January Drawing Challenge – 62 Prompts, Frost or Fresh Start

All 62 prompts

Set 1: frost and snow 31

A bird bath frozen with a leaf trapped inside Day 1. Draw the bowl from above. The leaf floats in the ice, blurred at the edges.
A bus stop where everyone breathes a different shape Day 2. A row of people, each breath cloud a different thing: a heart, a cat, a question mark.
A car that has been snowed in up to the wing mirrors Day 3. Only the roof and two mirrors show. Add one set of tracks walking away from it.
A deer crossing a road at dusk, seen through a windscreen Day 4. Frame it with the wipers and the dashboard edge. Keep the deer small and still.
A fox mousing in deep snow, nose first Day 5. The fox is half gone, tail and back legs in the air. Add the hole it dived into.
A frozen puddle with a boot print cracked into it Day 6. Draw it close up, the cracks running out from the print like a map.
A glove left on a fence post by someone kind Day 7. One lost glove pulled over a post so the owner can find it. Frost on the fingers.

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Set 1: frost and snow, continued

A hedgehog that has overslept in its leaf pile Day 8. Curled tight in brown leaves, one eye open, a snowflake landing on its nose.
A lake with skate marks written all over it Day 9. Seen from above: curls, figure eights and one straight line straight across.
A lamppost wearing a cap of snow Day 10. A tall post, a round lamp and a thick white cap slipping to one side.
A mitten big enough for a mouse family to live in Day 11. Draw it lying in the snow with a tiny door cut in the cuff and smoke from the thumb.
A pair of boots drying by a door, still full of snow Day 12. Laces loose, a small puddle forming, snow melting down the tops.
A robin standing on a spade handle Day 13. The spade stuck in frozen soil, the robin tiny and round on top. Keep the breast the only colour.
A sled halfway down a hill with no rider Day 14. Show the tracks, the sled mid-slide and one hat tumbling behind it.
A snow angel that has stood up and walked off Day 15. The angel shape in the snow, then footprints leading away from it.
A snowdrop pushing up through ice Day 16. The snowdrop is one of January's birth flowers. Three white petals hanging down, a crack in the ice.
A snowman made by someone who has never seen one Day 17. Square body, arms in the wrong place, a carrot used as a hat. Make it proud.
A squirrel raiding a bird feeder upside down Day 18. Hanging by its back feet, cheeks full, tail wrapped round the pole.
A street at night where only one window is lit Day 19. Dark terrace houses, snow on the roofs and one warm square of light.
A tree covered in hoarfrost like white fur Day 20. Every twig thickened with frost. Use a white pen on grey, or leave the paper white.
A wheelbarrow full of snow instead of soil Day 21. A pile heaped high with a spade stuck in it. Someone is clearing a path.
An icicle that has grown into a strange shape Day 22. Hanging from a gutter, twisted by the wind into a hook, a key or a letter.
An owl on a fence post in falling snow Day 23. Draw the owl first, then the flakes over it. A few flakes sit on its head.
Animal tracks in snow that tell a short story Day 24. Two sets of prints meet, circle, then only one set leaves. No animals drawn.
Breath on a cold window with a drawing finger-traced in it Day 25. Draw the window from inside, a steamed patch and a simple picture traced through it.
Frost patterns on a car window, like ferns Day 26. Fill a rectangle with feathery lines that grow from the edges inward.
Ice skates hanging over a shoulder by their laces Day 27. Just the shoulder, the coat and two skates swinging. Show the shine on the blades.
The last leaf on a tree in the middle of January Day 28. A bare branch, frost on the bark and one brown leaf that refuses to fall.
Snow falling on a busy street, drawn in only three tones Day 29. Pick white, grey and black. Leave the flakes as spots of bare paper.
Two sheep with snow on their backs Day 30. Woolly bodies with flat white tops, heads down, a gate behind them.
Your own street after the first snow of the year Day 31. Draw it from your window or door before anyone has walked on it.

Set 2: fresh start 31

A bedroom halfway through being tidied Day 1. Half neat, half chaos, with a line down the middle of the room.
A blank calendar page with one thing already written on it Day 2. Draw the grid, all 31 squares empty but one. What is it?
A bowl of soup with a face in the steam Day 3. Seen from the side, the steam rising into a smiling face.
A cat asleep on the warmest spot in the house Day 4. On a radiator, a laptop or a pile of washing. Show why it chose that spot.
A diary with its first page still blank Day 5. Open flat, a pen lying across it, the spine stiff and new.
A door with two faces, looking both ways Day 6. January is named after Janus, the two-faced Roman god of beginnings. Draw a door knocker with his two faces.
A garnet ring on a windowsill catching the light Day 7. Garnet is January's birthstone. Draw the deep red stone and the red spot it throws on the sill.
A goldfish making a New Year resolution Day 8. A bubble rising from the fish with its big plan written in it.
A houseplant reaching for a weak January sun Day 9. The whole plant leaning one way toward the window. Add a long, pale shadow.
A jigsaw with one piece missing, the piece in a dog's mouth Day 10. Draw the puzzle on a table and the guilty dog under it.
A kettle, two mugs and one very long conversation Day 11. Draw the table as it looks at the end: empty mugs, crumbs, chairs pushed back.
A key that opens a door nobody has used yet Day 12. A new key on a plain ring, with a tag that says where it goes.
A list of plans where the last item is crossed out Day 13. Draw the paper and the pen. Show the handwriting getting smaller down the page.
A map of your year drawn like a treasure map Day 14. Twelve stops along a dotted path, one for each month, with an X at the end.
A mug of cocoa holding a tiny swimmer Day 15. Marshmallows as rafts, a very small person doing the backstroke.
A new pair of shoes still in the box Day 16. Tissue paper, the lid leaning against the side, the laces tucked in.
A pencil sharpened for the first time Day 17. Draw the fresh point, the shavings curled like a flower beside it.
A pet that has eaten the party leftovers Day 18. A round, happy dog or cat surrounded by empty plates and paper hats.
A plant pot of carnations on a kitchen table Day 19. The carnation is one of January's birth flowers. Frilly edges, like crumpled paper.
A sock drawer where every pair has found its match Day 20. Top-down view, rows of rolled socks. Break the pattern with one odd sock.
A stack of library books due back tomorrow Day 21. Pile them crooked, spines out, a slip of paper sticking out of one.
A torn-off calendar page blowing down the street Day 22. The page says 1. Draw it tumbling past a lamppost.
An alarm clock that has had enough of January mornings Day 23. Give it a face: one eye open, a hand pulling the covers back over.
An empty paint tin with one perfect drip down the side Day 24. Draw it close. Pick the colour of the room it painted.
Bread dough rising in a bowl under a tea towel Day 25. The towel lifting in a dome. Draw the kitchen window behind it.
Fireworks from New Year's Eve seen as litter the next morning Day 26. January opens with New Year's Day. Draw the spent tubes and the confetti in the gutter.
The first page of a sketchbook, drawn on the first page Day 27. Draw a sketchbook open at page one, with a drawing of the sketchbook inside it.
The inside of a fridge after the holidays Day 28. Door open, light on, one lonely jar and a very old slice of cake.
Slippers by the bed pointing in different directions Day 29. One tucked neatly, the other kicked off at an angle. Add a rug.
Two hands swapping a gift for the right size Day 30. Just the hands, a wrapped jumper and a receipt passing between them.
Your desk exactly as it is today Day 31. Draw it without tidying. It is the first entry in your year of drawings.

How this list was compiled: Original prompts written for Draw This Next on 2026-09-23: two sets of 31, one prompt for each day of January. Every prompt and hint is our own work. Day numbers follow A to Z order inside each set, so the full list reads day 1 to day 31. The few facts in the hints (January has 31 days and opens with New Year's Day; it is named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings; its birthstone is the garnet and its birth flowers include the carnation and the snowdrop, galanthus; it is winter in most of the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern) were checked on 2026-09-23 against Wikipedia: January (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January). No prompt is taken from any published January challenge list. Licence: own work

How it works

January has 31 days, and each set here holds 31 January drawing prompts, one per date. Set 1 is frost and snow outdoors; Set 2 is a fresh start indoors. Every prompt is a subject with a small twist to solve.

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Two sets for one month

Pick the set that suits where you draw. Frost and snow needs a window or a walk; fresh start can be drawn at a kitchen table. Each hint opens with its day number, and the full list below runs day 1 to day 31 in each set. That order is A to Z and means nothing, so swap days freely. Day 31 always begins with Your.

Keep a January art challenge going

Most challenges stall in the second week. Decide your limit on day 1, such as ten minutes or one pen, and keep it all month. Date each page. At the end, lay all 31 out and pick the three you would redraw.

South of the equator January is summer, so Set 2, which stays indoors, fits better than Set 1.
Missed a day? Draw today's number and leave the gap. Filling in later turns a habit into homework.

Questions and answers

Can I use these as January art prompts without the daily challenge?

Yes. Draw any row on its own, in any order; the menu changes set. The winter list holds plain cold-weather subjects with no twist.

Do I have to start on 1 January?

No. Each set has 31 prompts, one per date, so you can join on today's date or start at day 1 whenever you like and run into February.

Is this an official challenge with rules?

No. The 62 prompts are our own and belong to no organised challenge, so any material works: pencil, pen, paint or a tablet. Share them with a class or a group if you like.