Paired Drawing
Paired Drawing is an applied improv exercise in which two people silently take turns adding one feature at a time to a shared drawing of a face, then collaboratively name their creation one letter at a time. Neither partner controls the outcome. The exercise makes the abstract principles of co-creation and shared control tangible and visible, producing a concrete artifact that neither person could have made alone.
Structure
Setup
Participants pair up. Each pair receives a single sheet of paper and one pen or marker. Partners sit or stand facing each other with the paper between them.
Progression
The first partner draws one facial feature on the paper: an eye, a nose, an ear, a mouth. They then lift the pen from the page, signaling that their turn is complete, and hand the pen to their partner. The second partner adds a different facial feature. Partners continue alternating, each adding one element per turn, without speaking or discussing what should come next.
Each partner must accept whatever their partner has drawn and build on it. If one person draws a large left eye, the other must work with that proportion when adding other features. The face emerges through accumulated decisions rather than a shared plan.
When either partner hesitates about what to draw next, the face is considered complete. Partners then take turns adding one letter at a time to name the character, following the same alternating pattern. The name is complete when either partner hesitates about which letter to add next.
Conclusion
Pairs share their drawings and character names with the larger group. The facilitator leads a debrief connecting the experience to collaborative work.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Paired Drawing demonstrates co-creation in its most literal form. Partners experience what it means to influence an outcome without controlling it. The exercise builds comfort with shared authorship and teaches participants to accept, adapt to, and build on contributions they did not plan for.
How to Explain It
"You and your partner are going to draw a face together, but you cannot talk. Take turns adding one feature at a time. When you are done drawing, lift the pen so your partner knows it is their turn. Do not plan ahead. Just add one thing that makes sense given what is already on the page. When one of you cannot think of what to add next, the face is done. Then you will name your character the same way, one letter at a time."
Scaffolding
This exercise works well early in a workshop because it is quiet, low-stakes, and produces a physical artifact that participants can hold. Begin with a brief demonstration if the group seems uncertain. After pairs complete one drawing, optionally have them create a second one with the pen-holding hand switched to their non-dominant side. This levels the playing field between participants with different drawing abilities.
Common Pitfalls
The most common issue is one partner dominating by drawing overly complex features that constrain the other person's options. Coach participants to keep each contribution simple: one line, one shape, one feature. A second issue is partners who try to communicate nonverbally through gestures or pointed looks. Encourage genuine surprise at what emerges.
In Applied Settings
Learning Objectives
Participants experience shared ownership of an outcome that neither person planned or controlled. The exercise reveals individual tendencies around control, contribution, and adaptation when working without a predetermined plan.
Workplace Transfer
Paired Drawing creates a safe, concrete parallel to collaborative work situations where no single person owns the outcome. Teams use it to explore dynamics around shared authorship, unspoken expectations, and the tension between personal vision and collective creation. The physical artifact makes abstract collaboration concepts immediately visible: participants can point to exactly where they adapted, where they were surprised, and where the drawing became something neither person expected.
Facilitation Context
Best used in team-building sessions, onboarding workshops, or as an opening exercise in collaborative design sessions. Works well for groups of any size since participants work in independent pairs. The quiet nature of the exercise makes it effective for groups that are meeting for the first time or for teams that tend to rely on verbal dominance. Adaptable to video meetings by using shared digital whiteboards.
Debrief Framing
Ask: "What was it like to hand over control after each turn? Did you find yourself wanting to steer the drawing in a particular direction? What happened when your partner added something you did not expect? How does this connect to collaborative projects where multiple people shape the outcome?"
Skills Developed
Worth Reading
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Peter Campbell Gwinn; Charna Halpern
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Hillary Haft Bucs; Charissa Menefee
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Rob Norman
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Related Exercises
Making Faces
Making Faces is a warm-up exercise in which players practice exaggerated facial expressions, cycling through emotions, mirroring a partner, or responding to facilitator prompts. The exercise loosens inhibition around physical expressiveness and helps performers discover how facial choices communicate character and emotion instantly. Many performers rely primarily on voice and words; Making Faces redirects attention to the face as a primary communication instrument. The exercise serves as an accessible entry point for physical comedy work and character creation.
Random Images
Random Images is an applied improvisation exercise from Joseph A. Keefe's Improv Yourself in which partners select five unrelated images for each other and each person creates an original story combining all five images into a coherent narrative. The exercise develops the ability to find connections between disparate elements, a core skill in both creative thinking and improvisation.
Portrait
Portrait is an applied improvisation exercise from The Applied Improvisation Mindset in which one participant poses while others describe what they observe. The exercise develops skills of attention, descriptive precision, and the ability to notice details without projecting assumptions onto another person.
Random Words
Random Words is an applied improvisation exercise from Joseph A. Keefe's Improv Yourself in which partners each place ten dissimilar, unrelated words in a random pattern on paper and then compose an original story, poem, or monologue incorporating all ten words. The exercise builds the creative muscle of forging connections between unrelated concepts under constraint.
Drawing the Line
Drawing the Line is an applied improvisation exercise in which participants explore personal and group boundaries through physical and verbal activities. Using the stage space and structured improvisational scenarios, participants develop practical awareness of where their own comfort limits are, how to name and communicate those limits clearly, and how to recognize and respect the limits of others. The exercise is used in ensemble-building, trust work, and applied settings focused on consent and professional boundary-setting.
Collaboration
Collaboration is a category of applied improvisation exercises in which group tasks are designed so that individual success is structurally impossible: the design requires coordinated effort, shared information, and mutual accountability to complete. The exercises are used to surface how groups actually function under cooperative pressure, revealing patterns of self-organization, communication, and shared decision-making.
The Lineage
Explore the schools and structures that influenced or evolved from Paired Drawing.
Putting Improv to Work (Hohn)
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Paired Drawing. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paired-drawing
The Improv Archive. "Paired Drawing." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paired-drawing.
The Improv Archive. "Paired Drawing." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paired-drawing. Accessed September 28, 2026.
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