Things to draw when you’re bored: 100 ideas for kids

Here are 100 things to draw when you’re bored, from easy animals to silly mash-ups and big challenges. Pick one, set a timer for 10 minutes, and go. Many have free step-by-step lessons on this site, and if you still can’t decide, spin the drawing prompt generator.

Animals (1 to 15)

1. A cat napping in a sunbeam
2. A puppy with huge ears
3. A baby elephant
4. An owl at night
5. A sloth hanging from a branch
6. A penguin in a scarf
7. A hamster with full cheeks
8. A lion with a messy mane
9. A turtle in a race
10. A giraffe wearing a tie
11. A capybara relaxing in a hot tub
12. A frog on a lily pad
13. A bunny holding a carrot
14. A pig in a mud puddle
15. A fox curled up asleep

Free lessons: animals hub, cats and dogs.

Dinosaurs and dragons (16 to 25)

1. A T-rex with tiny arms trying to clap
2. A stegosaurus with colorful plates
3. A baby dinosaur hatching
4. A brachiosaurus eating from a tall tree
5. A triceratops wearing a party hat
6. A dinosaur at the dentist
7. A friendly dragon toasting marshmallows
8. A dinosaur skateboarding
9. A robot T-rex
10. A dinosaur family portrait

Free lessons: dinosaurs hub.

Monsters and creatures (26 to 40)

1. A monster under the bed
2. A monster with three eyes
3. A shy, fluffy monster
4. A monster that eats socks
5. A slime monster
6. A sea monster
7. A monster made of clouds
8. A monster on its first day of school
9. A ghost who’s afraid of the dark
10. A friendly werewolf
11. A mummy unwrapping a present
12. A vampire at the beach
13. A monster with a hundred legs
14. A tiny monster in a teacup
15. A monster’s birthday cake

Free lessons: monsters hub, Halloween.

Robots and space (41 to 52)

1. A robot doing chores
2. A robot dog
3. A baby robot
4. An alien ordering pizza
5. A rocket ship
6. An astronaut floating
7. A planet with a face
8. A UFO picking up a cow
9. An alien pet
10. A robot band
11. A space station
12. An alien family vacation

Free lessons: robots hub, aliens hub.

Food with faces (53 to 62)

1. A pizza slice superhero
2. A banana with sunglasses
3. A grumpy broccoli
4. A cupcake monster
5. A taco with legs
6. An ice cream cone melting
7. A donut astronaut
8. A sushi roll family
9. A hot dog in a race
10. A cheese monster

Free lessons: food monsters.

Mash-ups (63 to 72)

1. A shark with octopus legs
2. A unicorn cat
3. A turtle-flamingo
4. A butterfly elephant
5. A robot fish
6. A cow-caterpillar
7. A mermaid kitten
8. A lion-bee
9. A penguin-dragon
10. Invent your own animal mash-up

More: hybrid animals hub, why mash-ups spark creativity.

People and faces (73 to 82)

1. Your family as superheroes
2. A goofy face
3. A grumpy old wizard
4. Yourself as a grown-up
5. A clown juggling
6. A pirate captain
7. Your teacher as a cartoon
8. A face with 12 feelings
9. A ninja
10. A chef with a giant hat

Free lessons: funny faces, cartoon people.

Places and scenes (83 to 90)

1. Your dream bedroom
2. A treehouse
3. A haunted house
4. A castle on a cloud
5. An underwater city
6. A map of a treasure island
7. A busy city street
8. Your house in 100 years

Challenges (91 to 100)

1. Draw with your eyes closed
2. Draw with your other hand
3. Turn a circle into five different things
4. Draw a comic in four boxes
5. Draw something in 60 seconds
6. Draw the same animal three ways: trace, steps and grid
7. Draw a character, then draw its best friend
8. Draw the view from your window
9. Draw your favorite thing from memory
10. Redraw something you drew last year

Make boredom a habit

Keep a sketchbook for bored moments (see sketchbook ideas), and check out screen-free activities for kids and drawing games for more.

The book that helps

For a whole book of “what should I draw?” answers, the Cool Stuff books are packed with monsters, aliens, robots and more, and the Shape Drawing Challenge turns shapes into hundreds of ideas.

How to Draw: Cool StuffSee it on Amazon

How to Draw: Cool Stuff 2See it on Amazon

Shape Drawing ChallengeSee it on Amazon

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