Top 14 'Drawing-Skill-Optional' Art Styles to try for beginners to Create Expressive Pieces on Their First Day
Have you ever stood before a blank canvas, pen in hand, and felt a wave of anxiety wash over you? That little voice in your head, the one that whispers, "But you can't even draw a stick figure right," can be deafening. It’s a common feeling that stops countless would-be creators before they even start. We’re often taught that "art" equals "realistic drawing," a skill that takes years of dedicated practice to master.
But what if I told you that drawing is just one tiny sliver of the vast, vibrant world of art? What if you could create something deeply personal, visually stunning, and emotionally resonant today, without needing to draw a single straight line? The truth is, some of the most powerful art forms on the planet don't rely on technical drawing skills. They rely on emotion, intuition, color, and texture.
This post is your permission slip to let go of perfectionism and dive headfirst into the joy of creation. We're going to explore 14 incredible art styles where your passion and willingness to play are far more important than your ability to render a perfect portrait. Get ready to unlock the artist within you.
1. Abstract Expressionism: Paint Your Feelings
Abstract Expressionism is less about painting what you see and more about painting what you feel. It’s a beautifully chaotic and deeply personal style where the artist's gesture, emotion, and subconscious take center stage. Think of artists like Jackson Pollock or Willem de Kooning—their work is about the energy of the creative act itself.
For a beginner, this is the ultimate freedom. There are no rules, no "right" or "wrong." You're not trying to replicate reality, so you can't fail at it. This style invites you to connect with your inner world and translate moods into colors and shapes. It’s a physical, almost therapeutic process of applying paint to a surface.
Get Started Tip: Grab a large canvas or piece of paper. Pick 2-3 colors that represent your current mood (e.g., fiery red for anger, deep blue for calm, sunny yellow for joy). Instead of a fine brush, use a large hardware store brush, a palette knife, a sponge, or even just your hands (with gloves!). Put on some music that matches your emotion and just let loose. Don't think, just move.
2. Fluid Art / Pour Painting: Let Gravity Be Your Brush
If you love mesmerizing patterns and unpredictable results, fluid art is for you. This technique involves mixing acrylic paints with a pouring medium to make them more fluid. You then pour these liquid colors onto a canvas and tilt it, allowing the paints to flow and interact in organic, captivating ways.
The magic of pour painting is that it requires zero drawing ability. Your job is to choose the colors and guide the flow. The paint and gravity do the rest, creating intricate cells, lacing, and color blends that would be impossible to paint by hand. Every single piece is unique and unrepeatable.
Get Started Tip: Start with a "dirty pour." In a single cup, layer your different fluid paint colors without stirring them. Flip the cup onto your canvas, lift it, and watch the colors spill out. Tilt the canvas gently in all directions to cover the surface and stretch the patterns.
3. Collage & Mixed Media: The Art of Assembling
Collage is the art of creating a new whole from many different parts. It involves cutting, tearing, and pasting materials like paper, magazine clippings, fabric, and photographs onto a surface. It's a wonderfully accessible art form because it uses readily available materials and taps into your sense of composition and storytelling rather than drawing.
Mixed media takes this a step further by inviting you to add other elements like paint, ink, charcoal, or found objects to your collage. This is where you can truly experiment. The focus is on texture, layering, and the juxtaposition of different elements to create a rich, complex piece.
Get Started Tip: Pick a theme, like "nostalgia" or "city life." Go through old magazines, newspapers, and junk mail, tearing out images, words, and colors that fit your theme. Arrange them on your paper without glue first. Once you have a composition you like, start pasting everything down. Don't be afraid to paint over certain areas or draw simple shapes on top.
4. Zentangle & Pattern Art: Meditative Doodling
The Zentangle Method is a form of artistic meditation that uses structured, repetitive patterns called "tangles" to create beautiful abstract images. It’s not about drawing something specific; it's about the relaxing, focused process of drawing one simple stroke after another.
This is perfect for beginners because it breaks down drawing into tiny, manageable steps. You learn simple patterns and then combine them in creative ways. It removes the pressure of creating a masterpiece and instead emphasizes mindfulness and the enjoyment of the process. The result is almost always surprisingly intricate and beautiful.
Get Started Tip: Start with a small square of paper (called a "tile"). With a pencil, lightly draw four corner dots and connect them to create a border. Then, draw a light, free-flowing line inside the border (a "string"). Use a fine-tipped black pen to fill the sections created by the string with different simple patterns: lines, dots, curves, S-shapes. Don't worry about what it will become, just focus on each line.
5. Pointillism / Dot Art: Building Images One Dot at a Time
Pointillism is a painting technique where small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. From a distance, the viewer's eye blends the dots to see a complete picture. While masters like Georges Seurat created complex scenes, the basic technique is incredibly simple.
As a beginner, you don't need to create a realistic landscape. You can create stunning abstract pieces, mandalas, or simple shapes using just dots. The focus shifts from drawing lines to considering color and density. It's a slow, rhythmic process that can be very calming.
Get Started Tip: Use cotton swabs, the back of a paintbrush, or dotting tools. Start with a simple shape, like a circle or a heart, drawn lightly in pencil. Begin filling it in with dots of one color. Experiment with placing dots closer together for darker areas and farther apart for lighter areas. Try blending colors by placing dots of different colors next to each other.
6. Splatter Painting: Unleash Your Inner Energy
Channel your inner Jackson Pollock! Splatter painting is exactly what it sounds like: a high-energy technique of flicking, dripping, and splattering paint onto a canvas. It's pure, uninhibited expression and is incredibly fun.
The beauty of this style is its unpredictability and dynamism. You can't fully control where every drop will land, and that's the point. It’s about letting go, embracing chaos, and creating a piece that is buzzing with movement and energy. It's a fantastic way to release stress and create something bold without a single planned line.
Get Started Tip: Do this outside or in a well-protected area (it gets messy!). Lay your canvas on the ground. Water down some acrylic paints to a milky consistency. Use stiff brushes, sticks, or even toothbrushes to load with paint and flick it at the canvas from different heights and angles. Experiment with different wrist movements to create different types of splatters.
7. Mandala Art: The Beauty of Symmetry
A mandala (Sanskrit for "circle") is a spiritual and ritual symbol representing the universe. In art, it's a geometric design that is often symmetrical and radiates outwards from a central point. Creating them is a meditative practice that helps with focus and relaxation.
While they look complex, mandalas are built from very simple shapes: circles, dots, petals, and lines. You don't need to draw freehand; tools like a compass and a protractor do the heavy lifting of creating the symmetrical structure. Your job is to fill that structure with repetitive patterns.
Get Started Tip: Use a compass to draw a series of concentric circles on your paper. Use a protractor to divide the circles into equal sections (like a pizza). This creates your grid. Now, start filling in the sections with simple, repeating patterns, working your way from the center outwards.
8. Linocut / Stamp Making: The Power of the Print
Printmaking is a fantastic medium that sidesteps traditional drawing. In linocut, you carve a design into a block of linoleum (or a softer material like rubber for beginners), roll ink over the surface, and then press it onto paper. The areas you carve away don't get inked, creating your final image.
This process forces you to think in terms of positive and negative space. Bold, simple shapes work brilliantly, making it ideal for those who aren't confident with detailed drawing. You can create one block and make dozens of prints from it, experimenting with different colors and papers.
Get Started Tip: Get a beginner's lino carving kit. On a small rubber block, draw a very simple design—a leaf, a star, or an abstract shape. Use the carving tools to carefully cut away the areas you want to remain white in the final print. Remember, you're carving away the "negative space."
9. Watercolor Bleeds & Blots: Embrace the Unpredictable
Watercolor has a reputation for being difficult, but that's only if you're trying to control it completely. One of its most beautiful qualities is its tendency to flow, bleed, and create happy accidents. Embracing this is the key to a drawing-free approach.
The "wet-on-wet" technique is your best friend here. It involves applying wet paint to wet paper, which causes the colors to spread and blend in soft, ethereal ways. You can also create interesting textures by blotting the wet paint with a paper towel or sprinkling salt on it.
Get Started Tip: Wet a piece of watercolor paper with a clean, large brush. Load your brush with a color and just touch it to the paper. Watch how it blooms and spreads. Add a second, different color next to it and see how they mingle at the edges. Tilt the paper to encourage them to run together.
10. Neurographic Art: Drawing for the Brain
Developed by psychologist Pavel Piskarev, Neurographic Art is a therapeutic art technique that connects your subconscious with your aesthetic sense. It starts with creating a random, scribbled line to release tension, and then methodically rounding all the sharp intersections to create a harmonious, cell-like network.
This is a pure process-art form. You're not trying to draw anything recognizable. The focus is on the meditative act of transforming a chaotic scribble into a cohesive whole. Afterward, you can fill in the different sections with color, further integrating your conscious mind with the piece.
Get Started Tip: On a piece of paper, close your eyes and scribble a continuous, looping line for a few seconds to represent a problem or feeling. Now, go back with your pen and carefully round out every sharp corner where lines intersect. Make the corners smooth and flowing. Finally, use colored pencils or markers to fill in the spaces.
11. Minimalist Geometric Art: Precision Over Pictorial Skill
If you find comfort in order and clean lines, minimalist geometric art is for you. This style uses basic shapes—squares, circles, triangles, and lines—to create balanced and visually pleasing compositions. Think of the work of Piet Mondrian.
The skill here isn't drawing but composition and precision. You can use rulers, stencils, and painter's tape to achieve perfectly crisp edges and straight lines. It’s all about arranging simple elements in an interesting way and exploring relationships between color and form.
Get Started Tip: Use low-tack painter's tape to mask off sections of your canvas or paper, creating sharp geometric shapes. Paint within the taped-off areas. Let the paint dry completely before carefully peeling off the tape to reveal your crisp, clean design.
12. Text-Based Art: When Words Are the Picture
In text-based art, the words themselves become the visual subject. The focus is on typography, calligraphy, or simply the expressive quality of handwriting. Artists like Tracey Emin and Jenny Holzer use text to convey powerful messages, with the visual presentation of the words adding another layer of meaning.
You don't need to be a calligrapher. You can use stencils, stamps, or your own unique handwriting. The power comes from the words you choose and how you arrange them. Play with size, spacing, color, and repetition to create a visual rhythm.
Get Started Tip: Choose a short quote, a single word, or a personal mantra that means something to you. On a piece of paper, write it over and over again, letting the words fill the entire page. Experiment with writing big, small, overlapping them, or changing the color.
13. Assemblage Art (3D Collage): Sculpting with Found Objects
Assemblage is essentially a three-dimensional collage. Instead of paper, you use found objects—bits of wood, metal scraps, old keys, broken toys, bottle caps—and assemble them into a new creation. It's about seeing the artistic potential in the discarded and everyday.
This is a fantastic style for beginners because it's purely intuitive. There's no right or wrong way to combine objects. It encourages you to think about texture, shape, and form in a tactile way. It’s a bit like a treasure hunt, where you gather interesting materials first and then see what they inspire you to build.
Get Started Tip: Create a "shadow box." Find an old wooden box or a deep picture frame. Gather a collection of small, interesting objects. Arrange them inside the box, playing with different layouts until you find one that tells a story or is visually compelling. Use a strong glue like E6000 to secure everything in place.
14. Nature Art / Land Art: Creating with the Earth
Take your creativity outdoors! Nature art, also known as land art, involves creating temporary artworks using natural materials found on-site: leaves, stones, twigs, petals, pinecones, and sand. The art is often ephemeral, washed away by the rain or blown away by the wind.
The beauty of this style is its connection to the environment and its focus on the process, not the product. It’s a mindful activity that requires no special supplies, just what you can find around you. You can create spirals from stones, gradients from fallen leaves, or patterns in the sand. It's a philosophy I, Goh Ling Yong, have always championed: the process of creation is often more important than a perfect, permanent result.
Get Started Tip: Go to a park, a beach, or your own backyard. Start by gathering materials with interesting colors and textures. Find a clear patch of ground and begin arranging your items. Try creating a color wheel with different colored leaves and flowers, or a winding path of smooth, grey stones. Take a photo to document your work before letting nature reclaim it.
Your Creative Journey Starts Now
The fear of not being "good at drawing" is just a locked door. Today, you've been given 14 different keys. Each of these styles proves that the desire to express yourself is the only true prerequisite for making art. Creativity isn't about flawless technique; it's about exploration, play, and connecting with the world in a new way.
Don't let the blank page intimidate you any longer. Choose one style from this list that sparked your curiosity. Just one. Gather a few simple supplies and give yourself 30 minutes to simply play, with no expectations.
Which style are you most excited to try first? Head over to our social media channels and share your creations using the hashtag #GohLingYongCreates. We can't wait to see what you make
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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