Top 12 'Blank-Page-Beating' Art Styles to try for Beginners to Fill Their First Sketchbook in 2025
That beautiful, crisp new sketchbook. It smells of possibility, of fresh starts, and of masterpieces yet to come. You open it to the first page, a pristine white rectangle staring back at you. You pick up your pen... and freeze. The pressure is immense. What if you mess it up? What if your first drawing is terrible? This "blank page syndrome" is the number one dream-killer for aspiring artists.
But what if I told you the goal of your first sketchbook isn't to create a gallery of perfect art? What if, instead, its purpose was to be a playground? A messy, wonderful, experimental lab where you get to make marks, discover what you love, and simply play. The secret to filling that first sketchbook isn't about having a grand plan for every page; it's about having a toolbox of fun, low-pressure techniques to turn to when the fear kicks in.
In this guide, we're going to arm you with that toolbox. We’ve curated 12 "blank-page-beating" art styles that are perfect for beginners. They are designed to help you make marks, build confidence, and transform that intimidating empty book into a vibrant record of your creative journey in 2025. Let’s get started.
1. Continuous Line Drawing
Imagine your pen is a figure skater and the page is the ice. Once the pen touches down, it cannot lift up again until the drawing is complete. That’s the simple, brilliant constraint of continuous line drawing. You draw your entire subject—a coffee cup, your own hand, a houseplant—in one single, unbroken line. The results are often wobbly, abstract, and unexpectedly full of life.
This style is a phenomenal tool for beginners because it forces you to let go of perfection. It’s impossible to create a photorealistic drawing this way, so you don’t even try. Instead, it trains your hand-eye coordination, forcing you to really look at your subject and follow its contours, rather than drawing what you think it looks like. It’s a fast, fun, and liberating way to warm up and fill a page without any pressure.
Pro Tip: Don't go too fast! The goal is observation, not speed. Try drawing your non-dominant hand. The unfamiliar movements will create even more interesting and expressive lines. Embrace the wobbly lines and strange proportions—that's where the charm lies.
2. Zentangle & Meditative Doodling
If you can write your name, you can create a Zentangle. This art form is less about drawing a "thing" and more about creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. You start by drawing a simple "string" (a random curvy line) to divide a small square into sections. Then, you fill each section with a different simple pattern, or "tangle." Think lines, dots, curves, and S-shapes.
This method is incredibly calming and almost meditative. Because you're focusing on one small, simple stroke at a time, the bigger picture emerges without you feeling overwhelmed. It's a fantastic way to learn about texture, pattern, and composition on a small scale. You can fill an entire sketchbook page with one intricate Zentangle or create a patchwork of many smaller "Zentangle tiles."
Pro Tip: Search for "easy Zentangle patterns" online to get a library of ideas. Start with just 3-4 patterns you like and combine them in different ways. The magic isn't in having complex patterns, but in how you repeat and combine the simple ones.
3. Pointillism & Stippling
Pointillism is the art of creating an image using only dots. By placing dots closer together, you create darker areas and shadows. By spreading them out, you create lighter areas and highlights. It might sound tedious, but it's a surprisingly relaxing process that gives you incredible control over shading and texture.
For beginners, this style removes the complexity of brush strokes or smooth blending. All you need is a fine-liner pen and some patience. You can start with simple geometric shapes like a sphere or a cube, practicing how to create a gradient from light to dark. This exercise alone is a powerful lesson in value (the lightness or darkness of a color) and will dramatically improve your other drawing skills.
Pro Tip: Use pens of different thicknesses! A thicker pen can quickly fill in the darkest shadow areas, while a 0.1 or 0.05 fineliner is perfect for delicate transitions and highlights. Start with the light areas and slowly build up your darks; it's easier to add dots than to take them away.
4. Geometric Abstraction
You don't need to draw realistically to create stunning art. Geometric abstraction uses simple shapes—circles, squares, triangles, rectangles—to create compelling compositions. Grab a ruler, a compass (or a cup to trace circles), and start dividing your page. Then, fill the shapes with color, patterns, or different shading techniques.
This style is perfect for anyone who feels they "can't draw." It shifts the focus from realistic representation to the core principles of art: balance, rhythm, contrast, and color theory. You can explore color combinations you love or challenge yourself to create a dynamic composition using only black and white. It's a structured, almost mathematical approach to art that can produce incredibly bold and satisfying results.
Pro Tip: Try a "rule of thirds" composition. Lightly draw two vertical and two horizontal lines to divide your page into nine equal squares. Place your most important shapes or lines along these lines or at their intersections for a naturally balanced and visually appealing design.
5. Negative Space Drawing
Instead of drawing the object itself, you draw the space around it. Set up a simple still life, like a chair in the corner of a room. Now, instead of drawing the legs, seat, and back of the chair, use your pencil to shade in all the shapes of the wall and floor that are visible around and through the chair.
This classic art school exercise completely flips your brain's perception. It forces you to see the world not as a collection of objects, but as a series of interconnected shapes. Beginners who practice negative space drawing often find their sense of proportion and accuracy improves dramatically. It's a bit of a mind-bender at first, but it’s one of the fastest ways to learn how to see like an artist.
Pro Tip: The classic example is drawing a stool. The shapes between the legs are often more interesting and easier to draw accurately than the legs themselves. Once you've filled in the negative space, the positive space (the stool) will magically appear.
6. Simple Botanical Line Art
Nature is the ultimate artist, and its designs are often beautifully simple. Botanical line art focuses on capturing the elegant forms of leaves, flowers, and branches with clean, minimal lines. You don't need to worry about color or shading; the goal is to capture the essence and gesture of the plant.
This is a wonderful subject for beginners because plants are forgiving. No one will know if a leaf is slightly misshapen or if you missed a petal. It encourages you to slow down and appreciate the intricate details of the natural world. Pick a single leaf, a simple flower, or a twisting vine and focus on translating its main lines onto the page. You can fill pages with collections of different leaves or create a single, elegant composition.
Pro Tip: Don't try to draw every single detail. Look for the main "gesture" lines. For a leaf, this might be the central stem and the outer edge. For a flower, it might be the curve of the petals. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
7. Minimalist Character Doodles
Forget perfect anatomy. Think about characters made from simple shapes: a circle for a head, a rectangle for a body, sticks for limbs. The beauty of minimalist characters is that their emotion and personality come from tiny details—the angle of an eyebrow, the curve of a smile, the gesture of a hand.
This style is pure fun and allows you to explore storytelling and expression without getting bogged down in technical skill. You can fill pages with "emotion studies," drawing the same simple character head with dozens of different expressions (happy, sad, surprised, confused). It's a low-stakes way to practice conveying feeling, which is a cornerstone of powerful art. Here at the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that simple shapes can often tell the most compelling stories.
Pro Tip: Give yourself a "character recipe." For example: Triangle body + Oval head + Dot eyes. Now, see how many different poses and scenarios you can put that character in. Can you make it run? Can you make it dance? Can you make it look sleepy?
8. Watercolor/Ink Blob Creatures
This one is less of a style and more of a creative game. Start by dropping a random, abstract blob of watercolor or ink onto your page. Let it dry completely (or gently dry it with a hairdryer). Now, turn the page around, look at the blob from all angles, and wait for your imagination to see something in the shape.
Is that little bump an ear? Is that long part a snout? Once you see a creature, a face, or an object, take a fine-liner pen and draw the details in. This technique, sometimes called "monster doodles," is a brilliant way to bypass creative blocks because the page gives you the starting point. It’s impossible to fail, and the results are always unique and surprising.
Pro Tip: Try this with your morning coffee! Let a few drips fall on the page, and once they've dried, see what they suggest to you. It turns a "mistake" into a creative opportunity.
9. Cross-Hatching Studies
Cross-hatching is a fundamental shading technique where you use intersecting sets of parallel lines to create value. More lines, packed closer together, create darker shadows. It’s the backbone of everything from comic book art to classical etchings.
Instead of trying to shade a complex portrait, dedicate a few pages of your sketchbook to pure cross-hatching practice. Draw a row of spheres, cubes, and cones. Then, practice shading them as if a light source is coming from the top left. This isn't just mindless doodling; it's building a foundational skill. It teaches you how the direction of your lines can describe the form of an object, and it will make all your future drawings look more three-dimensional.
Pro Tip: Vary the angle of your intersecting lines. A set of vertical lines crossed by a set of horizontal lines will look very different from two sets of diagonal lines. Experiment to see how different angles create different textures.
10. Monochromatic Studies
Limit your tools, expand your creativity. A monochromatic study is an artwork created using only one color (plus its various tints and shades). Pick one tool—a blue ballpoint pen, a gray marker, a brown colored pencil—and challenge yourself to fill a page.
This constraint forces you to focus on the most important elements of a drawing: composition, value, shape, and texture. You can't rely on pretty colors to make your drawing interesting. You have to do it with light and shadow. Draw a collection of objects on your desk, a corner of your room, or a landscape, using only that single color to create depth and interest. It’s a powerful exercise that teaches you to see the world in terms of value rather than just color.
Pro Tip: A blue ballpoint pen is a surprisingly versatile tool for this. You can create very light lines with gentle pressure and build up to very dark, rich blues by layering your strokes and pressing harder.
11. Cut-out & Collage Art
Who says a sketchbook has to be only for drawing? Collage is an incredibly accessible and fun way to fill pages, especially on days when you don't feel like drawing. Grab some old magazines, colored paper, scissors, and a glue stick, and start playing with shapes and textures.
Collage is a fantastic way to learn about composition. You can move the pieces around as much as you want before committing them to glue, allowing you to experiment with balance and layout in a way you can't with pen and ink. You can create abstract designs, surreal landscapes, or even portraits by combining different elements. It's a "no-drawing" way to be creative and make your sketchbook visually rich. A principle Goh Ling Yong often emphasizes is that creativity isn't limited to one medium; a sketchbook is a place for all kinds of visual ideas.
Pro Tip: Try a "found object" collage. Collect interesting bits and pieces from your day—a ticket stub, a pretty leaf, a tea bag tag, a piece of wrapping paper—and arrange them on a page to create a visual diary entry.
12. Blind Contour Drawing
This is the ultimate exercise in letting go. It’s similar to continuous line drawing, but with a twist: you are not allowed to look at your paper while you are drawing. You fix your eyes on your subject and try to move your hand at the same speed as your eye traces the object's contours.
The resulting drawings will be hilariously distorted, fragmented, and look absolutely nothing like the subject. And that is 100% the point. Blind contour drawing is not about the result; it is purely about the process of observation. It builds an almost telepathic connection between your eye and your hand. Doing a five-minute blind contour drawing every day is one of the most effective ways to sharpen your observation skills and demolish your fear of making "bad" art.
Pro Tip: Find a subject with lots of interesting edges, like a crumpled piece of paper, a detailed flower, or your own face in a mirror. Go incredibly slowly. The slower you go, the more you'll see, and the stronger the hand-eye connection will become.
Your Sketchbook is Your Playground
There you have it—12 powerful, fun, and beginner-friendly ways to conquer the blank page and start filling that sketchbook. Remember, the goal is not to create a masterpiece on every page. The goal is to show up, to make a mark, to play, and to learn. Your first sketchbook is a record of your journey, complete with all its wobbly lines, strange experiments, and happy accidents.
So here is your call to action: don't wait for the perfect idea. Pick just one style from this list—whichever one sounds the most fun or the least intimidating—and try it. Right now. Fill one page. That's all it takes to break the spell of the blank canvas.
We’d love to see what you create! Share your favorite "blank-page-beating" technique in the comments below, or tell us which one you’re excited to try first. Happy sketching
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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