Creative Drawing Ideas

Simply drawing need not be boring. Many ideas exist and with practice, many more will come to you. Drawing techniques provide a variety of effects from texture to color-blending to design. Drawing tools include pencil, colored pencil, charcoal, permanent ink and oil or chalk pastels. One of these ideas uses paint and simple, colored chalk to create an interesting outcome. Expand your impression of drawing with these creative ideas.

Draw on textured paper. Use soft drawing pencils, crayons, charcoal or oil pastels on rough textured paper to create an interesting effect. Sharp, hard pencils do not render well on rough paper. For the best effect, create a drawing of an object that has a great deal of texture resembling that of the rough paper you choose. Some textures resemble grass, hair or fur while others may resemble baskets or wood grain. Experiment with the amount of pressure you place on the drawing media to find the best renderings for your subject.

Draw with water-soluble color pencils for a watercolor effect. Choose one of three different ways to use these. Draw with the pencil completely dry then brush over your drawing with a soft brush dipped in clean water. Start with a small amount of water then slowly increase if desired. The more water that you use, the less tinted the color will be and the more blending of colors you produce. Also use these by dipping the pencil tip into water before drawing. Have a cup of water ready to repeatedly dip the pencil into as you work. This produces an almost paintbrush stroke effect. For blending, layer the colors as you draw. Alternatively, brush over the entire paper with water before you draw using just enough to wet it slightly. Do not use too much or the paper will become fragile. Draw on the paper with slightly dull watercolor soluble pencils. The lines you draw appear slightly feathered and painted looking. Whatever technique you use, start with a small amount of water. You can always add more.

Create a drawing using several different media. For example, create a floral picture using a hard graphite drawing pencil to create a light line. Create close-up, large and detailed flowers with a background of few details. Use black, fine-lined permanent ink to outline the close-up flowers and stems. Color the flowers in bright, rich hues with oil pastels. Finally, use a watercolor wash to paint over the entire picture. Use water and a small amount of watercolor paint for the wash so that it remains transparent. Use appropriate colors of wash in the background to give a hint of the objects such as trees, water or sky that you may have there.

Use white or very light pastels on dark paper to create a winter or nighttime scene. A suitable subject would be to create pictures of gardens, woods or fields at night. Once thought of as only a child's project, some artists have created highly detailed and skilled works with this media. To create a grown-up version of this childhood staple, use artist's chalk pastels rather than simple, colored chalk. Plan a detailed, high quality drawing and create guidelines for yourself on the dark paper with light colored pencil before attempting to draw it in chalk.

Plain, children's colored school chalk delivers an interesting effect when dipped in white paint before drawing on dark paper. Dip the chalk tip into a small container of white acrylic paint before drawing. Draw as you normally would with the chalk. Dip it back into the paint as needed. The paint wets the chalk slightly and it adheres to the paper to look almost like paint. The white paint provides an edge to the lines that you make. Use this to create winter scenes on dark blue paper or interesting line designs on any dark paper.

Use found objects or store-bought rubbing plates to create rubbings with oil pastels or crayons. Found objects such as coins, leaves, sand paper, wood or wicker create interesting effects when rubbed. Place the paper over the object chosen to rub. Remove paper covering from the oil pastel, then use the side of the pastel to create the rubbing by rubbing on the paper that lies over the rubbing object. Afterwards, use permanent ink to add details or drawings to your rubbed paper. You might also choose to create a collage by using the rubbing paper to cut out various shapes or objects. Afterwards, arrange then glue these onto another paper to create a picture.

Texture lines add interest and realism to your creative drawings. Practice texture by creating an interesting texture sample. First, either draw a tree with many branches or draw around your hand enlarging the hand slightly by drawing a bit out from the edge of your fingers. Choose the five to seven textures you wish to practice such as grass, insect wings, bark, brick, leaves, scales, hair and tire tread. Decide the best lines with which to depict that texture. Fill each finger or tree branch, as well as the hand and wrist or trunk, with a different texture. This creates an interesting piece of artwork and assists you in drawing texture.

Divide a paper into eight boxes by folding it over evenly three times. Draw a line design with pencil in one of the boxes. The lines must extend from one side of the box to the other or from top to bottom. Use straight, curvy, zigzag, looping, thin or thick lines for example. Draw at least six lines in your design. When you are happy with the design, repeat it exactly in each of the other seven boxes. After you draw the line design in every box, choose colors with which to color each box using a color scheme and your choice of media. Perhaps you want to use primary colors of red, yellow and blue in four boxes and secondary colors of purple, green and orange in four boxes. Instead, you might also use schemes such as the cool colors of blue, green and purple with the warm colors of orange, yellow and red.