A clean spoon lying on the table, bowl side upLook twice at the inside of the spoon. Find the room in it and see which way up it is.
A milk carton with its spout pulled openLook twice at the folded spout. It is all triangles, and each one is a different gray.
The chair across the table, pushed back at an angleLook twice at the seat. From where you sit it is a thin slanted shape, nowhere near a square.
The fork beside your plateLook twice at the gaps between the tines. They are longer and narrower than a fork drawn from memory.
The fruit bowl from your chair, nothing movedLook twice at where one fruit hides part of another. Draw the front one whole and stop the other at its edge.
The heel of the loaf, cut side upLook twice at the cut face. The holes are all different sizes, and hardly one of them is round.
The kitchen faucet, seen from the tableLook twice at the bright shapes on the metal. Find which one is the window and which the ceiling light.
The next room, seen through the doorway from your chairLook twice at how little of the room shows. The door frame cuts most of it off, so draw the frame first.
One banana in the fruit bowl, drawn where it liesLook twice at the ridges running end to end. It has flat sides, more like a bent box than a tube.
The salt and pepper shakers, standing where they areLook twice at the gap between the two. It is a shape too, and it fixes how far apart they stand.
The whole table top with whatever was left on itLook twice at the far edge. It is shorter on the page than the near edge, so the sides lean in.
Your own hand wrapped around a cupLook twice at the knuckles. They lie along a curve, not in a straight row.
On the sofa 12
A blanket thrown over the back of the sofaLook twice at where each fold begins. Most hang from a single point on the top edge.
A cushion with a dent where someone leanedLook twice at the corners. They pull out into points, and the edges curve in between them.
A potted plant on the windowsill, pot includedLook twice at a leaf that points straight at you. It is short and wide on the page, not leaf-shaped.
The cat or dog asleep nearest to youLook twice at the outline of the whole heap before any legs. It may move, so take that first.
The closed curtains on a bright morningLook twice at the light coming through the cloth. The folds are bright strips and dark strips, side by side.
The floor lamp in the corner, shade and allLook twice at the bottom edge of the shade. From your seat it is a curve, though you know it is a circle.
One shelf of the bookcase across the roomLook twice for the book that leans. One slanted spine is what shows the others are upright.
The remote control on the arm of the sofaLook twice at the rows of buttons. Count the rows, then see whether the spaces between them match.
Someone reading at the other end of the sofaLook twice at the tilt of the head against the line of the shoulders. The two are rarely level.
The window frame and one thing outside itLook twice at the size of the thing outside. A whole tree may fit inside a single pane.
Your own feet at the far end of the sofaLook twice at the far foot. It is smaller on the page than the near one and partly hidden by it.
Your own knees and the sketchbook resting on themLook twice at how short your thighs are from above. Trust the short shape, not what you know of legs.
At a classroom desk 12
A highlighter with its cap offLook twice at the tip. It is a slanted wedge, and the slant changes as you turn the pen.
A slatted blind, pulled halfway down the windowLook twice at the slats. Near your eye level they close to lines; lower down you see their tops.
A stack of notebooks at the end of the tableLook twice at the edges of the stack. No two books line up, and that is what makes it a stack.
The chair in front of you, from behindLook twice at the top rail. See whether it bows, and where the legs below sit against its two ends.
The classroom door, standing half openLook twice at the top edge of the door. Half open, it slopes on the page at a different angle from the frame.
The near corner of your deskLook twice at the angle of the corner. Hold your pencil along each edge before you trust a square corner.
The row of coat hooks by the doorLook twice at the spacing. The hooks crowd together the farther along the wall they are.
The tangle of chair legs under the next tableLook twice at which leg crosses in front of which. Settle that before you darken a single line.
The teacher's desk, seen from the back of the roomLook twice at how small it is. Measure it against the nearest desk with your pencil at arm's length.
Three classmates from behind, heads and shoulders onlyLook twice at the sizes. The farthest head may be half the nearest. Draw hair as one shape, not strands.
Your other hand, holding the paper stillLook twice at the fingernails. Each is a different shape, because each finger turns a different way.
Your pencil case, unzipped, on the deskLook twice at the zipper. When the case sags open it runs in a curve, not a straight line.
On a bus or train 12
A building outside, drawn while the bus waits at a lightLook twice at the roofline only. One line across, then windows as rows of marks, then stop.
A passenger across the aisle, looking at a phoneLook twice at the slope from the back of the head to the shoulder. Three lines, before they look up.
A stranger's hand gripping the railLook twice at the angle between the hand and the arm. That bend is the whole pose, so get it before fingers.
The corner of the window and its rubber sealLook twice at the corner. See how rounded it is, and follow the seal around it as one thick dark line.
The grab handle hanging nearest to youLook twice at the hole in the loop. Draw that shape first and wrap the handle around it.
The luggage rack overhead and what is on itLook twice at the bags from underneath. Their bottoms show and their tops do not.
The row of seat tops running down the aisleLook twice at how fast they shrink. Mark the nearest and the farthest, then fit the rest between.
Someone standing and holding on as the bus movesLook twice at the feet. See how far apart they are set, and which way the hips lean.
The stop button on its poleLook twice at the rim of the button. It is an oval unless you are facing it square on.
The whole aisle, seen from the back seatLook twice at the floor edges, seat tops and ceiling rails. See where they would all meet if they ran on.
The window at night, with the inside of the bus laid over the streetLook twice at what shows through the reflected seats. Street lights sit on top of them; draw both layers.
Your bag on your lap, just as it sitsLook twice at the strap. Follow where it goes under, over and out of sight.
At a café table 12
A folded paper napkin on the tableLook twice at the folded edge. Count the layers there and give each one its own line.
A jacket hung on the chair beside youLook twice at the sleeves. They hang straight down while the body of the jacket bends over the rail.
A pastry on a plate, before the first biteLook twice at the darkest browns. See whether they sit in the creases or along the top.
A sugar packet, torn open and emptiedLook twice at the torn edge. It is ragged, while the other three edges are still straight.
The chair nobody is sitting on at the next tableLook twice at the four feet. They do not stand in a row: the back pair sits higher on the page.
The cup on its saucer, spoon and allLook twice at the saucer's far rim. It shows behind the cup as two short curves, one on each side.
Cups and jars stacked on the shelf behind the counterLook twice at the highlights. See whether they line up from jar to jar across the shelf.
The front window from inside, its lettering backwardsLook twice at the letters. Reversed, they stop being words, and you can draw them as plain shapes.
The hanging lamp above the counterLook twice at the inside of the shade. From below you see into it, and it is the brightest shape there.
The menu card standing in its holderLook twice at the lean. If it tips back, its top edge is a little shorter than its bottom edge.
The person behind the counter, before they turn awayLook twice at the line from the head to the standing foot. One stroke for that, then the arms.
Two friends in conversation, two tables awayLook twice at the space between the two heads. Its shape tells you who is leaning in.
On a garden or park bench 12
A bird on the grass, for as long as it staysLook twice at the tilt of the body: level, tipped up or tipped down. One line fixes the pose.
A branch against the sky, looking upLook twice at each fork. See how much thinner the two twigs are than the branch they left.
A stone by your footLook twice at its shadow. It touches the stone all along the bottom and has an outline of its own.
A whole bush, drawn as one shapeLook twice with your eyes half shut. The bush turns into three or four patches of light and dark.
Clouds passing over the rooftopsLook twice at the undersides. See if they are flatter and grayer than the tops. Draw fast; they will not wait.
The fence and what shows between its boardsLook twice at the tops of the boards. They are never quite one height, whatever a ruler would draw.
The house or shed across the gardenLook twice at the roof edge. See whether it slopes on the page, though you know it is level.
The nearest tree trunk, from the ground to the first branchLook twice at where it meets the ground. It spreads out into the grass; it does not end in a line.
One fallen leaf, near enough to see its veinsLook twice at where the veins leave the middle rib. See whether they pair up or take turns.
One flowerpot and its plant, seen from the benchLook twice at the rim of the pot. It is a thick band with a top and a side, and both show.
The slats of the bench beside youLook twice at the gaps between the slats. They get narrower toward the far end of the bench.
Your own shadow across the pathLook twice at its edge. See whether it is sharper at your feet than at your head.
How it works
These observational sketch ideas need no set-up: the subject is whatever is already in front of you, at a kitchen table, a classroom desk or a seat on the bus.
Read the full guide
Six seats, nothing to fetch
Kitchen table, sofa, classroom desk, bus or train, café table, garden or park bench: each seat holds twelve things you can see without getting up. If the thing named is not there, draw the nearest thing like it. Nothing is arranged or lit first, so a tilted chair stays tilted.
Look twice, draw once
Each hint points at a part people draw from habit: a rim, a gap, a far edge, the tilt of a head. Look at it, look at your page, then look again before the line goes down. Easy ideas are one small object that keeps still. Hard ones are people and whole views, which move or will not fit.
Look at the thing more than at the paper. If your eyes are mostly on the page, you are drawing from memory.
Write the seat and the date beside each sketch. The same cup at two tables makes two different drawings.
Questions and answers
What are easy observational sketch ideas?
The fork beside your plate, a highlighter with its cap off and a stone by your foot: one small object each, and none of them moves. Every seat has four like these.
What objects are good for observational drawing?
Ones with a part you think you know. A banana has flat sides, more like a bent box than a tube, and a cup hides part of its saucer's far rim. For objects sorted by room, see sketching everyday objects.
Can I sketch strangers on a bus or in a café?
Yes, quickly and quietly. The ideas ask for a hand gripping the rail, a passenger across the aisle looking at a phone, or two friends in conversation two tables away. None needs a stranger's face, and people move, so take the big shape first.
Can I use a photo for an observational sketch?
These ideas are written for the real thing. In front of it you can lean, squint and check a gap a second time, while a photo has already fixed the view. The kitchen table and sofa ideas need only the room you are in.