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Y2K Drawing Ideas

Three motifs from the turn of the millennium at a time, each with the chrome, plastic or gloss trick that sells it.

Y2K Drawing Ideas

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  1. Floppy disks fanned out like playing cardsSquares with one clipped corner, a metal shutter and a label. Each one a different see-through colour.
  2. Fuzzy diary with a heart padlockA book with a fluffy edge of short flicked lines all round. Tiny padlock, tinier key on a ribbon.
  3. Barbed swirl armband design in solid blackMirror-image hooks and spikes flowing out from a centre point. Fill solid and keep every tip sharp.

Next step Push the bubble letters further: graffiti ideas for paperRepeat that gadget in flat colour: pop art ideas

All 80 ideas

Gadgets and tech 20

  • Ball mouse with a tangled grey cable A soap-bar shape split into two buttons, and a cable that loops twice before it leaves the page.
  • Bubble-backed desktop computer in see-through teal A blobject: smooth curves, no sharp edge. Egg-shaped back, handle dip on top, ghost of the tube inside.
  • Chunky silver digital camera with a wrist strap A brick with rounded corners, lens rings to one side, flash window above. Shade the body in metal bands.
  • Clear landline phone with neon insides See-through handset and base. Draw the bells, wires and coils inside in hot pink, lime and orange.
  • Clear pager clipped to a belt loop A rounded brick with a one-line screen. Show two batteries lying side by side through the casing.
  • Desktop screen full of chunky pixel icons Draw the bezel, then a grid of tiny folder, bin and globe icons. The pointer arrow has a jagged edge.
  • Disposable camera with the wind-on wheel showing A card-wrapped box: tiny lens, notched thumb wheel at the top corner, flash button on the front.
  • Egg-shaped virtual pet on a ball chain An egg, a square screen, three buttons in a row. The pet is a blob of nine or ten chunky pixels.
  • Eyeball webcam on a clip stand A sphere with a lens ring on a little stand. Gloss highlight top left, a red dot for the recording light.
  • Flip phone half open with a beaded charm Two rounded slabs on a hinge barrel, tiny outer screen, stubby aerial. Silver body: one dark band, one pale.
  • Floppy disks fanned out like playing cards Squares with one clipped corner, a metal shutter and a label. Each one a different see-through colour.
  • Foam-pad headphones on a wire-thin band Two foam circles on a thin arc. Stipple the foam with dots and leave the band as one clean line.
  • Instant-message window with an away message A rectangle with a title bar, a contact list and a text box. Pixel-font letters; write your own away line.
  • Matchbox-sized music player on a lanyard A lozenge with a one-line screen and a ring of buttons. Earbud wires make a Y that meets at the jack.
  • Mix CD in a cracked jewel case A square case, the disc a circle with a hub ring. Hand-letter the title on the disc in marker bubble writing.
  • Portable CD player with its lid popped up A flat round body with a circle window in the lid. Brushed silver; trail the headphone lead off in one S.
  • Robot puppy toy with antenna ears Boxy head, hinge joints, two red ovals for LED eyes. Silver body with one bright colour on ears and paws.
  • See-through handheld console showing its circuit board Outline the shell, then draw the insides fainter: board, screws, two batteries. Tint the plastic purple.
  • Silver boombox with two round speakers A wide rounded box, two big circles with rings inside, a handle arc. Silver plastic, never black.
  • Stack of burned CDs on a spindle A short cylinder of thin stripes under a clear dome. One rainbow wedge of reflection on the top disc.

Clothes, hair and accessories 20

  • Bandana tied as a triangle headscarf A triangle over the crown, knot at the nape. Fill it with three or four big paisley teardrops.
  • Beaded name bracelet with letter cubes Round beads, then square ones carrying one letter each. Spell a word and let the elastic knot show.
  • Bucket hat in an all-over daisy print A flat-topped dome with a sloping brim. Daisies are five round petals and a dot; let some run off the edge.
  • Butterfly clips marching along twisted hair sections Each clip is a tiny butterfly with wings angled up. Six to eight across a parting, each twist a short rope.
  • Cargo trousers with too many pockets Baggy straight legs, box pockets with flaps at thigh and knee, toggles at the hem, straps hanging in loops.
  • Crimped hair held back by a row of snap clips Crimping is a tight, even zigzag drawn strand by strand. Snap clips are small rounded triangles.
  • Frosted lip gloss tube with its wand out A clear cylinder and a long cap. Fill it two-thirds with pale pink, add a highlight strip and sparkle dots.
  • Jelly sandals in glitter-flecked clear plastic A cage of thick woven straps and a buckle. Leave them clear, show the foot's outline through, dot in glitter.
  • Low-rise flared jeans with a wide studded belt Narrow at the knee, wide at the hem so the shoe vanishes. The belt sits on the hips; studs are rows of dots.
  • Mini shoulder bag tucked under an arm A half-moon bag on a short strap, barely big enough for a phone. One buckle and one gloss streak.
  • Mood ring with a hand-lettered colour key An oval stone in a plain band. Blend blue into green inside the stone and invent the key beside it.
  • Platform flip-flops with a rainbow foam sole A thick wedge sliced into coloured layers under one thin Y strap. Draw the side view so the stripes show.
  • Platform sneakers with a sole as thick as the shoe Stack the sole in three layers with a zigzag tread. Fat laces, padded tongue, a bubble window in the heel.
  • Rimless sunglasses with gradient tinted lenses Two rounded rectangles, no frame, wire arms. Fade each lens from colour at the top to clear at the bottom.
  • Roll-on body glitter with stars floating in the gel A small bottle with a ball top. Scatter dots and tiny stars inside at random so none line up.
  • Stretchy tattoo choker with a drop charm A band of tiny interlocking loops, like a row of joined figure eights. One charm hangs at the centre.
  • Trucker cap with a foam front and mesh back A tall flat front panel, curved peak, cross-hatched mesh behind. Letter a word of your own on the foam.
  • Two high space buns with face-framing tendrils Two spirals high on the head and two thin strands left loose at the front. Zigzag the centre parting.
  • Velour tracksuit with a rhinestone zip pull Soft fabric takes soft highlights: one broad pale stripe down each sleeve. Dots for stones, flared hems.
  • Wraparound shield sunglasses in mirror finish One curved visor. Chrome mirrors the room: a dark ground band, a sharp horizon, a pale sky stripe.

Shapes, borders and lettering 22

  • Angel wings and a halo round a nickname Feathers in three rows, longest at the bottom. The halo is a flat ellipse tilted over the first letter.
  • Barbed swirl armband design in solid black Mirror-image hooks and spikes flowing out from a centre point. Fill solid and keep every tip sharp.
  • Butterfly with gradient wings and a silver outline Symmetrical wings, top pair larger. Fade pink into blue across each and outline in a thick metallic line.
  • Chrome star with a hard horizon line A five-point star with bevelled edges. Chrome is banded: dark ground, sharp horizon, sky fading to white.
  • Eight ball trailing flames A sphere with a white circle and an 8. Highlight top left; the flames sweep back as if it is moving.
  • Flame border licking up from the bottom edge Flames are S curves that meet in points, tall and short by turns. Yellow core, orange middle, red tips.
  • Four-point sparkles scattered round a word A sparkle is a plus sign with pinched, curved arms. Mix three sizes and keep every one upright.
  • Glossy cherries with one sparkle Two circles on a forked stem with one leaf. Thick outline, a gloss comma on each, one four-point sparkle.
  • Grid floor running to a glowing horizon One-point perspective: fan lines from a centre point, then horizontals that bunch up toward the horizon.
  • Hibiscus print in two flat colours Five wide overlapping petals and a long dotted stamen. Keep it flat, two colours, like a surf-short print.
  • Holographic sticker with a peeling corner Fill the shape with soft diagonal bands of pink, yellow, mint and blue. Curl one corner to show white backing.
  • Lens flare with a trail of light hexagons A starburst, then a diagonal row of fading hexagons and rings. Best in white on a dark blue ground.
  • Leopard spots in hot pink and black Spots are broken C shapes round a darker centre, no two alike. Pink ground, black rings, magenta middles.
  • Liquid metal blobs merging into a logo shape Merge circles into one gooey outline with bridges between them. Shade it as chrome so it reads as mercury.
  • Little alien head with huge almond eyes An upside-down teardrop head, two tilted black almonds, no nose. Lime green, one gloss dot in each eye.
  • The number 2000 in fat chrome numerals Rounded block digits with a bevel. Run one horizon band through all four so they share a reflection.
  • Puffy chrome heart reflecting a window Inflate the heart like a balloon. Curved four-pane window reflection top left, a dark band low down.
  • Smiley face with star-shaped eyes A circle, two stars and an arc. Thick outline, flat yellow, one curved gloss streak on the forehead.
  • Star on an orbit ring swooshing round a word A tilted ellipse that passes behind the lettering, with a star at its leading end. Silver ring, thin.
  • Wireframe globe of latitude and longitude lines A circle, then ellipses for meridians that narrow toward the edge. Parallels curve upward above the equator.
  • Yin-yang symbol ringed with daisies A circle, an S curve through the centre, a dot in each half. Ring it with five-petal daisies.
  • Your name in bubble letters with a gloss highlight Draw stick letters, inflate them into sausages, overlap them a little. One window-shaped highlight each.

Bedroom and stationery 18

  • Bead lizard keyring on a backpack zip Rows of pony beads: two, three, four, three, two for the body, single beads for legs, a long tail.
  • Beaded curtain swaying across a doorway Vertical strings of round and long beads by turns. Let a few strands swing out of line; beads catch light.
  • Bean bag slumped under a loft bed A squashed pear shape with a seam and deep creases where someone sat. Shade under the folds.
  • Butterfly chair with a fuzzy cover A crossed wire frame holding a sling seat with four corner pockets. Flick short lines for the fur.
  • Dance mat with four arrow pads A square of nine tiles with arrows on four. Draw it in perspective on a bedroom floor, hot pink and blue.
  • Disco ball throwing squares of light A sphere tiled in small squares that curve with the surface. Light some, darken others, scatter a few on the wall.
  • Fuzzy diary with a heart padlock A book with a fluffy edge of short flicked lines all round. Tiny padlock, tinier key on a ribbon.
  • Gel pens fanned out over squiggle swatches Clear barrels showing the ink tube, coloured caps. Under each, a squiggle: metallic, neon or milky pastel.
  • Glow-in-the-dark stars on a bedroom ceiling Draw the ceiling corner in perspective, then scatter stars and one ringed planet. Pale green on dark.
  • Inflatable armchair in see-through pink Fat tubes joined by seams. One highlight runs along each tube; bend the floor line where it shows through.
  • Lava lamp with three blobs rising Cone base, tapered glass, cap. Blobs stretch as they rise: one teardrop, one sphere, one pulling in two.
  • Magazine collage wall above a bed Overlapping tilted rectangles. Fill each with one simple shape: lips, a star, a flower, a block of fake text.
  • Paper fortune teller with numbered flaps Four pointed pockets meeting at the centre; from above, a square cut into triangles. Number the flaps.
  • Photo-booth strip pinned to a corkboard A tall strip of four frames: smile, tongue out, peace sign, half out of shot. One pin, slight tilt.
  • Plastic lacing keyring in a box stitch Two colours of flat cord woven into a square column of alternating blocks, with four loose tails.
  • Sheer canopy hung over a bed from a hoop A hoop near the ceiling, fabric falling in long folds either side of the pillow. Folds are soft Y shapes.
  • Slap bracelet caught mid curl A flat ruler shape that coils at one end. Give it a zebra pattern that follows the curl round.
  • Spiral notebook covered in stickers and doodles A rectangle with a wire coil down one side. Layer stars, smileys and lettering of your own on the cover.

How it works

Flip phones, butterfly clips, flame borders, bubble lettering, inflatable chairs: these 80 Y2K drawing ideas are motifs from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The era is mostly surface, so each hint says how to get the finish right, whether chrome, see-through plastic or gloss. No brands, no cartoon characters.

Read the full guide

Chrome, see-through plastic and gloss

Three finishes carry the look. Chrome is drawn in hard bands, never soft grey: dark ground, a sharp horizon line, then sky fading to white. See-through plastic gets a firm outline and fainter insides, so the clear pager shows its two batteries. Gloss is one window-shaped highlight, top left, on every puffy shape. The two practice groups, Chrome and See-through plastic, hold 14 subjects each.

What counts as Y2K on this list

Design writers call the rounded, brightly coloured products of those years blobjects: smooth curves, no sharp edges. That is why the bubble-backed computer and the inflatable armchair look related. The subject groups hold 20 gadgets, 20 clothes and hair ideas, 22 shapes and borders and 18 bedroom objects. For the objects a child of those years would recognise at once, open Bedroom and stationery: the paper fortune teller, the bead lizard keyring, the gel pens.

  • Flames are S curves that meet in points, tall and short by turns. Pencil the border, then ink only the outer edge.
  • For bubble letters, write stick capitals, inflate each stroke into a sausage, overlap the neighbours and rub out whatever is hidden.
  • Put lime, orange or hot pink against white and silver. A milky gel pen on black paper makes the sharpest sparkles.

Questions and answers

Which motifs are easiest?

Look under Shapes, borders and lettering. Four-point sparkles are plus signs with pinched arms. Smiley face with star-shaped eyes is a circle, two stars and an arc, and Glossy cherries with one sparkle is two circles on a forked stem.

Are these Y2K things to draw from the era or the revival?

Both. Most of the list belongs to the late 1990s and early 2000s: flip phones, platform shoes, tracksuits, inflatable chairs, beaded curtains. A few are older fads the look has adopted: the slap bracelet dates from the early 1990s and the mood ring from 1975. Nothing names a brand, so you invent the logos yourself.

How do I fill a whole page in this style?

Crowd it. Put one large motif off centre, say Eight ball trailing flames, and run Flame border licking up from the bottom edge underneath. Letter a word across a corner, and drop Four-point sparkles scattered round a word into the gaps. Keep to three colours plus silver, and give every puffy shape the same top-left highlight.

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