A butterfly pulling free of its chrysalisThe wings are still crumpled and damp. The empty case stays on the twig above.
A chain with its middle ring bent wide apartDraw four closed ovals and one bent into a C. The gap is the whole picture.
A fledgling stepping off the rim of its nestWings half open and one foot already in the air. Two heads still watch from the nest.
A garden gate swung wide, its latch still rattlingTwo small arcs by the latch show the shake. Beyond the gate, draw only a path and light.
A goldfish leaping from a small bowl toward a wide pondThe fish is at the top of its arc, between the two. Drops trail back to the bowl.
A leash coiled on the sand, paw prints running offNo dog in the picture. The prints get farther apart as they near the water.
A marionette walking off, its strings left on the boardsThe strings lie in loose curls behind it. Give the figure one long stride.
A pony sailing over the top rail of its paddockThe pony is one long arc with its knees folded. Keep the rail low in the frame and the sky big.
A skylight propped open to a square of starsDraw from the bed below: a dark ceiling, a tilted pane and one bright square.
A snake's shed skin on a warm rock, the snake long goneDraw the skin pale and papery, like a sock turned inside out. The snake is not in the picture.
A stream slipping under a fenceWater cannot be fenced. The posts stand in a row and the stream runs straight through.
An opened padlock dangling from a bike rackThe curved shackle swings clear of the body. Draw the keyhole dark and empty.
River ice breaking up in springFlat white plates drifting apart on dark water. The gaps widen downstream.
School doors flung wide at the last bell of the yearDraw from outside: double doors open, backpacks mid-bounce, loose pages in the air.
Shoes kicked off at the edge of the grassTwo shoes at odd angles with socks stuffed inside, and bare footprints leading away.
Open space 15
A bicycle coasting downhill, feet off the pedalsLegs stuck out to the sides, hair straight back and the spokes drawn as a blur.
A flying fish clear of the water, fins spread like wingsLong side fins held out stiff, tail just clear of a wave top. Give it a wide, empty sea.
A hawk riding warm air above a valleyWings held flat with the end feathers apart. Draw the valley tiny beneath it.
A horse galloping on an unfenced plainLow horizon, mane and tail streaming level. No post or wire anywhere in the picture.
A kid running through grass as tall as their shouldersOnly the head and raised hands show. Bend the grass into a wake behind.
A prairie sky over one tiny farmhouseThe sky fills nine tenths of the sheet. Big clouds at the top, small flat ones just above the roof.
A sail filled with wind on open waterOne white triangle leaning, a dark hull under it and nothing else as far as the horizon.
A skateboard and its rider high above the lip of a bowlBoard and rider float clear of everything. Put the shadow far below to show the height.
A small figure on a hilltop with both arms spreadSeen from behind and small against the sky. The arms make one long level line.
A swing at its highest point, seen from the groundThe chains go slack for an instant, toes point at the sky and the ground is far down the page.
A tent flap unzipped onto a mountain morningDraw from inside the tent. Two dark flaps hang like curtains and the peaks beyond are pale and sharp.
A two-lane road with nothing on it but distanceTwo lines meeting at a point. Give the sky two thirds of the sheet.
Bare toes at the edge of the sea, horizon far aboveDraw from above: ten toes, a film of water over the sand and a level line at the very top.
Farmland sliding by outside a railcar windowThe window frame is sharp and the fields are streaks. One hand rests on the sill.
Starlings turning together as one dark cloudHundreds of dots forming one bending shape, dense in the middle and loose at the edges.
Letting go 15
A butterfly lifting off a flat, still palmThe fingers do not close. Draw the wings as a blur just above the hand.
A chalk drawing left out for the rainA chalk sun on the sidewalk, half washed pale by the first drops. The stub of chalk lies beside it.
A clenched fist opening, drawn in three stepsThree hands in a row: closed, half open, flat. The last one holds nothing.
A coin tossed toward a fountain, still in mid-airThe coin is a small tilted oval at the top of its arc. The hand that threw it is already dropping.
A feather let fall from a footbridgeThe feather rocks from side to side on the way down. Show its path with a loose zigzag of dots.
A fish slipping from two hands back into a riverThe hands are under the water and the tail is already bending away. Rings spread above.
A handful of sand running out between fingersA loose fist held sideways and a narrow stream falling into a small cone below.
A leaf set down on a stream and carried offA hand at the bank, the leaf an arm's length downstream and ripples between the two.
A maple seed spinning down from its branchOne wing, one seed and a dotted spiral showing the fall.
A new swimmer letting go of the pool wallOne hand has just left the tiles and the other reaches ahead. Small ripples ring the fingers.
A paper lantern floating up out of cupped hands at nightThe paper glows from inside. The fingers are still spread just below it.
An oak in November letting its final leaf goOne leaf in mid-air beside a bare branch. The pile underneath is already deep.
Bubbles blown from a wand and sailing over a rooftopCircles of every size, each with a small window of light. Let two leave the page.
Dandelion seeds leaving on one breathHalf a seed head and a stream of small parachutes drifting toward the far corner.
Petals shaken off a branch into the windTilt all the petals the same way so the wind shows. No petal touches another.
Posters and lettering 15
A compass face with FREE in place of N, E, S and WAny direction will do. Rule the four long arms first, then letter the same word at each tip.
A doorway standing alone in a field, sky through itNo walls, only the frame. Letter your word along the beam at the top.
A maze whose solved path has been erased wide openDraw a simple maze, then rub out the walls along the way through. Letter the word at the exit.
A poster drawn as if torn open, blue sky behindA ragged white edge down the middle of a gray sheet. The word sits in the blue.
A poster that is mostly empty sky, the word tiny belowSpace is the subject. Leave nine tenths of the sheet clear and letter small and firm.
A ribbon that frays into a flight of small birdsDraw the ribbon fraying into small V shapes that grow wings as they rise.
A sunrise behind the word, rays ruled from one pointBlock capitals stand along the horizon. Rule the rays first so they pass behind the letters.
A swallow shaped out of the word's own lettersStretch the F into a wing and curl the M into a tail. It should still read at arm's length.
A winding road that spells a word in cursiveWrite the word as one unbroken road, then add a small walker at the far end.
FREEDOM in capitals, the M drifting up and awayLetter six capitals on a ruled baseline, then lift the M up and away at a tilt.
Hollow letters with hills and sky showing throughOutline the word wide enough to see into, then draw the landscape inside the letters only.
Notebook lines with one sentence curving off themLettering that leaves the lines. Rule the sheet, then let the writing wander up and out.
Paper tags on loose strings, a choice lettered on eachFreedom as choices: what to read, what to draw, where to walk. One tag for each.
Two spread wings and a single word where the body goesThe wings reach both edges of the sheet. Keep the word small and exactly in the middle.
The word FREE built from feathersEach stroke of each letter is one feather, quill end down. Let a few drift loose.
How it works
Freedom drawing ideas come in three kinds: something breaking loose, a wide open space, and something being let go. A fourth group turns the word into poster lettering. Every idea has a note on how to draw it.
Read the full guide
Letting go drawing ideas
Letting go is the gentlest way to show freedom: dandelion seeds leaving on one breath, bubbles blown from a wand and sailing over a rooftop, a maple seed spinning down from its branch. Draw the hand still open and the thing already a little way off.
Give the sky most of the sheet
Open space is drawn with a low horizon. Put the road, the horse or the figure on the hilltop in the bottom third and leave the rest empty. The empty part is what reads as free.
Show what was left behind, such as the leash, the shoes or the open gate, and leave out who left.
A diagonal reads as movement. Tilt the sail, the swing or the flight path.
Questions and answers
What can I draw to show freedom?
Draw something breaking loose (a pony sailing over the top rail of its paddock), an open space (a two-lane road with nothing on it but distance) or something let go (a leaf set down on a stream and carried off).
What is an easy freedom drawing?
A chain with its middle ring bent wide apart, shoes kicked off at the edge of the grass, or a clenched fist opening, drawn in three steps. The Easy group has more.
What are symbols of freedom without a flag?
Wings, an opened padlock, a gate swung wide, a road with nothing on it and seeds on the wind all read as freedom anywhere. Nothing on this list uses a flag or a named place.
How do I letter the word freedom on a poster?
Let part of the word get away: FREEDOM in capitals with the M drifting up and away, hollow letters with hills and sky showing through, or the word FREE built from feathers.