Below, you’ll find a list of character-drawing prompts to help you get started on your next creation.
Whether you’re trying to practice your character drawing skills or you need to get past a bout of creative block, these prompts are here to help unleash your creativity and get you drawing. Some of them are straightforward, while others will require a bit of imagination and planning.
Take a look at the list below, and have fun creating!
Using This Guide
You can either take this guide and use it to draw human characters, or you can create characters who are animals, AI, or animated objects in the world around you.
Be as creative as you can be, and interpret these prompts in a way that makes sense to you and your artistic style. Here are a few ways you can use this list:
- Challenge yourself to use one or two prompts in your sketchbook every day for an entire week.
- Choose prompts that seem difficult or out of your comfort zone.
- Keep these prompts handy for when you have quiet time in class or finish assignments early and need something to work on while your class finishes up.
- Try playing with different mediums or artistic styles when going through this list.
- Pick a number from a random number generator and use that prompt.
The Drawing Prompts
- Draw a character who has a distinctive physical feature.
- Create a character whose facial features are the opposite of yours.
- Draw a character loosely based on your best friend.
- Create a character who has an unlikely superpower.
- Draw your favorite teacher as a superhero. Give them an important superpower.
- Create a human character based on your favorite animal.
- Take a cartoon character and draw them with realistic features.
- Create a character out of a random object in the room you are currently in.
- Create a character based on your favorite food or meal.
- Draw a gender-swapped character. Try to be as detailed as possible.
- Draw a character with a visible disability.
- Create a character based on your favorite holiday celebration.
- Create a character based on the last dream you remember.
- Draw your favorite book character at a different age than what they are in the book.
- Create a character based on a national park. Add in small details that show this connection.
- Create a character based on a place you like to shop.
- Draw a character who clearly has a cold.
- Create a character who looks like they would have a really funny laugh.
- Draw a character with exaggerated facial features.
- Draw a character who is the personification of a strong emotion.
- Create a character who has a job that doesn’t seem to suit them.
- Draw a character who looks confused about how they got onto your paper.
- Create a character who is wearing a mask, and show all of their emotion through their eyes.
- Draw a character based on your favorite song.
- Create a character with a hair color you wish you could have.
- Draw a character based on an actor or actress you admire.
- Create a character who looks like you, but the way that you wish you looked.
- Draw a character based on your favorite subject in school.
- Draw a character based on your favorite or lucky number.
- Draw a character who is having fun at a theme park.
- Draw a character who is experiencing stage fright.
- Create a character who seems embarrassed.
- Draw a character in a style that you don’t usually use.
- Draw a cartoon character in your own style.
- Create a character who is a penguin in a bow-tie.
- Draw a character based on an athlete who you admire.
- Draw a modern cartoon character set in 1800.
- Draw a character who is clearly hiding a secret.
- Create a character based on one of your siblings or parents.
- Draw an animal cartoon character in a realistic style.
- Draw a character who is playing a musical instrument.
Looking For More?
Our site is home to an abundance of drawing and writing prompts, as well as educational resources for teachers and parents.
If you’re looking for specific content and we don’t have it, reach out and let us know. We’re here to help you succeed!
