50 What If Drawing Prompts for Kids

"What if" prompts are the easiest way to spark a child's imagination. They take something ordinary and twist it: What if cats could fly? What if your house was underwater? Here are 50 prompts to keep kids drawing, plus tips for using them.

A good drawing prompt gives kids a starting point without telling them what to draw. "What if" questions are perfect because they invite endless answers.

How to use the prompts

• Write them on slips of paper and keep them in a jar.
• Pick one at breakfast or on a car trip.
• Draw it together and compare answers.
• Turn the best drawings into stories.

Animals

1. What if your pet could talk?

2. What if fish lived in trees?

3. What if elephants were tiny?

4. What if dogs went to school?

5. What if cats ran a restaurant?

6. What if birds wore hats?

7. What if snails were super fast?

8. What if a giraffe needed glasses?

9. What if dinosaurs still lived in your town?

10. What if spiders knitted sweaters?

Space and aliens

11. What if aliens visited your school?

12. What if you lived on the moon?

13. What if the sun had a face?

14. What if stars were made of candy?

15. What if you had a pet alien?

16. What if planets could talk to each other?

17. What if your rocket ran out of fuel on Mars?

18. What if an alien tried pizza for the first time?

19. What if the Earth had two moons?

20. What if aliens played soccer?

For alien inspiration, try How to Draw: Silly Aliens.

Everyday life

21. What if your bed could fly?

22. What if your shoes walked by themselves?

23. What if it rained jelly beans?

24. What if your house was underwater?

25. What if your toys came alive at night?

26. What if the fridge was a portal?

27. What if you shrank to the size of an ant?

28. What if your teacher was a robot?

29. What if gravity turned off for a day?

30. What if every car was a different animal?

Food

31. What if vegetables had superpowers?

32. What if ice cream never melted?

33. What if pizza could talk?

34. What if you lived in a gingerbread house?

35. What if breakfast chased you?

36. What if sandwiches could swim?

37. What if bananas were blue?

38. What if cookies had feelings?

39. What if soup was a monster?

40. What if your lunch went on vacation?

Magic and monsters

41. What if you found a dragon egg?

42. What if monsters were afraid of kids?

43. What if you had a magic pencil?

44. What if your shadow had its own ideas?

45. What if a unicorn moved next door?

46. What if you could turn invisible?

47. What if a ghost needed help?

48. What if trees could walk?

49. What if you discovered a new creature?

50. What if you could visit any time in history?

Make it a habit

Use one prompt a day for 50 days. Keep the drawings in a folder and look back at the end. For more creative ideas, see how drawing grows imagination.

More in creativity and imagination, or browse all 217 posts on the blog.