Shape Drawing Challenge #6 — Turning a Bean Shape Into a Duck, a Whale, and an Alien
If your kids enjoy creative drawing activities and love watching a simple scribble turn into something completely new, the latest entry in my Shape Drawing Challenge video series is here. Shape Drawing Challenge #6 takes a basic bean-shaped doodle and uses it as the foundation to create three fun new characters. This video is another hands-on demonstration of how kids can approach Drawing with Shapes in a playful, imaginative way, and it pairs perfectly with the creative exercises found in my Shape Drawing Challenge book.
In this new video, I take that single bean-shaped form and turn it into a duck, a whale, and an alien. Kids get to watch in real time as I transform one simple curve into completely different characters—all by using the exact same principles of Drawing with Shapes that the book is built around.
Inside Shape Drawing Challenge #6
Just like the previous videos in this series, Shape Drawing Challenge #6 is all about helping kids learn how to approach Drawing with Shapes in a way that feels natural and confidence-boosting. The whole process starts with something simple: a bean-shaped outline. It’s the kind of shape kids draw every day without thinking—curved, squishy, and unstructured.
That’s the magic of this challenge. We’re not starting with a perfect circle or a rectangle. We’re starting with something loose and imperfect, because that teaches kids how to see possibilities in any mark they draw.
In this video, I take that bean shape and turn it into:
- A Duck – cheerful, round, and built right around the bean shape
- A Whale – soft, wide, and flowing naturally from the bean outline
- An Alien – quirky, expressive, and imaginative
Kids follow along as I draw each one step-by-step. The video is slow-paced and intentionally kid-friendly so they can pause, practice, and try their own versions. Learning Drawing with Shapes becomes easier when kids see how one simple outline can branch into multiple ideas. That’s the core purpose of these challenges—not perfection, but creative flexibility.
How the Video Connects to the Shape Drawing Challenge Book
Each video in this series builds on the concepts from my Shape Drawing Challenge book, and this sixth installment is no exception. The book gives kids dozens of opportunities to practice Drawing with Shapes across a wide variety of hand-drawn prompts. If your child enjoys this bean-shape challenge, the book is a natural next step.
Inside the book, kids will find:
- 16 different hand-drawn shapes
- 6 example drawings for each shape
- 480 total drawing spaces for kids to explore
- Clean, open pages that invite creativity
Everything in the book is drawn by hand by me using pencil and ink—not AI, not copied shapes. That matters because the art in these books is meant to feel personal, expressive, and friendly to young artists. If kids enjoy watching the video, they’ll love flipping through page after page of fun shapes to transform on their own.
The book is structured so kids can practice Drawing with Shapes at their own pace. Each numbered section focuses on a single shape, giving young artists the freedom to try as many versions as they want.
Why Drawing With Shapes Helps Kids Grow as Artists
There’s a reason this creative approach works so well. When kids practice Drawing with Shapes, they train themselves to:
- Look for shapes inside characters
- Imagine new possibilities from simple lines
- Establish confidence using creativity rather than strict rules
- Practice problem-solving through art
- Create their own characters using basic foundations
The biggest hurdle for many kids is simply knowing where to start. A blank page can be intimidating. But a shape—especially something as simple as a bean shape—gives them an immediate starting point. Suddenly the page is less empty and the creative wheels start turning.
That’s why I love making these videos. They show kids, step-by-step, how approachable and fun Drawing with Shapes can be. Once they draw along with a duck, a whale, and an alien, they begin to see characters everywhere—in clouds, in doodles, in scribbles, in random lines.
It gives them creative independence, which is what makes these challenges special.
About the Shape Drawing Challenge Book
The Shape Drawing Challenge book is one of the most open-ended and imaginative books I’ve created in my art series. Unlike my step-by-step drawing books or my grid drawing books, this one encourages kids to create whatever they want from each starting shape. It’s a creative sandbox that encourages curiosity, experimentation, and even a little silliness.
Here’s what sets it apart:
- It helps kids loosen up creatively
- There is no “right answer”—only possibilities
- It’s great for imaginative storytelling
- Kids build confidence and artistic agility
- Each page helps them understand how shapes turn into characters
Every example inside the book is one I’ve drawn by hand specifically to inspire kids—not overwhelm them. The examples are simple, fun, quirky, and easy to build from. The purpose isn’t for kids to copy my drawings exactly—it’s for them to explore the idea behind Drawing with Shapes and then create their own.
Part of a Larger Collection of Creative Books
My Shape Drawing Challenge book is one part of a much bigger collection of Art Books for Kids, which now includes over 80 titles. These books span four main styles:
- How to Draw (6-step drawing books)
- Trace Then Color (tracing and coloring activity books)
- Draw by Grid (grid-based drawing guides)
- Shape Drawing Challenge (open-ended shape transformation book)
Every book in the collection is hand-drawn by me, character by character. Nothing is AI-generated, nothing recycled. They’re built to help kids learn skills, build drawing confidence, and develop their imagination.
If your kids enjoy experimenting with Drawing with Shapes, there’s a lot more for them to try in the rest of the series. Robots, aliens, animals, dinosaurs, monsters, people—there’s something for every young artist.
Ready for Shape Drawing Challenge #6?
Now it’s time to grab a pencil and start drawing. Encourage your kids to pause the video, try each character, and then see what else they can do with that same bean shape. Maybe they’ll turn it into a submarine, a dragon, a potato creature, or something entirely unexpected.
Watch The Video:
Once they’ve finished the video, the Shape Drawing Challenge book gives them a whole world of new shapes to explore so they can continue practicing Drawing with Shapes at home, in the car, or in the classroom.
Kevin Coulston is an accomplished cartoonist, animator, and writer. He is the author and illustrator of over 80 (and still counting) children’s drawing books available here on FirstArtBooks.com. Kevin has also authored numerous kid-friendly comic book series, including “Dylan McVillain: A Super Villain with the Best Intentions” and “The Adventures of a 4th Grade Space Captain,” along with the Children’s Picture Book series “Alexis and the T-Rexes.”
