13 Art Prompts for Kids to Foster Creativity

Art prompts inspire kids to draw differently than a blank piece of paper. Drawing prompts are fun ways to inspire creative drawing ideas.

Updated March 2023

We use drawing prompts and other art prompts a lot and we want to encourage you to give them a try, too, if you don’t already.

Why? Art prompts inspire creativity in a completely different way than a blank piece of paper by presenting a starting point, question, or challenge. And yet, they are remarkably open ended.

Here are some places to find drawing prompts and ways to use them with your kids.

Where to Find Drawing Prompts

• Make your own art prompt on paper or chalkboard (draw a blank face, empty house outline, or a pair of eyes and add a brief question. For example: who is this? Who lives here?). Here are some great art activity pages you can make yourself.
• Print out a kids art prompt that you find online. Here are our favorite printable art activities for kids that are open-ended and foster creativity.
• Get a doodle book and tear out one sheet at a time. We like how open-ended and kid-friendly Taro Gomi’s doodle books and Story Doodle Place Mats are.
• Jean’s book Invitation to Draw has 99 open-ended drawing prompts to encourage creativity.
• The Kids Art Spot has a large library of drawing prompts for kids, with new ones added every week!

Art Prompts for Kids

Note: Some of these are drawing prompts, some are prompts for painting, collage art, or other kinds of art-making. Most are flexible, though. For example, what sounds like a drawing prompt, can be turned into a painting prompt with the addition of paint and a paint brush rather than drawing tools or turned into a collage prompt with the addition of a glue bottle and papers or little collage materials.

1. Magazine pictures as drawing prompts for kids
2. Geometric art for kids (with a connect the dots art prompt)
3. Hole challenge art
4. Dot to dot art challenge for kids
5. Music as an art prompt
6. Drawing prompts for kids with eye stickers
7. Scribble challenge art
8. Frame art drawing prompt
9. A drawing activity for kids based on the Beautiful Oops book
10. Draw with Art Dice (on Tinkerlab)
11. Fingerprint art for kids
12. DIY art journals for kids with drawing prompts
13. Use nature items as chalk drawing prompts (on The Craft Train)

Do you use art prompts with your kids? If not, we encourage you to!

Set up a simple art prompt for your kids today and see how it inspires their creativity!

Want More Drawing Activities? Visit the Kids Art Spot where we have a Drawing Workshop for Kids. This online workshop for kids and families features 10 super fun and easy drawing activities, each with a step-by-step video tutorial and printable instructions.

More Drawing Ideas for Kids

• The Art of Strewing
• Drawing Prompts for Kids Using Magazine Pictures
• Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids (+ FREE Printable!)
• 12 Kids Art Games for Fun and Creativity
• 16 Printable Art Activities for Kids
• DIY Art Activity Pages for Kids

Does your child want to explore the world of drawing and expand their skills? Check out our three-part Drawing Skills Master Class for kids! Your child can learn to draw at home with 3 unique modules: Line & Shape, Light & Shadow, and Perspective. With at-home video lessons and easy-to-follow printable workbooks, your child will build skills and confidence as they learn to draw!

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