31 Simple Drawing Ideas to Spark Your Daily Creativity (Even in a Tiny Planner Square!)

If you’ve ever stared at a blank planner margin or a notebook page with the intention of adding a little drawing, only to end up doodling the same heart or star again—you’re not alone. Finding fresh, inspiring, simple drawing ideas is one of the trickiest parts of starting (and sticking with) a drawing habit.

Whether you’re using your planner for memory keeping, creative journaling, or just looking for a fun way to unwind, a simple daily drawing practice can be surprisingly powerful. It doesn’t have to take hours, and it doesn’t have to be museum-worthy. In fact, we believe in the magic of the tiny doodle—the kind that lives in the margins, brightens up a to-do list, or turns your Hobonichi Cousin calendar into a little gallery of your everyday thoughts.

In this post, we’re sharing 31 of our favorite drawing ideas to get your creative wheels turning. Plus, you can grab our free monthly drawing prompts checklists, perfectly sized to slip into the edge of your planner or cut down as a bookmark. Use them to start a month-long drawing challenge, or just pull a prompt whenever you need a spark.

Why Daily Drawing Works (Even When You Think You’re “Not an Artist”)

Drawing every day, even if it’s just for five minutes, helps unlock your creativity, reduce stress, and strengthen your visual thinking skills. When you keep it low-pressure, your brain starts to connect ideas more easily, and you begin noticing the details in the world around you.

Most importantly? It builds momentum. The more you draw, the more ideas you have. And that means you’re less likely to get stuck.

Our Favorite Simple Drawing Ideas to Keep You Inspired Any Time of The Year

Use these prompts in any order, or pick one each day in your Hobonichi, bullet journal, or sketchbook. Some are silly, some are sweet, and some might surprise you with how deep they can go!

1. Draw your breakfast. Simple, satisfying, and fun to color.
2. Doodle your current mood as a weather pattern. Sunshine? Thunderstorm? Fog?
3. Sketch your favorite pen. (Bonus if you’re a pen hoarder!)
4. Turn your to-do list into tiny icons. Checkboxes never looked so cute.
5. Draw your favorite book or movie as a one-panel comic. Stick figures welcome!
6. Make a monster out of your current anxiety. Gentle monster therapy.
7. Draw what your cat is probably thinking. Or your dog. Or your houseplant.
8. Create a magical doorway. Where does it lead?
9. Sketch your dream planner setup. Stickers, washi, pens—go wild.
10. Draw something you can see out your window right now.
11. Make a fake product label. Totally ridiculous or oddly realistic.
12. Design your own sticker sheet. Mini doodles you’d want to print.
13. Create a new cryptid. Like Bigfoot, but yours.
14. Draw a scene from your favorite childhood memory.
15. Invent a cozy creature. Think tea dragon meets planner goblin.
16. Map your brain today. What’s rattling around up there?
17. Draw an outfit you wish you owned. Or one you rocked in the ’90s.
18. Make a tiny still life. Pick 3 nearby objects and draw them.
19. Write a word in fancy lettering, then decorate around it.
20. Draw what your planner would look like if it had feelings. Overwhelmed? Ecstatic?
21. Sketch a dream you remember. Or just make one up.
22. Draw a fairy or spirit who lives in your favorite room.
23. Turn your favorite quote into a tiny illustrated poster.
24. Create a mythical plant. Bonus if it glows in the dark.
25. Draw your handwriting practice results. Yes, that counts!
26. Doodle a page pixie. One of those little surprises that shows up in your journal.
27. Sketch your idea of peace. Whatever that looks like to you.
28. Draw your phone screen as it looks right now. All the chaos.
29. Make a doodle using only one line. No lifting your pen!
30. Draw a tiny map of a place you love. Real or imagined.
31. Create your own drawing prompt for tomorrow. Pass it on!

How to Use the Free Printable Drawing Ideas Checklists

We design a free, printable list of monthly themed easy drawing ideas so you can take them on the go. Each set of prompts is formatted to fit:

• The left margin of a Hobonichi Cousin or similar A5 planner
• A bookmark-sized strip you can tuck into any notebook or journal

To use:

1. Download and print the monthly checklist from our Freebies Library.
2. Cut along the dotted lines and decorate if you want.
3. Tuck it into your planner, journal, or pen case.
4. Check off each idea as you complete it, or fold them up and draw one at random!

You can also follow along with our daily drawing videos on YouTube and TikTok. Watch each square come to life, then try the same prompt in your own journal.

Drawing Ideas Are Everywhere

Once you start using prompts like these, you’ll find your own drawing ideas start popping up all over the place. A cool label, a song lyric, a pile of laundry that somehow looks like a wizard’s hat—they all become fair game for your next doodle.

And here’s a little secret: the goal isn’t to become amazing at drawing. It’s to show up. To observe your life a little more closely. To turn a blank square into a tiny window of creativity that belongs to you.

Your planner might be filled with appointments and deadlines… but it can also hold a little magic.