September Art Challenge

Two sets of 30 prompts, one for each day of September: back to school, or the turning season.

September Art Challenge

  1. A backpack packed by someone in a hurryDay 1. Zip half open, a sock, a sandwich and a ruler all poking out.
  2. A board rubber covered in the ghosts of old lessonsDay 2. Draw it close: chalk dust in layers, a faint number still showing.
  3. A bus stop on the first cold morning of termDay 3. Kids in new coats, one in shorts who has not noticed the weather.
  4. A calculator that has given upDay 4. A face in the screen, the display reading an error, a sigh coming out.
  5. A classroom chair left tipped on a desk overnightDay 5. Rows of desks, each with a chair upside down on top, legs in the air.
  6. A classroom plant that everyone forgot over summerDay 6. Drooping leaves, dry soil and one new shoot that refused to give up.
  7. A coat peg with somebody else's name on itDay 7. A row of pegs and name labels. One coat is hanging in the wrong place.
  8. A desk seen from the teacher's sideDay 8. Draw the view from the front: marking pile, mug, and rows of faces as ovals.
  9. A geometry set spilled across a deskDay 9. A compass, a protractor and a set square, each casting a shadow.
  10. A lunchbox with a note hidden insideDay 10. The lid open, a sandwich and a folded note tucked in the corner.
  11. A map on a classroom wall with one country circledDay 11. Draw the map loosely and one bold circle drawn on in pen.
  12. A new pencil case with nothing lost yetDay 12. Every pen lined up by colour. Enjoy it: this will not last.
  13. A pair of new school shoes that pinchDay 13. Shiny shoes, one heel with a plaster peeking over the back.
  14. A pencil worn down to a stubDay 14. Draw it life size next to the tall, new one it used to be.
  15. A photograph of the first day, taken in the doorwayDay 15. Draw it as a photo: a white border, a child squinting, a bag too big.
  16. A pile of exercise books with one on the floorDay 16. A neat stack and one book slid off, open on the page with a doodle.
  17. A school corridor just after the bellDay 17. Empty and quiet, one sock or scarf left lying in the middle.
  18. A school library book that is overdueDay 18. Draw it hidden under a bed among dust and a lost toy.
  19. A school sports field on a misty morningDay 19. Goal posts half hidden, a line of white paint vanishing into grey.
  20. A sharpener full of rainbow shavingsDay 20. Draw the see-through box, the curls of coloured wood packed inside.
  21. A timetable with one lesson doodled overDay 21. Draw the grid neatly, then one box taken over by drawings.
  22. A water bottle covered in stickersDay 22. Draw it standing on a desk, every sticker a different shape.
  23. An apple on a teacher's desk with a bite taken outDay 23. Who took it? Draw the apple close, the bite mark clear.
  24. An empty playground at dawnDay 24. Swings still, the climbing frame long in shadow, one football by the fence.
  25. An eraser shaped like something it should not beDay 25. A rubber shaped like a cake, a car or a sausage, already half worn.
  26. Handwriting practice lines that turn into a drawingDay 26. Rows of letters, then the last line of loops becomes waves with a boat.
  27. Lost property box overflowingDay 27. A cardboard box, a single glove on top and a trainer hanging over the side.
  28. Name labels being ironed onto a jumperDay 28. Close up: the iron, the jumper and a label slightly crooked.
  29. Rain on a classroom window during a testDay 29. Draw the window from inside, drops running down, a desk in the corner.
  30. Your own school bag with everything in it laid outDay 30. Empty it and draw every item in a neat grid, like a museum display.

Next step More to doodle in class

All 60 prompts

Set 1: back to school 30

  • A backpack packed by someone in a hurry Day 1. Zip half open, a sock, a sandwich and a ruler all poking out.
  • A board rubber covered in the ghosts of old lessons Day 2. Draw it close: chalk dust in layers, a faint number still showing.
  • A bus stop on the first cold morning of term Day 3. Kids in new coats, one in shorts who has not noticed the weather.
  • A calculator that has given up Day 4. A face in the screen, the display reading an error, a sigh coming out.
  • A classroom chair left tipped on a desk overnight Day 5. Rows of desks, each with a chair upside down on top, legs in the air.
  • A classroom plant that everyone forgot over summer Day 6. Drooping leaves, dry soil and one new shoot that refused to give up.
  • A coat peg with somebody else's name on it Day 7. A row of pegs and name labels. One coat is hanging in the wrong place.
  • A desk seen from the teacher's side Day 8. Draw the view from the front: marking pile, mug, and rows of faces as ovals.
Show all 60 prompts (52 more)

Set 1: back to school, continued

  • A geometry set spilled across a desk Day 9. A compass, a protractor and a set square, each casting a shadow.
  • A lunchbox with a note hidden inside Day 10. The lid open, a sandwich and a folded note tucked in the corner.
  • A map on a classroom wall with one country circled Day 11. Draw the map loosely and one bold circle drawn on in pen.
  • A new pencil case with nothing lost yet Day 12. Every pen lined up by colour. Enjoy it: this will not last.
  • A pair of new school shoes that pinch Day 13. Shiny shoes, one heel with a plaster peeking over the back.
  • A pencil worn down to a stub Day 14. Draw it life size next to the tall, new one it used to be.
  • A photograph of the first day, taken in the doorway Day 15. Draw it as a photo: a white border, a child squinting, a bag too big.
  • A pile of exercise books with one on the floor Day 16. A neat stack and one book slid off, open on the page with a doodle.
  • A school corridor just after the bell Day 17. Empty and quiet, one sock or scarf left lying in the middle.
  • A school library book that is overdue Day 18. Draw it hidden under a bed among dust and a lost toy.
  • A school sports field on a misty morning Day 19. Goal posts half hidden, a line of white paint vanishing into grey.
  • A sharpener full of rainbow shavings Day 20. Draw the see-through box, the curls of coloured wood packed inside.
  • A timetable with one lesson doodled over Day 21. Draw the grid neatly, then one box taken over by drawings.
  • A water bottle covered in stickers Day 22. Draw it standing on a desk, every sticker a different shape.
  • An apple on a teacher's desk with a bite taken out Day 23. Who took it? Draw the apple close, the bite mark clear.
  • An empty playground at dawn Day 24. Swings still, the climbing frame long in shadow, one football by the fence.
  • An eraser shaped like something it should not be Day 25. A rubber shaped like a cake, a car or a sausage, already half worn.
  • Handwriting practice lines that turn into a drawing Day 26. Rows of letters, then the last line of loops becomes waves with a boat.
  • Lost property box overflowing Day 27. A cardboard box, a single glove on top and a trainer hanging over the side.
  • Name labels being ironed onto a jumper Day 28. Close up: the iron, the jumper and a label slightly crooked.
  • Rain on a classroom window during a test Day 29. Draw the window from inside, drops running down, a desk in the corner.
  • Your own school bag with everything in it laid out Day 30. Empty it and draw every item in a neat grid, like a museum display.

Set 2: turning season 30

  • A blackberry bush with one ripe berry left Day 1. Thorny stems, many red berries and one black one just out of reach.
  • A bonfire of leaves being raked into shape Day 2. The rake mid-stroke, the pile rising, a few leaves escaping.
  • A conker splitting out of its spiky case Day 3. The shell cracking open, the brown nut shining inside.
  • A crate of apples on a doorstep Day 4. Some red, some green, one with a worm hole and a card saying help yourself.
  • A forget-me-not growing in a crack in the pavement Day 5. The forget-me-not is one of September's birth flowers. Tiny blue flowers, rough grey stone.
  • A garden spider's web beaded with morning dew Day 6. Draw the spiral and the spokes, each thread lined with tiny drops.
  • A hedgehog building a nest of leaves Day 7. Leaves stuck to its spines as it walks, a pile growing under a hedge.
  • A jar of jam labelled in someone's handwriting Day 8. Cloth over the lid tied with string, the label in loopy writing.
  • A leaf that is half green and half red Day 9. Draw it big. Show the line where the change has reached.
  • A line of geese flying south over a town Day 10. A V of small birds, rooftops and a chimney below.
  • A morning glory fading by late morning Day 11. A birth flower of September. Most open early and curl inward by late morning: draw one of each.
  • A mushroom ring on a lawn Day 12. A circle of pale caps on the grass, as if something danced there.
  • A pair of wellies waiting by the door for the first time since spring Day 13. Dusty boots, a cobweb inside one, rain starting outside.
  • A pumpkin still growing on the vine Day 14. Green and small, a long way from October. Show the curly tendrils.
  • A sapphire in the colour of an evening sky Day 15. The sapphire is September's birthstone. Draw the stone and the sky it matches.
  • A scarecrow taking a day off Day 16. Sitting on a fence with its hat off, a crow perched on its knee.
  • A squirrel burying a nut and forgetting where Day 17. Three holes dug in a lawn, the squirrel scratching its head.
  • A swallow on a wire, ready to leave Day 18. A row of swallows lined up along a telephone wire.
  • A tree drawn on the day of the equinox Day 19. The September equinox falls between 21 and 24 September. Draw a tree at the halfway point of the year's light.
  • Aster flowers crowded with butterflies Day 20. The aster is one of September's birth flowers. Star-shaped flowers, wings resting on them.
  • Blackbirds eating fallen apples Day 21. Two birds pecking at apples in the grass under a tree.
  • Dew on a car roof in the early morning Day 22. Tiny beads on the metal and one finger line drawn through them.
  • The first fire of autumn in a wood stove Day 23. Draw the stove door open, small flames catching, a log waiting.
  • Harvest mice in a field of stubble Day 24. Tiny mice on cut stalks, the stubble drawn as short straight lines.
  • Leaves blocking a drain after the first storm Day 25. Close up: wet leaves plastered to the grate, water pooling round.
  • Onions drying in a row on a shed windowsill Day 26. Papery skins, dry roots, dusty glass behind them.
  • Rosehips shining on a bare hedge Day 27. Oval red fruit on thorny stems. Make them the only colour.
  • The sun low enough to shine under an umbrella Day 28. A café table with the shade useless as the sun slides under it.
  • Tomatoes ripening on a windowsill before the frost Day 29. A row of green, orange and red, lined up from least to most ripe.
  • Your own street on the first day that feels like autumn Day 30. Meteorological autumn starts on 1 September in the north. Draw what has already changed.

How this list was compiled: Original prompts written for Draw This Next on 2026-09-23: two sets of 30, one prompt for each day of September. 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 30. The few facts in the hints (September has 30 days; in the Northern Hemisphere meteorological autumn begins on 1 September; the September equinox falls between 21 and 24 September (UTC) and is the autumn equinox in the north and the spring equinox in the south; its birthstone is the sapphire and its birth flowers are the forget-me-not, the morning glory and the aster) were checked on 2026-09-23 against Wikipedia: September (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September) and Morning glory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_glory: most flowers open early and fade by late morning). No prompt is taken from any published September challenge list. Licence: own work

How it works

September has 30 days, and each set holds 30 September drawing prompts, one per date. Set 1 is back to school: desks, bags and new shoes. Set 2 is the turning season, from blackberries to the equinox.

Read the full guide

Two sets for a month of change

Back to school fits a student or a teacher: every prompt is something you can find in a classroom or a school bag. The turning season is for walks and windows, as summer tips into autumn in the north. Each hint opens with its day number, and the list runs day 1 to day 30 in A to Z order. Day 30 starts with Your.

Small enough to keep going

Term starts, and time goes. Keep the drawings small: the corner of a notebook, five minutes, one pen. September doodle ideas work best when a doodle is allowed to count, so do not redraw a rushed one. Fill a page a week.

  • Teachers: give the class Set 1 as a warm-up, one prompt per morning, drawn in five minutes.
  • South of the equator September is spring, so Set 1 works anywhere and Set 2 does not.

Questions and answers

Can I use the prompts without doing the whole month?

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

When is the September equinox?

Between 21 and 24 September, counted in UTC. It is the autumn equinox for the north and the spring equinox for the south, and one prompt in Set 2 is set on that day.

Is this an official challenge?

No. The 60 prompts are our own and belong to no organised challenge, so any material works and a class can share one list.

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