Art prompts inspire kids to draw differently than a blank piece of paper. Drawing prompts are fun ways to inspire creative drawing ideas.
Updated September 2024
We use drawing prompts and other art prompts a lot and we want to encourage you to give them a try, too, if you don’t already.
Why? Art prompts inspire creativity in a completely different way than a blank piece of paper by presenting a starting point, question, or challenge. And yet, they are remarkably open ended.
Here are ten of our favorite art prompts for kids. Note: Some of these are drawing prompts, some are prompts for painting, collage art, or other kinds of art-making. Most are flexible, though. For example, what sounds like a drawing prompt, can be turned into a painting prompt with the addition of paint and a paint brush rather than drawing tools or turned into a collage prompt with the addition of a glue bottle and little collage materials.
Art Prompts for Kids
1. Magazine Pictures as Drawing Prompts
Magazines make fun drawing prompts for kids and adults alike! The idea is you use half a magazine page pasted onto paper as an art prompt and the missing half of the magazine image is completed (or made up) through your drawing.
2. A Connect the Dots Art Prompt
We’ve tried this connect the dots art prompt for kids of all ages and find that they all love the creative process. And you end up with a gorgeous piece of geometric art that you can hang on your wall!
3. Hole Challenge Art
If you’re looking for a fun and interesting art challenge for your kids, try offering paper with a hole cut out of the middle as an art prompt. There’s something about the negative space that gets the imagination going!
4. Drawing Prompts with Eye Stickers
The next time you’re looking for something fast and simple to keep your child engaged, simply set out a tray with a piece of paper, some eye stickers, and a pencil. We love the imaginative ways kids use the eyes to create drawings.
5. Scribble Challenge Art
The scribble drawing game combines both a drawing prompt and a drawing game into one interactive and fun activity for kids and adults, alike! Turn a scribble into any design, image or drawing you’d like. Or try a more cooperative scribble art project with markers and paint.
6. Frame Art Drawing Prompts
This probably sounds strange, but frames seem to inspire kids’ creativity in a way that a blank piece of paper doesn’t always – even though it’s virtually the same thing! For some reason, the simple act of framing the space seems to invite a creative response.
7. Music as an Art Prompt
This music activity for kids uses music as the inspiration for their art. Children are invited to listen closely, then create art in response to and while listening to the music.
8. Fingerprint Art for Kids
This is such a fun art prompt! Turn your fingerprints into people or animals or flowers or anything with a few strategically placed pen lines.
9. Shadow Art
This is a simple yet engaging art activity. Just trace the pattern of shadow and light made by the sun shining through window. You can also do the same drawing at different times of day to see how the shadows change.
10. Open-Ended Stamp Sets
Open-ended stamp sets like the ones featured here give kids the opportunity to create unique art and layer in different mediums, like stamping a scene and then drawing over it with markers.
Where to Find Drawing Prompts
Here are some places to find drawing prompts and ways to use them with your kids.
- Print out a kids’ art prompt that you find online. Here are our favorite printable art activities for kids that are open-ended and foster creativity.
- Get a doodle book and tear out one sheet at a time. We like how open-ended and kid-friendly Taro Gomi’s doodle books and Story Doodle Place Mats are.
- Jean’s book Invitation to Draw has 99 open-ended drawing prompts to encourage creativity.
- The Kids Art Spot has a large library of drawing prompts for kids!
Do you use art prompts with your kids? If not, we encourage you to!
Set up a simple art prompt for your kids today and see how it inspires their creativity!
More Drawing Ideas for Kids
- The Art of Strewing
- Drawing Prompts for Kids Using Magazine Pictures
- Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids (+ FREE Printable!)
- 12 Kids Art Games for Fun and Creativity
- 16 Printable Art Activities for Kids
- DIY Art Activity Pages for Kids
Does your child want to explore the world of drawing and expand their skills? Check out our three-part Drawing Skills Master Class for kids! Your child can learn to draw at home with 3 unique modules: Line & Shape, Light & Shadow, and Perspective. With at-home video lessons and easy-to-follow printable workbooks, your child will build skills and confidence as they learn to draw!
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