What to Draw Generator: Roll a Random Drawing Prompt

This page is a what to draw generator that works without an app. You roll three times: once for a subject, once for a twist and once for a setting. Twenty options in each table give 8,000 possible combinations, so you can use it daily for years before a repeat is likely.

It works as a drawing prompt generator for warm-ups, an art prompt generator for a class or a drawing club, or a tiebreaker when you can't decide. The three tables plus the bonus rolls hold 70 entries in total.

How the what to draw generator works

Pick a number from 1 to 20 for each table, using a twenty-sided die, a random number picker or a friend. Read the three results as one sentence: subject + twist + setting. The numbering runs straight through the page, so table two is 21 to 40 and table three is 41 to 60. Subtract 20 or 40 to find your roll.

Table 1: Subject (1 to 20)

1. A fox with one white sock and a torn ear
2. A lighthouse keeper with a lantern and a heavy coat
3. A robot built from kitchen appliances
4. An old tortoise with moss on its shell
5. A girl with a braid long enough to trip over
6. A sea captain with a parrot that is plainly a pigeon
7. A snow leopard with an unusually long tail
8. A clockmaker with tiny tools tucked behind both ears
9. A dragon no bigger than a teapot
10. A knight in armor that is two sizes too large
11. A moth with wings like stained glass
12. A street cat missing the tip of its tail
13. A giant with birds nesting in his beard
14. A mail carrier riding a bicycle with a bent wheel
15. A scarecrow with button eyes and a borrowed coat
16. A deer with lanterns hanging from its antlers
17. A grandmother with a tattoo of an anchor
18. A raven carrying a silver key
19. An astronaut whose helmet is fogged on the inside
20. A frog wearing a crown that keeps slipping

Table 2: Twist (21 to 40)

21. is balancing a tall stack of books
22. is hiding something behind their back
23. is asleep and floating a hand's width off the ground
24. is made entirely of paper and starting to fold
25. is soaking wet and pretending not to be
26. is carrying a houseplant like a baby
27. is halfway through turning into stone
28. is being followed by a small raincloud
29. is painting a portrait of themselves
30. is tangled up in a long string of lights
31. is casting a shadow shaped like something else
32. is juggling three glowing orbs
33. is reading a map held upside down
34. is wearing roller skates for the first time
35. is sharing an umbrella with a ghost
36. is covered in sticky notes with reminders on them
37. is late and running with toast in their mouth
38. is shrinking a little more with every step
39. is trying to catch a hat stolen by the wind
40. is knitting a scarf that has gotten out of hand

Table 3: Setting (41 to 60)

41. on the roof of a moving train
42. inside a greenhouse during a thunderstorm
43. at the bottom of a drained swimming pool
44. in a library where the shelves reach the clouds
45. on a rope bridge over a canyon of fog
46. in a night market lit by paper lanterns
47. on a small island with exactly one palm tree
48. in an elevator stuck between two floors
49. at a bus stop in the middle of a snowfield
50. in a kitchen where everything is slightly too big
51. on the back of a whale crossing a calm sea
52. in a forest of mushrooms taller than houses
53. at the top of a clock tower at midnight
54. in a flooded street with boats instead of cars
55. on a balcony overlooking a city of chimneys
56. in a cave full of glowing crystals
57. at a carnival that closed years ago
58. in a laundromat on a space station
59. on a staircase that spirals down into the sea
60. in a field of sunflowers that all face the wrong way

Bonus rolls for extra challenge (61 to 70)

Optional. Roll once more with a ten-sided die or pick a number from 1 to 10.

61. Use only three colors, and one of them must be orange
62. Draw the whole scene as seen from directly above
63. Finish the drawing in ten minutes or less
64. Fit everything inside a circle the size of a mug
65. Tell the story as a three-panel comic strip
66. Draw it at night with a single light source
67. Use no outlines, only blocks of shading
68. Make the subject very small and the setting huge
69. Draw it twice, once happy and once sad
70. Add a second character who is unimpressed by all of it

Example rolls

• 7, 22, 53 gives: a giant with birds nesting in his beard, who is hiding something behind their back, at the top of a clock tower at midnight.
• 20, 38, 48 gives: a frog wearing a crown that keeps slipping, who is shrinking a little more with every step, in an elevator stuck between two floors.

If a result seems impossible, that's usually the good one. Sketch three small thumbnails before a full drawing.

Ways to use the generator

• Daily warm-up. One roll, ten minutes, no erasing.
• Draw with friends. Everyone uses the same three numbers, then you compare. The differences are the fun part.
• Lock and reroll. Keep the result you like and reroll the other two until the sentence clicks.
• Build your own tables. Swap in twenty subjects of your own and keep the other two tables.

Want a generator that draws the character too?

The Random Character Generator rolls a full character with a portrait in one click, and the OC Generator writes a name, personality and backstory you can sketch from.

For ready-made lists instead of dice, see random things to draw and drawing prompts.

FAQ

Is there a free what to draw generator?

Yes, this one. All you need is a way to pick three numbers from 1 to 20. Dice, a random number picker or a friend all work.

How does a drawing prompt generator work?

It combines parts chosen at random. Here, a subject, a twist and a setting are picked from three tables of twenty, which makes 8,000 different prompts.

What if I roll a drawing prompt that I don't like?

Use lock and reroll: keep the one part you like and roll the other two again. Give yourself a limit of two rerolls so you still end up drawing.

Can I use this as an art prompt generator for a class?

Yes. Roll once for the whole group and give everyone the same prompt, or let each person roll their own. The bonus table adds limits like three colors or a ten-minute timer.