Art Prompts: 21 Creative Ideas to Draw!

Here are tips on how to make a classic rainbow arch, then ideas on exciting new ways to create rainbow art: including this rainbow princess!

Using this art about the mathmatical Pi Symbol as a model, explore other common symbols that have artistic flair!

I realized halfway through writing this article on how to draw a cute snail that I'd accidentally made the mistake of putting the eyes on the face instead of on the antennae or tentacles, as would be anatomically correct! This made me realize a great new art prompt: Draw an animal, but change ONE thing about it.

Pick something in nature, and personify it by giving it human characteristics! In my example here, I personify the wind, a cloud, and a tree.

Pick an animal (my example here is an octopus), and draw them being extremely GRUMPY about something. Bonus for creating a story to explain why -- and whether there could be something to improve their sour mood!

Onomatopoeia is "sound effect words" like "POW!" "BANG!" "WHIRRR!" and is often featured in cartoons -- especially superhero fights. Your art prompt here is to create a drawing using some of these fun style of noise words in the art.

Anthropomorphic art gives human-like life to non-human things. In my example here, I've made broccoli and carrots come alive!

Explain, step by step, how to do something that you've mastered, so that others can learn from your journey. Here is my example about how to quit coffee.

A "liminal space" is an in-between place, time, or stage. Liminal space art can produce eerie effects, as there's a sense of dizzying possibility, being in a middle space.

Join me on my quest to teach the difference between homophones: two words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things, such as "pear" vs. "pair." View my growing list here for ideas.

Foreshadowing is a hint of something that will come in the future. In my example here, the clouds in the first image foreshadow a storm -- but the character didn't put the clues together to realize it was coming.

Context is defined as the surroundings of something, and it COMPLETELY changes things. For this art prompt, create one character, then place them in two totally different contexts (background scenes) to see what happens! In my example here, I put a frog in two places... including a woman's bed!

Think about a child you know, and a lesson they need to learn -- then illustrate it by your drawings! My example here is a story I made for my son about how to apologize well... instead of just having a giant tantrum!

Think about the ways that art has enhanced your life -- from city murals to time during school to draw -- and create a creative piece illustrating that!

Juxtaposition is contrasting two very different things next to each other. Play with juxtaposed colors, expressions, sizes, and textures for this art prompt!

Figurative language is defined as a figure of speech like simile, metaphor, or hyperbole which is different from a literal meaning (what you see is what you get). Pick one and illustrate it!

Think of a famous character (in my example here, I used the Queen of Hearts), and create a totally new version of them, completely re-imagining everything and not being tied to former representations.

That's it -- that's the whole art prompt: Draw a person inside a flower. Hehe -- it's funnier and more fun than expected!

What is creativity? This article leads you through a sort of meditation to let the pencil flow and follow the line wherever it takes you. Click through to see the whole flow.

What illustration can you create, using flower shapes? In my example here, I got very into flower crowns.

How has drawing made you happier and healthier? This is a very meta art prompt, but here goes: draw something that shows your appreciation of drawing in your life!