• 153 prompts

Drawing Prompts for Kids

Pick an age, deal three prompts and read out the starter question that comes with each, because the answer is the drawing.

Drawing Prompts for Kids

All 153
  1. The best picnic ever, laid out on a blanketWhat food is on the blanket? Did any ants come along?
  2. A sandwich as tall as a houseWhat is on each layer? How would anyone take a bite?
  3. A four-box comic with no words at allCan someone who does not know the story follow it from the pictures alone? Who at home could you test it on?

Next step More read-aloud ideas for ages three to sixTurn the idea into a short comic

All 153 prompts

Ages 2 to 3, with a grown-up 16

  • A plate piled up with wiggly spaghetti A grown-up draws the plate. Can you fill it right up to the top with wiggles?
  • A road for a toy car to drive along Where is the car going today? Can your crayon drive there first?
  • A scribble, and then you say what it is Scribble first, then look. Is it a dog, a cloud or a dinosaur? You decide.
  • A worm that wiggles across the whole page Can your worm go from one side of the paper right over to the other?
  • Apples on a tree A grown-up draws the tree. How many round apples can you put on it? Any on the ground?
  • Fireworks made of crosses and dots Can you make a cross? Now lots of them, all over the night sky.
  • Grass for a snail to hide in A grown-up draws the snail. Can you make lines going up, up, up until it is hidden?
  • Hair on a face with none A grown-up draws the face. Is the hair curly, spiky or very, very long?
  • Rain falling on a duck that a grown-up draws Can you make the rain go down, down, down, all the way to the duck?
  • Round and round circles that turn into bubbles How big can a bubble get before it pops? Can you make a tiny one next to it?
  • Round wheels on a long bus A grown-up draws the bus. Can you make the wheels go round and round?
  • Snow falling on a little house A grown-up draws the house. Can you tap, tap, tap snow all over the page?
  • Spots on a ladybird's back A grown-up draws the ladybird. How many spots can you dot on? Shall we count them?
  • Stripes for a zebra who lost them A grown-up draws the zebra. Can you put its stripes back, one line at a time?
  • Sunshine lines all the way round a sun A grown-up draws the circle. Can you make lines shooting out on every side?
  • Your hand, drawn round by a grown-up Spread your fingers wide. Which colour shall each finger be?

Ages 4 to 6 45

  • A bath full of bubbles and one surprise What is hiding under the bubbles? A duck, a whale or a submarine?
  • A bed that can fly Where does your bed fly to at night? What can you see down below?
  • A big monster who is scared of a tiny mouse How many eyes does your monster have? Where is it trying to hide?
  • A birthday cake for a giraffe How tall does the cake have to be? What is on the very top?
  • A bus full of animals Who is driving the bus? Which animal is too tall for the roof?
  • A butterfly with wings that match on both sides Whatever you draw on one wing, can you draw the same on the other?
  • A cat in wellies jumping in a puddle What colour are the wellies? How big is the splash?
  • A caterpillar with a different pattern on every bump Spots, stripes, zigzags: how many patterns can you think of?
  • A crab who lives in a boot instead of a shell What colour is the boot? Has the crab put up curtains?
  • A digger digging up treasure What did the digger find in the hole? Who is driving it?
  • A dinosaur at a birthday party What flavour is the cake? Who else got an invitation?
  • A dog driving a fire engine Where is the fire engine going? Who is holding the hose?
  • A farm where the animals are all the wrong colours A purple cow? A green pig? What colour is the horse?
  • A flamingo wearing one very long sock What pattern is on the sock? Why only one? Where has the other one gone?
  • A garden where the flowers have faces Which flower is happy? Which one is grumpy because it wants rain?
  • A hat so tall that birds live in it Who is wearing the hat? How many birds have moved in?
  • A hen and her chicks crossing the road Where are they going? Who stops the traffic for them?
  • A hot air balloon with your favourite pattern on it Who is in the basket? What can they see far below?
  • A house for a giant next to a house for a mouse How big is the giant's door? How tiny is the mouse's letterbox?
  • A lion having a haircut What does the mane look like afterwards? Is the lion pleased with it?
  • A mouse's home inside a teapot Where is the front door? What does the mouse use for a bed?
  • A penguin's first day at school What is in the penguin's lunch box? Who does it sit next to?
  • A pet dragon the size of a hamster What does it eat for breakfast? What happens when it sneezes?
  • A pirate ship with a friendly crew What picture is on the flag? Who is up in the lookout?
  • A rainy day and your best umbrella What is the pattern on your umbrella? Who is sharing it with you?
  • A robot that helps you tidy your room How many arms does it need? Where does it put all the toys?
  • A rocket landing on a planet made of pudding Who climbs out of the rocket? Do they bring a spoon?
  • A sandcastle with a flag, a moat and a crab on guard How many towers does it have? What is the crab's name?
  • A sausage dog so long it needs the whole page What is happening at the front end? What is happening at the back?
  • A sheep wearing a jumper knitted from its own wool What pattern is on the jumper? Who did the knitting?
  • A slide that comes down off a rainbow Who is sliding down? What do they land in at the bottom?
  • A snowman on a sunny beach How does the snowman stay cool? Has it got sunglasses?
  • A spider trying on eight new shoes Are they wellies, slippers or roller skates? Do any of them match?
  • A tractor pulling a trailer full of something silly What is in the trailer? Jelly? Ducks? A hundred hats?
  • A train with a different animal in every carriage Which animal rides at the front? Which one needs two carriages?
  • A tree with something surprising growing on it Instead of apples, what grows on your tree? Shoes? Lollipops? Balloons?
  • A worm popping out of an apple to say hello What is the worm wearing? Who is it saying hello to?
  • An elephant trying to hide behind a lamp post Which bits of the elephant stick out? Has anyone spotted it yet?
  • An ice cream with ten scoops What flavour is each scoop? Is the top one starting to wobble?
  • An owl reading a bedtime story Who is listening to the story? What is the book about?
  • The best picnic ever, laid out on a blanket What food is on the blanket? Did any ants come along?
  • The biggest fish in the sea saying hello to the smallest What colour is each fish? What do they say to each other?
  • The sun and the moon having breakfast together What does the sun eat? What does the moon eat? Who is sleepier?
  • Your family holding hands in a line Who is the tallest? Who is the smallest? Did you remember the pets?
  • Your shoes with wings on Where would your flying shoes take you first?

Ages 7 to 9 46

  • A bird's nest built from odd things found in town What did the bird collect? A glove, a ribbon, a bus ticket? Who is in the nest?
  • A bridge built by animals Which animals built it? What did they use? Is it strong enough for an elephant?
  • A bug hotel with a guest at every window Which bugs are staying? Who has the top room with the view?
  • A campsite at night with torches on inside the tents Who is in each tent? What shapes do the shadows make on the tent walls?
  • A circus where the animals are the audience Who is performing? Which animal has the best seat? Who is eating popcorn?
  • A city built on top of the clouds How do people get from cloud to cloud? What happens when it rains?
  • A classroom at the bottom of the sea Who is the teacher? What lesson is on the board? Who is late?
  • A dinosaur trying out a playground Which bit is it stuck in? Who is giving it a push on the swing?
  • A double-decker bus turned into a home What is upstairs? Where is the kitchen? Where does it park at night?
  • A dragon who is afraid of fire How does the dragon cook its dinner? Who helps it to be brave?
  • A four-box comic about a sock that ran away Where did the sock go? Does it ever come back to its twin?
  • A garden gnome's day off Where does the gnome go? What does it wear instead of the pointy hat?
  • A giant's lunch box What does a giant pack for lunch? How big is the apple next to a person?
  • A knight whose horse is far too small How does the knight manage to ride it? What does the horse think?
  • A lighthouse in a storm, with someone cosy inside What is the keeper doing in there? What is out in the waves?
  • A machine that does your least favourite job What goes in one end? What comes out of the other? Where is the on switch?
  • A market stall that sells weather Who is buying a jar of sunshine? What does a bag of snow look like?
  • A monster at the dentist How many teeth has it got? How does the dentist reach the ones at the back?
  • A new animal made from two animals Which two did you mix? What is it called, and what does it eat?
  • A new sport and the people playing it What are the rules? What do the players wear? How do you score a point?
  • A pancake being flipped far too high Where does the pancake end up? Who is watching with their mouth open?
  • A planet nobody has discovered yet What colour is the sky? Who lives there? What do their houses look like?
  • A playground on the moon How high could you bounce? What is the slide made of? Who is on the swings?
  • A rollercoaster that goes through your house Which rooms does it go through? Where is the loop? Who is screaming loudest?
  • A sandwich as tall as a house What is on each layer? How would anyone take a bite?
  • A scarecrow who has made friends with the crows What do they do together all day? What does the farmer think?
  • A self-portrait with wild hair full of things What is hiding in your hair? Birds? Pencils? A small ladder?
  • A snail race with a crowd watching Who is winning? Who is cheering? How long has the race been going?
  • A snow globe with a whole tiny world inside What is inside yours? What happens in there when somebody shakes it?
  • A spooky house where the ghosts are friendly What are the ghosts up to? Baking? Dancing? Playing cards?
  • A street where every building is a kind of food Which food makes the best roof? Who lives in the cheese? What are the lamp posts?
  • A sweet shop window full of sweets you invented What are your sweets called? Which one is sour enough to make ears wiggle?
  • A toy shop at midnight, when the toys wake up What do the toys do first? Who is in charge? Who keeps watch at the door?
  • A treasure hunt round your own home, drawn as a map Where does the hunt start? Where is the treasure hidden? What is the trickiest clue?
  • A uniform for a job that does not exist yet What is the job? Cloud cleaner? Dragon vet? What tools hang from the belt?
  • A vehicle for land, sea and sky Where are the wings kept? What makes it go? How many seats has it got?
  • A wizard's kitchen shelf What is in the jars? Can you write the labels? Which jar is wobbling?
  • A zoo for imaginary animals What is written on the signs? Which creature is hardest to keep in its pen?
  • An alien's first trip to a supermarket What does it think a trolley is for? What does it put in the basket?
  • One window, drawn in the morning and again at night What is different outside? Who is awake each time? Where is the light coming from?
  • The pets' talent show Which pet sings? Which one does magic? Who are the judges?
  • What your pet does while you are at school Does it nap, throw a party or run a business? Draw the proof.
  • Whatever lives under your bed, and what it does all day Is it fierce or shy? What does it collect? What does it eat?
  • Your dream treehouse How do you get up there? What is on the top floor? Is there a secret way down?
  • Your family as superheroes What is each person's power? What do the costumes look like?
  • Your name, with each letter turned into an animal Which animal bends into the shape of your first letter? Which letter is hardest?

Ages 10 to 12 46

  • A band made up of animals, in the middle of a song Who plays what? Which animal is best suited to the drums?
  • A castle drawbridge, drawn once open and once shut What is different when the bridge is up? Who is stuck outside?
  • A comic strip where a small problem gets out of hand What is the tiny problem in box one? How enormous is it by the last box?
  • A creature built for a very cold planet How does it stay warm? What does it eat? How does it move across ice?
  • A dragon seen from above, flying over fields What does a dragon look like from on top? What shape is its shadow on the ground?
  • A face made entirely of fruit and vegetables Which vegetable makes the best nose? What could the hair be?
  • A family portrait of monsters, grandparents included Which features run in the family? Who has grandad's horns?
  • A four-box comic with no words at all Can someone who does not know the story follow it from the pictures alone? Who at home could you test it on?
  • A gadget you invented, taken apart with every piece labelled What does it do? What is each part called? Which part always breaks?
  • A hero and a villain who are secretly best friends How do they keep it quiet? What do they do together at weekends?
  • A level of a game you made up, drawn from the side Where does the player start? Where are the jumps, the traps and the finish flag?
  • A machine that takes ten steps to do something very simple What simple job does it do? What sets it off? Which step has a marble in it?
  • A map of a fantasy kingdom with five named places Where are the mountains, the capital and the place nobody goes? What are they called?
  • A menu for a restaurant run by wizards What is the starter? Which pudding is still moving? Can you draw three of the dishes?
  • A mountain that is really a sleeping giant Where are the nose and the knees? What have people built there? What if it wakes?
  • A museum display about your bedroom, a thousand years from now Which of your things are behind glass? What do the labels get completely wrong?
  • A musical instrument that nobody has invented yet How do you play it? Blow, pluck or stamp? How many people does it take?
  • A mythical creature of your own, with a fact file Where does it live? What does it eat? How big is it next to a person?
  • A newspaper front page from inside a fairy tale What is the headline? Who is in the photo? What does the wolf have to say?
  • A pair of wings designed for a person How do they strap on? How do they fold away indoors? What are they made of?
  • A poster for a lost, very unusual pet What is missing? What name does it answer to? What is the reward?
  • A recipe drawn step by step with no words Could someone cook it from your pictures alone? Which step is hardest to show?
  • A robot left out in the garden for a hundred years What is growing out of it? Who has nested inside? Does one light still blink?
  • A scene in solid black shapes against a sunset Which shapes are easy to read in plain black? A tree, a bike, a cat on a wall?
  • A sea monster, showing only the bits above the water What is showing? Humps, a tail, one eye? What do the people in the boat think it is?
  • A secret code made of small pictures, with a message written in it What is the picture for each letter? Can a friend crack it without the key?
  • A secret room hidden behind a bookcase What is the room for? How does the bookcase open? Who else knows about it?
  • A shadow that does not match its owner Who is casting the shadow? What shape is it instead? What does the shadow want?
  • A storm at sea, seen from a small boat How tall are the waves next to the boat? What can you just see on the horizon?
  • A street of shops with joke names What does each shop sell? What is painted on the signs? Who is looking in?
  • A theme park ride based on your favourite food A spaghetti slide or a doughnut wheel? Where do people queue? How fast does it go?
  • A time machine disguised as something ordinary What does it look like from outside? Where is the dial? Which year is it set to?
  • A town where the streets are rivers and the buses are boats Where do the boats stop? How do you cross the road? Who rows to school?
  • A trophy for something nobody gives trophies for What is the award for? Best yawn? Fastest shoelaces? What goes on top?
  • A worm's view, looking up at people having a picnic What do shoes look like from underneath? What is about to be dropped?
  • An alien family's holiday photo on Earth What did they come to see? What are they wearing to blend in? Who blinked?
  • An animal drawn using only straight lines Which animal can you still recognise when every curve has to be a corner?
  • An insect close up, as big as the page How many legs has it got? Where do they join on? What pattern is on the wings?
  • An ordinary object with a secret second use A lamp that is also a periscope? An umbrella that is also a boat? Can you show both?
  • The front door of a house that shows who lives there A witch? A sailor? A family of bears? What clues are on the doorstep?
  • Half a leaf or a beetle, then the matching other half Fold the paper down the middle first. Can you make the second half match exactly?
  • One cartoon animal, first as a baby and then as a grandparent What stays the same so you can tell it is the same animal? What changes?
  • The school of the future What are the desks like? Who or what is teaching? What is for lunch?
  • The view straight down from the top of a very tall tree What is right below you? How small do the people look? Who else is up there?
  • Your own constellation, and the story behind it Join your dots into a shape. What is it called? Why did it end up in the sky?
  • Your street 200 years from now What has changed? What is exactly the same? How do people get about?

How it works

These drawing prompts for kids come in four age bands, from toddlers with a grown-up to ages 10 to 12. Each of the 153 arrives with a starter question, so A dinosaur at a birthday party also asks what flavour the cake is. A pencil or crayons will do for every one.

Read the full guide

Why the prompts are sorted by age

Children vary widely, but most drawing develops in a similar order. From about three, people are often circles with limbs. At five or six a ground line tends to appear along the bottom of the page. From nine or ten, many want the picture to look real. So Ages 4 to 6 holds 45 single subjects with one silly twist, and Ages 10 to 12 holds 46 comics, viewpoints and design problems. For drawing prompts for middle school, start with Ages 10 to 12, then try the teens list.

Toddler drawing ideas are made to share

The Ages 2 to 3 group has 16 toddler drawing ideas built on marks a two-year-old already makes: lines, dots and circles. In Stripes for a zebra who lost them, a grown-up draws the zebra and the child adds the stripes. Three more groups cut across every age: Animals with 51 prompts, About me, and Invent it with 44 creative drawing ideas for kids, such as A machine that does your least favourite job.

  • Ask the starter question out loud, then stop talking.
  • The Ages 4 to 6 group, kindergarten into early elementary, doubles as a list of easy kids drawing ideas: one subject, one twist, no background.
  • For mixed ages, choose one Animals prompt for everyone. A four-year-old and a ten-year-old will both draw A bus full of animals, differently.

Questions and answers

What are good creative drawing ideas for 10 year olds?

Prompts with no right answer help at an age when many children start judging their drawings and some give up: nobody can say A creature built for a very cold planet looks wrong. The Ages 10 to 12 group has 46, including A four-box comic with no words at all.

What are cool things to draw for kids who say they cannot draw?

Choose a prompt where the idea matters more than the drawing. A sandwich as tall as a house is a stack of rectangles with labels, and A market stall that sells weather is mostly jars. Stick people are welcome.

What goes in an all about me drawing?

Usually a self-portrait, then what is yours: family, home, pets, favourites. The About me group has 13 prompts, from A self-portrait with wild hair full of things to Your family as superheroes. Objects can represent you: one prompt puts your bedroom in a museum.

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