Things to Draw
One drawing idea at a time, for a quiet doodle or a room full of guessers.
- Time
- 10–30 min
- Players
- One or more people
- Best for
- Bored afternoons, art practice and family game nights
- Deck
- 150 ideas in 6 categories
How to use these things to draw
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Draw the idea on the top card. On your own it is a doodle prompt; in a guessing game, draw it in secret while the others guess what you are drawing.
- Swipe the card away, or tap “Next idea”, for another. Ideas do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save an idea on this device, or tap “Make a 10-idea list” for a week of daily drawing prompts.
When to pick something to draw
A drawing idea takes away the hardest part, which is deciding what to draw. With a pencil, any scrap of paper and one phone, these cards fill a quiet ten minutes alone or a lively half hour with a group.
A bored afternoon
Easy things and Cute things are quick wins in the margin of a notebook, like a sleepy teacup or a snail with a backpack, done before the kettle boils.
Daily art practice
Animals and Nature and places stretch your skills a little each day: fur, waves, a city at night. Heart the ones you want to try again next month.
A family or party game
Food and Silly mashups are the liveliest in a drawing guessing game, because a cow on a trampoline gets wonderful guesses before the right one.
Ways to use these drawing ideas
A doodle a day
Draw one card each morning and give it five minutes in the same notebook, with the date in the corner. After a month you can flip back and see how your lines have changed.
Draw and guess in teams
Split into two teams. The drawer reads the top card in secret and has one minute to draw it while their own team calls out guesses. Then the phone and the pencil pass to the other team.
Same card, two drawings
Two people, or a whole group, draw the same card for three minutes without peeking at each other’s paper, then turn the drawings around at once. On a video call, hold them up to the camera together.
Tips for drawing on the spot
- For a guessing game, start with Easy things and Animals. Save Silly mashups for a later round, when everyone has warmed up.
- Set a timer. One minute keeps a guessing game moving, and five minutes is plenty for a doodle on your own.
- Now and then, draw with a pen instead of a pencil. With no eraser the wobbly lines stay in, and they often give a drawing its charm.
All 150 things to draw by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and pick there.
Easy things
Everyday objects made of circles, squares and lines, like a mug or a kite.
- Coffee mug with steam curling up
- Your own shoe, seen from above
- Paper airplane in mid-flight
- Umbrella open in the rain
- Key ring with three different keys
- Stack of books leaning to one side
- Candle with a flickering flame
- Light bulb hanging from a cord
Show all 25 in Easy thingsShow fewer
- Kite with a long, wavy tail
- Pair of sunglasses on a beach towel
- Alarm clock ringing on a nightstand
- Pencil worn down to a tiny stub
- Envelope with a letter peeking out
- Rain boots by the front door
- Toothbrush beside a squeezed tube of toothpaste
- Bicycle leaning against a fence
- Teapot pouring into a cup
- Backpack with every pocket unzipped
- Spiral notebook with a bent corner
- Rubber duck floating in a bathtub
- Snowman with a carrot nose
- Mailbox with its flag up
- Scissors cutting a strip of paper
- Bucket and shovel on the sand
- Ladder leaning against a tree
Cute things
Little objects with faces and tiny worlds, from a sleepy teacup to a mushroom house.
- Snail carrying a tiny backpack
- Cloud wearing a knitted scarf
- Teacup with a sleepy face
- Two socks holding hands
- Mushroom house with a round door
- Raindrop holding a tiny umbrella
- Strawberry wearing a sun hat
- Baby dragon asleep on a pillow
Show all 25 in Cute thingsShow fewer
- Moon tucked into bed under a blanket
- Cactus giving a very careful hug
- Toaster waking up with bedhead
- Star with a bandage on one point
- Little robot watering a flower
- Acorn family sitting on a log
- Teddy bear having a picnic
- Paper boat with a leaf for a sail
- Lighthouse inside a snow globe
- Rainbow sliding down into a puddle
- Pillow fort with a flag on top
- Bookworm reading with round glasses
- Apple with a worm waving hello
- Ladybug in polka-dot rain boots
- Sock puppet with button eyes
- Pencil and eraser walking to school together
- Tiny house built inside a pumpkin
Animals
Creatures caught in the middle of something, from a stretching cat to a diving whale.
- Giraffe bending down to drink
- Penguin sliding on its belly
- Octopus hiding in a glass jar
- Owl on a branch under the moon
- Cat stretching in a sunbeam
- Dog with its head out of a car window
- Elephant spraying water from its trunk
- Turtle peeking out of its shell
Show all 25 in AnimalsShow fewer
- Frog on a lily pad catching a fly
- Fox curled up in the snow
- Hedgehog rolled into a ball
- Flamingo standing on one leg
- Squirrel with its cheeks full of nuts
- Butterfly resting on a flower
- Bunny with one ear flopped over
- Whale tail rising out of the waves
- Sloth hanging upside down from a branch
- Koala hugging a tree trunk
- Duck leading ducklings across a road
- Kangaroo with a baby in its pouch
- Crab walking sideways on the sand
- Seal balancing a ball on its nose
- Panda munching on bamboo
- Peacock with its tail fanned out
- Puppy tangled in a ball of yarn
Food
Snacks, meals and treats, with drips, sprinkles and steam to get just right.
- Stack of pancakes with syrup dripping down
- Triple scoop of ice cream starting to lean
- Pizza slice with a long cheese pull
- Bowl of noodles with chopsticks
- Watermelon slice with one bite missing
- Sandwich so tall it needs a toothpick
- Birthday cake with too many candles
- Taco spilling its filling
Show all 25 in FoodShow fewer
- Fried egg sizzling in a pan
- Basket of fresh strawberries
- Popcorn spilling out of a bucket
- Pineapple with a spiky crown of leaves
- Pitcher of lemonade with ice cubes
- Pretzel sprinkled with salt
- Cereal bowl with a spoon standing up
- Corn on the cob with melting butter
- Gingerbread house with a candy roof
- Donut with rainbow sprinkles
- Hot dog with a squiggle of mustard
- Cupcake with a cherry on top
- Spaghetti twirled around a fork
- Apple pie with a lattice crust
- Wedge of cheese full of holes
- Avocado cut in half with its pit
- Lunch box with four little compartments
Nature and places
Mountains, beaches, cities and backyards to draw from memory or imagination.
- Lighthouse on a rocky shore
- Mountain with a snowy peak
- Treehouse with a rope ladder
- Hammock between two palm trees
- Waterfall tumbling into a pool
- Volcano puffing a little smoke
- Desert at sunset with tall cacti
- Campfire with sparks floating up
Show all 25 in Nature and placesShow fewer
- City skyline at night with lit windows
- Stone bridge over a river
- Tent under a sky full of stars
- Tiny island with one palm tree
- Leaves drifting down in the fall
- Field of sunflowers facing the sun
- Castle on top of a hill
- Full moon over the ocean
- Windmill beside a field of tulips
- Snowy cabin with smoke from the chimney
- Garden with rows of vegetables
- Your street from the front step
- Playground with a slide and swings
- Bus stop on a rainy day
- Hot air balloons over rolling hills
- Path winding into a forest
- Tide pool full of starfish and shells
Silly mashups
Two things that never go together, like a cow on a trampoline or a car made of fruit.
- Elephant riding a skateboard
- Cat driving a city bus
- Giraffe in a turtleneck sweater
- Bicycle with square wheels
- Banana used as a telephone
- Toaster popping out rainbows
- Dog walking its owner on a leash
- Penguin on a beach putting on sunscreen
Show all 25 in Silly mashupsShow fewer
- Cloud raining spaghetti
- Teapot with legs going for a walk
- Pig with butterfly wings
- Octopus doing eight chores at once
- Snowman on a summer vacation
- Hamburger with sesame-seed freckles
- Moon taking a bite of cheese
- Mouse lifting a dumbbell made of grapes
- Cow bouncing on a trampoline
- Duck in a suit and tie at a desk
- Car made from a watermelon
- Volcano erupting popcorn
- Fridge relaxing in a beach chair
- Turtle wearing a jet pack
- Tree growing socks instead of leaves
- Crocodile at the dentist, mouth wide open
- Bathtub sailing across the ocean
Frequently asked questions
How do you play a drawing guessing game with these cards?
Make two teams and set a one-minute timer. The drawer looks at the top card, then draws it while their team guesses out loud, with no letters, numbers or hand signals allowed and no talking from the drawer. When someone guesses it or the time runs out, the other team takes a turn.
What are easy things to draw for beginners?
Start with Easy things: a mug, a kite, a mailbox and other everyday objects built from circles, squares and lines. Animals and Food come next, because even a rough shape is easy to recognize. Every card is clean, so the deck works for a family table, a party or a quiet doodle on your own.
How many things to draw are there?
There are 150 drawing ideas, 25 in each of six categories: easy things, cute things, animals, food, nature and places, and silly mashups. The cards and the list on this page use the same set.
What should we play after a drawing game?
Try charades ideas. It uses the same teams and the same timer, but the clue is acted out instead of drawn, so nobody needs paper or a pencil.