120 ideas

First Page Sketchbook Ideas

Three ideas for the first page or the cover per press, each with how to start it.

All 120

Five things you want to get better at, one drawing each1 page. Draw a small example of each: hands, eyes, trees, whatever you avoid.
A doodled border round the edge of the cover1 page. One small repeating shape all the way round, the middle left plain.
Your name on a street sign on a pole1 page. A rectangle sign, the pole below, a lamp post and a bit of pavement.

Next step More ways to letter a name Self-portrait ideas for a page

All 120 ideas

Title and name pages 24

A made-up title for this sketchbook, lettered like a novel cover 1 page. A title, an author line with your name, and one small picture in the middle.
A title lettered inside a ring of your favourite plants 1 page. Draw the ring of leaves and flowers first, then letter the title in the middle.
Book number in giant numerals, like a magazine issue 1 page. The number fills half the page; the date and your name sit small beneath.
The start date as a calendar page torn from a pad 1 page. Big day number, small month name, a ragged edge along the top.
Your initials woven into one mark 1 page. Overlap the letters so they share a stroke, then weave them over and under each other.
Your name as a constellation 1 page. Put a dot at every corner of each letter and join them with thin lines on a dark page.
Your name as a shop sign over a doorway 1 page. A painted sign board, the door below it, a window display of your drawings.
Your name built from the things you like to draw 1 page. Make each letter from a subject: a cat curled into a C, a tree for a T.
Your name carved into a tree trunk 1 page. Bark lines round the edge, the letters as dark grooves with a lighter inner edge.
Your name engraved on a trophy plaque 1 page. A trophy on a stand, your name on the plaque, a title such as Artist of the Year.
Your name hidden in a maze 1 page. Draw the letters first as thick paths, then build the maze walls round them.
Your name in fat round letters squashed together 1 page. Draw the letters so each one presses into the next, then shade the same side of all of them.
Your name in neon tubes on a brick wall 1 page. Draw each letter as a double line with rounded ends and a glow around it.
Your name in postage stamps, one letter to a stamp 1 page. Draw a row of stamps with zigzag edges and a letter and a small picture in each.
Your name in ribbon letters that fold over themselves 1 page. Draw one ribbon and twist it at every turn of a letter. Shade the underside.
Your name in solid block letters casting shadows 1 page. Draw the letters as boxes standing on a floor, all shadows falling the same way.
Your name in stencil letters with the gaps showing 1 page. Leave small bridges in each letter where a stencil would hold together.
Your name lettered in vines and leaves 1 page. Draw each letter as one thin stem, then let leaves and tendrils grow off it.
Your name made from strips of tape 1 page. Lay tape in straight strips to form the letters, then outline each strip in pen.
Your name on a banner pulled by a kite 1 page. The kite in a top corner, the banner rippling behind it across the page.
Your name on a street sign on a pole 1 page. A rectangle sign, the pole below, a lamp post and a bit of pavement.
Your name piped in icing on a cake 1 page. A round cake from a little above, the letters in a wobbly swirl of icing.
Your name spelled in animals, one per letter 1 page. An elephant for E, a snake for S. Draw each animal in the shape of its letter.
Your name written across the sky by a small plane 1 page. A tiny plane at the end of a looping smoke trail that spells the letters.

About you and this book 24

A drawing like you made at six, next to one from today 1 page. Same subject twice: a house, a person, a cat. Let the first be as a child would draw it.
A mood board of the colours and shapes you want in this book 1 page. Swatches, a few cut-out shapes and one sample doodle in each colour.
A note to a stranger who finds this book one day 1 page. Tell them what they are holding and what to do if they like it.
A permission slip to make ugly drawings, signed by you 1 page. Draw it like a form with boxes to tick and a line to sign at the bottom.
A this-book-belongs-to sign held up by a creature 1 page. Invent the creature. The sign is blank for your name.
A timeline of every sketchbook you have filled 1 page. One small book shape for each, on a line, with this one at the end.
A tiny self-portrait on an ID card 1 page. A rectangle card, a square photo box, your name and the start date.
An about-the-artist page with three facts and a tiny portrait 1 page. A small head-and-shoulders sketch in a box, and three short lines about you beside it.
An art weather forecast for the months ahead 1 page. A map of the book's pages with suns, clouds and scribble storms.
The first line of a story about this book 1 page. Write one sentence at the top and draw the scene it describes below.
Five things that inspire you, each in its own small frame 1 page. Draw five frames on a wall and one object, place or animal in each.
Five things you want to get better at, one drawing each 1 page. Draw a small example of each: hands, eyes, trees, whatever you avoid.
Goals for this book as signposts on a road 1 page. A road winding up the page with a signpost at each goal, the last one at the top.
The hours you like to draw, as a clock with shaded slices 1 page. Draw a clock face and shade the times of day you usually draw.
The one doodle you always make, done properly 1 page. Draw your usual margin doodle big and slow, with shading, as if it matters.
One sentence on what this book is for, lettered large 1 page. Practice, a trip, a project. Keep it to one line so you remember it.
The reason you started drawing, as a four-panel comic 1 page. Four boxes: before, the moment, the first drawing, now.
The room you are in as a tiny inset map 1 page. Draw the room from above in a small box, with a cross where you are sitting.
Today's date, the weather and one sound, in three boxes 1 page. One small drawing in each box. A record of the day the book began.
Your drawing hand holding the pen 1 page. Draw the hand you draw with as it rests. Hold a second pen in position to copy.
Your favourite colour as a big block, with its name 1 page. Paint or colour one large square and letter what you call that colour underneath.
Your favourite things to draw, as jars on a shelf 1 page. Draw a shelf of jars and a label on each: cats, clouds, shoes.
Your pet as the mascot of this book 1 page. Draw it holding a pencil, or wearing a tiny beret, in a badge shape.
Yourself as a collectable card with made-up stats 1 page. A card border, your portrait, and stats such as pencils owned and doodles per day.

Break the blank page 24

A crumpled and flattened first page 1 page. Scrunch the page gently, smooth it out and shade along the creases.
A door on the first page, open into the book 1 page. Draw an open door with light spilling out, as if the rest of the book is behind it.
A handprint in paint turned into a creature 1 page. Press your hand in paint, let it dry, then add eyes, legs or wings.
A hundred tiny circles filling the page 1 page. Different sizes, some touching, some inside others. The page is no longer empty.
A page coloured by rubbing a pencil's side all over it 1 page. Lay the pencil flat and cover the page grey, then lift out a drawing with an eraser.
A tea stain turned into a creature 1 page. Put a wet cup down on the page, let it dry, and find the animal in the ring.
A torn scrap of paper taped on, and a drawing round it 1 page. Tape it anywhere. The scrap becomes a window, a sail or a face.
Cover the page in one colour before drawing anything 1 page. Pencil crayon, paint or marker, edge to edge. Then draw on top in a darker colour.
The first page drawn upside down 1 page. Turn the book round and draw from a photo held upside down too.
The first thing you see when you look up 1 page. Look up, draw whatever is there, and do not choose.
Half the page in pencil, half in pen, one subject across both 1 page. Draw one object across the middle line; switch tools where it crosses.
Ink drops blown into branches with a straw 1 page. Drop wet ink and blow it along the page. Add birds or leaves once dry.
One line wandering across the page, turned into something 1 page. Draw the line without thinking, then look at it from all four sides and finish it.
Outlines traced round things on your desk until the page is full 1 page. A coin, a key, a mug base, overlapping. Colour the overlaps.
Page one drawn entirely with your other hand 1 page. Pick a subject you know well. The wobble is the point.
Pattern edge to edge, and no subject at all 1 page. Pick one small shape and repeat it until the page is full.
The room drawn with your eyes shut 1 page. Look first, then close your eyes and draw. Open them only when you have finished.
Scribbles in every direction, with the shapes they make coloured in 1 page. Scribble loosely, then colour the closed shapes in three colours.
Someone else's mark on the first page 1 page. Ask a friend to make one mark. Your first drawing starts from theirs.
Sponge prints in one colour, drawn into 1 page. Dab a sponge in paint across the page and turn each print into a cloud, bush or sheep.
Thirty tiny thumbnails, each done fast 1 page. Rule a grid of small boxes and fill one per idea without stopping to judge.
THIS PAGE IS ALLOWED TO BE BAD, then a drawing over it 1 page. Letter the words big in pencil and draw anything straight over them.
This sketchbook drawn open at this page 1 page. Draw the book lying on the table, open, with the drawing you are doing on it.
The worst drawing you can make, framed and titled 1 page. Draw badly on purpose, then add an ornate frame and a grand title.

Plans and lists 24

A bookshelf that fills as the book does 1 page. Draw an empty shelf and add one spine for every page you finish.
A box labelled Draw this again in a year 1 page. Draw one subject in a small box now. Leave a second box beside it for later.
A date stamp you design and use on every page 1 page. Draw the stamp itself, then a sheet of test prints of it.
A dotted line to cut along if the book ever needs a bookmark 1 page. Draw a bookmark shape at the page edge, decorated, ready to cut out.
A drawing bingo card for this book 1 page. A five-by-five grid of subjects. Cross one off each time you draw it.
A key to the colours you will use for notes 1 page. Blue for ideas, red for fixes, green for finished. A line of each.
A ladder of ten drawings from easy to hard 1 page. Draw a ladder with a subject on each rung, the hardest at the top.
A legend of page symbols for later 1 page. A star for favourites, a dot for unfinished, a heart for gifts. Draw each with its meaning.
A list of drawing tools to try, drawn as a shopping list 1 page. Draw each tool small beside its name: brush pen, charcoal, white gel pen.
A list of places to take this book 1 page. Draw each place as a small sign: the park, the café, the train.
A list of words to draw when stuck 1 page. Twenty words written in a column, a small doodle beside each as you use them.
A map of the book in sections 1 page. Split the page count into parts, such as people, places and practice, and colour each.
A page left blank on purpose, labelled for later 1 page. A small label in one corner: reserved for something good.
A plan of how you will lay out the pages 1 page. Tiny page shapes with boxes showing one big drawing, grids or strips.
A reward chart: a sticker for every ten pages 1 page. A row of empty circles to fill with a drawn sticker as the book fills.
A thermometer of pages filled 1 page. Draw a tall thermometer and colour it up as the book fills.
A tick chart of techniques to try in this book 1 page. Hatching, wash, collage, blind contour. A box to tick beside each.
A to-draw list shaped like a shop receipt 1 page. A long narrow receipt with subjects instead of groceries and a total at the bottom.
A treasure map to your future best page 1 page. Dotted paths, a cross, and a legend that says the treasure is somewhere ahead.
A wish list of subjects, a tiny sketch for each 1 page. Twenty small boxes with a subject named and doodled in each.
Nine empty frames for people you want to draw 1 page. Draw the frames and letter a name under each. Fill them over the months.
Nine subjects to repeat through the book 1 page. Nine small boxes. Draw each subject again later and compare.
The page number where you will stop and look back 1 page. Draw a small flag and write a page number on it. When you reach it, flip back.
Twelve monthly boxes for one drawing each 1 page. A grid of twelve with a month in each corner, to fill as the year goes.

Cover and inside cover 24

A barcode and a made-up price on the back cover 1 page. Draw thin and thick bars, then numbers under them.
A blurb about the artist on the back cover 1 page. A few lines about you in the style of a book jacket, with a small portrait.
A comic book cover with you as the hero 1 page. Title band at the top, you in a pose, a price in the corner.
A cover of repeating tiny faces 1 page. Rows of small ovals, each given a different expression.
A cover split diagonally in two colours 1 page. Tape a diagonal line, colour each side, then peel the tape for a clean edge.
A cover wrapped in brown paper and drawn on like a parcel 1 page. Wrap the cover, then draw string, stamps and an address label.
A doodled border round the edge of the cover 1 page. One small repeating shape all the way round, the middle left plain.
A doodled frame on the inside cover, waiting for your best drawing 1 page. Draw an ornate frame and leave it empty until the book is full.
A drawn pocket watch on the inside cover showing when you began 1 page. A watch face with the hands at the time you started.
A pressed flower under clear tape on the cover 1 page. Press it flat for a few days first, then draw a small label beside it.
A PRIVATE warning sign on the front cover 1 page. A diamond sign with a doodled creature guarding it.
A self-portrait stamp on the inside cover 1 page. A stamp with zigzag edges and your face in it, and a made-up value.
A single large eye on the front cover 1 page. Draw it in the middle, looking straight out, as if the book is watching.
An animal-print cover in marker 1 page. Leopard spots or zebra stripes drawn freehand across the whole front.
Constellations mapped across a dark cover 1 page. White dots joined with thin lines, one shape invented and named.
The cover as a record sleeve 1 page. A square design, a band name you make up, and a track list on the back.
The cover as an old book jacket with your title 1 page. A plain border, a title in serif letters, a small emblem in the middle.
The cover drawn as a front door with a letterbox 1 page. Panels, a knob, a number, and a letterbox slot across the middle.
The cover drawn as a window looking into the book 1 page. A window frame and curtains, with a desk and drawings seen inside.
Tape stripes across the cover in three colours 1 page. Lay them at a slant and outline each edge in pen.
Tiny drawings in the corners of the cover 1 page. Four corners, four small drawings, the middle left plain.
Your favourite colour mixes on the inside cover 1 page. Pairs of swatches with the mix between them.
Your initials in gold pen in one corner 1 page. Small and neat, like a book's maker's mark.
Your name painted large across the front cover 1 page. Use a paint pen or white marker on a dark cover. Pencil the letters first.

How it works

First page sketchbook ideas for the page that feels too good to spoil: name pages, a page about you, ways to break the blank, plans, and covers. Press once, then choose a group, or Quick for a fast start.

Read the full guide

Sketchbook first page ideas that break the ice

Break the blank page holds 24 that spoil the white on purpose: a tea stain turned into a creature, a hundred tiny circles, the room drawn with your eyes shut. Once the page has a mark, the second page is easy.

Sketchbook intro page ideas and title pages

Title and name pages holds 24, from your name in neon tubes on a brick wall to the start date as a torn calendar page. About you and this book holds 24 more, such as yourself as a collectable card with made-up stats.

Still scared of page one? Start on page two and come back to it last.
Leave the back of the first page blank. Ink and paint soak through, and the first page stays clean.

Questions and answers

What should go on the first page of a sketchbook?

Anything that makes the book yours: your name, the date, what it is for. Most first page of sketchbook ideas do one of three things: name the book, introduce you, or spoil the white so the fear goes.

What are some sketchbook cover drawing ideas?

Cover and inside cover holds 24: a cover wrapped in brown paper and drawn on like a parcel, a single large eye, a barcode and a made-up price on the back. Test paint pens on the inside back cover first.

How are these different from sketchbook ideas?

Sketchbook ideas fills a whole book with page layouts and habits, and gives the first page 25 ideas. These 120 are only for page one and the covers, and none of them is repeated there.