Even kids with wild imaginations can feel overwhelmed staring at a blank page. But give them the right prompt, and they’ll suddenly be off and drawing dragons, dream houses, or their very own comic strips.
Drawing prompts are a lifesaver, whether you’re a parent looking for a quick activity at home or a teacher managing a classroom full of early finishers. They’re simple and screen-free, and they spark creativity without the need for fancy supplies.
That’s why I’ve gathered 43 fun, flexible, and thoughtfully designed free printable drawing prompts to help kids create with confidence. Use them to combat boredom, for travel, or to inspire a reluctant artist who doesn’t know where to start. Just print and go—no prep needed!
Ideas on How to Use These Drawing Prompts
A good drawing prompt is more than just a way to pass the time—it helps kids think in new, creative ways. By giving them a starting point, you’re giving them permission to imagine, explore, and make the page their own.
Try offering a variety of materials like colored pencils, markers, or watercolor paints. Switching things up can get their attention and lead to some pretty unexpected results.
These drawing activities are super versatile. Use them:
- On car rides, plane trips, or in restaurants while you wait for your food
- As a quiet activity while you prep dinner or take a work call
- To beat boredom on rainy afternoons
- In the classroom as a low-mess task for early finishers or a peaceful start to the school day
- As a calm break at birthday parties
They’re creative, easy to use, and most importantly, kids love them.
Free Printable Drawing Prompt Pages for Kids
Ready to inspire your young artist? I’ve come up with 43 drawing prompts that are both fun and inspiring for kids to use their imagination and try new ideas.
These printables are:
- Free to download, without logins or limits
- Easy to print
- Designed for open-ended creativity
No matter what your kid wants to draw, there’s a prompt here that’ll get their creative juices flowing. They might want to design their dream treehouse, invent a new animal, or imagine the view from a spaceship window.
Animal Hair Salon
Design cool hairstyles for these wild creatures
Lets kids give animals wacky hairstyles, combining humor and design.
Exploring the Deep
This submarine is looking for new marine species. Can you draw them?
Lets children invent underwater worlds, creatures, and hidden treasures. Stimulate their imagination with different possibilities – what if the sea the submarine is exploring is on another planet?
Magic Potions
What will these magic potions do? Fill them with your drawings
Do you have a potential Harry Potter or Hermione Granger? This versatile activity adapts to every season and celebration. Picture your child crafting springtime magic potions, conjuring up a Christmas wonderland, or delving into the spooky realm of Halloween.
Neighbors
Who lives on each floor of this building?
Invites kids to imagine who lives nearby, building empathy and creativity as they draw unique characters.
A Vacation Postcard
From where did this postcard come from?
Lets children design their dream destination and practice visual storytelling through a postcard format.
Haunted House
What spooky creatures inhabit this haunted mansion?
Encourages kids to invent spooky details and characters, sparking imagination while exploring a fun Halloween theme.
Happy Moments
Look at all these photos of your happy moments! Can you draw them?
Helps children reflect on positive experiences and express gratitude through art.
The Crazy Hairdresser
The crazy hairdresser has made you a hilarious hairstyle, can you draw it?
Encourages playful creativity by letting kids design wild and colorful hairstyles.
The Fairies’ Lunch
If you were a fairy, what would be your favorite food? Draw it!
Sparks fantasy thinking as kids imagine magical foods and settings for fairies.
What’s in your head
If we could look inside your head we would seeeverything you are passionate about.
Promotes self‑expression by inviting kids to draw thoughts, dreams, or ideas inside a head outline.
Your Very Own Video Game
If your kids could create their favorite video game, what would it be like?
Perfect for gamers and storytellers, this activity blends imagination with design by asking kids to invent characters and worlds for a game of their own.
Snow Globe
What’s inside the snow globe?
Lets kids create a tiny world inside a globe, encouraging scene‑building and detail.
Surprise Gift
Oh what a surprise! What was inside the gift box? Draw it.
Encourages curiosity and creativity as kids decide what’s hidden inside a mysterious package.
Visual Music
Listen to the music and draw the pictures, shapes and colors you feel like drawing.
Helps kids translate sounds into shapes and colors, boosting abstract thinking.
Your Trading Card Collection
Draw your custom trading cards and they’ll be truly unique.
This fun, collectible-style prompt invites kids to design their own themed trading cards, combining character creation, visual design, and imagination.
Let’s Have a Party
Decorate this room for a party. Who is coming?
Kids plan and draw their dream party, for their friends, their favorite artists, etc. allowing them to mix creativity with real-world planning and visual storytelling.
Crystal Ball
What can you see in the crystal ball?
Encourages storytelling as kids imagine what the future might reveal.
Funny Faces
So many different faces… Who are they? Draw them!
Invites kids to experiment with exaggerated expressions and humor in art.
My Selfie
Look at you, what a great selfie!
Kids get to create a self-portrait with a twist, using a format they know well—selfies—to explore self-image and personal style in a playful way.
Party Deer
This deer is going to a party,decorate and dress its antlers for the occasion!
Combines animals and celebration themes, sparking imaginative design.
Your Comic Book
Imagine a story and draw it – how exciting!
Great for budding writers and illustrators, this worksheet helps kids combine storytelling and art as they build their own comic with characters, dialogue, and scenes.
The Superteam
Imagine the powers of these superheroes and draw their costumes
To make the activity more interesting, try providing a guideline that the drawing must follow. For example, they may be heroes from a culture very different from their own, or their powers may be related to nature.
Open Door
Where can you go if you walk through this door? Draw it.
Prompts curiosity by asking kids to imagine what lies beyond a mysterious door.
The Witch’s Fridge
This fridge is full of ingredients for making potions!
Blends humor and fantasy as kids invent strange foods inside a witch’s refrigerator.
Birthday Party
What a party! Decorate it as you wish
Lets kids design their ultimate party scene, boosting creativity and planning.
Outdoor Holiday Decorating
Let’s celebrate! Decorate the house for this special occasion
Encourages festive creativity by imagining how to decorate outdoor spaces.
What Are You Thinking?
Draw inside your head what you are thinking or what interests you.
This thoughtful and often humorous activity encourages self-expression and emotional awareness as kids draw what someone (or something) might be thinking.
Blank Giraffe
This giraffe has lost all its spots! Draw a new and original coat for it.
Offers a blank template to spark pattern design, color play, and creativity. Challenge them to think unconventionally, they can use patterns and colors that are never seen in the animal world.
Colorful Snake
Decorate this snake with your own colors, patterns and doodles!
Encourages pattern‑making and color experimentation on a fun shape.
Viral YouTube Video
Wow, this YouTube video has 10,000,000 likes!
A fun, modern prompt that taps into kids’ digital interests, this printable lets them imagine what kind of creative content they’d share with the world.
Impossible Equilibrium
Wow, isn’t that impressive? Draw where this skilled equilibrist is standing.
Boosts critical thinking as kids illustrate a surreal, impossible balance. Challenge them to think unconventionally. What might the character be balancing on besides a rope or a ball?
Imagine Your Own Map
If we know the way, we can get where we want to go.
The options with a blank map are endless: is it of the real world or an imaginary one? of this planet or one far away? of how to get to the supermarket or to find treasure? Teaches spatial thinking while kids design fantasy maps and worlds.
Empty Museum
What a dull museum! Where are all the paintings? Let your kid draw them!
Invites kids to “curate” their own exhibition by filling blank museum walls with art. Leave the topic completely free to the child’s imagination or customize to the child’s interests and what they’re learning in school.
What Do You Want to Say?
Draw everything you would like to tell at this moment.
This comic-style prompt helps kids develop characters and voice, encouraging creative dialogue and imagination through art.
The Most Delicious Dish
You are the chef! What would be your best recipe? Draw yourself and your signature dish.
Lets kids invent and draw outrageous meals, boosting imagination around food.
Surprise Egg
This egg has just hatched but… what will come out?
Encourages curiosity as children decide what hatches from a mysterious egg. A bird, an alien, a monster, a baby, a lettuce? There are no wrong choices.
Open Window
What can you see through this window?
This calming and creative prompt lets kids imagine the world outside any window, encouraging them to invent scenery, moods, or even stories.
Alien Orchard
What trees and vegetables will grow in this amazing garden?
Combines science‑fiction and nature as kids invent strange plants and landscapes.
My Favorite Things
Here are a handful of your favorite things, what are they?
This activity helps kids explore their identity and interests through art, giving them a personal and confidence-boosting way to express what matters most to them.
Delicious Ice Creams
How delicious these ice creams are! How many flavors can you imagine?
Invites playful design as kids invent unusual flavors and colorful scoops.
My Craziest Dream
Draw the craziest dream you’ve ever had
Encourages storytelling as kids bring a dream or fantasy scene to life.
Urban Art
Wow, what a marvel of urban art! What has this artist painted on the wall?
Inspired by real-world street art, this prompt encourages creative freedom and bold thinking, letting kids design something expressive and culturally relevant.
The New Pet
This is the pet you’ve always wanted! And it’s thrilled to meet you.
Challenge your child to draw something other than the usual puppy or kitten. What about a reptile or an insect? Or what if it’s from another planet?
Ready for More Creative Fun?
With these printable prompts and endless ways to use them, your kids will never run out of ideas—or reasons to pick up a pencil. No matter where they are, these activities give them a chance to create whenever they want.
🎨 Want even more inspiration? Check out our other articles and free resources for drawing ideas, art projects, and creative tips designed just for kids (and the grown-ups who guide them):
- 11 Drawing Activities to Unplug Your Kids from Screens
- 45 Free Printable Drawing Prompts for Kids · Picklebums
- Taro Gomi has THE BEST BOOKS that encourage children to draw. I love them, and we have several at home.
Let’s keep their imaginations growing—one drawing at a time.
