How to come up with drawing Ideas (Patreon)

I get a lot of questions regarding 

"How to come up with drawing ideas"

so I thought it would be a good idea to show you some of the things I do to never get out of drawing ideas and some ideas I heard from others. 

Every one of us artists definitely knows that situation where you are super motivated to draw, you made time on a day for drawing or even dedicated the whole day to drawing, made a big cup of tea, sat down in your favorite place to be creative, open up a new canvas (or a new sketchbook spread) AND YOU DON`T KNOW WHAT TO DRAW...

I had this situation veeeery often when I started to take art more seriously. Then I most of the time scrolled through interest for hours and when I finally had an idea for a drawing I was exhausted and don´t wanted to draw anymore.

And because of that, I made up some techniques for myself to always have lots of ideas for drawing when I feel creative and not to waste a lot of time searching for inspiration. 

So let me share with you my top 5 tips for how to come up with drawing ideas

1. Collecting aesthetic photos on a Pinterest board

As I spend a lot of time on Pinterest, whether it´s looking for inspiration for my garden or how to furnish our old house, collecting gesture drawing images to practice drawing people, or for outfit inspiration. I always see a lot of photos that inspire me to draw something or give me an idea for a drawing.

So I have a Pinterest board named "inspiration for illustration" where I collect lots of photos that I loved when scrolling through Pinterest.

There are photos of quilts included, photos of animals, photos of movie scenes I loved, lots of vintage photos of kids, photos of vintage items and clothing, photos of houses, flowers, and plants, and soooo much more. Just everything where I know that when I look at it again I will immediately have a drawing idea in my mind!

2. Collecting art ideas in a notebook or in the Notion app

I also have several pages in my Notion where I collect drawing ideas for normal illustrations, for stickers sheets, and for other products.

These are ideas that come to my mind during everyday life or reading/watching movies and where I just don´t have the opportunity to make a sketch or just don´t want to atm.

So I really recommend to either write your ideas down for later!

You can just use a normal notebook, but for me, it´s just easier to have Notion on my phone and on my laptop.

3. Draw what is in front of you

Then of course you can draw what you currently see in front of you.

For example, if you are drawing in a coffee shop.

I also love to do that when I´m drawing a new "items" illustration. So lots of the items I draw I actually have at home 😅 I just look at my clothes, my vintage vases, or candle holders and draw them.

4. Follow an art challenge

Another great way for drawing ideas is of course following an art challenge on Instagram! 

I have a collection on Instagram where I save all the art challenges and "draw this in your style" that I like.And not only to participate in them but also to use the prompts for drawing ideas throughout the year!

5. Make an art idea jar

A lot of artists also have their own drawing ideas list or even an art idea jar with lots of paper scraps with ideas on them. 

You can make your own where you write down lots of different animals, interesting environment ideas, clothes, and sooo much more.

Then just pick 2 or 3 random scraps and draw what comes to your mind when you see the prompts.

Over the years this jar will grow more and more and it will always be a big surprise for which scrap you will get!

I hope this helps you with the process of coming up with drawing ideas! 

🧡🧡🧡