Things to Draw, Sorted by Style, Mood and Difficulty

58 pages

0–9, A–C 13

2 Point Perspective Drawing Ideas, Plus One-Point and Three-Point76 perspective exercises, 46 of them in two points, each with the vanishing points, the horizon height and the first step.
3D Art Ideas60 illusions for pencil and paper, sorted by trick: contour lines, cast shadow, perspective, anamorphic stretch and impossible shapes.
Abstract Drawing Ideas84 abstract drawings for pencil, pen and marker: lines, shapes, textures, rule games and things abstracted from real life.
Aesthetic Drawing Ideas by Look, Each With Its Colour Palette150 line-art faces, moons and boho suns, botanical sprigs, cottagecore objects and vaporwave still lifes, each with a palette, and 42 with a canvas size.
Blue Things to Draw, Then Pink, Green, Purple and Five More268 subjects sorted by their real colour: 44 blue, 30 each for pink, green, purple, yellow, red and orange, plus one-colour and whole-box lists. Bottle of blue ink with one spilt drop
Calm Drawing Ideas60 slow drawings: repeating patterns, quiet nature, soft light, one-line drawings and cosy things, each drawn at your own pace. A teapot with a knitted cover · Hatching in a square, then across it · A snail shell's spiral
Coquette Things to Draw82 coquette subjects: bows and ribbons, pearls and lace, cherries and cakes, swans and lambs, and vanity keepsakes, each with a tip.
Cubism Drawing Ideas60 subjects for cubist drawings: still life in facets, faces from two sides, pasted paper, and everyday scenes broken up.
Cute Cartoon Things to Draw63 cartoon subjects: animals, characters, objects with faces, gags and cartoon symbols, each naming the feature to push too far. A light bulb switching on above someone's head
Cute Designs to Draw112 small designs in eight kinds, from love tokens and swirls to badges, luck signs and game pieces, each with where to start. A yarn pom-pom charm hanging from a braided loop
Cute Easy Things to Draw, With the Shapes and the Cute Trick200 foods with faces, round baby animals, tiny houses and desk objects, plus a 60-idea kawaii group, each naming the trick that makes it cute. Leaf pile with two eyes peeking out
Cute Patterns to Draw60 repeat patterns of one small motif: hearts and bows, stars and clouds, sweets, tiny animals, and checks, dots and scallops. Drooping strings with a bow at every dip, row under row
Cutecore Drawing Ideas80 cutecore subjects: plush toys and pets, sweets, bows, lace and stickers, room and keepsakes, each with its pink, white, cream and red.

D–E 9

Drawing Experiments60 drawing experiments: new ways of looking, unusual tools, one-rule drawings, odd paper and chance, each saying what it teaches. Draw with tea, then with a pen on top
Drippy Drawing Ideas76 things that drip or melt: letters and words, faces and smileys, food, melting objects, and studies of the drip itself, each with a tip.
Easy Art to Recreate50 ways to recreate 16 famous public-domain paintings: the whole work simplified, one detail, or your own version with your pet or your street. Almond Blossoms against a blue sky
Easy Celtic Knots to Draw48 Celtic knots and patterns to draw: basic knots, borders and braids, knots in a heart, circle or shamrock, and spirals, key patterns and animals in interlace. A trinity knot from three overlapping leaf shapes
Easy Hippie Drawing Ideas64 subjects from the sixties look: peace and love, flowers and suns, vans, tents and festivals, patterns and groovy lettering, the 26 simplest flagged Easy.
Easy Things to Draw That Look Hard60 impressive drawings that rely on one simple trick: illusions, line patterns, tone, nature and lettering. A corridor of doorframes going back
Easy Vintage Things to Draw64 things from before 1970: telephones and radios, bicycles and cars, hats and dresses from fashion plates, labels and signs, each with the shapes to start from. Boneshaker bicycle with wooden wheels
Emo Drawing Ideas80 subjects from the emo look: clothes and hair, music and gig things, notebook doodles and lettering, room and keepsakes, each tagged easy, medium or hard.
Expressionism Art Ideas76 ideas for Expressionist pictures, sorted by feeling: unease, loneliness, anger, joy and awe, plus action painting and color field for abstract expressionism.

F–G 8

Fantasy Drawing Ideas120 fantasy subjects in six groups, from dragons sorted by habitat to potion labels and map fragments, with the folklore in the hints checked.
Folk Art Drawing Ideas60 folk art motifs by tradition: Northern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Pennsylvania German, South Asia, and a group to build your own.
Funny Things to Draw, Each With the Device That Makes It Work150 visual puns, animals with jobs, food arguments, silly sizes and goofy heroes, each tagged with the comic device behind it. Bear beekeeper failing the stock check
Geometric Drawing Ideas for a Compass and a Ruler80 single geometric designs for a compass, a ruler and a pencil: circles, stars, solids, nested shapes and pictures built from shapes.
Gothic Drawing Ideas80 gothic, dark and grunge subjects, each tagged easy, medium or hard with the shading device that sets the mood.
Graffiti Characters Ideas64 graffiti characters for a sketchbook: spray cans and markers with faces, animals, letters with eyes and hands, food and objects.
Graffiti Drawing Ideas for Paper80 graffiti exercises for a sketchbook: words to letter, letter styles, drips, arrows and crowns, characters and wall backgrounds.
Grunge Things to Draw80 grunge subjects: worn textures, thrift-shop layers, flyers and tape, instruments and amps, bedrooms and bus stops, each tagged easy, medium or hard.

H–M 9

Hard Things to Draw, With the Skill Each One Tests100 challenge subjects, from foreshortened hands to crumpled foil, each naming the skill it tests and what to watch for. Chrome kettle reflecting the room
Intermediate Drawing Ideas72 subjects between easy and hard: shading one object, ellipses, boxes in perspective, simple poses, texture and small scenes. A cow lying in a field, side on · A person walking away · A shoebox with the lid half off
Islamic Art Ideas60 Islamic patterns to draw, sorted by how they are built: stars from a circle, repeating tiles, arabesque vines, arches and domes, borders and whole pages.
Kidcore Drawing Ideas80 kidcore subjects in primary colors: toys, rainbows, stars and smileys, snacks, school and craft, playground and patterns.
Line Art Ideas80 exercises where line does all the work, each naming the line it trains, in one-line, outline, hatching and pattern groups.
Meaningful Things to Draw60 drawings that carry a meaning, about time, hope, being together, home and who you are, each with a reading and how to draw it. A lighthouse beam cutting through a storm
Metamorphosis Drawing Ideas80 changes to draw step by step: object into object, animal into object, real changes in nature, wear and melting, and letters that turn into things.
Mini Drawing Ideas for Margins, Planners and Sticky Notes120 subjects that still read at 2 to 3 cm: planner icons, cute faces, nature, pocket objects and borders for a margin. Calendar page with one date circled
Mysterious Drawing Ideas60 pictures that ask a question and keep the answer: half-seen figures, locked boxes, clues on a table, lights with no source, paths that go on.

O–S 11

Opposite Drawing Ideas60 pictures built on a pair of opposites: split down the middle, two halves in one circle, big and small, old and new, and feelings.
Preppy Things to Draw, Each With the Colours to Use80 preppy subjects in bright pastels, from smileys and bolts to tennis and sailing kit, each with its colours and one drawing tip. Disco ball throwing square sparkles
Pretty Things to Draw100 butterflies, koi, perfume bottles, stained glass, keys, jewels and lace borders, each with the pattern device that makes it decorative. Tatted edging of rings and chains
Quick Drawing Ideas60 drawings sorted by time: 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes and 10 minutes, each hint saying what to catch and what to leave out. Socked feet up on a stool · A car parked outside · A rocket leaving a smoke trail
Realistic Drawing Ideas77 real subjects to draw realistically, from food and faces to pebbles and pets, each with the cue that sells it.
Scary Things to Draw, Each With the Scare That Makes It Work146 creepy, horror and spooky subjects with no gore, each naming the scare it relies on: too many, almost human, half hidden. Television lighting an empty living room
Silhouette Painting Ideas69 silhouettes, 42 to paint and 27 to draw, each with the gradient or plain ground behind it and what the outline needs in order to read.
Simple Drawing Ideas, Each Broken Into Basic Shapes238 beginner subjects, each with the basic shapes it is built from, sorted into 2, 5 and 10 minute drawings. Diamond kite with a bow tail · Daisy, compass petals first · Zigzag lightning bolt
Stained Glass Drawing Ideas in Black Lines and Flat ColourDesigns to draw in the stained glass look: windows and panels, mosaics, animals and plants in panes, and practice pieces, each with a hint on dividing it up.
Steampunk Drawing Ideas60 drawings in the brass-and-gears look: gears and gauges, goggles, hats and gloves, airships and vehicles, clockwork animals, machines for small jobs.
Symmetry Drawing Ideas60 drawings built on symmetry: mirror halves, reflections, designs around a center, shapes that turn, and matched pictures with one break.

T–Y 8

Things to Add to a Drawing60 finishing touches for a drawing that feels empty: light and shadow, background, a little life, texture and a frame, each saying where it goes. A torn ticket or leaf taped to the page
Thumbnail Sketch Ideas60 thumbnail exercises on placement, three tones, eye level, shape sizes and plans for a finished piece, each with what to compare.
Trippy Painting Ideas43 canvases and 57 pen exercises: op art patterns, optical illusions, surreal scenes and neon faces, each tagged Easy, Medium or Hard.
Tuff Things to Draw80 bold, hard-edged subjects: animals with attitude, fire, bolts and chrome, wheels and machines, and gear, each with the trick behind the look.
Value Drawing Ideas60 projects in light and dark: shattered value drawings, value scales with a twist, spheres under one light, three-value pictures, and white on white.
Weird Drawing Ideas80 surreal mash-ups sorted by what has gone wrong: hybrids, wrong material, wrong size, wrong place and empty weirdcore rooms.
Witchy Drawing Ideas for Any Time of Year80 witchy drawings for any month: witches and hats, potion bottles, moons and stars, herbs and gardens, cats and moths.
Y2K Drawing Ideas80 late-90s and early-2000s motifs, from flip phones to flame borders, each with a hint on chrome, see-through plastic or gloss.

You already know the feeling you want on the page, whether that is cute, scary, funny or quietly pretty, and you need a subject that carries it. Every list here was written on its own, so the cute list and the scary list share almost nothing.

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Each idea comes with a short hint about what makes it work. The simple list names the basic shapes a subject is built from (a mug is a cylinder plus a C). The hard list names the problem that makes a subject difficult, such as glass or a foreshortened hand. The colour list files each subject under the colour it really is. Draw one idea at a time, or print the whole list and tuck it into a sketchbook. On every list, no idea comes round twice until you have seen all of them, or all of the group you chose. Start with the simple list if you have ten minutes, or go straight to the mood you are in.