15 Amazing Pen Drawing Ideas in 2024 (With Photos)

To get inspired to draw something I always look at photos of drawings others have made. It helps me a lot to just be inspired to draw something instead. So I mostly made this list to make me inspired, but I hope it'll inspire you too to make some great art or just a simple drawing to get started!

What to draw with pens/fineliners?

1. Dragon

Dragons are such amazing creatures, they are like flying lizards. They can look so menacing with the big horns and aggressive teeth, but they cab also look so friendly when you imagine them as just tiny lizards with wings.

2. Motorcycle

Motorcycles are not really my thing. I barely know anything about them. But I do really like the style in which this is drawn. I remember very well when I sketched something like this for drawing class the teacher said it was messy, but I really liked what I'd drawn. Maybe my drawing wasn't as good as these two, but it wasn't bad either. 

3. Jellyfish

Jellyfish are such weird creatures. They are nothing like humans or any other animal. They don't have blood and they are transparent! What?! They have the most majestic shapes and colors. 

4. Dutch windmill

I don't have much to say about windmills. I just like how they look.

5. Doodle

Always in high school when I was bored during class I would always just doodle, let the pen move where I felt like moving it to, creating weird abstract shapes. But these amazing drawings from PeterDraws are way more sophisticated than mine were.

6. Car

Of course I had to add cars to the list. I've drawn cars for 8 years or so now. But these aren't just examples of car drawing. In the images below you can see 2 techniques that are different from any other drawing in this list: outlines drawing and inversion drawing. You can make simple but really good looking drawings by just drawing the outlines. Or you can make your drawings look more interesting by inverting some parts or the whole drawing.

7. Bird

The feather texture in these drawings is amazing. It just contains many, many parallel lines, some thicker and closer together than other which makes some areas look darker. This whole drawing actually consists of many lines following the surface of every shape to give it its shape. It looks really good!

8. Snake

The drawing above reminds me so much of a design sketch from the way it is drawn. I really like such a drawing style. But I also do really like snakes and close up like these they look really good.

9. Architecture

It's just mind boggling to think about how these old building were build without modern day equipment. And the design of these buildings is incredible. How many years would it have taken to build them?!

10. Chess pieces

This is just something I thought look cool and it's relatively easy to draw so I added it to the list. I don't play chess myself and I never have actually. I have absolutely no idea how it works...

11. Sailboat

I just like they way the look with all the sails and ropes. They look so complicated.

12. Bat

I love looking at bats. They are strange animals. They are mice, but they fly. Every time it gets dark outside in the summer I would just look up to try to spot them. I don't know why, but I like doing it.

13. Steam train

When I was younger I was a huge fan of trains, especially steam trains. The way they looks, how they worked, everything. I did buy a lego steam train too. I still have it built upstairs.

14. Wolf

Since a few years there are wolf in the Netherlands again. They are like big friendly dogs right? They remind me of huskies and I would love to have a husky one day. And I think they look cool. I would love to see a wolf one day. Not too close I guess...

15. Hot rod

A few years ago I came across these insane vehicles. Who would make such things? I can't imagine they drive nice... But the way they look really appeals to me. So low to the ground, open engine, based on very old cars. I don't know why, but I like them.

Luuk Minkman

Full-Time Artist Specialized in Automotive Art

I'm an artist and I draw realistic cars with alcohol markers and colored pencils. I have been doing so for a decade. I'm sharing everything I know about drawing on this blog. On here, you can find all you need to know to learn how you can draw realistic cars and other subjects yourself. Stay updated by following me on Instagram.