• 80 ideas

Wall Drawing Ideas for a Bedroom, a Classroom or a Ceiling Tile

Three murals, corner doodles or ceiling tile designs per press, each with how to set it out.

Wall Drawing Ideas for a Bedroom, a Classroom or a Ceiling Tile

Show all 80
  1. Hello in every language your class speaksOne word per speech bubble, lettered by someone who speaks it.
  2. A paper aeroplane and its looping trailA dashed line that loops twice across the wall and ends at a small folded plane.
  3. A tile as a treasure map of the schoolCorridors as a dotted trail, an X where your classroom is, and a border like old paper.

Next step More small doodlesDrawings to pin up in class

All 80 ideas

Whole-wall murals 16

  • A city skyline along the bottom third Rectangles of different heights standing on the skirting board. Leave the wall above plain.
  • A flock of birds crossing from corner to corner Simple V shapes, large near one corner and shrinking to specks by the other.
  • A giant world map in outline Square up a printed map and the wall with the same number of boxes, then copy box by box.
  • A hot air balloon drifting toward a corner Draw it off centre and high. A dotted line behind it shows where it has been.
  • A jungle of leaves bigger than you Draw six leaf shapes on paper first, then repeat them large, overlapping, from the floor upward.
  • A mountain range in five flat bands Palest band at the back, darkest at the front. Run tape along each ridge line for a crisp edge.
  • A night sky with one constellation you invent Dark wall, dots in three sizes. Join seven of them with thin lines and give the shape a name.
  • A rainbow arc behind the bed Tie a pencil to a string pinned at the centre and swing each band. Stop the arcs at the headboard.
  • A road winding up the wall and over the door Two parallel lines with a dashed one between. Add a small car partway along.
  • A sunflower as tall as you are Stand against the wall and mark your height. The flower head goes there; the stem runs to the floor.
  • A sunrise of half circles from the floor Rings of colour growing out from one point on the skirting board, widest ring last.
  • An ocean wave curling across the wall One long curve that rises, tips over and breaks. Foam is a row of scallops along the crest.
  • An underwater wall with fish at eye level Weed growing up from the floor, bubbles rising in columns, and the fish where you will see them.
  • Clouds at different heights, in outline only One line each, flat along the bottom and bumpy on top. Keep them well apart.
  • One huge tree with branches up to the ceiling The trunk stands mid-wall; the top branches bend along the ceiling line.
  • Rolling hills with one tiny house Three overlapping curves across the whole wall. The house sits on the middle one, no bigger than a hand.

Small doodles and corners 16

  • A balloon that has floated into a top corner The balloon touches the ceiling line. Its string hangs straight down, a little curled at the end.
  • A cat's tail disappearing round a corner Only the tail and one back paw, right at the edge where two walls meet.
  • A gallery of frames drawn straight on the wall Rule five frames of different sizes and draw a different small picture inside each.
  • A height chart ruler up the door frame A tall ruled strip with a mark for each birthday. Leave space beside it for names and dates.
  • A ladybird climbing the door frame A red half circle with a line down the middle, spots and a dotted trail behind it.
  • A line of ants along the skirting board Three dots and six legs each. Send the line up and round a door frame.
  • A mouse hole with a tiny door at the skirting board A small arch, a door standing open and a doormat no wider than a thumb.
  • A painted crack with a flower growing from it A thin jagged line near the floor, and one stem with two leaves coming out of its widest point.
  • A paper aeroplane and its looping trail A dashed line that loops twice across the wall and ends at a small folded plane.
  • A rain cloud in one corner A grey cloud tucked where the wall meets the ceiling, with slanted dashes falling from it.
  • A snail and its trail round the room A dotted silver line at skirting height that goes behind the furniture and comes out the other side.
  • A tiny window drawn low down, with a view At a small child's eye height: a frame, a sill, and a hill and a sun behind the glass.
  • A vine winding up beside a door One wavy stem from floor to lintel, with a leaf at every bend and a bud at the top.
  • A zip opening the wall onto stars Draw a zip running up, part open. Inside the gap, paint dark blue and dot it with white.
  • Footprints walking up the wall and across the ceiling Alternate left and right, evenly spaced, and do not stop at the corner.
  • Stars thick in one corner and thinning out Crowd them near the ceiling corner and leave bigger and bigger gaps as they spread.

Round doors, windows and furniture 16

  • A chalk-line town for toy cars at floor level Low houses, a garage and a road drawn just above the skirting board.
  • A door frame turned into a castle gate A tower each side of the door, notched tops, and a flag above the middle.
  • A doorway crowned with an arch of leaves Leaves in pairs along a curve from one top corner of the frame to the other.
  • A drawing hidden behind a door Put it where the open door covers it, so it only shows when the door is shut.
  • A kite whose string follows the stair rail The kite flies at the top of the stairs. Its string runs down just above the handrail.
  • A mirror turned into a porthole A thick painted ring round a round mirror, with evenly spaced dots for rivets.
  • A painted headboard behind the bed An arch or a row of peaks the width of the bed, starting at mattress height.
  • A painted tree with a real shelf for a branch Draw the trunk so the shelf sits where a branch would grow. Add leaves above it.
  • A paw-print trail to the pet's bed Pairs of prints along the skirting board, ending at the bed, with the name lettered above it.
  • A pinboard zone as a band of stripes A wide band at desk height, edged top and bottom with a ruled line.
  • A reading corner under a painted tent Two slanted lines from a point near the ceiling, a scalloped edge and a pennant on top.
  • A sun painted round a wall clock The clock is the centre. Rays of two lengths go round it, long then short.
  • A tree growing in the angle of two walls The trunk runs up the corner itself, and the branches spread onto both walls.
  • Bunting painted along the top of the wall A drooping line from corner to corner with a triangle hanging every hand-width.
  • Coat hooks as the branches of painted trees One thin trunk under each hook. In winter the coats become the leaves.
  • Painted shutters and a window box A slatted shutter each side of a real window and a box of flowers drawn under the sill.

Classroom and corridor walls 16

  • A bookshelf mural with blank spines Rows of book spines in different widths. Each pupil letters a title on one.
  • A caterpillar with one segment per class A row of overlapping circles, each decorated by a different class, with a smiling head at the front.
  • A growing vine with a leaf for every book read Draw the stem now and leave it bare. Leaves are added one at a time through the year.
  • A handprint tree with one leaf per pupil Paint the trunk and bare branches first. Each hand is pressed on as a leaf and named underneath.
  • A map of the school grounds Seen from above: buildings as blocks, the field, the gate. Mark You are here with a dot.
  • A music stave with birds for notes Five long lines and small round birds perched on them at different heights.
  • A pair of wings to stand between Two large wings at shoulder height with a gap the width of a person.
  • A river running down the corridor A blue band that wanders along the wall, with fish swimming the same way as the way out.
  • A row of paper-doll figures holding hands One simple outline repeated along the wall. Each pupil colours the clothes on one.
  • A timeline the length of the corridor One ruled line at shoulder height with a small drawing above each date.
  • A wall of self-portraits in drawn frames A grid of identical frames. Every pupil draws their own face in one.
  • An alphabet frieze with a drawing for each letter Twenty-six boxes in a row near the ceiling, a capital and a small picture in each.
  • Figures in mid-jump for a sports hall Solid one-colour shapes: a leap, a stretch, a throw. No faces needed.
  • Giant fruit and vegetables for a dining hall A carrot as tall as a door, an apple the size of a table. Flat colour and a thick outline.
  • Hello in every language your class speaks One word per speech bubble, lettered by someone who speaks it.
  • The planets in order along a corridor The sun by the door and the planets spaced along the wall. Circles only, sized by eye.

Ceiling tiles 16

  • A ceiling tile as blue sky with one cloud Paint the whole tile blue, then one soft cloud off centre. It reads as a skylight.
  • A ceiling tile painted as a chessboard Rule eight rows of eight squares and fill alternate ones.
  • A tile as a galaxy swirl Two curling arms of pale dots winding out from a bright centre on a dark tile.
  • A tile as a giant postage stamp A wavy perforated edge all round, a picture in the middle and a made-up value in one corner.
  • A tile as a pizza seen from above A circle that nearly fills the tile, cut into eight, with toppings scattered evenly.
  • A tile as a pond seen from below Round lily pads from underneath, stems trailing down, and the pale bellies of two fish.
  • A tile as a treasure map of the school Corridors as a dotted trail, an X where your classroom is, and a border like old paper.
  • A tile as a vinyl record A black disc with fine rings, a bright label in the centre and a small hole.
  • A tile as a window with a bird going past A frame with four panes, sky behind, and a bird crossing two of them.
  • A tile as the cover of a made-up book A title you invent, an author who is you and one bold picture.
  • A tile as the leaves overhead in a wood Branches come in from all four edges toward a gap of sky in the middle.
  • A tile filled by one sunflower The dark centre in the middle of the tile and petals reaching every edge.
  • A tile holding a constellation of your own Dark tile, white dots, thin joining lines and a small label in one corner.
  • A tile quartered into four patterns Two lines through the centre. Stripes, dots, checks and zigzags, one per quarter.
  • A tile with a compass rose A four-pointed star with a smaller one turned between its arms. Letter N at the top.
  • A tile with your name and leaving year Block capitals across the middle, the year below, and a border of your own pattern.

How it works

A wall is a very large page that you cannot turn over, so plan on paper first. These 80 wall drawing ideas run from whole murals to a mouse hole at the skirting board, and 16 are made for a single ceiling tile.

Read the full guide

Scale it up with a grid

Draw the design small, rule a grid of squares over it, and mark the same number of larger squares on the wall in light pencil or chalk. Copy one square at a time. Arcs come from a pencil on a string pinned at the centre.

Ceiling tile drawing ideas

A ceiling tile is seen from below, so bold shapes work and small writing does not. Ceiling tiles has 16, such as a pond seen from below, a compass rose and a tile with your name and leaving year.

  • Ask whoever owns the wall before you start, and at school get permission in writing.
  • Which pens or paints suit a wall depends on its surface. Read the product label and test a hidden patch first.

Questions and answers

What are good things to draw on a wall in a bedroom?

A mountain range in five flat bands, a rainbow arc behind the bed, or one huge tree. For something small, try a mouse hole with a tiny door at the skirting board.

How do I draw a big design straight?

Use a grid for shapes, a string and pencil for arcs, and tape for long edges. Step back across the room every few minutes; mistakes show from a distance before they show close up.

What can a whole class draw on one wall?

Choose Classroom and corridor walls in the list under the button for 16. A handprint tree gives every pupil one leaf, and a wall of self-portraits in drawn frames gives each one a frame to fill.

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