9 Answers to 'What Should I Draw?' for 2025

Every artist, from the seasoned professional to the weekend hobbyist, eventually confronts the same daunting question: what should I draw? The blank page can feel like a creative void, a challenge that often leads to frustration and artistic block. But what if that question wasn't a roadblock, but a launchpad? This guide is designed to transform that moment of indecision into a burst of immediate inspiration.

We've curated a comprehensive roundup of nine distinct drawing avenues, each offering a unique path to explore your skills, push your boundaries, and fill your sketchbook with compelling work. Forget generic prompts and vague suggestions. Instead, we are diving deep into actionable ideas complete with practical tips, specific examples, and the 'why' behind each artistic practice.

This resource is structured to provide clear, practical starting points, whether your goal is to master foundational skills like observational drawing, explore imaginative worlds through fantasy character design, or simply build a consistent creative habit with daily challenges. You will find tangible directions for every skill level and interest, from capturing the subtle details in botanical illustration to the dynamic energy of urban sketching. We will cover a wide spectrum of subjects, including:

• Observational Still Life Drawing
• Portrait Drawing from References
• Urban Sketching
• Fantasy Character Design
• Botanical Illustration
• Daily Sketch Challenges
• Gesture and Figure Drawing
• Landscape and Nature Studies
• Abstract and Experimental Drawing

No matter your preferred medium or style, this list provides the specific guidance needed to overcome creative hurdles. Let's turn that blank canvas into a world of possibility and definitively answer the question of what you should draw next.

1. Observational Still Life Drawing

If you’re ever wondering what to draw, one of the most powerful and time-tested starting points is right in front of you. Observational still life drawing is the foundational practice of sketching real-world objects arranged in a composition. It's not just about drawing a bowl of fruit; it's a rigorous exercise in seeing accurately and translating a three-dimensional scene onto a two-dimensional surface.

This practice is the bedrock of artistic training, honing essential skills like understanding form, light, shadow, texture, and proportion. Artists like Paul Cézanne and Giorgio Morandi dedicated much of their careers to exploring the humble still life, proving its immense potential for artistic growth and expression. By drawing what you see, you train your eye and hand to work in unison, moving beyond symbols and assumptions to capture reality.

Why It's a Great Choice

Still life is an excellent option because it gives you complete control over your subject matter. You decide the objects, the arrangement, and, most importantly, the lighting. This controlled environment is perfect for deliberate practice, allowing you to isolate and master specific skills without the unpredictable nature of a moving subject or a changing landscape. It’s an accessible and endlessly repeatable way to improve your core drawing abilities.

The following quick reference box summarizes the core pillars of this practice.

As the summary highlights, this method forces you to engage directly with light, proportion, and real-world forms.

Actionable Tips for Your First Still Life

• Start Simple: Begin with basic geometric shapes. Arrange a few blocks, a sphere, or household items like mugs and books. This helps you focus on form and shadow without getting overwhelmed by complex details.
• Use Dramatic Lighting: Set up a single, strong light source (like a desk lamp) to create clear, defined shadows. This makes it easier to see and render the forms of your objects.
• Vary Your Viewpoint: Don't always draw from the same angle. Try drawing your setup from above, below, or from a different side to understand how perspective changes the objects' appearance.

2. Portrait Drawing from References

Creating likenesses of people using photographs or live models is a classic way to answer “what should I draw” when you want to deepen your understanding of human anatomy and expression. Portrait drawing from references focuses on facial proportions, individual features, and capturing personality. This challenging subject pushes artists to study bone structure, muscles, and subtle value shifts in skin tones. Working from photos or life trains your eye to see the smallest details and builds confidence in rendering a realistic face.

Why It’s a Great Choice

Portrait drawing forces you to balance technical precision with emotional nuance. You learn to measure angles accurately, depict light on curved forms, and convey mood through eyes and mouth. This method is ideal for any artist who wants to elevate their skill set beyond simple shapes.

“Portrait drawing from references trains both technical skill and expressive power by forcing you to see subtle nuances in the human face.”

Examples of Mastery

• Leonardo da Vinci – His facial studies reveal an unparalleled grasp of soft transitions in tone.
• John Singer Sargent – Known for dynamic charcoal portraits with confident mark-making.
• Casey Baugh – Blends realism and painterly textures in contemporary portraiture.
• Zhaoming Wu – Excels at capturing mood through controlled value contrast.

Actionable Tips for Your First Portrait Drawing

• Start with Basic Proportions: Sketch a vertical centerline and horizontal eye line to establish correct spacing.
• Use the Grid Method: Overlay a grid on your reference and drawing surface to map features accurately.
• Focus on Values Over Details: Block in light and shadow first, then refine edges and textures.
• Practice Features Separately: Draw eyes, noses, and lips in isolation to understand their individual shapes before combining them.

When to Use This Approach
Portrait drawing from references is best when you have clear photos or a patient model. Use it to sharpen your “what should I draw” toolbox whenever you want targeted practice in anatomy, shading, and likeness.

3. Urban Sketching

If your surroundings feel stagnant and you're wondering what to draw, the answer might be just outside your door. Urban sketching is the vibrant practice of drawing on location in cities, towns, and other urban environments. It’s about capturing the energy of a place, from towering architecture and bustling street scenes to the quiet moments of daily life, directly in your sketchbook.

This global movement, championed by artists like Gabriel Campanario, is about telling the story of a place through direct observation. It's not about creating a flawless masterpiece in a studio; it's about the authentic, in-the-moment documentation of your experiences. The process values spontaneity and personal interpretation, transforming a simple walk into a creative adventure.

Why It's a Great Choice

Urban sketching is an exceptional choice because it pushes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to work quickly and decisively. Unlike a static still life, the world is constantly in motion, with changing light and moving people. This dynamic environment sharpens your observational skills, improves your ability to simplify complex scenes, and builds confidence in drawing from life.

It also creates a unique visual diary, a personal record of the places you've been and the things you've seen. Each sketch becomes a memory, imbued with the sounds, smells, and atmosphere of that specific moment. For more detailed guidance, you can explore this complete guide to urban sketching and start your own journey.

Actionable Tips for Your First Urban Sketch

• Start Small and Simple: Don't try to draw an entire city block on your first outing. Focus on a single element like a unique doorway, a park bench, or a fire hydrant. This helps you build confidence and practice observing details.
• Embrace Imperfection: The goal is to capture the essence and energy of the scene, not a photorealistic rendering. Crooked lines, skewed perspectives, and unfinished details are part of the charm and character of an urban sketch.
• Use a Portable Kit: Carry a small sketchbook and a minimal set of tools, like a pen and a small watercolor palette. A lightweight setup makes it easy to stop and sketch whenever inspiration strikes without feeling burdened by gear.
• Focus on a Focal Point: Decide on the most interesting part of the scene and make that your focus. Let other details be less defined. This creates a sense of depth and tells a clearer story in your drawing.

4. Fantasy Character Design

When you're searching for what to draw, venturing into the realm of fantasy character design offers a playground for limitless imagination. This practice involves creating original heroes, villains, creatures, and mythical beings from scratch. It's a discipline that merges a solid understanding of anatomy and form with boundless creativity, allowing you to bring entirely new personalities to life on the page.

This isn't just about doodling elves and dragons; it's a core skill in entertainment industries like video games, film, and tabletop RPGs. Artists like Frank Frazetta and Yoshitaka Amano have shown how a single compelling character design can tell a story and define an entire world. By designing your own characters, you engage in world-building, storytelling, and creative problem-solving, turning a blank page into a portal to another reality.

Why It's a Great Choice

Fantasy character design is an ideal choice because it perfectly balances technical skill with pure invention. Unlike drawing from life, you are not bound by reality. This freedom allows you to explore unique shapes, silhouettes, and concepts that push the boundaries of your creativity. It’s an excellent way to practice anatomy, costume design, and visual storytelling simultaneously, making it a comprehensive and deeply rewarding exercise for any artist looking to expand their skills.

This approach gives you a chance to build something uniquely yours, developing a personal style while mastering fundamental art principles in an exciting context.

Actionable Tips for Your First Fantasy Character

• Start with a Solid Foundation: Before you draw fantastical creatures, study real-world anatomy. Understanding how muscles and skeletons work in humans and animals will make your fantasy creations feel more believable and grounded.
• Create a Backstory: Give your character a simple story. Where are they from? What is their goal? Answering these questions will inform their design, from their expression and posture to the clothes they wear and the items they carry.
• Use References Creatively: Gather references from diverse sources like historical armor, different cultures, and natural elements like insects or deep-sea fish. Combine these disparate ideas to create something truly original and unexpected.
• Focus on the Silhouette: A strong, recognizable silhouette is key to a memorable character design. Before adding details, work on the overall shape to ensure it is distinct and communicates the character’s personality or role effectively.

5. Botanical Illustration

When wondering what to draw, consider turning your gaze to the natural world. Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant life with scientific accuracy. It is a beautiful intersection of art and science, requiring both a keen observational eye and a delicate hand to render the intricacies of flowers, leaves, fruits, and fungi.

This discipline has a rich history, serving as the primary method for identifying and cataloging plant species long before photography. Masters like Pierre-Joseph Redouté and Maria Sibylla Merian created works that were not only scientifically vital but also breathtakingly beautiful. Drawing a plant in this style forces you to look beyond its general shape and truly study its structure, texture, and life cycle, transforming a simple subject into a complex and fascinating study.

Why It's a Great Choice

Botanical illustration is a fantastic choice because it develops precision, patience, and a deep appreciation for detail. Unlike more expressive forms of drawing, it demands accuracy, pushing you to improve your control and observational skills. The subjects are readily available, whether in your garden, a local park, or even a houseplant on your windowsill. It’s a meditative practice that connects you with nature while providing a clear, structured goal: to capture the plant's essence as faithfully as possible.

The following quick reference box summarizes the core pillars of this practice.

As the summary highlights, this method forces you to engage directly with natural anatomy, intricate textures, and scientific observation.

Actionable Tips for Your First Botanical Illustration

• Work from Live Specimens: Whenever possible, draw from a real plant rather than a photograph. This allows you to see the true colors, textures, and three-dimensional form, and you can turn the specimen to understand its structure from all angles.
• Start with a Simple Subject: Begin with a single leaf or a simple flower like a daisy or a pansy. This helps you focus on fundamental skills like capturing venation, petal shape, and stem structure without getting overwhelmed.
• Use a Magnifying Glass: A magnifying glass is an invaluable tool for observing the tiny, intricate details of a plant, such as the hairs on a stem or the complex structure of a flower’s stamen. Capturing these details is key to authentic botanical art.

6. Daily Sketch Challenges

If a blank page feels daunting, sometimes the best solution is to let someone else decide what to draw. Daily sketch challenges provide structured prompts that remove the pressure of invention, allowing you to focus purely on the act of creating. This approach involves committing to a daily drawing habit, often guided by a pre-set list of themes, which fosters consistency and rapid skill development.

This method transforms drawing from an occasional hobby into a disciplined practice. Famous challenges like Inktober, created by artist Jake Parker, have built massive online communities where artists share their progress and find encouragement. Committing to a daily challenge, whether for a month or a full year, builds an impressive portfolio and ingrains the invaluable habit of showing up to the page every single day.

Why It's a Great Choice

Daily challenges are powerful because they gamify the process of artistic improvement. By providing a clear, achievable goal each day, they build momentum and help you overcome creative blocks. The emphasis is on consistency and completion rather than perfection, which is liberating for artists who struggle with self-criticism. It’s an effective way to explore new subjects you might otherwise avoid and see measurable progress in a short period.

The accountability of a public challenge or a personal streak is a strong motivator, making it one of the best ways to solidify a drawing routine. For more information, you can explore a wide variety of daily drawing challenges on drawinglist.com to find one that fits your style.

Actionable Tips for Your First Daily Challenge

• Set a Realistic Goal: Don't start with a "masterpiece a day" mentality. Aim for a small, simple sketch. The goal is to build a sustainable habit, not to burn out in the first week.
• Focus on Completion, Not Perfection: The primary objective is to draw something every day. Embrace imperfect drawings as part of the process. Done is better than perfect when building consistency.
• Adapt Prompts to Your Interests: If a prompt doesn't inspire you, feel free to interpret it creatively to fit your personal style or current skill focus. The rules are guidelines, not rigid constraints.

7. Gesture and Figure Drawing

If you find yourself stuck on what to draw, shifting your focus from static objects to dynamic life can be a powerful catalyst. Gesture and figure drawing is the practice of capturing the essence of a pose in quick, energetic sketches. It’s not about rendering perfect anatomy or details; it's about conveying movement, weight, and the overall flow of the human form in a matter of seconds or minutes.

This discipline is fundamental for any artist interested in character design, animation, or simply bringing a sense of life to their work. Masters of gesture like Walt Stanchfield and Glenn Vilppu teach that a drawing’s energy is established in its first few lines. By focusing on the "line of action," a single, expressive curve that defines a pose, you learn to see beyond contours and capture the spirit of the subject.

Why It's a Great Choice

Gesture drawing is a fantastic choice because it forces you to be decisive and overcome the fear of making mistakes. With sessions lasting from 30 seconds to just a few minutes, there is no time for overthinking or erasing. This high-speed practice builds an intuitive understanding of human mechanics and rhythm, allowing you to create figures that feel alive and authentic. It’s an exercise in efficiency that trains your hand to communicate ideas with speed and confidence.

The practice is less about creating a finished piece and more about building your visual library and muscle memory, making it an invaluable tool for warming up or breaking through a creative block. You can explore a wide variety of exercises with our guide to gesture and figure drawing exercises.

Actionable Tips for Your First Gesture Session

• Find the Line of Action: Before drawing anything else, identify the primary curve that runs through the pose, from the head down to the feet. This single line is the foundation of your entire gesture sketch.
• Use Your Whole Arm: Draw from your shoulder, not just your wrist. This encourages long, fluid, and confident strokes that are essential for capturing the energy of the pose.
• Don't Erase: Embrace imperfections. The goal is to capture the gesture, not to create a flawless drawing. Erasing interrupts your flow and wastes precious time in a short session.
• Prioritize Flow Over Accuracy: Focus on the rhythm, weight, and direction of the pose. It's better to have a drawing that feels alive but has inaccurate proportions than one that is technically correct but stiff.

8. Landscape and Nature Studies

If you’re unsure what to draw and feel a pull toward the great outdoors, landscape and nature studies offer an endless well of inspiration. This practice involves capturing the essence of natural environments, from sprawling mountain vistas and serene forests to the intricate details of a single leaf or cloud formation. It is a timeless tradition of translating the beauty, scale, and atmosphere of the natural world onto your page.

This pursuit is about more than just drawing pretty scenery; it's a deep dive into understanding organic forms, perspective, and the subtle interplay of light and atmosphere. Artists like John Constable, famous for his cloud studies, and Albert Bierstadt, known for his majestic landscapes of the American West, demonstrated how nature can be a profound teacher. By drawing landscapes, you learn to see the world with a new sense of wonder and precision.

Why It's a Great Choice

Landscape drawing is an excellent choice because it forces you to simplify complex scenes and understand spatial relationships. Unlike a controlled still life, nature is dynamic and vast, teaching you to capture a sense of depth, distance, and mood. Whether you work from a photograph or venture outside for plein air drawing, this practice significantly improves your skills in composition and atmospheric perspective, making it a rewarding challenge for any artist.

Actionable Tips for Your First Landscape

• Start with a Simple Composition: Don’t try to capture everything at once. Find a scene with a clear foreground, middle ground, and background. A single tree, a small hill, or a quiet pond are great starting points.
• Focus on Major Shapes First: Block in the largest shapes and values before adding details. Focus on the big silhouettes of mountains, trees, and the horizon line. This creates a strong foundation for your drawing.
• Study Cloud Formations: Clouds are not just random puffs. Spend time observing and sketching different types of clouds (cumulus, cirrus, stratus) to understand their forms and how they interact with light. This will bring life and realism to your skies.
• Use Atmospheric Perspective: Create a sense of depth by making objects in the distance lighter and less detailed, with softer edges. Objects in the foreground should have stronger contrast, sharper details, and richer colors.

9. Abstract and Experimental Drawing

If you’re stuck on what to draw and want to break free from realism, exploring abstract and experimental drawing offers a universe of creative freedom. This approach shifts the focus from depicting recognizable subjects to exploring the core elements of art itself: line, shape, color, form, and texture. It's about expressing emotions, concepts, or pure visual rhythm rather than replicating the world around you.

This practice encourages intuition and spontaneity, allowing you to create art that is deeply personal and expressive. Artists like Wassily Kandinsky, a pioneer of abstract art, believed that pure form and color could communicate universal spiritual truths, much like music. By moving beyond literal representation, you can tap into a more direct and instinctual form of visual communication, making your drawing a direct reflection of your inner state.

Why It's a Great Choice

Abstract drawing is a powerful choice because it removes the pressure of "getting it right." There is no correct way to draw a feeling or a sound. This liberation allows you to focus purely on the creative process, experiment with new materials, and develop a unique visual language. It’s an excellent exercise for overcoming creative blocks, strengthening your understanding of composition, and trusting your artistic instincts without the constraints of realistic accuracy.

The freedom from representation opens up new avenues for creative expression.

Actionable Tips for Your First Abstract Drawing

• Start with Marks and Lines: Don't think about a final image. Instead, fill a page with different types of lines: straight, curved, jagged, and soft. Vary the pressure and speed of your tool to see how it changes the character of the mark.
• Focus on Composition: Even without a subject, composition is key. Arrange shapes and lines to create balance, rhythm, or tension. Think about how your eye moves across the page and use principles like the rule of thirds to guide your arrangement.
• Let Intuition Guide You: Put on some music, think of an emotion, or simply start drawing without a plan. Respond to each mark you make with another, letting the drawing evolve organically. This process-driven approach is at the heart of experimental art.

9 Drawing Topics Comparison Table

From Question to Creation: Your Next Steps

The question that brought you here, “what should I draw?”, is not a sign of a creative dead-end. Instead, it’s a crossroads teeming with possibilities, a signal that you are ready to explore, grow, and push the boundaries of your artistic practice. We’ve journeyed through nine distinct avenues for inspiration, each offering a unique set of challenges and rewards. The goal was never to give you a single answer, but to arm you with a map of potential destinations.

From the quiet contemplation of a still life setup to the dynamic energy of urban sketching, the path you choose is less important than the act of choosing itself. Each prompt, whether it’s designing a mythical creature or capturing the delicate veins of a leaf, is a self-contained lesson in observation, technique, and imagination. The true value lies in actively engaging with these ideas, transforming them from abstract concepts into tangible marks on a page.

Turning Inspiration into Action

The transition from reading about ideas to executing them is the most critical step. Staring at a blank page can be intimidating, but now you have a framework for overcoming that initial paralysis. Remember, the objective isn't instant perfection; it's consistent practice.

• Commit to a single path first. Don't try to master fantasy character design and botanical illustration on the same day. Pick the one that excites you most right now and dedicate a week to it.
• Set specific, achievable goals. Instead of a vague goal like "get better at drawing," aim for something concrete: "Complete three gesture drawings every morning" or "Finish one urban sketch this weekend."
• Embrace the process, not just the outcome. The real learning happens during the act of drawing. Every crooked line in a portrait study or misplaced shadow in a landscape is a valuable piece of feedback, guiding your next attempt.

The frustration of not knowing what to draw often stems from a fear of creating something that isn't "good enough." By reframing each drawing session as an experiment or a study, you remove that pressure. You are not creating a masterpiece; you are collecting data, building muscle memory, and sharpening your creative instincts. This mindset shift is the key to sustained artistic growth.

Synthesizing Your Skills for a Unique Voice

As you explore these different areas, you’ll notice they are not isolated disciplines. The skills you develop in one will invariably enhance your abilities in another.

The observational precision you gain from still life will make your fantasy characters feel more grounded and believable. The understanding of form from figure drawing will lend your landscapes a greater sense of depth and structure. The expressive freedom of abstract art can inject new energy into your portraits.

This cross-pollination of skills is how you begin to develop a unique artistic voice. Your personal style emerges from the synthesis of your experiences. The solution to "what should I draw?" is not just about finding a subject; it's about building a versatile toolkit that allows you to tackle any subject with confidence and creativity. Your sketchbook is your laboratory, and these prompts are your experiments. Start mixing, start creating, and see what you discover.

Never face the "what should I draw" question alone again. The Drawing List Drawing Ideas Generator offers over 1,600 unique prompts across 99 categories, delivering instant inspiration tailored to your interests. Find your next great idea and start creating in seconds at Drawing List.