For many, sketching your ideas and emotions out of your mind to the paper is easier than speaking them out loud. Drawing is a safe way of expressing yourself and, as a hobby it can be both fulfilling and pleasurable.
But what should you draw? How to bring out your hidden emotions and ideas? Here are some creative and unique ideas for drawing that you can use to fill your empty sketchbook.
1. Humorous Shop Signatures
What’s better than bringing a smile to people’s faces? So why don’t you create some humorous shop signatures? You can take for example iconic shops such as grocery, book stores, and even movie theaters and make comic drawings about them.
You can draw a grocery store being owned by a grocery robber, a book store where you can read without buying books or a movie theater where you can watch movies without buying a ticket. Being creative and making these funny shop graphics can amuse your friends and family.
You can also create funny logos to accompany the graphics. Make sure that they are recognizable yet appealing to everyone. Using colors and lines might be helpful in creating a catchy logo.
For colors, try to stick to two colors and make sure that there is no color contrast between your logo and shop graphics. For lines, we suggest to use thick, bold lines with some details on the edges.
2. Zentangles
If you’re looking for a relaxing yet creative idea for drawing, then Zentangles might be for you. Zentangles are an abstract art form that may resemble mandalas and are composed of “tangles” or small repeating geometric patterns.
They can look intimidating at first but don’t worry, as they are super easy to draw and learn to create in your own way. You can find tons of tutorials online. When drawing Zentangles, it is useful to keep your sketches a bit smaller than the standard A4 or A5 paper sizes.
This will allow for more intricate details and more creative freedom. Also, try to have a good combination between contrast and consistency. Using sharp tools, such as pens and micron pens, will help you create those details much more easily.
3. Drawing Comics
Comics are a great way of creating stories and amusing your audience. To draw comics, you will need some imagination, knowledge of composition and perspective, and a bit of artistic skills.
You can start with very simple stories such as a punchline or gag cartoon. Making your comic as unpredictable as possible will surprise your readers and make them more engaged in your story. The story development process usually has three steps.
First, you come up with an idea and the characters of your comic. Think about the different ways you can use the characters to make the story unpredictable.
Second, develop the story around the comic characters you created. Overall, the story should have a single theme or a message to the audience. Third, organize the comic’s elements on a canvas.
Draw the characters and the scenes as you make up your story. This will give your comic a structure and enjoyability.
4. Fashion Sketching
For creative minds who love fashion, fashion sketching is a great idea for your sketchbook. It’s good to have a wide range of knowledge about fabric, color, styling and silhouette in order to make fashion drawing more challenging. Fashion sketching is actually more fun when the drawings represent the real-life clothing, in terms of detailing and silhouette.
First, you should start with finding inspirations. Try to focus on a single item, like a piece of clothing, and think about how to make it yours.
Be sure to practice making sketches on paper and try to draw silhouettes with details as you go along. Also, try to add texture lines and details to your sketches with pencils. For a more detailed outcome, use markers or color pencils to make your fashion sketching more realistic.
5. Abstract Painting
Do you need a drawing idea that requires minimal amount of time and artistic skills? Then abstract painting might be for you.
Abstract painting requires color and brushes, but it does not have to be a painting about a real-life object or a particular image. It is just about playing with colors and shapes and making something unique. To start an abstract painting, it is important to think about a color palette and find some inspirations.
You don’t need to think about the details of the actual painting yet. Try to focus on the main features such as brush strokes, color transitions and their combinations, lines, curves and shapes.
Drawing abstract paintings doesn’t have to be hard and you don’t need any particular skills. After playing with the colors and the shapes, you will find yourself in a very meditative and creative state.
6. Handlettering
Handlettering is among the most creative ideas for drawing in your sketchbook. It’s basically an art form where you draw letters.
It could be fancy or grungy, or any other style you think of. Handlettering doesn’t require a great deal of artistic skills since it focuses on the choice of fonts and the appealing outcomes. To make your handlettering better, start with practicing first on pen and paper then switch to digital art.
Be sure to be original and search for more ornamental and decorative fonts to make your letters look better. Try to make your writings as neat and clear as possible. Be careful with how you organize the letters on paper.
Also, don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles and techniques. By doing that, you’ll be able to make your handlettering more attractive and catchy.
7. Landscape Drawing
Landscape drawing is a great idea for your sketcher, especially if you like going on trips and long walks outdoors. Landscape drawing requires a bit of outdoor knowledge and artistic skills. First, you have to choose the location that you want to draw from.
This can be your backyard, or a place you went on a trip or the view from your window. You can also go to the park and observe nature for a few minutes before starting your drawing.
Then, start drawing some basic shapes and outlines that you can use as a guideline as you go along. Try to make the landscape as detailed as possible, focusing on the shadows and the light. Be sure to use rounded lines when drawing mountains, rivers, tree trunks and leaves.
Also, try to make the horizon lines parallel and the sun rays distinct otherwise the landscape won’t look natural.
8. Portrait Drawing
Portrait drawing is another great idea if you’re looking for some creative ideas for drawing. All you will need is basics of figure drawing and some references, such as pictures or videos.
When drawing a portrait try to focus on the structure of the person’s face. Look for the lines and angles of the face and draw them accurately. Having good lighting is essential for portrait drawing.
You can draw from a real person or just from a photograph. If you’re drawing from a real person, make sure to have a good light source that can make visible the structures of the face. If you’re drawing from a photograph, look for a well-lit image that can show the details and structures of the face.
You can also look for references from the internet to practice portrait drawing.
9. Still Life Objects Drawing
Another one of the great ideas for drawing is still life objects. This can be anything from everyday objects such as a glass of water or a cup of tea to more complex objects such as plants and flowers.
Start by arranging the objects in a method that can be easily drawn on a piece of paper. An example of arranging objects for still life is the 3-object composition. This composition works best when you are performing still life drawing with two objects and a background.
For this method, the background object should be placed in the back and the foreground object in the front with the middle object, the middle ground object being placed between the foreground and background. Then, draw the objects in detail and focus on their shapes and textures.
10. Seascape Drawing
Seascape drawings are one of the most mesmerizing and creative ideas for drawing. It’s basically an artwork of the sea and its elements such as rocks, beaches, and sky.
Taking inspiration from nature is extremely beneficial to your artwork. It’s a way of learning and experiencing the beauty of nature. When drawing seascapes try to focus on its elements such as sand, rocks, clouds, waves, and the horizon lines.
Try to pay close attention to the structure of the waves and the rock formations. It would also make your seascapes more realistic to add some light and shadows. When you’re finished, add some color if you are content with the artwork.
11. Minimal-style Drawing
Minimal-style drawing is an ideal idea for those who love to draw in a very subtle and sleek way. This style of drawing usually works with simplified shapes and simple lines.
Because of its simplicity, it can easily grab the attention of the audience due to its balanced and neat look. When creating a minimal-style drawing, try to look for symbols or objects that can fit into the minimal theme. Some common shapes used for minimal drawings are circles, rectangles, lines, etc.
Combine different shapes to create a balanced artwork. Think about the shapes and their relation to each other and draw them in an abstract way.
Once you are satisfied with the result, you can draw it in a digital program.
12. Architecture Drawing
Architecture drawing is an amazing idea for drawing in your sketchbook. To make architecture drawings look realistic, one should have some knowledge about the structure of a building and the tools used by architects. When working on architecture drawings, try to focus on the structures of the building.
Look for angles and examine the walls of a building. Draw the details of the walls and the textures.
When you are done with the details, you can add some light and shadows. You can also use perspective techniques such as vanishing points to make your drawing look more realistic.
13. Still Life Interiors Drawing
Still life interior drawing is among the creative ideas for filling your sketchbook. It could involve the drawing of furniture and everyday objects such as books and pictures.
To draw this type of art, you need to have an understanding of the structure of furniture and some drawing skills. Start by drawing the outlines of the furniture. This could be a table, a chair, a cupboard, etc.
Then, draw the details such as handles, edges, lines, etc. Be sure to draw the furniture in perspective with the help of vanishing points. After completing the structure of the furniture, draw some decoration objects to fill your still life interior.
Try to make the decoration objects look realistic, adding textures and light and shadows.
Conclusion
These creative and unique ideas for drawing will bring lots of enjoyment and fun to your empty sketchbook. From handlettering to Zentangles, and from comics to still life interiors, these creative drawing ideas will add color and life to your sketchbook.
So start filling your sketchbook with your unique and creative artworks!