A list of nature sketching prompts so you never run out of topics

Sometimes nature journaling seems to come to you, and you feel inspired and have lots of ideas and fill your pages quickly. But there are other times when just nothing happens. It can be a bit difficult standing in the field with your sketching kit and not knowing where you start, and not feel inspired.
Here are some ideas for journaling prompts to get you going and keep you active. Print them out and tape them into your journal so that you have them at hand at all times. You will notice that when referring to these methods often, you will start to think of them automatically, and your nature journal will start to look more diverse and interesting as a result.

You will see that many prompts on the list are contrary options. In some cases you will have to decide on one perspective, in others you can cover the whole range between both. Experiment with the categories when you draw and write.

Format & Layout

Give your subject a frame. Think of the rule of thirds to make it more compelling. Landscape? Portrait? Square?

Metadata

You can include: Date, Time, Sun up, Sun Down, Wind, Weather, Moon Phase, Location

Small Landscapes

Draw a small 5-minute landscape impression. In pencil & watercolor, or ink, or colored pencils…

Scale: Big & Small, Near & Far (Zoom in & out)

Look at the whole landscape, then at a detail in it (a forest & one tree) Quantify (count) what you see

Measure

How big is it? Can I draw it in its original size? Include a scale (cm, inch)

Listen, Look, Smell, Feel, Taste

Use all of your senses.

Objective observations & personal insights

Only note what you can observe then add your personal thoughts and theories

Ask Questions

What do you notice about it?
What does seem strange?
What does it remind you of? What connections can you make?

First a detail, then the whole

If you can’t grasp an object in its entirety, focus on a detail first (tree, bird, flower). Make several sketches, then continue to the whole from the species to the whole

Personal Insights

stream of consciousness, your life, a poem?

Collection

make a small collection of items

Timeline (perpetual) or storyboard

Keep coming back to an object and watch it over time or make a storyboard on one page to show an animal’s behavior over time

Compare

Compare items with each other on the page. Size, weight, appearance, smell, sound, habitat,…

Map

Draw a map of the area with the things you encountered, or of the way you took through an area. Where did you see what?

Local color

What are the local colors of the area you’re in? Make a small color chart with 3-10 colors. I find this technique particularly intriguing when I leaf through my sketchbook after a while and can see the changing seasons through these color charts.

I’ve compiled this list, together with a few other tips about layout and composition, into a handy PDF that you get when signing up for my newsletter. If you want a more guided approach and see directly how you can tackle different subjects in your sketchbook, there are also my online classes with many fresh ideas and demos.

I hope this list with journaling prompts is helpful to you. If you have more ideas, please let me know, I’m always happy to hear new ideas and approaches to nature journaling!