Running Head: A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

A Childs Drawing Analysis

Jessica Faron
University of Missouri

As Pablo Picasso once said, Every child is an artist. The problem is

how to remain and artist once we grow up. As a future educator, I think

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

about the young creative minds of children that are full of immense amount
of potential. Childrens minds are so imaginative, and their imagination
needs to be worked through the use of art. Although the mind may be
picturing one thing, the childs artistic ability to draw that thing may be
lagging behind. A child goes through different stages of drawing, each stage
becoming more realistic and detailed. As a child progresses from one stage
to the next, different aspects of stages are blended. The stages can be
determined by analyzing drawing characteristics, scribbles, space
representation, and human figure representation exemplified in a childs
drawing. This information is important to keep in mind while studying a
childs art development.
Method
As a pre-service teacher at a elementary school in Columbia Public
Schools, placed in a second-grade classroom, I observe first-hand that some
students are very artistic and confident in their work and others are more
timid to express their imagination. Overall, I have noticed students who love
to draw and color all of the time. The confident artists are quick to get to
work and love to show other people what they have constructed. I have also
noticed a few students who draw and color, but do so very very slowly so
they do not make any mistakes. They look around to compare theirs to other
students and it is almost like theirs will be too different. After examining the
whole class, I asked a young girl to go help me out by drawing a picture for
me.

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

I gave the girl a blank piece of computer paper and asked her to draw
a picture of herself with her family. I told her she had about 10-15 minutes to
do so. While she was drawing, she informed me that she really liked to draw
people and that she liked to draw at home a lot too. It could be considered
that because the girl was given a prompt to draw something she was very
familiar with, she felt experienced and excited to share stories relating to her
family while she drew. She drew very slowly; making sure it was just how she
liked it. She took her time, stopping every once in a while to back up and
look at it. She began by drawing herself in the bottom left hand corner of the
page. She then drew her mother and father next to her. She drew a line
along the bottom of the page to represent the ground. The student happily
asked if she could draw her pets; then she drew her two cats and dog. She
ended the drawing with a sun smiling in the top right corner of the page.
Because of time concerns, the student did not add color to her picture.
Findings
After analyzing the students artwork and comparing it to multiple
charts and resources, it can be said that this girl is at an average drawing
level for her age. According to the chart found by Brittain and Lowenfeld
(1970), I would say that this student is at the Schematic Stage; also known
as The Achievement of a Form Concept (p. 474). The space
representation in her drawing is on a baseline, and the characters are drawn
in retrospect to the sun in the sky. The sun in the picture symbolizes
recognition of environment. There is no overlapping seen in the picture. She

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

drew her people with a repeated schema. The bodies are made up of
geometric shapes and the arms are properly placed. The fathers legs are
represented with a thicker volume. The drawings of people begin with
scribbles and the scribbles go through evolutionary steps as the childs art
develops. According to Kellogg (1970), this students representation of
people demonstrates humans with arms attached to the torso; and
relatively complete Human images (p. 190). She drew her father the
biggest out of all three people. This stage shows that has she developed out
of the first attempts at representing people and animals. According to Art
Experience Develop Visual Perception (1974), this specific student has the
ability to show the relationship between two objects and can organize a
picture where items are all related (p. 4). The girl drew characters that all
relate to herself and her family. All of the characteristics can be related and
make sense in the organized picture.

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

Conclusion
Many educators may argue that art should be integrated into the
classroom to effectively benefit teaching. With this said, teachers
understanding the art development of students is very valuable. Burton
(1980) said, that when children manipulate the concrete materials of art,
they include in their works information, ideas, and feelings that do not
originate in the visual senses alone. This is certainly true of childrens
earliest representation and it remains throughout development (p. 63). This
means that childrens art is based off of the knowledge they have learned,
current feelings, and their own ideas. With this said, integrating art into the
classroom is a way for teachers to gauge the students knowledge, ideas,
and feelings, and watch these concepts develop as the year goes on.
Another concept to consider while applying art to the classroom is to utilize
the students memories. The memory is essential in learning and can also be

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a very sufficient source of ideas in painting and drawing. As children grow

and develop, their minds work on reflective thinking and their minds need to
be challenged and enriched. According to Burton (1980), it is important for
teachers to integrate a balance between imagination exercises and
observational problems (p. 30). Learning often consists of reflective
thinking; by incorporating imagination exercises and observational problems,
students are challenged to enrich their thinking. According to Burton (1980),
Children learn by asking questions, making inquiries and fashioning what
they discover into a world view [] the questions they pose cause them to
reflect, inquire and probe their senses, feelings, and minds (p. 80) Because
of this, it is important for teachers to respectfully respond to the students
questions and encourage the childrens experiences in the world. While
embracing students worldly experiences, teachers can encourage students
to represent and relate different aspects of art to their own understandings.
Art can be integrated into the classroom through visual works, drama,
dance, and music and performance. Role-playing is an active way to get
students involved in learning. Some concepts may be best learned through
the form of song. Students can clarify thoughts through labeling and
drawing. When teachers pay close attention and recognize their students art
development, their methods of teaching can be revamped and therefore, the
students learning will be enriched.

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References
Kellog. R. (1970) Analyzing Childrens Art. Palo Alto, CA: National Press, 15,
19, 25, 78, 85, 109, and 112.
Lowenfeld, V., & Brittain, W.L. (1970). Creative and mental growth. New York:
MacMillan, 474-479.
Maryland Board of Education of Baltimore County. (1974). Beginning stages
of visual expression of young children. In Art Experience, Development
of Visual Perception, 1-4.
Burton, J.M., (1980). Developing Minds: The First Visual Symbols. School Arts, Vol. 80, No. 2,
October.

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Burton, J.M. (1980) Developing Minds: Beginning of Artistic Language. School Arts, Vol. 80,
No. 1, September.