15 Advanced Drawing Ideas and Tutorials

One of the most magical parts of drawing is that your ideas are as limitless as your imagination. 

But creative blocks are real, and sometimes you need an injection of new ideas or some lessons on how to level-up from simple sketches. While books of ideas for advanced drawings can help, instructional videos can be a lifesaver.

Keep reading to discover drawing ideas for advanced artists that will help you sharpen your drawing skills.

What is Advanced Drawing?

If you are just learning how to draw, then you must master the fundamentals of drawing. The basics of drawing include form, composition, perspective, and lighting. 

With that groundwork in place, advanced drawing builds on those techniques by perfecting them with more complex ideas like using hatching and cross-hatching to create volume and shading, blending, and adding accent lines (like wood grain on a table) to add depth to drawings. 

Advanced drawing is simply using drawing techniques that go beyond the basics to push your artistic skills to the next level. As you work your way through advanced drawing ideas, you will learn to refine your sketches into polished artwork.

Are you looking to further your skills? Or are you wondering what are some easy things to draw when you’re bored? Let’s get to what you came here for: the drawing ideas. 

15 Advanced Drawing Ideas

1. Draw a Boot

While a boot might seem like a simple thing to draw at first glance, it offers a fun and challenging technique to play with: texture. Skillshare instructor Emma Smith explains how to use different colors and shading to develop realistic textures, like the leather on this boot.

2. Draw a Majestic Mandala

Mandalas are intricate circular patterns that require some complex drawing skills. Skillshare instructor Altea Alessandroni will teach you how to draw and color your own mandalas inspired by nature. Though this is a beginner-friendly class, you’ll learn how to build a piece of artwork with a circular grid and framework. Once you understand the basics of creating a mandala, you can build more intricate designs.

3. Draw Using Da Vinci’s Drawing Techniques

Sometimes the hardest part of drawing is getting started. If you want inspiration from one of the greats, try adopting Da Vinci’s drawing techniques. In this course, artist and art professor Jennifer Moorhead will show you how to use Da Vinci’s Conté technique. You’ll use art skills like gesture, proportion, sfumato, and hatching lines. 

4. Draw an Intricate Eye

Colored ballpoint pens and colored pencils will work wonderfully for coloring simple drawings, but they’re also amazing for drawing complex shapes—like this lifelike eye. Martin Shafiee will walk you through drawing different tonalities by controlling hand pressure and using cross hatching techniques.

5. Try out Typography

If you want to challenge yourself by switching things up from drawing landscapes or objects, why not create your own typography? Learn how to create your own hand-lettered alphabet by exploring the rules of letterform. 

“There’s something about the personality and the familiarity that you find in hand drawn lettering that really appeals to me,” says Skillshare instructor Annica Lydenberg. “That is a great thing to explore.”

6. Draw a Face

One of the more challenging things to draw is something you see in the mirror every day: your face. It’s full of depth and complexity that can present a real challenge for novice and experienced artists. 

You can start by doing a self portrait or by drawing the face of a loved one or even a comic book character. You’ll gain practice in drawing each facial feature, and slowly start to master each of those elements. 

7. Draw Your Own Comic Book

Drawing a comic book will teach you how to tell a compelling story by connecting advanced drawings with a narrative. One fun way to practice your skills is by telling a story of your own, no matter how long! Comic book artist Phil Jimenez, in partnership with the Smithsonian, will show you how to do that, step-by-step.

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8. Draw Plants and Leaves

Botanical illustrations take more than just advanced artistic skills—you also have to learn about the different leaf structures and shapes. Learning how to draw plants is a great way to connect with nature and examine how to make both 2D and 3D drawings.

“You would be amazed at the amount of possibilities that you can pull from and how those can really enrich your drawings and make them much more visually interesting,” says artist and Skillshare instructor Marie-Noëlle Wurm. “Especially if you’re somebody who likes to integrate the natural world in your drawings, which personally I love.”

9. Create a One-Line Drawing

A deceptively simple technique, the one-line drawing requires you to start and complete an art project in one sitting with one continuous line. That’s right—you never pick your pencil or pen up off the page.

“I know it can be challenging at first, but I can assure you it’s going to be extremely satisfying to see your hand flowing in one stroke,” says Skillshare instructor Altea Alessandroni. “One-line drawing is a calm and focused activity. It allows you to be creative and explore a new way of drawing.”

10. Draw an Original Fashion Design

Learn the basics of fashion drawing, which includes sketching not only the shape and silhouette of garments but also a fashion figure with a detailed face, hairstyle, and even accessories. Skillshare illustrator Dallas Shaw will show you how to practice creating fashion designs of your own.

11. Draw a Bird

Get outside with your sketchbook and get your inner bird watcher on. You’ll learn how to define angles, create posture and positions, and add details with this unique subject. Ready to get started? Julia Bausenhardt’s class will teach you what you need to know.

12. Draw an Acanthus

:Swedish surface pattern designer and illustrator Bärbel Dressler will show you how to create the classic acanthus leaf that is commonly seen in different types of home decor and architecture. The acanthus leaf is a modern and popular motif that you can use in your own art and designs. You can create different patterns with it through various angles and compositions.

“There are two main principles for depicting objects from nature,” said Dressler. “The first one is the naturalistic principle and the second is the artificial or stylized version.”

13. Draw Your Own Travel Map

If you’re daydreaming of vacation while stuck at home, why not design a map of your favorite location? 

Creating your own ready-to-share map of your hometown, adopted home, or dream destination is a wonderful way to memorialize a location or even create a sellable piece of artwork. Mike Lowery’s Skillshare class will teach you how to select a location, draw icons, and layer with color.

14. Draw From a Photo

:One great way to practice your drawing skills is to take a photo and turn it into a drawing. While you can do this with any photo, we recommend starting with Mandar Marathe’s lesson. It includes different shapes like cubes and small details that will help you refine your skills and gain confidence.

15. Draw an Imaginary World or Character

Have you ever thought about traveling to outer space? Or perhaps you’ve imagined a futuristic city or a fictional cuddly character. You could try creating concept art, which is world-building artwork. The options here are limitless and involve putting your advanced drawing ideas to work.

“For me, concept art is a way to mix my real life experiences and imagination, and push my art to more evocative and expressive places,” says graphic novelist Ira Marcks. “I think everyone deserves a chance to share their weird little worlds with others.”

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