Collaborative Drawing

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Practice turn-taking and adapting to unplanned visual contributions without predetermined outcomes.

Use it when: Use as a low-stakes warmup when introducing collaboration, shared ownership, or improvisation to a group.

Skip it when: Skip when participants need to produce precise technical diagrams, make deliberate strategic decisions, or when visual sketching causes significant stress.

Group arrangement: Pairs; an odd participant forms a trio following the same rotation.

Timing: UWT suggested duration based on source instruction to continue for several minutes.

Materials and tools

• 1 sheet of blank paper per pair (letter or A4)
• 2 pens or markers with distinct colors per pair
• 1 digital whiteboard per pair if running remotely

Before participants arrive

1. Place one sheet of paper and two different colored pens at each paired seating station.

Say this to open

Find a partner and sit across from one sheet of paper. You will build a single drawing together without speaking or planning what it is. One person draws a single line or mark, then stops. The next person adds a mark to complement or build on it. Continue taking turns until the time is up.

How to run it

1. Pair and setup 2 minutes

   Group participants into pairs. If there is an odd number, form one trio. Hand each pair one sheet of paper and two different colored markers. Deliver the opening script and confirm everyone understands to draw in silent alternation.

2. Draw in alternating turns 4 minutes

   Start the timer. Person A adds one mark, shape, or line to the page. Person B immediately adds one mark that connects to, surrounds, or complements the existing mark. For example, Person A might draw a simple circle, and Person B might add three straight lines coming off one side. Participants continue alternating without talking until the facilitator calls time.

3. Review within pairs 2 minutes

   Ask pairs to stop drawing. Give them two minutes to look at their drawing together and briefly discuss what they see and what surprised them as the drawing developed.

4. Room debrief 2 minutes

   Bring the full group together. Invite two or three volunteers to hold up their sheet and share how it felt to let go of control over the final picture.

Debrief questions

• How did your original intention for a line shift after your partner made their mark?
• What was easy or challenging about not speaking while creating the drawing?
• How did having distinct pen colors affect how you viewed ownership of the page?

Finished output: A co-created drawing produced by alternating turns on a single page.

Remote

Put pairs into breakout rooms. Assign each pair a dedicated digital whiteboard or slide with simple drawing tools. Partners alternate adding one stroke or shape using distinct digital pen colors while keeping microphones muted during the drawing round.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person partners using physical paper. Pair remote participants with remote partners using a shared online whiteboard. Run the central timer and room debrief via the main video conference so both groups share simultaneously.

Access and participation choices

• Participants with fine motor difficulties may use digital stamps, sticky notes with simple shapes, or take an observer role as a chronicler.
• Any participant may pass on showing their completed artwork to the wider room during the debrief.

If the session gets stuck

Partners begin talking and negotiating what the drawing should depict.

Remind the room gently that the exercise relies on silence and emergent shapes rather than planned composition.

One participant takes a very long turn trying to complete an elaborate illustration.

Instruct participants to keep each addition to a single stroke or shape lasting five seconds or less before passing the turn.

Terms used here

• Emergent drawing: An image that takes form spontaneously through successive additions rather than following a planned layout.