• 72 pieces
  • Checked October 2026

Art Portfolio Ideas

Press the button for three pieces to make for a portfolio and what each shows a reader.

Art Portfolio Ideas

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  1. Three pairs of hands from one family: a child's, a parent's and a grandparent'sShows observation, and a quiet idea about time.
  2. A windowsill and whatever stands on itShows a composition that came ready framed.
  3. One machine or toy taken apart across four drawingsShows curiosity about how a thing is built.

Next step More self-portrait ideasDeal a theme to run through it

All 72 pieces

Drawn from life 12

  • A bicycle drawn from life, wheel by wheel, with the frame fitted between Shows measuring: a thin structure exposes every guess.
  • A corner of your room in full tone, with the lamp or window in the picture Shows that you can hold a whole space together in light and dark.
  • A jar of glass buttons and beads with the light behind it Shows that you looked at what glass does to the shapes inside it and did not guess.
  • A lemon, a glass of water and a steel pan lid under one lamp Shows control of tone on a matte, a clear and a shiny surface side by side.
  • A pile of folded laundry in colored pencil Shows soft form and close steps of color.
  • A sheet of kitchen foil, crumpled and half smoothed, in pencil Shows patience with planes and edges, on a subject with nothing pretty to hide behind.
  • A street drawn on the spot, with people left as they passed Shows working outdoors and deciding quickly what to keep.
  • The kitchen sink after a meal, exactly as it was left Shows honest observation of an untidy subject you did not arrange.
  • One potted plant drawn four times on one sheet as it grows Shows sustained looking, and change recorded over time.
  • The space under a table, drawn from the floor Shows perspective found by eye, from a viewpoint few people choose.
  • The tools of a job someone in your family does, laid out and drawn from life Shows observation, and tells the viewer something about where you come from.
  • Your own shoes from three heights: floor level, standing and straight above Shows looking: one object changes shape as your eye level changes.

Self-portraits and people 12

  • A clothed figure sitting in a chair, head to foot Shows the proportions of a whole body and its weight on a seat.
  • A person absorbed in a book, unaware of being drawn Shows an unposed figure caught before they moved.
  • A portrait in a medium you have never used for a face Shows that you will risk a familiar subject in an unfamiliar material.
  • A portrait where the room says as much as the face Shows composition, and a sitter placed in their own world.
  • A relative drawn from life while their hands are busy Shows a person observed in action and not copied from a photo.
  • A self-portrait from life, wearing something that matters to you Shows looking hard at a sitter you cannot flatter, and a choice about how to present them.
  • A small child drawn from life in the moments they hold still Shows speed, and proportions that are not an adult's.
  • People waiting at a bus stop, from quick notes and memory Shows gesture, and how you simplify a figure.
  • The same friend in three moods on one sheet Shows expression, and range within a single subject.
  • The shelf above your desk as a portrait of you Shows an idea about identity carried by objects.
  • Three pairs of hands from one family: a child's, a parent's and a grandparent's Shows observation, and a quiet idea about time.
  • Two people in conversation, drawn for the space between them Shows a relationship, not two separate portraits.

A series of three to five 12

  • A meal from raw ingredients to empty plates Shows a story told through still life.
  • A single word of your choosing, answered in three unlike pictures Shows ideas as well as skill.
  • A walk told in five stops Shows sequence, and what you chose to leave out.
  • One building from all four sides Shows a subject understood in the round.
  • One machine or toy taken apart across four drawings Shows curiosity about how a thing is built.
  • One outdoor subject under sun, under cloud and under a streetlight Shows an idea carried through, and color observed and not assumed.
  • One relative's working day in four drawings Shows a person followed through time.
  • One still life painted in three different palettes Shows color as a choice and not a given.
  • The same pond or stretch of river on four different days Shows a project kept up over time.
  • The same view three times: in line, in tone and in color Shows range of approach while the subject stays put.
  • Three crops of a single picture, each with a different center Shows that you test a decision before keeping it.
  • Zooming in: a tree, a branch, a leaf, a vein Shows scale and attention at each step.

Sketchbook and process pages 12

  • A copy of one work you admire, labeled as a copy, with notes on what it taught you Shows that you study other artists.
  • A page of attempts that failed, with a note beside each Shows that you can say what went wrong.
  • A sheet of hands, feet or cloth folds made as studies for a larger piece Shows practice aimed at a problem.
  • A sketchbook spread drawn on location and left as it was Shows working from life without tidying afterward.
  • The color mixing chart for one painting, with each mix labeled Shows a palette planned in advance.
  • The grid or the measuring marks left showing under one finished drawing Shows how the proportions were found.
  • Notes from a museum or gallery visit, with sketches of two works Shows that you look at art in person.
  • One composition tried tall, wide and square Shows that the format was a decision.
  • One piece photographed at four stages and mounted in a row Shows how the work was built up.
  • The research for one piece: your own photos, notes and swatches Shows where an idea came from.
  • The same mark made with every drawing tool you own Shows that you know what your materials do.
  • The thumbnails for a piece mounted beside the finished piece Shows how the composition was chosen.

A second medium 12

  • A brush-and-ink drawing with no pencil underneath Shows commitment to a mark.
  • A cardboard relief of a building front Shows planes and cast shadow.
  • A collage made from papers you painted yourself Shows shape and color without line.
  • A digital study of a drawing you first made on paper Shows the same eye at work in a different tool.
  • A flip book or a short stop-motion loop Shows time and movement.
  • A loose watercolor of a subject you usually draw tightly Shows range in how you handle a subject.
  • A monotype pulled from a painted plate Shows a looser hand.
  • A picture made with something that is not an art material: tape, coffee or thread Shows invention.
  • A relief print from a block you cut yourself Shows thinking in reverse: what you cut away prints as blank paper.
  • A small clay or wire figure, photographed from three sides Shows thinking in three dimensions.
  • An embroidered version of one of your own line drawings Shows line in a slow material.
  • Three photographs composed the way you compose your drawings Shows composition on its own.

Easy starts 12

  • A black-and-white drawing made from a color photo you took Shows color translated into tone.
  • A cereal box lying on its side, lettering and all Shows simple perspective, with lettering that has to follow it.
  • A fern in pen, one frond at a time, with no pencil first Shows a confident line.
  • A piece of fruit cut in half, in colored pencil Shows color and texture.
  • A self-portrait made quickly beside one made slowly Shows two speeds of looking.
  • A teapot or a kettle turned to four positions Shows form understood from more than one angle.
  • A windowsill and whatever stands on it Shows a composition that came ready framed.
  • One thing from the kitchen drawer, drawn larger than life Shows looking: a plain subject at a bold scale.
  • The skyline from your bedroom as one flat dark shape Shows shape and edge.
  • Ten leaves from one walk on a single page Shows variety in quick, observed studies.
  • Your keys in pencil, with their cast shadow Shows tone and observation in a small frame.
  • Your toothbrush and its tube in pen, straight onto the page Shows a line you committed to.

How it works

Art portfolio ideas are easier to choose by what a piece shows than by its subject. These 72 pieces are sorted that way: looking, people, an idea carried through a series, process, a second medium.

Read the full guide

What each group shows

Drawn from life shows looking. Self-portraits and people shows a sitter observed. A series of three to five shows an idea carried through. Sketchbook and process pages shows how you work, and A second medium shows range.

Easy art portfolio ideas

Easy starts holds small subjects that are already to hand: your keys with their shadow, a windowsill, a toothbrush in pen. Each still says what it shows, so an easy piece has a reason to be there.

  • Lay the pieces out and read the notes under them. If two show the same thing, you can see it at once.

Questions and answers

What should an art portfolio include?

This page makes no claim about what any school, course or exam asks for; read their own list first. As a general spread, it sorts pieces by what they show: observation, people, a series, process pages and a second medium.

What is a good first piece for a portfolio?

Something drawn from life at home: your own shoes from three heights, or a lemon, a glass of water and a steel pan lid under one lamp. Both show looking, and neither needs a special subject.

How is this different from portfolio themes?

The art theme generator deals a theme with three angles to explore across a body of work. This page lists single pieces to make, each with what it shows. A theme can run through any of them.

What are process pages in a portfolio?

Pages that show how a piece was made: the thumbnails mounted beside the finished piece, a page of attempts that failed with a note beside each, the color mixing chart for one painting.

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