16 Art Gifts For Teens Who Like To Draw

My 13 year old son loves drawing. When he turned 13, we wanted to get him a gift which would help develop his passion further. This list is based upon gifts that my art and drawing mad teenage son would love. 

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Ipad and Apple Drawing Pencil

The main gift which we bought an Apple drawing pencil to use with his Ipad. The Apple pencil allows him to draw on his Ipad, turning the Ipad into a digital canvas. 

With  the Ipad as a digital canvas you can use a whole host of different types of pens and brushes with an unlimited pallete of colors. You can add multiple layers to your drawings which makes it easy to create masterpieces.  You can email your digital creations, put them on Instagram or use them as a screen saver on a phone.  

The Apple pencil has thousands of different pressure sensitive levels.  You can vary the pressure or slope of the pencil tip to adjust the darkness of the width of a stroke of a brush while coloring. It also has the best palm rejection feature of any stylus. This means you can rest your hand on the Ipad screen and it won't register the touch. All these features plus the quality of the nib make it feel like you're just sketching on a piece of paper. 

My son has drawn all kinds of pictures using the Pro Create 5 app which is notable for it's slick interface. The app includes a whole host of animation tools. Not only can he draw with the app, he can bring his drawings to life!

I recommend a case for the Apple pencil to ensure it's not broken easily! 

Computer Graphics Tablet

An much cheaper alternative to an ipad and stylus is a computer graphics tablet like the Huion HS611 graphics drawing tablet featured.

A computer graphics tablet must be used with a computer or laptop. Some can also be used with smart phones. It's not a stand alone product. 

The Huion tablet can be used with smartphones as well as with a laptop, Mac or PC. Check that the graphics tablet is compatible with your device before purchasing. 

To set up, connect the tablet to your device via a cable. Draw or write on the tablet and it appears on the screen of your connected device. You have to have a computer, laptop or smartphone running a paint package or use the Huion sketch app. 

​The pencil included with the tablet has thousands of levels of pressure.  The tablet's slim and sleek profile is ideal for drawing. There are 10 customizable shortcut keys and a touch bar which can be programmed to zoom in and out of your canvas, scroll up and down and more. The pen is comfortable to use and is battery free - so it doesn't need charging. 

A4 Ultra-thin Portable LED Light Box Tracer

A less expensive gift is an light up and portable tracer. 

It enables artists to trace images easily and clearly. 

The light up tracer featured is only 5mm in thickness so it's super portable. The illumination is perfectly even and super bright. 

Adjust the light to your preference and the brightness is controlled via a light touch. 
Ideal for stenciling, 2D Animation, calligraphy, embossing, scrapbooking, sketching and drawing.
The tracer is powered via USB and comes with a USB cable. 

Watercolor Palette with Paper 

For more traditional drawing / painting on paper consider this watercolor palette set. 

It comes with 2 refillable water blending brush pains, a storage case and 15 sheets of water color paper. 

The water pens have flexible nylon paint brush tips to allow for broad and fine strokes

Art Table

If a teenage boy is showing a passion for arts and crafts, a dedicated art table makes a great gift. 

This adjustable art table is perfect. He can have it completely flat (which should also be fine for studying too). Or he can adjust the table up to 30 degrees. 

3 slide drawers give him space to store his stuff. 
​It also comes with a padded stool. 

​ Oil Painting Paint by Number Kits

Oil painting by numbers kits are perfect for teens looking to hone painting skills.

The finished painting can also yield some fantastic results. 

There are all kinds of brilliant painting by number kits to choose from. 

The kit featured comes with 3 size painting brushes
It's easy to follow and suitable for all skills levels

Professional Set of Water Color Pencils

The best drawings are going to require the best tools and teenagers who love to draw will appreciate a set of professional water color pencils. 

The amount you spend will depend on your budget but the pencils featured are 72 bright colored pencils which come in a broad array of brilliant, saturated colors.

​Each pencil is labeled & numbered for easy color identification.

Don't Forget the Paper

Teens who are keen on drawing are definitely going to want high quality paper.

A sketch pad with premium paper is a good choice. They can take the pad wherever they want to go and draw!

This set is a 2 pack of 75 paged sketchbooks on high quality 60lbs (90 GSMS) paper. 2 

Writing Tablet

If he likes to doodle, sketch and draw on the go, a writing tablet is worth considering as a gift. 

You can draw and sketch anything you want. No paper requried! When you have finished just press the erase button and start again. 

The tablet is light and thin so super portable. Great for car journeys or when you are waiting around. 

It's also good for writing notes when doing homework, leaving messages for other family members and playing games such as hangman. 

How To Draw Books

There are a great number of books which teach teens about different drawing techniques to improve their skills. 

The 15 minute artist is an appealing book to encourage teens to spend just a small amount of time to work on their drawing. 

The book provides more than 60 step-by-step projects depicting animals, food, plants, household items, and more. You can complete each one in just 15 minutes.

Each tutorial breaks the process down so you can achieve quick, satisfying results.

​ In addition to pencil renderings, the author demonstrates techniques for working with charcoal, pen, and colored pencil, and provides tips and sidebars on blending, texture, perspective, and shading.

How To Draw Cool Stuff

How to Draw Cool Stuff is full of step by step illustrations that make it easy for teenage boys to draw cool stuff!

The hands-on exercises help you see line, shape, space and other elements in everyday objects and turn them into detailed works of art in just a few simple steps.

​There's drawing tips on line quality, shading and depth. 

3D Pen

Allow your teen to draw their creations in 3D with a 3doodler pen. 

It's easy to use. Just Plug the 3D Pen in, insert 3Doodler create plastic, wait for the 3D Pen to heat up and then you're good to go!

This 3D Pen comes packed with 15 different colors of 3Doodler Create plastic refills & a comprehensive activity guide book.

Line and Wash Sketching Set

Line and wash sketching combines linework and watercolor together in sketchwork. 

The line and wash sketching set featured includes 6 graphie pencils which allow teen artists to create the backbone of the sketch. 

There are 2 watersoluble graphite pencils which can be used with the included waterbrush to bring a new dimension to a teen's artwork. 

The watersoluble pencils allow artists to try more of a painterly style. 

The set  includes an eraser and eraser sheild which makes it easier to be prescise in where you are erasing. The eraser shield has a range of shapes and corners which comes in handy when you want to erase specific parts. There's also a pencil sharpener and a paper stump. The paper stump allows you to blend the excess dusty graphite as part of your design. 

The set also comes with a tin box to keep all the accessories together. 

How To Draw Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite

If he likes to draw and play video games, this book will help him combine the two passions. There are step by step guides on how to draw characters from Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite. 

There are many books for kids with tutorials on drawing video game characters. 

The one featured is simple to follow and can be used by beginners. 

Drawing Board Games

There are a number of board games that including drawing! Why not buy one for a teenage boy who likes to draw. 

Doodle Face Game

This is a great games for kids, teens and adults. 

Everybody draws facial features of another player. Then the drawings are passed to the next person to repeat the drawing steps. 

The results are hilarious. No artistic talent is required but it's a fun game if you like drawing. 

Artsy Fartsy: Drawing Game for Kids and Families

This is another fun drawing game.

It's easy to learn, for kids and adults from aged 10 plus and requires 4 to 12 players.

There's lots of drawing in the game. To make it extra fun sometimes it includes blind drawing and drawing with your non dominant hand.

There's also some bathroom humor as well (nothing too bad but of course it will appeal to teenage boys!)

Moleskine Art Collection Sketching Kit ​

If you're after a high quality sketching set for a teenage boy, look no futher. 

The Moleskine notebook is great quality with 104 thick 200g/m pages. The cover is durable with an elastic closure band which is great for holding writing papers and notes. 

The set of 5 pencils are also very high quality and the set is ideal for teen artists who enjoy sketching.