• 60 exercises
  • Checked October 2026

Thumbnail Sketch Ideas

Press for three thumbnail exercises: each a row of small versions of one picture, and what to compare.

Thumbnail Sketch Ideas

Show all 60
  1. Six thumbnails of one mug, the mug in a different place each timeWhich frame did your eye go to first? Circle it and say where the mug sits in it.
  2. Four plans for a picture map of your own streetWhat did you put in the middle each time? Is it the thing a visitor would look for?
  3. Six thumbnails for a poster, the title in a new place every timeWhich title can you read first, before the picture? Is that the order you want?

Next step Set up a still lifeComic ideas to lay out

All 60 exercises

Where the subject sits 12

  • Four crops of the same shoe: whole, half, toe only, laces only Which crop still reads as a shoe? Which one has turned into a pattern?
  • Four frames of one window, with a different amount of wall each time When does the wall become the subject and the window a detail? Find the frame where it tips.
  • Four thumbnails of a tree: centered, left, right and cut by the edge Compare the centered frame with the others. Which one feels still, and which feels as if something is about to happen?
  • Four thumbnails of two pears: touching, apart, overlapping, one leaving Which pair reads as one group? Which gap between them is the most awkward?
  • Six frames of a bird on a wire, the wire at a new height each time Is there more sky above the bird or below it? Mark the frame where that share feels right.
  • Six thumbnails of one mug, the mug in a different place each time Which frame did your eye go to first? Circle it and say where the mug sits in it.
  • Three frames of a path and a hut: the path ends at it, passes it, leaves the frame Which path takes your eye to the hut? Which one walks it straight out of the picture?
  • Three frames of a walker: entering, in the middle, about to leave Compare the space in front of the figure with the space behind. Which frame has room to walk into?
  • Three frames of one chair: tiny, mid-sized and too big for the frame Look at the empty space left in each. Which frame makes the chair feel alone?
  • Three frames of one jug, shading only the space round it, the jug moved each time Look at the shaded shapes, not the jug. Which leftover shape is the most interesting on its own?
  • Three thumbnails of your own hand, cropped at wrist, palm and knuckles Which crop is the most surprising? Which one would you want to see finished large?
  • Two upright frames and two sideways frames of one lamp post Did the upright frame or the sideways one suit the lamp? What had to fill the leftover space?

Light and dark in three tones 12

  • Five frames of one view squinted down to three flat shapes Are the three shapes different sizes in every frame? Cross out any frame where two of them match.
  • Four frames of a plain ball lit from the left, the right, above and below Count the dark shapes in each frame. Which lighting gives the fewest and the boldest?
  • Four frames of an open door, the patch of light a new size each time Compare the size of the light shape. How small can it get before the room goes flat?
  • Four thumbnails of a street in white paper, one gray and black only Squint at each. Which frame still reads when the details blur?
  • Four thumbnails of a white cup with one black shape placed somewhere new Which placement makes the cup look whitest? Which makes it disappear?
  • One room twice: pale shapes on black, then black shapes on white Which version feels like day and which like night? Which shape changed meaning?
  • Six tiny frames of a still life where only the darkest shape moves Follow the black shape from frame to frame. Where does it pull the eye toward the subject?
  • Three frames of clouds over land, the gray given to sky, cloud, then land Which frame looks stormy and which looks sunny, though nothing else changed?
  • Three thumbnails of a lit window at night: small, medium and huge How much black does the glow need round it? Mark the frame where it glows hardest.
  • Three thumbnails of an egg on a table: light, mid and dark backgrounds In which frame does the egg stand out most? Where does its shadow get lost?
  • Three thumbnails of one tree at noon, at dusk and at night Where did the lightest tone go in each? Did the tree or the sky get the black?
  • Two frames of one still life: in two tones, then in three What did the third tone add? Point to one edge that only shows in the second frame.

Horizon and eye level 12

  • Four frames of a bridge: from the bank, from the water, from above, from on it Which view explains how the bridge works? Which one would you hang on a wall?
  • Four frames of a road that meets the horizon in a different spot each time Which meeting point feels like setting off, and which like arriving?
  • Four frames of a table top seen from an ant, a child, an adult and the ceiling Watch the table top change from a line to a wide shape. Which view shows the most of what is on it?
  • Three frames of one hill: you below it, level with its top, and above it Does the hill break the skyline in every frame? Find the one where it sits under the horizon.
  • Three thumbnails of a field: horizon high, in the middle and low Which frame is about the sky and which is about the ground? What does the middle one say?
  • Three thumbnails of a shelf of bottles: eye at, over and under the shelf Look at the tops and bases. When do they turn from straight lines into ovals?
  • Three thumbnails of a standing person: you kneeling, standing, a few stairs up Where does the horizon cross the figure in each: knees, chest or above the head?
  • Three tilted horizons behind one boat: level, leaning a little, leaning a lot When does the tilt stop looking like a mistake and start looking like weather?
  • Three versions of one street with your eye at the curb, the doors and the roofs Where do the roof lines slope in each? Find the frame where they tip from down to up.
  • Two frames of a flight of stairs: from its foot and from its head Which view makes the climb look harder? Count the steps you can see in each.
  • Two frames of people on flat ground: your eye at their height, then at a child's Where do the heads sit against the horizon in each frame? In which one do they line up?
  • Two thumbnails of a tower: looking up from its foot and down from its top Which way do the sides lean together in each? Which frame makes the tower taller?

Big, medium and small shapes 12

  • Five silhouettes of one teapot filling more of the frame each time At which size does the spout or the handle touch the edge? Is that frame better or worse?
  • Four frames of a house where its shadow is the biggest shape Does the shadow point at the house or away from it? Which frame uses it to lead the eye?
  • Four frames of a mountain, a lake and a boat that trade sizes each time In which frame is the boat the star? What did the mountain have to give up?
  • Four frames with one giant letter as the big shape and two small objects Does the letter read as a letter or as a wall? Which frame keeps both?
  • Four thumbnails of a still life as three blobs: big, medium and small Is the small blob near the big one or far from it? Which arrangement feels balanced?
  • Four thumbnails of three stones laid as a line, a triangle, a pile and a ring Which layout looks arranged by a person and which looks found?
  • Six thumbnails built only from a circle, a triangle and a rectangle Which shape did you make biggest most often? Try the one you avoided.
  • Three frames of a cat on a sofa: the cat big, medium, then small Which frame is a picture of a cat, and which is a picture of a room?
  • Three frames where the big shape is the sky, then the ground, then one tree Name the subject of each frame in one word. Did the word change with the big shape?
  • Three thumbnails of a city cut from blocks of only three sizes Did you put the big blocks together or spread them out? Try the opposite in a fourth frame.
  • Three thumbnails of a crowd as one big shape and two stragglers Where do the stragglers stand? Which frame tells a story about them?
  • Two versions of a bunch of flowers: many small shapes, then three big ones Which version reads from across the room? What did grouping the flowers lose?

Plans for a finished piece 12

  • Four layouts for a comic page of five panels Follow the panels with a finger. In which layout does your finger never have to guess?
  • Four opening frames for a storyboard: one scene from four distances Which distance tells you where you are? Which one tells you who it is about?
  • Four plans for a picture map of your own street What did you put in the middle each time? Is it the thing a visitor would look for?
  • Four plans for a still life of three objects, before you set it up Pick the best frame, then arrange the real objects to match it. What would not sit that way?
  • Four thumbnails for a book cover with one figure and one word Cover the word with a thumb, then the figure. Which one could the cover lose?
  • One idea as three sideways strips, then as three upright strips Which idea survived the change of shape? Which one only worked sideways?
  • Six thumbnails for a birthday card front with one balloon Which frame leaves room for the greeting? Which one would still work with no words?
  • Six thumbnails for a poster, the title in a new place every time Which title can you read first, before the picture? Is that the order you want?
  • Three plans for a picture across two facing pages, the fold down the middle Run a finger down the fold. What does it cut through in each plan? Which plan keeps the subject clear of it?
  • Three plans for a portrait: head only, head and shoulders, half figure How much of the frame is face in each? Which crop says the most about the sitter?
  • Three thumbnails for a pet portrait: side on, three-quarter view, from above Which view shows what is particular about this pet? Which is the easiest to draw?
  • Three thumbnails of one landscape in morning, noon and evening light Which light gives the longest shadows? Which gives the simplest three tones?

How it works

A thumbnail sketch is a small drawing, usually one of a group, used to try several ideas quickly. These 60 thumbnail sketch ideas each set a row of small frames and say what to compare when the row is done.

Read the full guide

What the five groups test

Where the subject sits moves one thing round the frame. Light and dark in three tones limits you to white, one gray and black. Horizon and eye level changes where you stand. Big, medium and small shapes sets sizes against each other, and Plans for a finished piece tries out a poster, a comic page or a portrait.

How to use a row

Rule the frames first, all the same shape as the final picture. Keep each sketch to outlines and flat tones, then answer the question in the hint before you choose one.

  • Draw the frames in pen and the sketches in pencil, so a bad idea costs nothing.
  • Number the frames so you can say which one you chose and why.

Questions and answers

What is a thumbnail sketch?

A small drawing on paper, usually one of a group, made to explore several ideas quickly before a larger piece. It can be as loose as a doodle or as detailed as a small sketch.

Which thumbnail sketch ideas are easy?

Press once, then choose Easy in the list under the button. Three thumbnails of a field: horizon high, in the middle and low changes one line, and Six thumbnails of one mug, the mug in a different place each time moves one object.

How many thumbnails should I draw?

Each exercise here names its own number, from two frames to six. Draw them all before judging: the hint asks you to compare the row, not to pick the first one that works.

What do I draw thumbnails with?

Anything that lays a flat tone fast: a soft pencil, a marker or a brush pen. The three-tone exercises need one gray and one black, with the paper as white.

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