Creative Prompts
50+ Ideas for your sketchbooks and creative practice
If one of your goals for 2026 is to draw more, start a regular sketchbook habit, or develop your creative practice, I have a fun list for you. This is all of my notes, ideas and prompts for working in and out of my sketchbook. I’ll be referring back to this list over the next few months (and always) if I get stuck for ideas or need a little extra inspiration. Doing each of these exercises just once would more than fill a sketchbook (some of the prompts could fill a whole sketchbook on their own) so there’s plenty to keep you inspired.
Draw the same thing 10 times
Use a different material each time
Draw it big, then draw it small
Draw it without looking at the paper
Draw it without lifting your hand from the page
Set Timers
Draw the same thing for each timer
Start at 30 seconds
Increase to 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes
See what you learn each time, see how much more detail you can achieve
Make notes to yourself - Which version do you prefer? (I often like the quicker ones best, as they’re more instinctive and playful)
Draw the negative space around an object
Draw with your non-dominant hand
Draw the same with your dominant hand and compare the two
Try drawing with both hands at the same time
Swatch all of your favourite colours
Arrange them in to palettes to use in future projects
Test out how different materials interact when they’re overlapped
Test your colour mixing skills - trying mixing a colour to match an object on your desk
Draw in one colour
Then try drawing the same thing in 3 colours
Then full colour
Use colour first, then add lines later
Draw using your least favourite material
Think about what you don’t like about it
Make lots of different marks
Push yourself to find a way you enjoy working with it
Fill a page with marks
See how many marks you can make with one material
Try making the same mark with multiple materials
Draw Patterns
Copy a pattern from an object in the room
Create a pattern from your imagination
Think of your favourite thing to draw, simplify it and create a pattern out of it
Draw a set of thumbnails
Fill your page with rectangles
Fill each one with a quick sketch
Draw really big
Pin a large piece of paper to the wall
Choose a chunky marker or a big brush
Draw with your whole arm, not just your hand
Draw in layers
Layer drawings on top of each other
Look at the shapes that the different lines create
Copy your own sketches
Use your old sketchbooks as a references and recreate the same drawings
Draw it in a new style
Draw it in a new material
Combine multiple ideas in to a new idea
Collage your own artwork
Cut up the pieces you don’t love and combine them on one page to create a new piece
Draw over the top of old pieces
Draw from your camera roll
Draw from a book or a magazine
Draw from reference image sites
Set up a still life on your desk
Use the other prompts on this list to draw it in different ways, you could move the objects around each time.
Draw something outside
Go for a walk or a day out and take your sketchbook with you
Take photos and draw from them when you get back
Go in to your garden or outside your home and draw what you see
Draw with a found object - a stick, feather or leaf
Draw something from memory
Research a topic that interests you, draw from reference images and take notes
Draw an A-Z of your favourite subject matter
Create a set of drawings for your favourite story, song or poem
Follow a drawing challenge
Draw every day
Prompt lists on Instagram
The 100 Day Project
Do you have any other ideas you’d add to this list? Please share in the comments to help us all stay creative in 2026! ✨
Great prompts!
What a great list! Thank you for sharing.😊