same stop. The timetable is at snail's eye height.
  • A teacup deep enough to row across No. 38. The spoon is the mast, or the oar. The handle is a harbour arch.
  • A whale in a garden pond No. 39. Only the back shows. The goldfish have moved to the birdbath.
  • An ant carrying a slice of cake as tall as a house No. 40. Draw the house behind it to prove the claim.

41 to 50: Another view 10

  • A bath from the plughole, looking up No. 41. A ring of water, two knees and a very large toe.
  • A birthday table from underneath, among the legs No. 42. Shoes, a dropped fork, a dog waiting. The party is all above the cloth.
  • A dog walk at the height of the dog's nose No. 43. Grass is tall, the lead goes up out of the picture, and every post matters.
  • A football match as the ball sees it No. 44. A boot filling half the page, and the goal very far away.
  • A haircut as the mirror sees it No. 45. Two faces: the one in the chair and the one concentrating above it.
  • A letterbox from inside the door as the post arrives No. 46. A bright slot, fingers, and an envelope halfway through.
  • A library shelf as a book sees the reader No. 47. A huge eye and a reaching hand, framed by two spines.
  • A street as a pigeon on a lamp post sees it No. 48. Tops of heads, hats and umbrellas. Faces hardly show from here.
  • A wave from underneath, with the swimmer above No. 49. Light comes down in bars. The swimmer is a dark shape against it.
  • Your breakfast as the ceiling sees it No. 50. Circles inside circles. The spoon gives away which way you are sitting.

51 to 60: Redesign it 10

  • A bed for a giraffe No. 51. Where does the neck go? Solve that and the rest is carpentry.
  • A bicycle for a family of six No. 52. Decide who steers and who only pretends to pedal.
  • A chair for someone who cannot sit still No. 53. Rockers, wheels, springs or all three. Show it in use.
  • A clock for someone who is always late No. 54. It could lie, shout or follow them. Label the one new part.
  • A front door for a house that loves visitors No. 55. More than one bell, a very large mat, a window at every height.
  • A lunchbox for an astronaut No. 56. Nothing may float away. Draw it open, with each thing held down.
  • A raincoat for a dog that hates rain No. 57. Cover the ears and the tail. Add a pocket for something it likes.
  • A school bag for a wizard's apprentice No. 58. One strap is ordinary. The pockets are not.
  • A teapot that pours four cups at once No. 59. Four spouts, or one that splits. Show where the tea goes.
  • An umbrella for two people who are not speaking No. 60. A wall down the middle, perhaps, or two handles very far apart.

61 to 70: One moment 10

  • A dropped cone, halfway to the ground No. 61. Draw the hand still shaped round where it was.
  • A wave about to reach a sandcastle No. 62. The flag is still up. Foam has reached the moat and no further.
  • The breath before the candles are blown out No. 63. Cheeks full, flames leaning the wrong way already.
  • The instant a sneeze begins No. 64. Eyes shut, one finger raised, everybody else leaning back.
  • Just before the first drop of rain lands No. 65. One drop, drawn large, an inch above a dry pavement.
  • The last piece going into a jigsaw No. 66. Fingers above the one gap. Make the gap the darkest shape on the page.
  • The moment a cat notices the bird has noticed No. 67. Two stares meeting. Leave the space between them empty.
  • The moment the kite string snaps No. 68. The line goes slack in the hand while the kite is still climbing.
  • The second after the vase was knocked No. 69. It is tilted past saving. Draw the faces, not the crash.
  • The second the lights come back on No. 70. Everyone caught mid-step, squinting, holding whatever they had found.

71 to 80: One rule 10

  • A cat in no more than twelve straight strokes No. 71. Count aloud. Spend the first three on the back and the ears.
  • A city street drawn with a ruler and nothing freehand No. 72. Even the people. Even the dog.
  • A crowd where every head is a different simple shape No. 73. Squares, ovals, pears. Give each shape one feature and no more.
  • A garden drawn in dots only, with no lines No. 74. Pack the dots close for shade and spread them out for light.
  • A houseplant drawn with the pencil taped to a ruler No. 75. Stand back and draw from the shoulder. The wobble is the point.
  • A plant drawn only by shading the gaps round it No. 76. This is negative space. The leaves stay white paper.
  • A portrait in three tones and nothing in between No. 77. White paper, one grey, one black. Choose where each one lives first.
  • A still life drawn upside down No. 78. Turn the objects or the page. You stop naming things and start seeing shapes.
  • A tree drawn with the hand you do not write with No. 79. The wobble suits bark. Do not correct it.
  • The same mug five times, each in half the time of the last No. 80. Start at four minutes. The last one gets fifteen seconds.

81 to 90: A word made visible 10

  • A yawn passing along a row of people No. 81. Draw it as something that travels: first face wide, last face just starting.
  • An itch you cannot reach No. 82. An arm bent the wrong way, and a mark between the shoulders.
  • The feeling of being first awake in the house No. 83. Low light, one figure, closed doors. Keep the lines quiet.
  • The feeling of sand in your shoes No. 84. A cut-away shoe would do it. So would a face.
  • Silence in a full room No. 85. Everyone present, every mouth shut. Find what they are all looking at.
  • The smell of toast reaching the next room No. 86. Smells do not show, so draw what follows one: a lifted nose, a turned head.
  • The sound of a dropped tray No. 87. Lines burst from the floor, heads turn, and one spoon is still spinning.
  • The taste of toothpaste and orange juice together No. 88. One eye shut, mouth pulled sideways. The glass need not appear.
  • What Thursday looks like No. 89. Give it a shape, a weight and some weather. There is no wrong answer.
  • The word nearly No. 90. A hand just short of a shelf, or a bridge with one plank missing.

91 to 100: About you 10

  • The inside of your bag as a map No. 91. The pockets are districts. Name the place where things get lost.
  • The thing you would save first, wrapped as a parcel No. 92. The wrapping should still give away what is inside.
  • The view from the seat where you usually eat No. 93. Draw the edge of the table too. It is part of how you see it.
  • Your day as a row of six clocks No. 94. Under each, draw what the hands point you to: a bowl, a bus, a desk.
  • Your desk as a stranger would know you from it No. 95. Draw only what is on it. Leave yourself out and see how much still shows.
  • Your favourite meal as a landscape No. 96. Hills of rice, a lake of soup. Put one small walker in it for scale.
  • Your handwriting, drawn very large No. 97. Copy one word as if it were a plant. Every loop is a shape.
  • Your name as a building No. 98. Letters can be doors, towers or chimneys. Decide what the building is for.
  • Your week as seven pairs of shoes No. 99. Line them up, Monday first. Which day gets the slippers?
  • Yourself ten years from now, at the same table No. 100. Keep the pose you are in. Change the hair, the mug and what is on the wall.

How it works

These 100 art prompts are one fixed list, numbered 1 to 100. The page opens on a sheet of ten with tick boxes, and each hint starts with the prompt's own number. All 100 drawing prompts are printed in order below.

Read the full guide

Ten kinds of task

Numbers 1 to 10 are drawn from what is in front of you and 11 to 20 from memory. Then come two things in one, wrong sizes, another view, redesigns, one moment, one rule, a word made visible and, from 91, prompts about you. The menu under the button keeps a sheet to one kind.

A sheet at a time

Under All prompts in the menu, Pick 10 new prompts deals a fresh sheet from the hundred, and nothing returns until you have seen them all. Tick a box when a prompt is drawn. At the end of that sheet, Add another adds a prompt, ten presses turn 10 drawing prompts into twenty, and Print puts the sheet on paper.

  • Let a friend pick a number from 1 to 100, then find it in the full list below. Someone else's choice is harder to dodge.
  • Draw one from each kind before you repeat a kind. The ten kinds use different habits.
  • Date each drawing and write its number in a corner. A hundred small numbers make a good index.

Questions and answers

What are the 100 art prompts?

A hundred original drawing tasks, numbered 1 to 100: ten from life, ten from memory, ten that join two things, and so on through ten kinds. The full list is printed below the tool in number order.

Can I get 20 drawing prompts or 50?

Yes. Under All prompts, press Add another at the end of the sheet until it holds 20 drawing prompts. For 50 drawing prompts, press it again for a sheet of twenty-five and deal twice. Nothing comes back until you have seen the whole hundred.

Is there a drawing prompts PDF?

Press Print, then choose Save as PDF in your browser's print window. You get the sheet that is on screen, with its tick boxes, ready to print or keep on a tablet.

Do I have to draw them in order?

No. The numbers are there so a prompt can be picked, rolled or handed to a friend. Working from 1 to 100 moves from looking, to remembering, to inventing, which is a gentle order if you want one.

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