"Go and find something to do that isn't a screen" is easy to say and much harder to make happen — especially if it means digging pencils out from three different drawers first. A dedicated drawing corner for kids at home solves that problem in one go. It doesn't need to be a whole room or a Pinterest-perfect studio; it just needs to be a small, ready-to-go space that makes drawing the easiest option in the house, not the hardest.

Why a Dedicated Space Makes Such a Difference

Children are far more likely to draw when the barrier to starting is low. If pencils, paper and colours are already out and ready, drawing becomes a five-second decision instead of a five-minute hunt. A proper corner also gives kids a sense of ownership — it's their space, for their creativity, which makes it far more likely to get used every day rather than once a month.

If pencils, paper and colours are already out and ready, drawing becomes a five-second decision instead of a five-minute hunt.

What You Actually Need

Good news — a drawing corner can be built from things you probably already own, plus a few cheap extras:

🖊️ The drawing corner essentials

  • A flat surface — a small table, a clipboard on the floor, or even a tray on a bed works fine
  • A container for supplies — an old jar, a shoebox, or a cutlery tray keeps pencils, erasers and sharpeners together and tidy
  • A stack of paper — plain printer paper is perfectly good; save the fancy sketchbook for later
  • Good light — near a window is ideal, but a small lamp works too
  • Somewhere to display finished work — a length of string with pegs, a corkboard, or simply the fridge door

That's genuinely it. No need to spend a fortune — the goal is accessibility, not aesthetics. Have supply or age-range questions? Check our FAQs section for guidance.

Give It Some Structure (Without Making It a Chore)

A few small touches turn "a table with some pencils on it" into a space kids actually want to use:

🎨 Making it a space they love

  • Keep a few step-by-step guides nearby. A blank page can be intimidating even for adults. Having a simple guide on hand — like a Chunky Badger book open to an animal your child likes — gives them somewhere to start on days when inspiration doesn't strike on its own.
  • Rotate what's on display. Swap the pinned-up drawings every couple of weeks so the space feels fresh and finished work gets noticed, not just filed away.
  • Set a "no correcting" rule for grown-ups. The corner works best as a low-pressure zone — let children draw however they like without adults tidying up their lines.

Making It a Daily Habit

The real win isn't the corner itself — it's what it enables. A ready-to-go space, paired with a simple method that doesn't require reading or adult help, means children can sit down and draw entirely independently. That's exactly the gap our 6 Simple Steps books are designed to fill: open to any page, and your child has everything they need to complete an animal from start to finish, no supervision required.

Even ten minutes a day in a proper drawing corner adds up to a habit — and a lovely, ever-growing pile of finished pictures.

If you're curious about why that habit matters so much beyond the pictures themselves, take a look at our piece on how drawing builds confidence in kids — the short version is that every finished drawing is a small proof to your child that they can do hard things.

Free 5-Day Drawing Pack

Setting up your drawing corner this week? Give it something to do straight away — 5 step-by-step animal drawing sheets delivered to your inbox, one per day.

🎁 Get the Free Drawing Pack

Or stock the corner properly with Learn to Draw: British Animals or Learn to Draw: African Animals (also available on Amazon UK) — 45+ animals in 6 simple steps, ready whenever inspiration strikes.

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