Sound Drawings
Dreamer Deck
A space for imagination, spontaneous mark-making, and responding to sound without overthinking. This sits in the Spark section, where ideas are first generated and expanded. Children aged 4–10 and parents or caregivers explore together as creative partners. There are no right or wrong answers, only different ways of noticing and responding to the world.
Automatic Drawing Practice
Time guide: 10-15 minutes.
Start:
Choose a song, piece of music, or soundscape
Gather paper and drawing materials
Get ready to draw without planning.
Listen:
Press play and listen
Notice rhythm, pace, volume, and changes in energy
Pay attention to any shapes, colours, movements, or feelings that appear as you listen.
Make:
Start drawing as the music plays
Let marks appear quickly and intuitively
Keep your hand moving as you listen
Let changes in sound guide changes in your drawing
Don’t stop to plan or correct and keep going until the music ends.
Play:
Give your drawing a title
Tell the story of what appeared in your drawing
Compare different parts of the artwork to different moments in the music
If you want, play the song again and create a completely new drawing.
Variations:
Try music with different moods, speeds, or styles
Draw together on one large sheet of paper
Listen with your eyes closed for the first minute before drawing
Draw with your non-dominant hand
Draw without lifting your pen from the page.
Notice:
What was it like to keep drawing without stopping?
Which part of the music was easiest to draw?
How did your marks change with the music?
How similar, or different are two drawings made from the same song?
Practice Notes
Inspired by: Abstract expressionism and automatic drawing practices that explore spontaneous mark-making in response to sound and sensation. Rather than planning or interpreting, the practice encourages direct, intuitive drawing as music plays.
Builds:
Capabilities (what the practice builds internally): Creative expression, listening, imagination, emotional awareness, observation, and confidence in intuitive mark-making.
Future skills (what the practice develops externally): Creative thinking, adaptability, collaboration, and systems thinking, including the ability to notice patterns and connect ideas across disciplines (aligned with the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025).
