Faced with a blank page, the urge to draw often fades for lack of a subject. A specific brief gets you started far faster than “draw whatever you like”: it gives you a starting point and a constraint, and lets imagination fill in the rest.
Every idea on the wheel says what to draw and how to approach it. The Kids variant is all imagination and simple shapes; the Teens and adults variant offers observation, perspective and shading exercises; the Five-minute challenge variant sets a short constraint, ideal for warming up or taking a breather between tasks.
How to use it
- Get a sheet of paper, a pencil, an eraser and, if you like, felt-tip pens or coloured pencils.
- Choose a variant, spin the wheel and read the brief to the end.
- Set a timer: 5 minutes for the challenges, 20 to 30 minutes for the other ideas.
- Date your drawings and keep them in one sketchbook: repeating an idea a few months later shows how far you have come.
All the options
- Friendly monster
- Draw a monster with as many eyes as the number you roll on a die, legs borrowed from two different animals and its favourite object. Write its name in big letters above it.
- Treehouse
- Start with a thick trunk and three branches, then build a hut on top with a ladder, a round window and a flag. Add whoever lives there.
- Mixed-up animal
- Put two animals together, such as an elephant’s head on a fish’s body. Make up its name by joining the two words.
- My dream dinner
- Draw a plate seen from above, filled to the edge with your perfect meal. Label each food with its name.
- Tidying robot
- Draw a robot that tidies your bedroom, with at least three tools at the end of its arms: a grabber, a vacuum, a brush. Make sure you show the button that switches it on.
- Bottom of the sea
- Draw a line of sand at the bottom, wavy seaweed, three fish of different sizes and a treasure chest with its lid open. Colour the water last, around the shapes.
- Me as a superhero
- Draw your whole body with a cape, a mask and a symbol on your chest that stands for your power. Write the power in a speech bubble.
- Shape city
- Build a city using only squares, rectangles, triangles and circles: tower blocks, roofs, wheels, the sun. Then count how many shapes you used.
- Four-seasons tree
- Fold the paper into four and draw the same tree in each box: in blossom, with green leaves, with orange leaves, then covered in snow.
- Hand into animal
- Trace around your hand with fingers spread, then turn the shape into an animal: a fish, a bird or a hedgehog. Add eyes, a beak or spikes with a felt tip.
Frequently asked questions
What should I draw when I have no ideas?
Start from an object in front of you, or from a constraint: one line, three shapes, five minutes. A constraint narrows the choice and makes starting far easier.
How can a beginner get better at drawing?
Draw a little every day rather than for hours once a week, and alternate observation (objects, hands, plants) with imagination. Gesture sketches and blind contours train your eye, which everything else builds on.
What materials do I need to start drawing?
An HB pencil for outlines, a softer pencil (2B or 4B) for shading, an eraser and a sketchbook with fairly thick paper. Nothing else is needed for the ideas on this wheel.
What can a 5-year-old draw?
Imaginary subjects and simple shapes: a friendly monster, a mixed-up animal, a shape city, a hand turned into an animal. Then ask them to tell you about the drawing; that is often where the story comes alive.