Drawing ideas for kids

13 Art Prompts for Kids to Foster Creativity

February 19, 2023

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Art prompts inspire kids to draw differently than a blank piece of paper. Drawing prompts are fun ways to inspire creative drawing ideas.

Updated March 2023

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 some places to find drawing prompts and ways to use them with your kids.

eye sticker drawing prompt — Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

Where to Find Drawing Prompts

Make your own art prompt on paper or chalkboard (draw a blank face, empty house outline, or a pair of eyes and add a brief question. For example: who is this? Who lives here?). Here are some great art activity pages you can make yourself.
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, with new ones added every week!

art prompts pin graphic — Photo by Abbie Connors

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 papers or little collage materials.

invitation to draw — Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

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!

Want More Drawing Activities? Visit the Kids Art Spot where we have a Drawing Workshop for Kids. This online workshop for kids and families features 10 super fun and easy drawing activities, each with a step-by-step video tutorial and printable instructions.