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Drawing can be used as a tool for thought, creativity, discovery, wellbeing and social engagement – and the beauty of it is that anyone can draw!
We have gathered together a selection of drawing resources from our partner collections to inspire you. Whether you are a teacher looking for drawing activity ideas for the classroom, you would like to experiment with drawing at home, or you are interested in finding out more about drawing materials and techniques, we hope you find these resources useful and inspiring.
Ideas for drawing in the classroom from the Ben Uri Museum Primary students
From exploring materials and what they can do to experimenting with different styles, the Ben Uri Museum have provided lots of ideas for teachers for experimenting with drawing in the classroom.
Drawing activities from Edinburgh Museums Primary and secondary students
Explore videos from Edinburgh Museums for some great ideas for experimenting with drawing and mixed media. Draw the outdoors, a cityscape or create your own special place using drawing techniques. Find them on Edinburgh Museums' website or on Vimeo using the links below.
These instructional videos from the National Portrait Gallery provide drawing tips for young people on all sorts of techniques from sketching a basic portrait to using oil pastels for skin tones.
Glasgow Life has developed some useful downloadable drawing resources for secondary students with suggestions for exploring line and using coloured drawing materials.
Are you interested in having a go at drawing but want some ideas and tips? These artist-led videos from the Royal Academy provide sustained drawing sessions on various themes from life drawing to abstract drawing.
Drawing doesn't have to be about creating an exact rendition of your subject or making a perfect, finished work of art. Experimenting with approaches to drawing can help free up how you draw and lead to new ideas and inspiration. From fun activities for the very young to drawings inspired by the senses, explore these activities at home or with your students in the classroom.
Tate Kids drawing activities Families and primary students
From mark-making to getting surreal, explore these fun drawing activities from Tate Kids.
Find ideas for using artworks or objects as the starting point for drawings with this resource from Liverpool Museums. (Great for exploring your local art gallery or collection with children or young people.)
Mindful interactions with art and drawing can lead to a heightened sense of wellbeing. Take 10 minutes out of your day to relax and have a go at a mindful drawing activity. For more wellbeing art activities explore our wellbeing resources round-up.
Derby Museums All ages
These simple drawing-for-relaxation ideas from Derby Museums' 'Create and Make' series can be easily tried at home.
Art UK's The Superpower of Looking resources Primary students
The Superpower of Looking resource encourages visual literacy and inspires creativity... Have a go at the suggested drawing activities in the following lessons with your students.
David Hockney at the National Portrait Gallery Secondary students, 16+ and lifelong learners
This teachers' resource from the National Portrait Gallery looks closely at the portraits of David Hockney and suggests discussion points and activities for exploring his drawings with secondary students and 16+ age groups.
Arts Council Collection resources Secondary students and 16+
Although developed as exhibition resources, these Arts Council Collection downloads provide images of artworks and lots of ideas for exploring drawing (and expanded drawing!).
Vincent van Gogh's iconic Sunflowers painting is the starting point for these activities, inviting you to take your pencil for a walk and explore nature.
Take a look at these wonderful drawings created by the National Museum Cardiff drawing group, who regularly draw and share their drawings – and during lockdown drew the ordinary everyday things they saw around them. Perhaps you'll be inspired to start a drawing group of your own…?
Be inspired by a selection of drawings from our partner collections using the slideshow below, or browse more drawings on Art UK... where will your research, ideas (and drawing materials) take you?
Drawing for Mornington Crescent Painting 1972
Frank Helmuth Auerbach (b.1931)
Faces* 1920–1960
Madge Gill (1882–1961)
Design for a Lithograph c.1975
Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
Very Small Things 2002
Michael Whittle (b.1976)
Nonso Anozie 2005
Stuart Pearson Wright (b.1975)
Country Road 1925
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Portrait of a Lady 1987
Monica Winner (b.1933)
The End 2012
Tracey Emin (b.1963)
East Fife 1923
Robert Harold Morton (1892–1965)
Sketch of Two Women Reading
Thomas Churchyard (1798–1865)
Pigs c.1906
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
Getting There 2015
Nicola Tyson (b.1960)
Landscape Study* 1970
Clive Kidder (b.1930)
Untitled (12.5.83) 1983
Christopher Le Brun (b.1951)
Figure Study c.1978
Michael Snowden (b.1930)
Study for 'Self Portrait – The Dunce' c.1993
Peter Howson (b.1958)
Stories
Art UK Home School: speedy experimental drawing4 June 2020,
Selina Levinson Drake
Elisabeth Frink: a sculptor's drawings25 April 2017,
Jo Baring
Dryden Goodwin: drawing out London's air pollution8 July 2022,
Lydia Figes
The surreal drawings of Georgia O'Keeffe1 November 2021,
Charlotte Baker
Post-war and modern drawings unveiled at The Courtauld7 December 2021,
Aida Amoako
'Brueghel and his Time: Landscape drawings from the Bruce Ingram bequest' at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge9 September 2016,
Rupert Pink
Line into contour: John Flaxman's drawing in practice and theory1 November 2016,
David Bindman
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