76 ideas

Drippy Drawing Ideas

Three things that drip or melt per press, each with a tip on drawing the drip.

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Robot face leaking one drop of oilA square head with bolt ears and a grille mouth. A single dark drop slides from one corner of the grille.
Outline letters filling up like tanksHollow capitals, each with a wavy fill line at a different height. A drop falls into the lowest one.
Smiley with a crisp top half and a dripping bottomRule a line through the middle. Above it, a clean half circle and eyes; below, strings of drips.

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All 76 ideas

Drippy letters and words 16

Alphabet strip, a drip under every letter Twenty-six small capitals in a row. No two drips the same length; a few share a bead.
Arrow pointing down, melting as it goes A fat arrow outline. The shaft stays straight; the head softens into three drips that aim the same way.
Bubble letters sagging like warm wax Draw each letter round and puffy, then let its lower half slump and widen as if it were sitting down.
Frosted letters with icing over the edges Flat block letters with a thick wavy topping. The icing rounds each top edge and stops in fat drops.
House number running at three different speeds Fat numerals. Give the first short drips, the second longer ones, and let the last reach the page edge.
Initial with a runny roller stripe behind it A wide band of flat tone with a ragged lower edge and five drips. The letter sits on top, clean.
One capital letter sinking into its own puddle The top of the letter stays crisp. From the middle down it thins into strings that join a flat pool.
OOZE in the slowest letters you can draw Round, heavy capitals. Each O bulges at the bottom; short fat drips, with wide beads, hang from all four.
Outline letters filling up like tanks Hollow capitals, each with a wavy fill line at a different height. A drop falls into the lowest one.
Question mark whose dot has dripped off Draw the hook with a thick line. The dot hangs below on a thin neck, about to let go.
Slime-topped letters, ooze coming over the top Leave the letters plain. Lay a wavy blanket along their top edges and let it hang down in uneven tongues.
Speech bubble dripping from its tail A round bubble, empty inside. The tail stretches down into one long drip with a bead on the end.
Two initials running together into one pool The letters stand apart at the top and melt together below, into a single pool with a wobbly edge.
The word DRIP stepping down the page Set each letter a little lower than the last. The P hangs lowest, with one long drip off its stem.
Word written in one thread of poured honey Script in a single line that thickens at each turn. Put a bead wherever the line changes direction.
Your name with a drip off every baseline Block letters first. Each drip starts at a bottom corner, runs its own length and ends in a round bead.

Faces and smileys 14

Bedsheet ghost that is mostly drips A rounded top and two oval eyes. Where the hem would be, draw long and short drips by turns.
Cartoon cat whose cheeks stretch into drips Ears and eyes are sharp. Below the nose, the face runs downward and the whiskers droop with it.
Heart-eyed smiley going soft at the edges Two hearts for eyes, an open smile. The outline of the face turns wavy and lets go of three drips.
Lips with one drip of gloss Two curved shapes with a window-shaped highlight. The drip hangs from the center of the lower lip.
Painted eye on a wall with paint running A simple almond eye in thick outline. Three runs of paint come from the lower edge, the middle one longest.
Portrait where the hair runs like wet paint Keep the face simple. The hair leaves the head in long streams that end in beads at different heights.
Robot face leaking one drop of oil A square head with bolt ears and a grille mouth. A single dark drop slides from one corner of the grille.
Smiley melting in five stages, left to right Five in a row. Start with a clean circle. By the fifth, the face is a puddle with two eyes and a mouth floating in it.
Smiley smeared down a wall, still grinning Draw the circle high up, then a streak below it. The face has slid into the streak, with drips at the end.
Smiley whose grin drips at both corners A wide arc for the mouth. A short drip hangs from each end; the eyes are two plain ovals.
Smiley with a crisp top half and a dripping bottom Rule a line through the middle. Above it, a clean half circle and eyes; below, strings of drips.
Sunglasses dripping from the lower rims Two dark lenses and a bridge. Four drips of different lengths hang below, each keeping the lens color.
Tongue-out face with a drop on the tip A circle, two dots and a long tongue. One drop sits at the end of the tongue, with a highlight.
Winking smiley with a drip off its chin A circle, one oval eye, one curved line for the wink. The drip leaves the lowest point of the circle.

Food that drips 16

Burger with sauce escaping on all sides Stack the bun, patty and lettuce. The sauce comes out between layers and runs down the lower bun.
Cake with glaze dripping down its sides A tall cylinder. The glaze covers the top and comes down in drips of different lengths all the way round.
Caramel apple standing in a foot of caramel The coating is thick and wavy at its edge. It has slid down and spread into a flat ring round the base.
Chocolate fountain in three tiers Each tier is a shallow bowl. Curtains of chocolate fall between them, drawn as close vertical lines.
Egg on toast with the yolk running A wobbly white with a dome of yolk. The yolk has broken on one side and runs over the crust.
Fondue fork lifting a coated strawberry The berry is half dipped. A sheet of chocolate hangs under it and narrows to a single thread.
Glass of milk overflowing down one side A straight glass, filled past the rim. One run goes down the outside to a small pool at the foot.
Glazed doughnut with icing over the hole's edge A ring seen from above. The glaze has a wavy outer edge and dips into the hole in two places.
Honey dipper trailing a thread of honey A grooved wooden knob on a stick. The thread is two close lines that widen into a coil where it lands.
Jam sliding off the back of a spoon A spoon held level. The jam hangs from its lowest point in one fat drop with a seed or two inside.
Ladle lifted from a pot, soup running off the lip A round bowl on a long handle, tilted. The soup leaves in one thin stream that breaks into drops near the pot.
Lemon half squeezed, one drop falling A wheel of segments seen at a slant. One drop hangs from the lowest point of the rim and another falls below it.
Ribbon of syrup folding onto itself A small pitcher tilted. The stream leaves the lip as a ribbon, twists once and stacks in coils below.
Squeeze bottle with a drop at the nozzle A soft bottle with a pointed cap, tipped over. One drop hangs from the tip on a short neck.
Tea bag lifted from a cup, still dripping The bag is a small pillow on a string, darker at the bottom. Two drops fall back and rings spread in the cup.
Waffle cone losing a race against the drips One scoop of ice cream. Three drips cross the criss-cross lines; the longest has reached the point.

Things that melt 16

Candle burned down into a pool of wax A short stub with runs of wax down every side. They overlap in layers; the pool has a raised edge.
Crayon melting from the tip down A paper-wrapped stick held upright. The point has gone and wax runs over the wrapper in three drips.
Disco ball shedding its mirror tiles A gridded sphere. Near the bottom the grid stretches, and single square tiles fall away with the drips.
Gold medal dripping off its ribbon A disc on a V of ribbon. The lower rim of the disc pulls into three drips; the ribbon stays crisp.
Ice cube sweating a single bead A cube with rounded corners and a highlight. One drop clings to a lower corner; the puddle is a flat oval.
Light bulb sagging like a water balloon The screw cap stays hard. Below it the glass bulges, hangs to one side and lets go of a single drip.
Moon dripping into the sea A full circle low in the sky. Its lower edge pulls into drips that meet their own reflection.
Overloaded brush, bead swelling at the tip A paintbrush held bristles down. The bead hangs heavy and one drop is already falling below it.
Planet running off its own rings A sphere with a tilted ellipse round it. The lower half of the planet pours over the ring like a waterfall.
Skyscrapers bending into a row of drips Draw the roofline sharp. Halfway down, the buildings bend and merge into one long row of drips.
Sneaker dissolving from the sole up The upper half is a normal shoe. The sole has turned to thick drips that join a puddle underneath.
Star with drips off its two lowest points A fat outlined star. The two bottom points stretch into drips with round beads; the top three stay sharp.
Sunset running down like wet watercolor Paint a band of sky, then tilt the paper. Let the color run to the bottom and dry where it stops.
Tipped paint can with a tongue of paint A cylinder on its side with the lid off. The paint comes out as one wide tongue that thins into a pool.
Traffic cone slumping on hot asphalt The base stays square. The cone above it leans and folds over, and its stripes slide into drips.
Vinyl record drooping off a shelf Half the disc lies flat and half hangs down in a curve. The grooves bend with it.

How a drip is built 14

Drip with a thinning neck, bead ready to let go A long neck that narrows in the middle and a heavy bead below. The thinner the neck, the sooner it goes.
Drips coming down over a ball They follow the curve of the sphere, spreading apart at its widest point, then hang free below it.
Drips hanging from the points of a zigzag edge Liquid collects at the lowest spots. Hang one drip from each downward point and none from the slopes between.
Drips rounding the edge of a shelf The liquid lies flat on top, curves over the front edge and then falls straight. Shade under the curve.
Drips turning the corner of a box On the top face they run toward the corner. Over the edge they fall straight down both visible sides.
Falling drop above a crown splash The drop is a sphere with a short tail. Below it, a ring of small points rises from the surface.
Fresh drip beside one that has dried The fresh one has a highlight and a soft shadow. The dried one is flat, with a darker line round its rim.
Glossy drip shaded in three tones A dark band along one side, a mid tone through the middle and a bare highlight. Keep the edges sharp.
Honey drip beside a water drip Thick liquid makes a short, wide drip with a fat bead. Thin liquid makes a long, narrow one. Draw both.
One drip as a teardrop with a highlight Two lines down from a point, swelling into a round end. Leave a small bare oval near the bottom.
Single drip and its shadow on a wall Draw the drip, then the same shape again in gray, a little to one side and slightly lower.
Splat seen from above, with satellites An uneven blob with rounded arms. Small dots lie beyond the ends of the longest arms.
Trail a drip leaves behind it Where the drip has been, the line is thin and pale. All the weight is in the bead at the front.
Two drips merging into one They start apart and lean together. Below the join there is one wider run and a single bead.

How it works

Here the drip is the subject: 76 drippy drawing ideas, from bubble letters sagging like warm wax to a planet running off its own rings. One group is studies of the drip itself.

Read the full guide

How to draw one drip

Start where liquid collects: a bottom corner, a rim, a point. Pull two lines down that stay close together, then swell them into a round bead at the end. Leave a small bare highlight on the bead. Give every drip a different length, and never space them evenly.

Thick or thin

Honey, wax and icing make short, wide drips with fat beads. Water and ink make long, narrow ones. How a drip is built sets the two side by side, and adds drips rounding an edge and a drop caught in mid-air.

A hanging drip falls straight down, whatever angle the edge above it is at.
A short drip beside a long one looks more natural than a long one alone.

Questions and answers

What are easy drippy things to draw?

Choose Easy in the list under the button. Ice cube sweating a single bead is a cube and a flat oval; Question mark whose dot has dripped off is one thick hook and a bead.

How do you draw drippy letters?

Draw the letters as blocks or bubbles first. Add drips at the bottom corners and under the crossbars, each a different length with a bead at the end. Then erase the line where drip and letter meet.

What pens work for a drip effect?

A round-tipped marker for the outline and a white gel pen for the highlight on each bead. For real drips, load a brush with watery paint and tilt the paper, as in Sunset running down like wet watercolor.

How is this different from the graffiti list?

Graffiti drawing ideas uses drips as one effect among arrows and stars on lettering. Here everything drips or melts: smileys, food, a candle, a planet.