A Child’s Drawing Analysis Research
Kathleen Kavanaugh
University of Missouri
Growing up, children encounter several different stages based on their age and the characteristics of each stage are represented in children’s artwork. Similarly, like how there are theories about children’s social and developmental progression, there are theories about the growth of children’s art. Many people analyze these stages and come to the conclusion that “stage theories of development describe characteristic milestones that delineate passage from one stage to another and explain how the majority of children progress in a similar way through a developmental sequence (Luehrman & Unrath, 2006, p. 66).” The 6 stages that children unknowingly go through with their artwork are; the Scribbling stage (2-4 years) the Preschematic stage (4-7 years), the Schematic stage (7-9 years), the Gang stage (9-12 years), the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage (12-14 years), and Adolescent Art (14-17 years) (Erickson & Young, 1996). It might not be meaningful to adults, but every little scribble and doodle that a child draws represents what stage they are in. Even though the artist’s drawing could be a mixture of several different stages, I believe this particular artist is in the Gang stage based on the human representation.
From the piece of artwork I selected, I concluded that the child who drew this picture of a boy was in the Gang stage based on the descriptions. Since this artwork is a picture of a human, the human characteristics for the Gang stage are: “rigid schema no longer prevails, greater awareness of clothing detail, less exaggeration, distortion, and omission of body parts to show emphasis, body parts retain their meaning when separated and greater stiffness of figures (Erikson & Young, 1996, p. 50).” When I read these characteristics of human representation in the Gang stage, I quickly realized that not all of these characteristics align with the artwork that I am analyzing. Even though parts of the artwork like how the child uses geometric shapes to represent the body parts does not fit the definition of the Gang stage the characteristics like the detail on the collar of the shirt, how the human is represented, and the fact that the body parts still retain their meaning when separated, gave me enough information to believe this child is in the Gang stage. This gives me the impression that the child is starting to become aware of human characteristics and how to represent people accurately, but at a very rudimentary level.
Although the artist used geometric shapes to represent a human that is characterized by the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage, the artist is not in this stage because of an important characteristic of human representation. This important characteristic is facial expression and the artist does not include any detailed facial expression in the drawing. He or she merely has the boy smiling, so it is not as detailed as the Pseudo stage because the Gang stage is the first to include facial expression as a part of human representation. This would explain why the facial expressions in this stage are very basic. Another reason why the artist is not in the Pseudo stage is because the artist did not draw the picture “cartoon like” which is a characteristic for that stage. Lastly, another factor to consider of why the artist is not in the Pseudo stage is that the person is not represented by less than the total figure. The human figure representation in the Pseudo stage states a “person can be represented by less than total figure (Erickson & Young, 1996, p. 51).” The drawing of this boy seems like actual size, so that gives me the impression that the artist is in the Gang stage.
A very important concept to consider is while kids are physically and mentally growing so is their art. This concept is important for teachers to know because they need to realize what stage their children are in can also reflect their mental capabilities such as academics. Teachers are going to receive a wide variety of art capabilities in their classroom, just like performance on academics but that will only help give the teacher information on the students. For teachers to integrate art into core subjects it is imperative first that “future teachers are able to articulate their knowledge and perceptions about art (Luehrman & Unrath, 2009, p. 74).” This way they are aware where they stand with art in the classroom and then can base activities on their comfort level with art while they “are discovering their own oratory skills, and simultaneously becoming more prepared and confident to talk about art (Luehrman & Unrath, 2009, p. 74).” Once that is established, the teacher can lead art activities that might be outside their comfort zone so the teacher is growing with the students. The teacher is going to receive a wide variety of art and mental abilities in the classroom so it is important for teachers to also acknowledge the diversity in the classroom, which can be represented through the art. Kids are going to draw differently most likely based on their social and cultural influences, which will also give information to the teacher about their students but also celebrate diversity in the classroom through art.
It is critical for teachers to be aware of the 6 stages that children progress through with their art to form their development but most importantly it helps give teachers an understanding for how art is made by children and explains why their art looks the way it does. Kids have an “unconscious innate ‘laws of form’ that [they] follow inborn universal rules as they learn to use the language of drawing (Wilson & Wilson, 1992, p. 57).” This explains why kids draw what they like to see or unknowingly draw what is in their subconscious because all they need is a pencil in their hand and a piece of paper. A child’s piece of art is more than what you see on the paper, it shows the progression and steps involved to make that art piece and displays what the child is influenced by. That is why for each stage it is important to pay close attention to those specific details and characteristics because it shows the capabilities of the student, and for my artist in the Gang stage, I am now aware of the abilities this artist has. The movement through these 6 stages is vital for teachers to understand for their children’s growth and development physically and mentally but can also help acknowledge diversity in the classroom.
Figure 1.
Resources
Erikson, M. & Young, B. (1996). What Every Educator Should (but maybe doesn’t) Know. School Arts, 40-42.
Luehrman, M. & Unrath, K. (2006). Making Theories of Children’s Artistic Development Meaningful for Pre-Service Teachers. Art Education, 6-12.
Unrath, K. & Luehrman, M. (2009). Bringing Children to Art-Bringing Art to Children. Art Education, 41-47.
Wilson, M. & Wilson, B. (1992). Learning to Draw: Nurturing the Natural. Engle Cliffs, NY, 39-47.
Kathleen Kavanaugh
University of Missouri
Growing up, children encounter several different stages based on their age and the characteristics of each stage are represented in children’s artwork. Similarly, like how there are theories about children’s social and developmental progression, there are theories about the growth of children’s art. Many people analyze these stages and come to the conclusion that “stage theories of development describe characteristic milestones that delineate passage from one stage to another and explain how the majority of children progress in a similar way through a developmental sequence (Luehrman & Unrath, 2006, p. 66).” The 6 stages that children unknowingly go through with their artwork are; the Scribbling stage (2-4 years) the Preschematic stage (4-7 years), the Schematic stage (7-9 years), the Gang stage (9-12 years), the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage (12-14 years), and Adolescent Art (14-17 years) (Erickson & Young, 1996). It might not be meaningful to adults, but every little scribble and doodle that a child draws represents what stage they are in. Even though the artist’s drawing could be a mixture of several different stages, I believe this particular artist is in the Gang stage based on the human representation.
From the piece of artwork I selected, I concluded that the child who drew this picture of a boy was in the Gang stage based on the descriptions. Since this artwork is a picture of a human, the human characteristics for the Gang stage are: “rigid schema no longer prevails, greater awareness of clothing detail, less exaggeration, distortion, and omission of body parts to show emphasis, body parts retain their meaning when separated and greater stiffness of figures (Erikson & Young, 1996, p. 50).” When I read these characteristics of human representation in the Gang stage, I quickly realized that not all of these characteristics align with the artwork that I am analyzing. Even though parts of the artwork like how the child uses geometric shapes to represent the body parts does not fit the definition of the Gang stage the characteristics like the detail on the collar of the shirt, how the human is represented, and the fact that the body parts still retain their meaning when separated, gave me enough information to believe this child is in the Gang stage. This gives me the impression that the child is starting to become aware of human characteristics and how to represent people accurately, but at a very rudimentary level.
Although the artist used geometric shapes to represent a human that is characterized by the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage, the artist is not in this stage because of an important characteristic of human representation. This important characteristic is facial expression and the artist does not include any detailed facial expression in the drawing. He or she merely has the boy smiling, so it is not as detailed as the Pseudo stage because the Gang stage is the first to include facial expression as a part of human representation. This would explain why the facial expressions in this stage are very basic. Another reason why the artist is not in the Pseudo stage is because the artist did not draw the picture “cartoon like” which is a characteristic for that stage. Lastly, another factor to consider of why the artist is not in the Pseudo stage is that the person is not represented by less than the total figure. The human figure representation in the Pseudo stage states a “person can be represented by less than total figure (Erickson & Young, 1996, p. 51).” The drawing of this boy seems like actual size, so that gives me the impression that the artist is in the Gang stage.
A very important concept to consider is while kids are physically and mentally growing so is their art. This concept is important for teachers to know because they need to realize what stage their children are in can also reflect their mental capabilities such as academics. Teachers are going to receive a wide variety of art capabilities in their classroom, just like performance on academics but that will only help give the teacher information on the students. For teachers to integrate art into core subjects it is imperative first that “future teachers are able to articulate their knowledge and perceptions about art (Luehrman & Unrath, 2009, p. 74).” This way they are aware where they stand with art in the classroom and then can base activities on their comfort level with art while they “are discovering their own oratory skills, and simultaneously becoming more prepared and confident to talk about art (Luehrman & Unrath, 2009, p. 74).” Once that is established, the teacher can lead art activities that might be outside their comfort zone so the teacher is growing with the students. The teacher is going to receive a wide variety of art and mental abilities in the classroom so it is important for teachers to also acknowledge the diversity in the classroom, which can be represented through the art. Kids are going to draw differently most likely based on their social and cultural influences, which will also give information to the teacher about their students but also celebrate diversity in the classroom through art.
It is critical for teachers to be aware of the 6 stages that children progress through with their art to form their development but most importantly it helps give teachers an understanding for how art is made by children and explains why their art looks the way it does. Kids have an “unconscious innate ‘laws of form’ that [they] follow inborn universal rules as they learn to use the language of drawing (Wilson & Wilson, 1992, p. 57).” This explains why kids draw what they like to see or unknowingly draw what is in their subconscious because all they need is a pencil in their hand and a piece of paper. A child’s piece of art is more than what you see on the paper, it shows the progression and steps involved to make that art piece and displays what the child is influenced by. That is why for each stage it is important to pay close attention to those specific details and characteristics because it shows the capabilities of the student, and for my artist in the Gang stage, I am now aware of the abilities this artist has. The movement through these 6 stages is vital for teachers to understand for their children’s growth and development physically and mentally but can also help acknowledge diversity in the classroom.
Figure 1.
Resources
Erikson, M. & Young, B. (1996). What Every Educator Should (but maybe doesn’t) Know. School Arts, 40-42.
Luehrman, M. & Unrath, K. (2006). Making Theories of Children’s Artistic Development Meaningful for Pre-Service Teachers. Art Education, 6-12.
Unrath, K. & Luehrman, M. (2009). Bringing Children to Art-Bringing Art to Children. Art Education, 41-47.
Wilson, M. & Wilson, B. (1992). Learning to Draw: Nurturing the Natural. Engle Cliffs, NY, 39-47.