10 Drawing Ideas for Kids

Watercolor Zentangle Hearts

Although the watercolor backdrop makes these patterned hearts stand out, you can just as easily skip the painting and turn this project into a simple black-and-white drawing, avoiding a messy cleanup in the process, or use crayons and markers to add color to the designs. For those unfamiliar with Zentangle drawing, it is a technique built around repeating, organized patterns that create a calming experience for the artist, making it particularly useful for children. Numerous online guides can help you begin creating Zentangle art, including this lesson from Color Made Happy.

Watercolor Zentangle Hearts from Color Made Happy

Doodle Art

For an incredibly easy drawing activity that can keep young artists occupied for hours, give this inventive doodle art project a try. Ask children to make one continuous scribble or swirl with a thick black marker, then color every organically formed shape

with a new color, texture, or design.

Doodle Artwork from Kinder Art

Collaborative Exquisite Corpse Drawing

Don’t let the gloomy title of this traditional drawing game discourage you; it’s perfectly suitable (and lots of fun) for children. A template can be printed to begin this collaborative drawing, although folding an ordinary piece of paper works equally well. Invite kids to use their imaginations and think creatively to invent some genuinely unexpected characters.

Collaborative Exquisite Corpse Drawing from Craft Whack

Illusion-Based Optical Drawing

Help young artists learn to make three-dimensional artwork with this straightforward optical illusion method. For the most convincing moving, energetic appearance, remember to shade the edges of every color (this also provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the role of shadows and highlights in drawing).

Illusion-Based Optical Drawing from Art by Ro

Drawing from Observation

A valuable lesson when making lifelike drawings is to sketch what you observe, rather than what you believe an item looks like. Set up a still life, or even better, let your young artists find their own subject to illustrate, then motivate them to work from direct observation. This makes an excellent timed-drawing exercise: begin with a fast three-minute sketch, create another version in ten minutes, and complete a polished drawing within an hour.

Drawing from Observation from The Artful Parent

Blind Outline Drawing

Although this exercise may feel somewhat frustrating in the beginning, practicing blind contour drawing offers real advantages to new artists—it can reveal preconceived ideas and misunderstandings, particularly when drawing portraits. Turn the exercise into a fun challenge by asking another person to identify the subject that the blind artist is trying to sketch.

Blind Outline Drawing from Artsy

Colorful Scratch Art

With only ordinary crayons, children can make their own scratch art. For this project, a sturdy sheet of drawing paper works best; it must withstand two crayon layers as well as a scratched design (an opened paperclip makes a simple scratching instrument).

Rainbow Scratch Art from Barley and Birch

Shape Drawing in One-Point Perspective

Although this entertaining drawing appears elaborate when complete, it’s surprisingly easy to make. Make sure a ruler is nearby—the secret to creating the illusion of one-point perspective is using flawlessly straight lines. Instead of drawing arbitrary shapes, challenge children to write a word (or their names) with single-point perspective.

One-Point Perspective Shape Drawing from Art by Ro

Ideas for Hand Tracing

Far removed from the classic hand-traced turkey, these imaginative tracing conceptswill get children’s imaginations working. Whether decorating it with a pattern or transforming it into an optical illusion, a hand outline offers the ideal blank template for an inventive drawing.

Hand Tracing Ideas from Craft Whack

Sticker Illustration

Ask children to choose a sticker sheet, scatter the stickers over a blank piece of paper, and create a drawing that completes the scene. After your young artist finishes the illustration, encourage them to compose a matching story as well.