PromptToDraw
Skill level

80 Advanced Drawing Ideas

advanced drawing ideas with the first shape named on every entry, so you always know where the drawing actually starts.

Catalog status

70 ideas · 10 illustrated

Difficulty rubric

An editorial band, not a score

Advanced ideas add complex perspective, anatomy, surface change, or value relationships that need planning before the first mark. Most take half an hour or more, and nearly all of them go better if you block a thumbnail first.

Illustrated references

10 with a checked reference image

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Blue-and-graphite landscape reference of a sharp mountain peak above a calm lake, framed by dark foreground conifers, rocky slopes, clouds, and broken reflections
Mountain Lake

Draw a quiet mountain lake with a reflected peak.

advanced38 min
Graphite-and-warm-wash reference of two realistic forward-looking hazel eyes with dark brows, layered lashes, bright catchlights, eyelid folds, and nose-bridge shadows
Expressive Eyes

Draw a pair of expressive eyes with strong highlights.

advanced35 min
Graphite-and-light-wash reference of a young woman in left-facing profile with forehead-to-chin contour, visible eye and lips, ear, long neck, and hair swept into a loose bun
Side Profile Face

Draw a clean side-profile face with simple hair shapes.

advanced36 min
Graphite reference of an open right palm angled toward the viewer with spread thumb, four raised fingers, bent joints, palm creases, wrist tendons, and warm wash behind
Open Hand Pose

Draw an open hand with visible knuckles and palm lines.

advanced40 min
Orange, teal, and black ink reference of a calm golden sun face with closed eyes and rosy cheeks, surrounded by two radial rings of pointed mandala rays, teardrops, dots, and small diamond ornaments
Mandala Sun

Draw a symmetrical sun filled with simple mandala petals.

advanced36 min

More ideas

70 more, each with a starting point

These do not have an illustration, but each one names the shape to block in first and gives an honest time estimate.

Animals

10 ideas

  1. A golden retriever caught mid-shake, ears flying

    Blur the ears with repeated light strokes, keep the skull solid.

    30 minadvanced

  2. A hummingbird frozen at a flower

    Draw the body sharp and the wings as two soft blurred fans.

    28 minadvanced

  3. A dragonfly with detailed wing veins

    Wings are a grid of long cells; draw the two main veins first.

    32 minadvanced

  4. A koi fish turning under ripples

    Ripples are broken rings; break them where the fish crosses.

    30 minadvanced

  5. An octopus with each arm curling a different way

    Give every arm its own curve direction or it reads as seaweed.

    34 minadvanced

  6. A deer looking back over its shoulder

    The neck twist is the drawing; block the head plane first.

    30 minadvanced

  7. A moose standing in shallow water

    Antlers are flat paddles, not branches — block them as shapes.

    32 minadvanced

  8. A horse head in three-quarter view

    Two boxes: skull and muzzle, joined by the cheek curve.

    34 minadvanced

  9. A tiger's face with stripes following the fur direction

    Stripes wrap the form — never draw them flat across.

    34 minadvanced

  10. A lion with a mane broken into big locks

    Group the mane into six masses before adding any strands.

    32 minadvanced

Nature and plants

7 ideas

  1. A pinecone with overlapping scales

    Scales spiral — draw two crossing spirals as guides first.

    28 minadvanced

  2. A tree seen from directly below, branches overhead

    Branches radiate outward and taper fast toward the edges.

    30 minadvanced

  3. A waterfall hitting rocks with spray

    Leave the spray as untouched paper; darken everything around it.

    32 minadvanced

  4. A cracked desert floor stretching to the horizon

    Cracks get smaller and closer together as they recede.

    30 minadvanced

  5. A peony with tightly packed inner petals

    Inner petals are small and crumpled, outer ones broad and smooth.

    30 minadvanced

  6. A single iris with three petals falling and three standing

    Falling and standing petals need different edge weights.

    28 minadvanced

  7. A hydrangea head simplified into clusters of four-petal florets

    Draw the overall dome first, florets only along the lit edge.

    30 minadvanced

Food and drink

2 ideas

  1. A bowl of ramen with steam and chopsticks

    Chopsticks set the perspective; place them before the bowl fills.

    30 minadvanced

  2. A bento box with five compartments

    Draw the grid in perspective first, then fill each cell.

    30 minadvanced

People and faces

16 ideas

  1. A nose in three-quarter view

    Block the ball, two wings, and the bridge plane before shading.

    28 minadvanced

  2. Lips slightly parted, seen from below

    The upper lip is darker than the lower one in almost all light.

    28 minadvanced

  3. A hand holding a pencil, seen from the drawer's own view

    Draw what you actually see, foreshortening and all.

    30 minadvanced

  4. A fist seen from the knuckle side

    Knuckles sit on an arc, not a straight line.

    28 minadvanced

  5. Two hands holding a mug

    The mug's cylinder tells you where the fingers wrap.

    32 minadvanced

  6. A three-quarter face with the far eye partly hidden

    The far eye is narrower and closer to the head's edge.

    32 minadvanced

  7. Curly hair described with only outline and shadow

    Do not draw curls. Draw the shadow between the curls.

    30 minadvanced

  8. A figure walking away down a corridor

    One vanishing point behind the figure; feet shrink toward it.

    32 minadvanced

  9. A dancer mid-turn with the skirt trailing

    Draw the line of action as one sweep before any body parts.

    30 minadvanced

  10. A seated figure with the weight on one hip

    Shoulders tilt one way, hips the other. Exaggerate it.

    32 minadvanced

  11. A face made of only five value shapes

    Squint until you see five tones, then fill them flat.

    30 minadvanced

  12. A face half rendered, half left as line

    Choose the split line deliberately down the centre or a diagonal.

    30 minadvanced

  13. An old face where the wrinkles follow the form

    Wrinkles wrap around forms; they never cut straight across.

    34 minadvanced

  14. A skull drawn from a three-quarter angle

    Cranium sphere first, jaw box second, teeth last.

    32 minadvanced

  15. A hand throwing a paper plane

    The plane leads; the hand is still finishing the throw.

    28 minadvanced

  16. An eye reflecting a window

    The reflection is a hard-edged rectangle bent over the cornea.

    30 minadvanced

Fantasy and characters

12 ideas

  1. A dragon curled protectively around a small egg

    Body coils in one spiral; the egg sits at the spiral's centre.

    38 minadvanced

  2. A floating island with a waterfall falling off the edge

    Underside is a rough cone; the waterfall fades before it lands.

    36 minadvanced

  3. A castle on a cliff with a single lit window

    One lit window against a dark mass carries the whole mood.

    34 minadvanced

  4. A phoenix rising with tail feathers as long ribbons

    Ribbons should curve in the same S direction for flow.

    36 minadvanced

  5. A griffin mid-landing, wings forward

    Front half bird, back half cat; the join is at the shoulder.

    38 minadvanced

  6. A goblin merchant with too many pockets

    Pockets tell the story — vary their size and how full they look.

    34 minadvanced

  7. A knight's helmet with a dented visor

    Dents break the highlight; that break makes the metal read.

    32 minadvanced

  8. An astronaut helmet reflecting a planet

    The reflection curves with the visor and gets darker at the edge.

    32 minadvanced

  9. A character turnaround: front, side, and back

    Draw horizontal guides across all three so heights match.

    45 minadvanced

  10. A character's hands only, showing their job

    Calluses, rings, scars, dirt — the hands carry the biography.

    30 minadvanced

  11. A magical girl transformation pose

    Line of action first — one long curve from foot to raised hand.

    34 minadvanced

  12. A mecha head with a visor and vents

    Symmetry in perspective: build a centre line, mirror everything.

    34 minadvanced

Everyday objects

11 ideas

  1. A pocket watch with the lid open

    Two ellipses on the same axis, one tilted open.

    30 minadvanced

  2. An open book with the pages fanning

    The page block curves; edges are stacked arcs, not lines.

    28 minadvanced

  3. A bicycle seen from the side

    Two circles at the correct distance apart before anything else.

    34 minadvanced

  4. A pair of well-worn trainers

    Creases follow where the foot bends — put them all in one zone.

    30 minadvanced

  5. A guitar seen from a low angle

    The body ellipse and the neck line set the whole perspective.

    34 minadvanced

  6. A wine glass reflecting a window

    Reflections are hard-edged shapes; leave them as clean white.

    30 minadvanced

  7. A worn leather boot with laces undone

    Laces are ribbons that twist; show at least one flat and one edge.

    30 minadvanced

  8. A toolbox with the lid open and tools inside

    Establish the box in perspective, then fit tools to that space.

    34 minadvanced

  9. A game controller from a three-quarter angle

    Symmetry in perspective: build a centre line and mirror across it.

    30 minadvanced

  10. A chair drawn from an unusual angle

    Legs converge — check them against one vanishing point.

    30 minadvanced

  11. A Christmas bauble reflecting the room

    Reflection wraps around the sphere and pinches at the edges.

    28 minadvanced

Places and scenes

10 ideas

  1. A doorway with light spilling across the floor

    The light shape on the floor is a parallelogram, not a rectangle.

    30 minadvanced

  2. A staircase seen from the top step

    Each step's front edge is parallel; the depths shrink going down.

    34 minadvanced

  3. A narrow alley with washing lines overhead

    Two converging walls, one vanishing point, lines sag between them.

    36 minadvanced

  4. A train window with the landscape blurred

    Near objects streak, far objects stay sharp. Reverse of instinct.

    30 minadvanced

  5. A pier stretching out over the water

    Posts repeat with shrinking gaps; reflections sit directly below.

    30 minadvanced

  6. A greenhouse with plants pressed against the glass

    Glass panes give a grid; plants break it irregularly.

    34 minadvanced

  7. A library aisle with shelves converging

    One-point perspective; the book spines are texture, not objects.

    34 minadvanced

  8. A market stall piled with fruit

    Pile shape first, individual fruit only along the front edge.

    32 minadvanced

  9. A forest path with light coming through the canopy

    Light shafts are straight-edged; everything else stays soft.

    34 minadvanced

  10. A bus interior with empty seats

    Seat backs repeat and shrink; the aisle is your vanishing line.

    32 minadvanced

Patterns and abstract

2 ideas

  1. A mandala built from six repeating segments

    Draw guide spokes first, then repeat one segment exactly.

    40 minadvanced

  2. A sketchbook cover made from your favourite subjects

    Silhouettes only, tightly packed, no gaps larger than a fingertip.

    45 minadvanced

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