June 7, 2025
Summary: Ace the NID entrance exam 2026 with expert guidance and a strategic NID study plan. Enhance your creativity, manage time effectively, and excel in drawing skills. Master general awareness and practice past papers. Unlock your potential for NID success. Start your journey now!
Preparing for the National Institute of Design entrance test can be a challenging task for most. Still, with a well-structured study plan and a preparation strategy, it is easy to score well in the exam and get admission to UG and PG programs at the National Institute of Design.
It would be best to be smart enough to allocate time to each subject in your preparation plan, as all topics play a vital role in qualifying for the NID entrance exam.
Our experts at Creative Edge (a pioneer in providing the best online guidance for Design entrance exams) have curated the best preparation guide and NID Study Plan in this post to ease out your preparation.
So, what are you waiting for? Try to follow all these tips and create the best study timetable for better results.
Resource: Download our free NID Study Plan PDF prepared by NID alumni mentors and referred by past NID toppers. It's got a targeted week-wise study plan, sample questions/portfolio must-haves, and last-minute checklist all-at-one-place.
First things first! How long does it take to prepare for NID? Most aspirants take 6-12 months to effectively prepare for NID entrance exam 2026.
With consistent daily practice in sketching, creative thinking, aptitude and general knowledge, even 6-7 months of focused preparation is enough to crack both NID Prelims & NID Mains in one single attempt.
However, the preparation level differs from one individual to another depending on their current abilities, how many hours they study daily, their status (totally devoted to NID or attempting to appear for other exams), their understanding of concepts, etc. And hence, an NID study plan that caters to your individual needs is essential for a fail-proof preparation.
You should keep the following points in mind while creating the NID Study Plan.
Or reach out to CreativeEdge for personalized professional guidance from expert mentors (NID Alumnis), exact strategy, exam-focused study material and roadmap to crack NID 2026.
Check: NID Exam Section Wise Preparation
If you are excellent at drawing, you will easily ace the entrance exam, one of the most well-known misconceptions.
NID questions are asked to test your creative abilities, imaginative skills, perceptive abilities/general knowledge, and observational skills. The NID syllabus focuses on assessing your critical thinking abilities.
The following study plan will immensely assist you in strategizing your NID exam preparation levels and performing well in the upcoming exam.
Check: How to Prepare for NID Studio test
One of the most crucial prerequisites to improve your chances of getting into NID is polishing your creative thinking abilities.
You should be able to come up with inventive ideas within a snap of a finger! To improve these skills, get inspired and try out new ideas without any hesitation.
Understand that your drawing and imaginative abilities are pointless if you can't present your thoughts within the stipulated exam duration.
You will lose marks for the questions you fail to address, or if you leave them uncompleted, it doesn't make any difference how great you are at your work. So speed is equally significant.
While preparing, use a timer or a stopwatch to note the time it takes to answer a single question.
This strategy will assist you in improving your time management skills incredibly.
Also read: NID Interview Questions with Answers
Also check: NID Exam day Instructions 2026
While attempting previous year's drawing questions for NID, consistently draw first with a light hand.
When you are happy with the proportion and the rough outline, you can finalize it. While practicing, do not utilize using A3-size sketchbooks.
Always use A4 size sketchbooks since the standard size of the answer sheets is typically A4. Practice extensively using dry colours as they are beneficial to use during the exam and take less time.
Check: NID Fee Structure 2026
Fostering is an easy process. Eliminate the habit of replicating incredible designers. Rather you NID study plan for creative ability test should include attempting various types of shading, utilizing pencils instead of markers. Use broad pencil strokes to enhance the dynamic look of your design.
Learn more: NID DAT Drawing Tips
Questions that you will face in NID are regularly left open-ended. This is to test whether you can introduce and present the design appropriately.
Refer: NID GAT Important Questions
For NID preparation, you should undoubtedly avoid using 'wet' media, for example, sketch pens or watercolours.
Use dry media such as shading pencils and pastels. Use ball pens and fine liners just in case you are sure of what you will make.
Click here to enrol: NID Online Coaching
It is crucial to understand that the National Institute of Design searches for individuals with a genuine interest in the designing domain.
You do not need to pack up your brain with every general knowledge book. What is significant is how much you know about the current events happening throughout the globe.
Refer: NID Preparation Books
It would help if you did not burn through your time in erasing and redrawing, which the vast majority of aspirants do as you need to finish the test in the allocated time.
So, to stay away from this habit, you are prescribed to draw with a light hand and focus initially on just the outline.
You can begin detailing the work and finalize it after getting happy with your sketch's rough design and measurements.
The absolute must-include in your NID Study Plan is consistent practice, both for drawing section and aptitude sections of the NID exam 2026.
Check: Compound Interest Questions for NID
Do not study continuously for more extended periods as it can tire your mind and burn you out!
Your brain needs rest after regular intervals since a lot of data can cause immense mental fatigue.
This flood of information can likewise confuse you. Hence, make it a point to take consistent breaks during your study hours.
Read more: Salary After NID
Your NID study plan should also allow you some rest and recuperation. Messing up with your sleep cycle may result in distraction, not understanding concepts and overblown anxiety.
Not having sufficient rest can make your body and mind extremely weak. To think well and keep a hold on grasping power, you need at the very least 7-8 hours of sleep each day.
Make it a point to solve every NID previous year question paper to assess your skills and boost confidence before appearing for the final test.
Practising the previous exam papers will assist you in becoming familiar with the format and the paper pattern of the final examination.
It is recommended to solve at least one to two sample papers and NID Mock Tests weekly. In this way, you can enhance your speed and accuracy in the final exam.
Also, it will help you understand better the difficulty level and the type of questions asked in the NID CAT and GAT exams.
Check: NID Exam Pattern
Questions in the NID test are outlined to test your creativity level and how rapidly you can write your thoughts down.
The following are tips on how you can stay away from committing errors when appearing for the NID 2026 entrance exam.
Working towards your goal becomes easier once you have a solid understanding of it in mind! If you're wondering, what is a good score for NID? A good score in NID DAT Prelims is 70-75 out of 100 for top courses like Product Design & Animation.
However, it also varies with your social category (NID considers social reservations in admissions) and the NID campus you are aiming for. For admission to NID Ahmedabad, securing a rank within top 100 is generally considered competitive.
Refer: NID Interview Questions with Answers
By following this NID Study Plan with complete devotion, you are one step closer to accomplishing your desire to get admission to NID.
Devote your time, be earnest, and focus on what you need to achieve during your preparation stages.
In particular, maintain positive thoughts while you are preparing for the examination. If you follow this study plan by putting in your 100 per cent, you can quickly nail the bullseye!
Also read: Points to remember before appearing NID Exam
Frequently Asked Questions
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