How to Make Strava Art — Complete Beginner's Guide (2026)
Learn how to make Strava art step by step. From choosing your first shape to sharing your GPS drawing on Strava — everything a beginner needs to create Strava art today.
Strava art is one of the most creative ways to make your running and cycling activities stand out. Instead of logging another generic loop on the map, you follow a planned route that traces a recognizable drawing — a heart, an animal, a word, or even a detailed portrait — visible on your Strava activity map for all your followers to see. The best part? You don't need artistic talent, expensive software, or hours of route planning. With a free Strava art generator like Draw My Loop, you can create your first GPS drawing in under five minutes. This guide walks you through every step: from understanding what Strava art is, to planning your route, running it, and sharing the result with the community.
What is Strava Art and Why Is It So Popular?
Strava art — also called GPS art, running art, or GPS drawing — is the practice of following a planned running or cycling route so that your recorded GPS track forms a picture on the map. When you open the activity on Strava afterward, the drawing appears on the map view, visible to you and all your followers. The concept exploded in popularity thanks to social media: athletes started sharing their Strava art under hashtags like #stravaart, #gpsart, and #runningart, and the visual impact of a heart or animal traced across a city map proved irresistible for engagement. Today, thousands of runners and cyclists worldwide make Strava art regularly — some as a fun way to break the routine, others as a serious creative pursuit spanning multi-day, 100+ kilometer masterpieces. Strava art works for any activity type that records GPS: running, cycling, walking, hiking, even rollerblading. All you need is a GPS-enabled device (phone or watch) and a planned route to follow.
What You Need to Get Started
Making Strava art requires surprisingly little equipment. Here's the complete checklist: A Strava account (the free version works — GPX import doesn't require a paid subscription). A GPS device to record your activity — either a GPS watch (Garmin, Suunto, Coros, Apple Watch) or simply the Strava app on your phone. A Strava art generator to plan your route — Draw My Loop is free, works in any browser, and requires no account. That's it. You don't need special running gear, artistic skills, or mapping expertise. The Strava art generator handles all the hard work: you pick a shape, position it on a map, and the algorithm plans the route along real roads. The whole planning process takes 2-5 minutes.
Step 1 — Plan Your Strava Art Route
Open Draw My Loop's Strava art generator at drawmyloop.com and navigate to your neighborhood on the map. Zoom into a residential area with plenty of streets — grid-pattern neighborhoods work best for beginners because they offer the most routing options. Now choose your design. You have four options: Shape library — Browse 50+ ready-to-use templates (hearts, stars, animals, letters, symbols) and drop one onto the map. This is the fastest way to make Strava art. Freehand drawing — Use the pencil tool to sketch any shape directly on the map. Text projection — Type a word or name and the tool projects it onto the street grid. Image import — Upload any image (logo, drawing, photo) and project it as a GPS route. For your first Strava art, we recommend a heart or a star from the shape library. Position the shape over a dense residential area, resize it so it spans roughly 2-4 km across, and click the snap-to-road button. The algorithm instantly converts your shape into a real route that follows streets and paths — completely runnable, no walls or rivers to cross. Review the route preview: check the total distance (aim for 5-15 km for your first attempt) and the elevation profile (avoid routes with surprise hills). When you're happy, click Export GPX to download the file.
Step 2 — Import Your Route into Strava
With your GPX file downloaded, it's time to load it into Strava. On a computer, go to Strava, then navigate to Routes in the sidebar. Click Create Route, then Import GPX/TCX file. Upload your file and Strava will display the route on the map. Review it to confirm the shape looks good, then save the route. On your phone, you can also import via the Strava mobile app's route creation feature. If you use a Garmin watch, you can alternatively import through Garmin Connect — go to Training, then Courses, then Import — and sync the course to your watch for turn-by-turn navigation during your run. The same process works for Suunto (via Suunto App), Coros (via Coros app), and other GPS watches that accept GPX files. Whichever method you use, take a moment to study the route before heading out. Note the starting point, major turns, and any segments where the route doubles back. Most GPS watches will provide breadcrumb navigation, but knowing the general shape in advance makes the run much smoother.
Step 3 — Run the Route and Record Your Strava Art
Head to your starting point and begin your activity. If your GPS watch supports course navigation, activate it so you can see the planned route on your wrist — this is the easiest way to follow the turns. If you're using your phone, the Strava app's route feature shows a blue line on the map that you follow. A few tips for a clean result: Run at a comfortable, steady pace. GPS accuracy drops when you sprint through turns, producing jagged lines on the map. Don't stress about cutting every corner perfectly — the overall shape is what matters, and minor deviations are invisible when viewed at the full zoom level. If you miss a turn, don't panic. Backtrack to the missed intersection and continue from there. Most small mistakes won't be noticeable in the final artwork. Keep your GPS device charged and ensure it has a clear sky view — urban canyons between tall buildings and dense tree cover can degrade GPS accuracy. Once you complete the route, stop your activity and let Strava process the recording. Open the activity and admire your Strava art on the map view. If the drawing is recognizable, you're ready to share it.
Step 4 — Share Your Strava Art with the Community
Your Strava art is automatically visible on your activity map, but a few tweaks will maximize its impact. Give your activity a creative title — instead of 'Afternoon Run,' try something like 'Drawing a Heart Across Brooklyn' or 'Cat GPS Art — 12km.' A descriptive title catches attention in your followers' feed and in search results. Add hashtags in the activity description: #stravaart, #gpsart, #runningart, and #gpsdrawing are the most popular. These connect you to the global Strava art community. For extra impact, take a screenshot of your completed Strava art and share it on Instagram, Twitter/X, or Reddit (r/running, r/Strava, and r/gpsart are great communities). GPS art posts tend to go viral because they're visually striking and inherently shareable — a well-executed Strava art piece can earn thousands of kudos and comments. Consider making your route public on Strava so other athletes in your area can follow the same path and create their own version of your artwork.
Best Strava Art Ideas for Beginners
Not sure what to draw? Here are the most popular and beginner-friendly Strava art ideas that consistently produce great results. Hearts — The undisputed classic. A heart is the easiest Strava art shape because it uses simple curves, works on almost any street grid, and is instantly recognizable. Typically 5-10 km. Perfect for Valentine's Day, anniversaries, or as a symbolic gesture. Stars — Five-pointed stars translate perfectly to grid-pattern streets. The straight lines are forgiving and the result looks sharp. Usually 8-12 km. Letters and numbers — Write a name, a birthday age, or a short message. Each letter spans 1-3 km. Use Draw My Loop's text projection tool to convert words into routes automatically. Animals — Cats, dogs, and birds are the most impressive Strava art but require more routing complexity. Save these for your second or third attempt. Typically 15-30 km. Seasonal shapes — A Christmas tree in December, a pumpkin for Halloween, a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day. Seasonal Strava art gets the most engagement because it's timely and relatable. Simple icons — Arrows, lightning bolts, smiley faces, peace signs. These angular shapes are easy to route and produce clean results even on imperfect road networks.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Starting too complex — Your first Strava art should be a heart or star, not a detailed dragon. Complex shapes require experience reading route previews and understanding how streets translate to curves. Build up gradually. Choosing the wrong area — Industrial zones, highway corridors, and areas with lots of dead-end streets severely limit routing. Stick to residential neighborhoods with dense, connected street grids. Ignoring elevation — A route that looks flat on a 2D map might include steep hills. Always check the elevation profile in Draw My Loop before exporting. A surprise 200m climb ruins both your pace and your motivation. Making it too small — If your shape spans less than 1 km across, the streets won't have enough resolution to form a recognizable drawing. Aim for at least 2 km across for your first attempt. Not previewing the route — Study the planned route before running. Memorize the key turns and bring your GPS device with navigation enabled. Getting lost mid-route is frustrating and produces visible mistakes in the artwork. Forgetting to charge your device — Running out of battery mid-art means an incomplete picture. Make sure your GPS watch or phone is fully charged before starting.