16 Cool Things to Draw When You’re Bored (Striking Ideas + Free Printable)
There’s a difference between cute and cool. Cute is a smiling cupcake. Cool is the drawing that makes someone stop, tilt their head, and say “wait… how did they do that?” Every one of these 16 cool things to draw runs on a single visual trick that makes the eye do a double-take — a vase that’s secretly a face, a whale swimming through the night sky, an entire ocean sealed inside an hourglass.
Below at the end of article you’ll find the pdf printable these all 16 ideas, the one trick behind each, and quick step-by-step tips so you can actually draw them — no art degree required. Grab the free printable pack at the end to print, trace, or colour the whole set.
Some of the coolest things to draw use a visual trick that makes people look twice: a vase that’s also a face, a silhouette filled with a whole city, a whale gliding through the stars, or a match whose flame is really a tree. The clever idea does the heavy lifting — not fancy shading.
The Double-Take Method: Why a Drawing Looks “Cool”
The Double-Take Method is simple: a drawing reads as cool when it surprises the eye. Almost every striking piece uses one of seven tricks — hidden negative space, double exposure, surreal displacement, a morph, a world-in-an-object, a nature-and-anatomy mashup, or bold light and symbolism.
Pick one trick per drawing and let the concept carry the page. Here they are, one section at a time, with a design for each.
1. Hidden Pictures & Negative Space
Negative space is when the empty area around your subject quietly forms a second picture. It’s the most “wait, what?” trick there is — and once you spot it, you can’t unsee it.
The Vase That Is a Face
Why it’s cool: The flowers and the profile share one outline, so the picture flips between a vase of blooms and a woman’s face. It’s the textbook example of negative space.
How to draw it:
1. Draw one side of a face in profile down the centre.
2. Mirror it on the other side so the gap becomes a vase shape.
3. Fill both outer sides with flowers and pour the stems into a patterned vase.
Difficulty: Intermediate
2. Double Exposure: A Silhouette That Holds a Whole World
A double exposure fills a clean silhouette with a whole second scene — a city, a library, a forest. Draw a bold outline of a head or figure, then treat the inside like a window into another world.
The Girl & Her City
Why it’s cool: Her reclining body becomes the skyline, and her hair turns into the water and a bridge.
How to draw it:
1. Ink a bold black silhouette of a figure lying back.
2. Inside the shape, swap solid black for tiny buildings, windows and a moon.
3. Keep the outer edge crisp so the city clearly reads as “inside” her.
Difficulty: Intermediate
The Reading Woman
Why it’s cool: Her flowing hair opens into a spiral library with staircases and drifting books.
How to draw it:
1. Draw a calm profile with lots of loose, flowing hair.
2. Let the strands become shelves, stairs and railings.
3. Add floating books at the edges so the hair seems to dissolve into a room.
Difficulty: Advanced
3. Put It in the Wrong Sky (Surreal Displacement)
Take something we only ever see in one place — the deep sea, the ocean — and move it somewhere impossible. Creatures drifting through clouds read as dreamlike and cool with almost no extra skill.
Jellyfish Sky
Why it’s cool: Jellyfish float like balloons above a girl on a hill, tentacles trailing tiny stars.
How to draw it:
1. Draw a low horizon with a small figure looking up.
2. Add domed jellyfish bells high in the sky.
3. Trail long dotted tentacles and scatter stars along them.
Difficulty: Intermediate
The Whale Road
Why it’s cool: A humpback swims through the night above a sleeping village, its tail dissolving into stars.
How to draw it:
1. Sketch a whale mid-glide across the top of the page.
2. Add a little town and a river below it.
3. Stipple a trail of dots and stars streaming off the tail.
Difficulty: Advanced
Girl Fishing for Stars
Why it’s cool: A girl sits on a crescent moon and fishes a glowing star out of the clouds.
How to draw it:
1. Draw a big crescent moon and seat a figure in its curve.
2. Add a fishing rod and a long line dropping down.
3. Hook a five-point star and draw little rays around it.
Difficulty: Beginner–Intermediate
4. One Thing Turning Into Another (the Morph)
The morph begins as one ordinary object and grows into a completely different one — smoke becomes mountains, a flame becomes a tree. The eye follows the change and does the double-take for you.
The Match That Became a Forest
Why it’s cool: The flame of a struck match is actually a leafy tree shedding leaves into the air.
How to draw it:
1. Draw a matchstick at an angle with a lit tip.
2. Turn the flame outline into a tree trunk and branches.
3. Scatter small leaves drifting upward like sparks.
Difficulty: Beginner
Coffee Cup Sunrise
Why it’s cool: The steam rising off a coffee curls up into a mountain range with a rising sun.
How to draw it:
1. Draw a simple mug with swirling steam.
2. Let the steam curl up into mountain peaks.
3. Add a sun, a few birds and soft clouds behind them.
Difficulty: Beginner
Free printable: 16 Cool Things to Draw
Want the whole set on paper? Grab the free printable pack — a cover plus all 16 designs, ready to print, trace, or colour. Link at the bottom of the post.
5. A Whole World Inside One Object
Seal an entire landscape inside a single object — an hourglass, a pair of cupped hands. The tight border makes the scene feel precious, like a snow globe you drew yourself.
Ocean in the Hourglass
Why it’s cool: A storm-tossed ship fills the top bulb; a calm lighthouse bay forms below as the “sand” pours through.
How to draw it:
1. Draw an ornate hourglass frame with turned wooden posts.
2. Fill the top glass with waves and a sailing ship.
3. Fill the bottom with a quiet coastline, a lighthouse and a moon.
Difficulty: Advanced
The Universe in Her Hands
Why it’s cool: Two cupped hands cradle a spiral galaxy with tiny ringed planets orbiting outward.
How to draw it:
1. Draw two hands cupped together.
2. Spiral a galaxy of fine dots just above the palms.
3. Add small planets and stars spilling from the fingertips.
Difficulty: Advanced
6. Beautiful Mashups: Nature Meets Anatomy
Fuse two subjects that don’t belong together — an organ and a garden, a snake and a flower. Botanical line-art wrapped around anatomy is one of the most-saved “cool” styles online.
Heart in Bloom
Why it’s cool: An anatomical heart sprouts roses and baby’s breath, with petals falling away beneath it.
How to draw it:
1. Draw an anatomical heart with its main vessels.
2. Grow roses out of the top arteries.
3. Let a few petals drift down to fill the empty space below.
Difficulty: Advanced
Floral Lungs
Why it’s cool: The bronchial tree branches into blossoming flowers, with hummingbirds and a soft “just breathe.”
How to draw it:
1. Draw a windpipe splitting into two branching trees.
2. Bloom flowers along every branch instead of leaves.
3. Add a hummingbird or two hovering at the edges.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Snake & Peony
Why it’s cool: A scaled snake winds through a giant peony — smooth petals against sharp scales is a gorgeous texture clash.
How to draw it:
1. Draw one large open peony in the centre.
2. Weave a snake behind and in front of the petals.
3. Contrast soft petal lines with tight, repeating scale marks.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Moth & Moon Crest
Why it’s cool: A luna moth sits below a full moon inside a symmetrical botanical crest — very tattoo-flash.
How to draw it:
1. Draw a light centre line and a full moon at the top.
2. Add a symmetrical moth with long trailing tails.
3. Frame both sides with matching leaves and a small crescent below.
Difficulty: Intermediate
7. Light, Shadow & a Single Symbol
Sometimes cool is all mood. A pool of lantern light in a dark alley, or one red thread on a black-and-white page, carries the whole drawing. Heavy shadow plus a single meaningful detail does the work.
Lantern Girl in the Dark
Why it’s cool: Dense cross-hatching swallows the alley while a paper lantern holds the only pocket of light.
How to draw it:
1. Draw a figure from behind holding a lantern.
2. Cross-hatch everything around them down to near-black.
3. Leave the paper lantern and the ground near it bright white.
Difficulty: Advanced
Hands & the Red Thread
Why it’s cool: Two reaching hands are linked by a single red thread on a starry page — one colour says everything.
How to draw it:
1. Draw two hands almost touching, Michelangelo-style.
2. Keep the entire scene black and white.
3. Tie one thin red thread between their fingertips.
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to Draw Cool Things (Even If You’re a Total Beginner)
To draw something cool, start with a clean silhouette, then add one surprising idea: hide a face in the negative space, fill a shape with a second scene, or morph one object into another. The concept does the work — not perfect shading.
- Start with the silhouette. — get one bold, readable outline down before any detail.
- Pick one trick, not five. — a single double-take idea beats a busy, cluttered page.
- Use the negative space. — the empty areas can carry half the picture for you.
- Build depth with cross-hatching. — layered lines fake shadow with no grey markers needed.
- Add one pop of colour. — on a black-and-white drawing, a single red thread pulls every eye.
- Trace first, then freehand. — print the pack below and trace the lines once to feel how they’re built.
Cool but Easy Things to Draw When You’re Bored
The easiest cool things to draw when you’re bored are the coffee-cup sunrise, the match-that-becomes-a-forest, and the girl-and-her-city silhouette — each is one simple shape plus one clever twist, so they look impressive without much detail.
When you’re bored and just want a quick win, skip the dense ones (the hourglass, the library hair) and start with a morph or a silhouette. There’s no pressure and no eraser guilt — fill a page, then colour it in. That’s the whole point.
FAQ: Cool Things to Draw
What are some cool things to draw?
Cool drawings use a visual trick: a vase hiding a face, a silhouette filled with a city, a whale in the night sky, an ocean inside an hourglass, or a match whose flame is a tree. Pick one trick and let the idea carry the page.
What is a cool but easy thing to draw?
The coffee-cup sunrise and the match-that-becomes-a-forest are the easiest cool ideas here — one simple object plus one surprising twist. Both look impressive but only need a few lines.
How do you draw something that looks cool?
Start with a clean silhouette, add a single double-take trick (negative space, double exposure, or a morph), then deepen it with cross-hatching or one pop of colour. The concept matters more than technical skill.
What are cool things to draw when you’re bored?
Reach for a morph or a silhouette — the coffee-cup sunrise, the girl-and-her-city, or the star-fishing girl. They’re low-pressure, forgiving, and satisfying to fill a page with.
What can I sketch when I have art block?
Trace. Print the free pack below and copy one design to feel how the lines are built — it restarts your hand without the blank-page pressure, and you can freehand your own version next.
Can I colour these cool drawings?
Yes. Every design is clean black-and-white line art, so the printable pack works as a coloring book too — great for adults, kids, and classrooms.
More Drawing Ideas
- If you just want low-effort ideas, see our guide on things to draw when bored.
- For softer, sweeter pages, try our guide on cute things to draw.
- Need pure variety? Our guide on random things to draw has 19 more.
- For a darker mood, browse our guide on scary things to draw.
- Want doodles on your skin? See our guide on things to draw on your hand.
