84 ideas

Abstract Drawing Ideas

Three abstract drawings per press, each with the tool to pick up and the first move to make.

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Pencil shading polished with a spoon until it shinesLayer soft pencil until it is solid, then rub one patch with the back of a spoon. Dull beside shiny.
A face reduced to five shapesMarker. No lines, only filled shapes. If it still reads as a face at five, try it again at four.
Three marker colours, and no colour may touch itselfPen for the dividing lines, markers for the fill. Plan one region ahead or you will box yourself in.

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All 84 ideas

Lines and marks 18

A broken line that jumps a gap and carries on Pen. Leave a clean white band down the page. Every line stops at it and restarts a step higher.
A ladder of lines where each rung is more crooked than the last Pen. Two rails, then rungs. Start level at the bottom and add a little more tilt each time.
A page of short dashes all leaning with the wind Pencil. Keep every dash the same length and tilt. Change the tilt once, in one corner.
A rain of vertical lines with one column left empty Pencil. Vary the pressure, not the spacing. The empty column should feel like a held breath.
A scribble ball with one straight line escaping it Pencil for the ball, ruler and pen for the escape. Let the line leave the page.
A spiral that turns square halfway out Pencil first. Wind out from the centre, then put corners on each turn, sharper every time round.
A swell of lines that bulges in the middle of the page Pen. Straight at both edges, bowed in the centre, like lines drawn over a buried ball.
A tangle in the middle, calm straight lines at the edges Pen. Rule the calm lines first and stop each one short, then knot the middle freehand.
Five patches of hatching, each in a different direction Pen. Parallel lines only. Let the patches meet without outlines, so the direction marks the edge.
Loops written like handwriting that says nothing Pen. Write rows of loops and hooks at writing speed. Keep a margin so it reads as a page.
One mark for every beat of a song Marker. Left to right like writing. Loud beats get long marks, quiet beats get dots.
One pen line that crosses itself twenty times Pen, no lifting. Let it loop and cross, then fill every other closed shape solid.
The same line drawn with both hands at once, mirrored Two pencils. Start at the centre fold and move both hands outward together.
Strokes that start dark and run out of ink A nearly dry marker. Press at the start of each stroke and let it fade. Line the fades up.
Ten ruled lines from edge to edge, none parallel Ruler and pen. Where the lines cross, fill the smallest triangles solid black.
Thick marker strokes overlapped until only slivers of paper show Marker. One direction only. The white slivers left between strokes are the drawing.
Wavy lines bending round three invisible stones Pen. Draw one wavy line, then echo it a pen's width away until the page is full.
Zigzags that tighten toward one corner Pen. Wide, lazy zigzags at the far edge, teeth packed close at the corner. The squeeze is the picture.

Shapes and blocks 17

A circle cut into slices and put back together wrong Pen. Draw the slices as if pulled apart and rotated. Keep the curved edges so it still reads as a circle.
A grid where one square has wandered off Ruler and pen. Leave a hole in the grid and draw the missing square tilted, somewhere else.
A square that sheds its corners across six steps Pencil. Six boxes in a row. Round the corners a little more in each until the last is a circle.
A stack of rectangles about to topple Marker. Each block sits a little further off-centre than the one below. Stop one block too late.
Arcs drawn round a cup, overlapped like ripples Pen. Only part of the rim each time. Let arcs run off the page on two sides.
Five rectangles in five pencil tones Pencil. Shade each one evenly, from barely there to as dark as the pencil goes. No outlines.
Hard edges on the left, soft edges on the right Pencil. The same five shapes on both sides: ruled and crisp on one, smudged with a finger on the other.
Marker blocks stepping from the palest pen to the darkest Marker. One block per pen, edges touching. Lay them in a staircase, not a row.
One big shape with nine small ones in orbit Pen. Make the big shape awkward, not a circle. Set the small ones at different distances.
One outline drawn twice: once black on white, once white on black Marker. Trace the shape, flip the tracing, and fill round it the second time.
One shape repeated at five sizes, nested Pen. Start with the biggest. Keep the gap between each copy uneven so it leans to one side.
Overlapping circles shaded only where three overlap Pencil. Draw round a cup seven times. Hunt for the patches under three circles and shade those alone.
Round blobs fitted together like a dry stone wall Pen. No corners and no gaps wider than a line. Each new blob takes its shape from its neighbours.
Shapes traced from torn paper and filled flat Tear five scraps, trace the ragged edges, fill with marker. Torn edges beat any edge you would invent.
Three circles, one square and one line, moved until they balance Cut them from scrap first and slide them about. Trace the arrangement you like in pen.
Triangles packed edge to edge, every third one black Ruler and pen. Draw a row of zigzags, then a row below that shares its points. Count as you fill.
Two shapes that almost touch Marker. Fill both solid. The thin white gap between them carries the whole page, so keep it even.

Texture and tone 15

A dry marker dragged sideways for streaks Hold a worn marker almost flat and pull it across. Cross the streaks once at a right angle.
A graphite cloud with sharp eraser lines cut through it Soft pencil, smudged with a tissue. Cut an eraser to a wedge and draw the white lines last.
A hatched patch beside a scribbled patch beside a dotted patch Pen. Three squares the same size and the same overall darkness, made three different ways.
A page shaded grey, then drawn on with an eraser Cover the sheet with the side of a soft pencil and rub it smooth. The eraser makes every mark.
A page that goes from white to black in twelve bands Pencil. Rule twelve strips. Shade each a step darker than the last with no jump bigger than the rest.
Bands that weave over and under each other Pencil. Draw the crossing strips, erase where one goes under, then shade beside each overlap.
Dots crowded at the bottom and thinning to nothing at the top Pen. Touch, lift, touch. Pack them until they merge at the base, then let them drift apart.
Nine textures in a patchwork with no outlines between them Pen. Bricks, scales, dots, waves and five of your own. Each stops dead where the next begins.
One stroke repeated hard, then lighter, then barely touching Pencil. Fill three rows with the same short stroke. Only the pressure changes.
Pencil shading polished with a spoon until it shines Layer soft pencil until it is solid, then rub one patch with the back of a spoon. Dull beside shiny.
Rings like a fingerprint that never quite close Pen. Start from a small loop. Each ridge follows the last and breaks once, in a different place.
Rough marks in the middle with smooth shading all round Pencil. Scrub the centre with the point. Blend the surround with a tissue until no strokes show.
Rubbings of three surfaces pieced into one page Side of a soft pencil over thin paper. Try a coin, a shoe sole and a wall, in three torn-edged patches.
Scratchy pen lines over soft pencil shading Shade a shape in pencil first. Go over half of it with fast pen scratches and compare the halves.
Tone that follows a curve, like light on a bent sheet Pencil. Dark at both edges, pale in a band down the middle. Keep the band the same width all the way.

Rules and chance 16

A die decides how many lines leave each dot Pen. Scatter twenty dots. Roll for each one and draw that many lines to its nearest neighbours.
A drawing where every line must touch two others Pen. No loose ends anywhere. Check each new line against the rule before you lift off.
A drawing where you swap pens every twenty seconds Lay out four pens and set a timer. Keep drawing the same picture through every swap.
A line that must change direction every time a minute passes Pen and a clock. Draw slowly and steadily. Turn sharply on each minute and stop at ten.
A page made of right angles only Ruler and pen. Every line is straight up or straight across. Let the paths turn, branch and dead-end.
A page passed round, three marks from each person Any pens. No talking and no pictures of things. Stop after the fourth pass.
A quarter turn of the paper after every line Pen. Draw each line toward yourself, turn, and repeat. The page ends up with no top.
A word written, then drawn over until it cannot be read Pen. Write it big. Extend every stroke, fill the counters and add echo lines until only shapes remain.
Corner to opposite corner without lifting the pen Pen. Take the longest route you can find. The line may cross itself but never stop.
Curves only, and no curve may cross another Pen. The page fills quickly, so each new curve has to squeeze between the last two.
Five coins dropped, traced where they land and joined up Pencil. Drop them from a hand's height. Link the circles with straight lines, then ink the result.
One shadow traced again each time it moves Pencil. Stand something on the sheet by a window. Trace its shadow, wait for it to shift, and trace it again.
One small shape drawn until it stops looking like itself Pencil. Copy the last one you drew, never the first. By the fiftieth it has drifted into something new.
Paper folded in eight, with a different family of marks in each panel Pen. Dots, dashes, loops, crosses, hooks, waves, ticks and one you invent. Unfold it flat.
Thirty seconds with your eyes shut, finished with them open Pen. Draw blind and do not peek. Then answer what you find: thicken, fill, repeat.
Three marker colours, and no colour may touch itself Pen for the dividing lines, markers for the fill. Plan one region ahead or you will box yourself in.

From something real 18

A bicycle drawn as only its circles and triangles Pen. Two wheels, the frame's two triangles, a few small rings. Slide the parts apart a little.
A crumpled sheet of paper, drawn as planes of light and dark Pencil. Squint. Shade each facet as one flat tone and leave the brightest ones untouched.
A face reduced to five shapes Marker. No lines, only filled shapes. If it still reads as a face at five, try it again at four.
A glass of water, drawing only what it bends Pencil. Stand a striped card behind the glass and copy how the stripes break and jump. No glass outline.
A landscape in four horizontal bands Marker. Sky, far hills, near field, foreground. One flat tone or one texture for each band, no details.
A leaf enlarged until its veins look like a road map Pen. Draw a patch the size of a thumbnail as big as the page. Main veins thick, side veins hair-thin.
A plant's shadow on a wall, outlined and filled flat Tape paper where the shadow falls. Trace it in pencil, fill it with marker, and turn it upside down.
A song drawn as a line of loud and quiet Pen. Left to right, one pass. The line climbs when the music swells and flattens when it rests.
A street map reduced to lines and blocks, with no names Pen. Roads are lines, buildings are blocks, a park is a dotted patch. Crop it so no edge is tidy.
Cracks in a sidewalk copied as a line drawing Pen. Follow one crack across the page first, then add its branches. Thicken it where branches meet.
The letters of one word enlarged until they are only curves and bars Marker. Crop in so close that no letter is whole. Fill the spaces inside the letters, not the strokes.
Peeling paint drawn as islands on a map Pencil. Find a flaking wall or gate. Outline each flake, shade the bare patches, and leave off the wall.
Reflections in a spoon, drawn without the spoon Pencil. Copy only the stretched shapes of light and dark. Leave off the outline and the handle.
The sound of a door slamming, in line only Pen. One fast drawing, no planning. Then draw a door closing gently beside it and compare.
The spaces between a houseplant's leaves, filled flat Marker. Look at the air, not the plant. Fill each gap solid and leave the leaves as white paper.
The wood grain of a table drawn as contour lines Pen. Start with the knots as small ovals. Every other line has to flow round them.
Your day as a row of blocks, one for each hour Pen. Tall blocks for busy hours, short for quiet ones. Fill the ones spent outdoors.
Your street's roofline as one jagged stripe Marker. One unbroken band across the page, flat along the bottom, with roofs and chimneys along the top.

How it works

A blank page with no subject needs a rule to push against. Each of these 84 abstract drawing ideas gives one: a line that must cross itself twenty times, a grid with one square missing, a face cut down to five shapes.

Read the full guide

Simple abstract drawing ideas start with one rule

Pick a limit before you pick up the pen: right angles only, one mark per beat of a song, a quarter turn of the paper after every line. Rules and chance holds 16 of these, and a die or five dropped coins make the choices for you. Stop when the rule runs out.

Abstract art drawing ideas taken from real things

From something real holds 18 that begin with looking: peeling paint drawn as islands on a map, the spaces between a houseplant's leaves, a glass of water drawn only by what it bends. Crop in close until the subject has gone and the shapes are left.

Turn the page upside down halfway through. If one side feels heavy, add a mark to the other.
Marker shows every hesitation, so plan in pencil and commit in one pass.

Questions and answers

What are some easy abstract drawing ideas?

Choose Easy in the list under the button for 41. A page of short dashes all leaning with the wind, ten ruled lines with none parallel, and arcs drawn round a cup need no drawing skill, only a steady rule.

What abstract things to draw work in pencil?

Texture and tone holds 15, most of them for pencil: a page that goes from white to black in twelve bands, a graphite cloud with eraser lines cut through it, pencil shading polished with a spoon.

How do I know when an abstract drawing is finished?

When the rule you set is used up, or when one more mark would only repeat what is there. Prop the page up, step back, and look for the spot your eye keeps leaving. Fix that or stop.

Are these the same as the abstract painting ideas?

No. Abstract painting ideas is about paint: pours, washes and palette-knife work. These are for pencil, pen and marker.