Random drawing generator

What Should I Draw?

One button, one idea, no thinking required. 440 drawing ideas sorted into three difficulties, with 70 optional twists for when the plain version feels too sensible.

A hot air balloon

easyVehicles

Tip: press Space or Enter while the button is focused to keep rolling without moving the mouse.

How to use it

  1. Pick a difficulty, or leave it on All

    All mixes the whole pile together. If you only have ten minutes, or you are drawing with a child, stay on Easy — those are single objects you can finish in one sitting.

  2. Press Surprise me and draw the first thing you get

    No re-rolling. Rejecting three ideas in a row is the same stalling that brought you here. The generator never repeats a subject until every one has been used, so the next press is always something new.

  3. Add a twist when the plain version feels boring

    A twist turns a subject into a small problem to solve: a lighthouse made entirely out of candy, a grumpy fox seen from directly above. That is where the drawing stops being a copy and starts being yours.

What the three difficulties look like

A dozen from each level, straight out of the same list the button draws from.

Easy things to draw

One shape, one outline, five minutes. Good for warming up or for drawing with kids.

  • Sleeping cat
  • Panda
  • Carrot
  • Seashell
  • Teapot
  • Star with rosy cheeks
  • Shooting star
  • Hand waving
  • Tent
  • Church steeple
  • Hang glider
  • Constellation

Medium things to draw

A subject with a pose or a prop in it. Twenty minutes and a bit of thinking.

  • Otter floating on its back
  • Toucan
  • Croissant
  • Pile of autumn leaves
  • Tangled pair of headphones
  • Panda eating a rice ball
  • Witch stirring a cauldron
  • Barista making latte art
  • Gardener with muddy hands
  • Kitchen in the middle of cooking
  • Food truck
  • Landing pod

Hard things to draw

Scenes, crowds, perspective. The ones that fill a whole page and a whole evening.

  • Octopus
  • Swarm of bats
  • Bakery window
  • Kelp forest under water
  • Pipe organ
  • Cluttered hamster apartment
  • Wizard's tower cut in half
  • Pair of hands holding a mug
  • Cathedral from the inside
  • Motorcycle with a sidecar
  • Car rusting in a junkyard
  • Spacewalk to repair a panel

The full list — all 440 of them, grouped by category — lives onthings to draw.

Questions people ask

How does this random drawing generator work?
Press Surprise me and the generator picks one subject at random out of 440 hand-written drawing ideas. Turn on Add a twist and it staples a second, sillier instruction onto the end — a cactus becomes a cactus riding a skateboard. Nothing is generated by AI and nothing repeats until the whole pile has been used up.
What should I draw when I have absolutely no ideas?
Start easy and start small. Pick the Easy tab, take the first thing it gives you, and give yourself five minutes and no eraser. The block almost never comes from a lack of ideas — it comes from wanting the first line to be good. A random subject removes the choice, and a twist removes the pressure to be accurate.
What is the difference between easy, medium and hard?
Easy ideas are single objects with a clear silhouette: a mushroom, a paper plane, a sleeping cat. Medium ideas add a pose, a prop or a second element. Hard ideas are full scenes with perspective, crowds or reflections — the kind that take a sitting rather than a coffee break.
Can I use these ideas for a drawing challenge like Inktober?
Yes. A lot of people run a month by pressing the button once a day and drawing whatever lands, twist included. If you want a fixed list to work through instead of a daily surprise, the sketchbook challenge on our drawing prompt generator gives you thirty prompts in order.
Is it free, and do I need an account?
It is free, there is no account, and nothing is stored. Everything runs in your browser, so it works offline once the page has loaded and it works the same on a phone as on a laptop.

Next up

Got your idea? Here is where people go next.