• 100 chalk ideas

Chalk Drawing Ideas for Drives, Patios and Pavements

Three pavement chalk projects per press, with the size in metres, the minutes each takes and how to draw or play it.

Chalk Drawing Ideas for Drives, Patios and Pavements

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  1. Mandala from the centre out2 by 2 m, 30 minutes. Start with a saucer-sized circle, add a ring of petals, then triangles. One person per ring.
  2. Bike and scooter circuit with a crossing8 by 4 m, 30 minutes. A loop with a give-way line, a zebra crossing and a petrol station. Arrows show the way round.
  3. Rainbow drawn with a string compass3 by 1.5 m, 20 minutes. Hold the string at the centre and swing one arc per colour. Red goes outside, violet inside.

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All 100 chalk ideas

Photo spots to stand or lie in 24

  • Angel wings to lie between 2 by 1.5 m, 25 minutes. Lie down, mark both shoulders, then fan three rows of feathers out from the marks.
  • Barbell to lift while lying down 2 by 1 m, 10 minutes. Two big discs and a bar. Lie under it with arms straight up and a suitably strained face.
  • Bunch of balloons to hold while lying down 2 by 3 m, 20 minutes. Overlap the ovals above head height. The strings meet at one point, where a raised fist goes.
  • Cape streaming out over a chalk skyline 3 by 2 m, 20 minutes. The cape runs sideways from the shoulders. Rooftops along the low edge put you in the air.
  • Clock face with people for hands 3 by 3 m, 15 minutes. Numbers 1 to 12 round a big circle. Two people lie down as the hands to show the time called.
  • Crown floating above a head 1 by 0.5 m, 5 minutes. Five points, a jewel on each, drawn where a head will lie. Everyone takes a turn as monarch.
  • Dinosaur jaws about to close on you 2 by 2 m, 20 minutes. Open jaws two metres wide with zigzag teeth. The victim lies between them looking unbothered.
  • Dragon wings and a cloud of fire 3 by 2 m, 30 minutes. Bat-style wings with four ribs each. The fire cloud starts at mouth height and billows away.
  • First day of school photo mat 1 by 1 m, 10 minutes. A square to stand on with the year and the class written in it. Same spot every year.
  • Gold picture frame to pose inside 1.5 by 2 m, 15 minutes. A thick frame with a scroll at each corner. Whoever lies in it is the painting.
  • Height chart to lie beside, marked every 10 cm 0.5 by 2 m, 10 minutes. Rule a 2 m line with a tape measure. Someone marks the top of your head and writes the date.
  • Hole in the ground with a ladder sticking out 1 by 2 m, 20 minutes. A long black oval with a paler inner wall at one end. Photograph it from the far end, down low.
  • Hot-air balloon with a basket to sit in 2 by 3.5 m, 30 minutes. Sit with the basket rim drawn at waist height. The balloon above gets one colour per panel.
  • Magic carpet over tiny rooftops 2 by 1.5 m, 20 minutes. A carpet with a wavy edge and tassels looks mid-flight. Sit cross-legged on it and hold on.
  • Mermaid tail from the hips down 1 by 1.5 m, 20 minutes. Lie with legs together along the tail. Scales are rows of U shapes; the fin splits at the feet.
  • Parachute drifting down 2 by 3 m, 20 minutes. A striped canopy with its lines meeting at the shoulders. Draw small clouds below, not above.
  • Rocket with a porthole for your face 1 by 3 m, 25 minutes. A rocket lying along the ground with a head-sized circle left blank. Flames go past the feet.
  • Speech bubbles to stand beside for photos 1.5 by 1 m, 5 minutes. I DID IT. SIX TODAY. LAST DAY OF TERM. The tail of the bubble points at where a head will be.
  • Sunflower with your face as the centre 1.5 by 3 m, 20 minutes. A head-sized blank circle, petals a forearm long, and a stem with two leaves past the feet.
  • Surfboard on a curling wave 3 by 2 m, 20 minutes. The wave curls over the top of the picture. Lie side-on with both feet on the board and arms out.
  • Swing hanging from a chalk branch 1.5 by 3 m, 15 minutes. Two ropes drop from a branch to a plank seat. Sit on the plank, legs out, hands on the ropes.
  • Thought bubble above a head 1.5 by 1 m, 5 minutes. Three small circles rising to a cloud. The sitter decides what goes in it, so redraw each time.
  • Tightrope between two rooftops 4 by 2 m, 15 minutes. One straight line, a building at each end, tiny streets below. Lie on the line, arms out.
  • Umbrella in chalk rain with a dry patch under it 1.5 by 2.5 m, 15 minutes. Raindrops everywhere except beneath the canopy. Lie under it with a hand on the handle.

Games to play on 23

  • Agility ladder of ten boxes 0.5 by 4 m, 5 minutes. Both feet in every box, then one foot, then sideways. Chalk the fastest time beside it.
  • Alphabet snake to spell along 8 by 1 m, 20 minutes. Twenty-six segments, one letter each. Spell your name by hopping without touching a wrong letter.
  • Calculator keypad to jump sums on 1.5 by 2 m, 10 minutes. Keys 0 to 9 with plus, minus and equals. Jump out a sum key by key and land on the answer.
  • Classic hopscotch court of ten squares 1 by 3.5 m, 10 minutes. Singles are hopped and side-by-side pairs straddled. Number 1 to 10, with home at the top.
  • Colour-spot stretch game 2 by 3 m, 15 minutes. Five rows of five spots, a colour per row. A caller names a hand or foot and a colour.
  • Compass rose for a facing game 2 by 2 m, 15 minutes. Eight points, north set with a phone compass. A caller shouts a direction; last to face it is out.
  • Crazy-golf course for a rolled ball 6 by 3 m, 30 minutes. Nine numbered circles as holes, with chalk water and sand to avoid. Count rolls, lowest wins.
  • Four square court 3 by 3 m, 10 minutes. One big square split into four equal boxes, numbered 1 to 4. The ball bounces once in a square.
  • Giant noughts and crosses with stones and cones 2 by 2 m, 5 minutes. Play with five stones against five pine cones, so the grid survives for the next game.
  • Heaven and Hell hopscotch 1 by 3.5 m, 15 minutes. The German game has squares named Earth, Hell and Heaven. No stone or player stops in Hell.
  • Laylay: hopscotch in side-by-side pairs 1.5 by 3 m, 10 minutes. From Iran: an even number of side-by-side squares, six or more, and the stone is kicked.
  • Little-plane hopscotch with wings 2 by 3.5 m, 15 minutes. In Mexico the game is avioncito, little plane. Draw the court as one, a wide pair for wings.
  • Long-jump runway with distance marks 0.5 by 4 m, 10 minutes. A take-off line and a mark every 25 cm. Write each jumper's initials at their best landing.
  • Match scoreboard with team names 1.5 by 1 m, 5 minutes. Two columns and tally marks in fives. Let each team letter its own name.
  • Maze big enough to walk through 4 by 4 m, 30 minutes. Corridors one shoe wide. Draw the true path first, then the dead ends. No stepping over lines.
  • Obstacle course with written orders 1 by 10 m, 20 minutes. Spin here, hop the lily pads, walk the wiggly line, jump the river, freeze on the star.
  • Peevers: hopscotch with a sliding marker 1 by 3.5 m, 10 minutes. In Glasgow and Edinburgh the marker is slid, not thrown. A shoe-polish tin was the classic.
  • Person-shaped hopscotch 2 by 4 m, 15 minutes. Poland's pajac is a court shaped like a person. Ours has legs, a body, arms and a head for home.
  • River crossing on lily pads 2 by 4 m, 10 minutes. A river two metres wide with pads at different gaps. Redraw the pads further apart each round.
  • Snail hopscotch in a spiral 3 by 3 m, 20 minutes. French escargot. Hop to the centre and back, then initial one square as yours to rest in.
  • Start and finish lines for a scooter race 3 by 0.5 m, 5 minutes. START in capitals behind one line. The finish is two rows of checks with FINISH beyond it.
  • Target for wet sponges 2 by 2 m, 10 minutes. Five rings scoring 10 to 50 from the outside in. Throw from three big steps back.
  • Walk-on snakes and ladders of 25 squares 3 by 3 m, 30 minutes. Five rows of five squares, each big enough to stand in. Three snakes, three ladders, one dice.

Roads, towns and small worlds 14

  • Airport runway for paper planes 1 by 6 m, 15 minutes. Centre dashes, stripes at each end and a big two-digit number. Planes aim for the far stripes.
  • Bike and scooter circuit with a crossing 8 by 4 m, 30 minutes. A loop with a give-way line, a zebra crossing and a petrol station. Arrows show the way round.
  • Dinosaur swamp for toy dinosaurs 2 by 2 m, 20 minutes. A blue pond, green islands, an orange volcano and three-toed footprints leading off the edge.
  • Farm with fields and a pond for toy animals 3 by 2 m, 20 minutes. Fields in different hatchings: rows, dots, wavy grass. Fences are lines of small crosses.
  • Helipad for toy helicopters 1 by 1 m, 5 minutes. A circle, a capital H and a ring of dashes round the outside. Yellow reads best on tarmac.
  • Life-size floor plan of a house to play in 4 by 3 m, 30 minutes. Rooms with gaps for doors, a bed to lie on, a bath and a cooker with four rings.
  • Numbered parking bays for bikes and scooters 3 by 1 m, 5 minutes. One bay per rider with a name in each, and one marked VISITORS.
  • One long street with a house for everyone you know 8 by 1 m, 30 minutes. Each house gets a door colour, a number and a name. Add a post box, a bus stop and a cat.
  • Race track with a starting grid 5 by 3 m, 25 minutes. A figure of eight with a bridge drawn where it crosses. The finish line is two rows of checks.
  • Road map for toy cars with a roundabout 3 by 2 m, 30 minutes. Roads two cars wide with a dashed centre line, one roundabout and a car park with numbered bays.
  • Solar system to walk along 10 by 1 m, 25 minutes. The Sun at one end and the eight planets in order, Mercury to Neptune. Saturn gets its ring.
  • Treasure island map with a real coin on the X 3 by 2 m, 20 minutes. Island outline, dotted path, palm, skull rock and an X. Hide the coin under a stone on the X.
  • Village along a pavement crack 2 by 0.5 m, 15 minutes. The crack is the river. Houses, a bridge and boats, none taller than your hand.
  • Zoo with an enclosure for every soft toy 4 by 3 m, 25 minutes. A path loops past each pen. Letter a sign for every animal with what it eats.

Big pictures and cute creatures 23

  • Aquarium with one sea creature per paving slab 3 by 2 m, 30 minutes. The slab grid is the frame. One creature per slab, all facing the same way like a shoal.
  • Bee trail with loop-the-loops 4 by 1 m, 5 minutes. One fat striped bee and a dashed flight path with three loops, ending at a flower.
  • Cat stretching along the bottom step 1.5 by 0.5 m, 10 minutes. Front legs out, back arched, tail up. Two triangles, six whiskers and closed eyes.
  • Caterpillar with a segment for each person at home 3 by 0.5 m, 10 minutes. Everyone draws and names their own circle. The head gets two feelers and a smile.
  • Dragon winding down the path 10 by 1 m, 30 minutes. One long S-curve of body with spines along the top. Head at the door, tail at the gate.
  • Family of ducks crossing the path 3 by 0.5 m, 10 minutes. One big duck and five small ones in a line, the last one facing the wrong way.
  • Galaxy swirl blended by hand 2 by 2 m, 20 minutes. Lay white, blue and purple in a spiral, smudge with a palm, then dot hard white stars on top.
  • Garden of six giant flowers 4 by 2 m, 30 minutes. A different petal on each: round, pointed, heart, scallop, spiral, daisy. Let the stems lean.
  • Giant's footprints crossing the drive 1 by 6 m, 10 minutes. Each print a metre long, left and right in turn, with a two-metre stride between them.
  • Koi pond with lily pads 2 by 2 m, 25 minutes. Lay blue, smudge it with a palm, then draw orange and white fish on top, all curving one way.
  • Life-size outline of a friend, dressed in chalk 1 by 2 m, 20 minutes. Trace round someone lying down, then give the outline clothes, a face and a name.
  • Mandala from the centre out 2 by 2 m, 30 minutes. Start with a saucer-sized circle, add a ring of petals, then triangles. One person per ring.
  • Monster with a drain cover for a mouth 1.5 by 1.5 m, 10 minutes. The grille on your own drive is the teeth. Add eyes above, arms each side and a speech bubble.
  • Night skyline drawn only as lights 3 by 1.5 m, 15 minutes. On dark tarmac draw just the lit windows in rows and a white moon. The tarmac is the night.
  • Rainbow drawn with a string compass 3 by 1.5 m, 20 minutes. Hold the string at the centre and swing one arc per colour. Red goes outside, violet inside.
  • Smiling cloud raining hearts 1.5 by 2 m, 10 minutes. A fat white cloud with rosy cheeks and hearts falling in three colours, big near, small far.
  • Snail trail round the whole patio 5 by 5 m, 10 minutes. One small snail with a spiral shell and a dotted silver trail that loops back on itself twice.
  • Stained-glass mosaic made with masking tape 1.5 by 1.5 m, 30 minutes. Tape a square, criss-cross it with more tape, fill every shard a different colour, then peel.
  • Sun wearing sunglasses 1.5 by 1.5 m, 5 minutes. A yellow disc, rays like fat triangles, and black shades with one white glint on each lens.
  • Tape-resist name left bare in a block of colour 2 by 1 m, 20 minutes. Tape the letters down, scribble colour over the lot, smudge with a palm, then peel the tape.
  • Tree with a traced hand for every leaf 2 by 3 m, 25 minutes. A brown trunk and bare branches first. Everyone who visits traces a hand and signs it.
  • Whale as long as the drive 6 by 2 m, 25 minutes. Outline first with the side of the chalk. One small eye near the front makes it look enormous.
  • Your shadow traced at three times of day 2 by 3 m, 15 minutes. Stand on a marked X in the morning, at midday and mid-afternoon while a friend traces.

Messages and lettering 16

  • Arrows and footprints leading to the party 1 by 8 m, 10 minutes. A fat arrow every three steps and footprints between. The last arrow points at the gate.
  • Bunting along the patio edge with a letter in every flag 5 by 0.5 m, 15 minutes. A sagging line with a triangle per letter. Spell CONGRATULATIONS and count the flags first.
  • Cake sale sign with an arrow 1.5 by 1 m, 10 minutes. A cupcake, the price and an arrow, drawn on your own side of the pavement edge.
  • Compliment path: one kind line per slab 1 by 6 m, 15 minutes. NICE SHOES. GOOD HAIR TODAY. KEEP GOING. One per slab, facing the walker.
  • Get well soon where a neighbour can see it 2 by 1 m, 15 minutes. Ask the household first. Draw it to be read from their window, with a sun and a row of flowers.
  • Happy birthday path to the front door 1 by 5 m, 20 minutes. One word per paving slab so it reads as you walk, with a balloon either side of the last one.
  • House number, huge, with an arrow to the door 1.5 by 1 m, 5 minutes. Digits a metre tall in white with a colour outline. Useful on the day of a delivery.
  • Joke told in two parts, ten steps apart 1 by 8 m, 10 minutes. The question on one slab and the answer ten steps on, so walkers have to carry it.
  • Menu for a mud-kitchen cafe 1 by 1.5 m, 10 minutes. Mud pie, puddle soup, leaf salad, stone scones. Prices in pebbles.
  • Name in bubble letters filled with patterns 3 by 1 m, 20 minutes. Fat letters that touch. Fill each with a different pattern: stripes, dots, checks, zigzags.
  • One line of your own poem along the fence 8 by 0.5 m, 15 minutes. A word per stride in your best capitals. Write one you made up, so it is yours to publish.
  • Reserved parking for the birthday person 2 by 3 m, 10 minutes. A bay outline with RESERVED, the name and a crown. Draw it on your own drive, not the road.
  • Street sign naming the drive after the family pet 1.5 by 0.5 m, 5 minutes. A long rounded rectangle, a border line inside it, capitals, and a small paw print at one end.
  • THANK YOU by the gate for whoever brings the post 1.5 by 1 m, 10 minutes. Big letters facing the way they walk in, with a drawn envelope and a heart for the stamp.
  • WELCOME HOME across the drive in block capitals 4 by 1 m, 25 minutes. Letters a stride tall, spaced with a broom handle. Outline in white, then fill in colour.
  • Welcome mat drawn outside the door 1 by 0.5 m, 5 minutes. A rectangle with a fringe at each end and WIPE YOUR PAWS in the middle.

How it works

100 pavement projects at body scale: wings to lie between, courts to hop along, towns for toy cars, giant pictures and messages across the drive. Each of these chalk drawing ideas gives its size in metres and its minutes, so what to draw with chalk comes down to how much ground you have. Chalk only where no car can move, with an adult close by.

Read the full guide

Body-scale drawings you can stand in

Pavement is the one surface big enough to lie down on, so the best sidewalk chalk art ideas leave a person-shaped gap. The angel wings need shoulders, the balloons need a fist and the dinosaur jaws need a victim. Draw the prop, mark where the head goes, then swap people.

Hopscotch has more than one court

The Games group has 24, and seven are hopscotch courts: the classic ten squares, the French snail spiral where you win squares to rest in, the German court where nobody stops in Hell, and Scottish peevers, where the marker is slid. They are fun things to draw with chalk because the drawing takes minutes and the game takes all afternoon.

  • Chalk only where no vehicle can move: your own drive with the car off it, a patio or a garden path. An adult stays outside for any idea that has someone lying on the ground.
  • Fill with the side of a snapped stick and draw lines with the end. A palm smudges two colours into one.
  • Ask before drawing anywhere that is not yours. Some places restrict pavement drawing.

Questions and answers

What are cute things to draw with chalk?

The Big pictures group has them: a family of ducks crossing the path, a cat stretching along the bottom step, a smiling cloud raining hearts and a bee trail with loop-the-loops. All four take ten minutes or less. On a wet day, the same animals fit a whiteboard.

Which ideas suit a small child?

The shared ones. In the caterpillar, everyone at home draws and names their own segment. The tree collects a traced hand from each visitor. For the road map, an adult draws the roads and a child parks the cars. With small children, easy chalk art ideas are the ones where someone else draws the frame.

Which idea looks hard but is not?

The stained-glass mosaic. Mask a square with tape, criss-cross it with more, fill every shard a different colour and peel. The tape does the drawing. The night skyline is similar: on dark tarmac it is only lit windows and a moon.

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