Running Head: A Childs Drawing Analysis 1

A Childs Drawing Analysis

Natasha Smith
University of Missouri

















Running Head: A Childs Drawing Analysis 2

A Childs Drawing Analysis
The world is changing. Gone are the days were people relied solely on logic
thinkers. Creativity and innovation are becoming more popular, more desired.
Creativity is valued, necessary (Pink 2005). No one wants anything predictable,
over-used, tired. Children have the ability to do all this, their minds have not been
taught to see through a narrow lens yet. Their creativity is raw. It cannot be
manufactured. Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once
he grows up (Pablo Picasso). One can learn so much from a child if you only take
the time to observe them. This is why it is so important to include art in everyday
classroom activity. To have art as a part of education could change a childs life.
Maybe even save it.
For a long time, according to Pink, scientists believed that the most important
side of our brains was the left, the more logical, rational side. Within the past 10
years this has been dissproved. Both sides of the brain must work together to make
people, people (Pink 2005). This finding lead people to put more emphases on
natural creativity. As Elliot Eisner said, the arts teach children that it is judgment
rather than rules that prevail (2002).
According to Lowenfeld and Brittain (1970) there are six stages of childrens
drawing. The first stage is The Scribbling Stage. This stage is from two-four years old
and it is the beginning of self-expression. The next stage is called The Preschematic
Stage. This stage is from four-seven years old and it is the stage with the first
representational attempts. That means that this is the stage where the childs
drawings begin to take shape, one can usually tell what the child is trying to draw.
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The third stage is called The Schematic Stage and it goes from seven-nine years old.
In this stage the child will achieve a form of concept. The fourth stage is from nine-
twelve years old and it is called the Gang Age. In this stage of drawing, children start
making their drawings look more real. The Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage is the between
the ages of twelve and fourteen. This stage is made up of reasoning, the children are
more aware of the environment and proportions. The final stage is called Adolescent
Art. This stage usually takes place between fourteen and seventeen years of age and
it is a period of decision (Brittain & Lowenfeld 1970).



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Description and Analysis
The piece of artwork chosen for this assignment is a marker drawing of
mountains and a butterfly (image above). The artist, Lillian, appears to have drawn
green mountains/hills at the bottom, which are outlined in black marker. They look
like triangles. The mountains are then colored in, in a scribbling fashion. There is a
butterfly shown flying over these mountains in a sky of blue. In the top left corner
she has drawn a sun. The butterfly is much larger than the sun and it is way above
the mountains at the bottom.
When looking at this drawing, it would be considered among the Schematic
Stage. Her placement of the sun and the mountains shows that she has a clear
concept of the environment. Her butterfly is the biggest part of the drawing showing
that is what she saw to be the most important. There is a simultaneous
representation of plan and elevation, this is shown in the mountains and the sky. It
is a flat representation. According to Brittain and Lowenfeld, drawings that are
representative of the Schematic stage reflect bold, direct, flat representation
(1970). Lillians drawing also exaggerates the size of the butterfly which is another
representation of this stage.

Conclusion
It is very important for teachers to have a basic understanding of analyzing
childrens artwork. Based on what level their students are, teachers can know what
topics to focus on and how much to push them. If a student is not developmentally
prepared for something, most likely their drawings will represent that. This
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knowledge is something that every teacher can use. Without creativity in the
classroom, the children cannot grow and learn. It is extremely important that
students are taught to use both sides of the brains in all aspects of life. Art is an
outlet to so many, in my classroom I will allow creativity to blossom. Restricting
how a student thinks and expresses themselves is a great way to crush the person
inside of them trying to bloom.

















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Work Cited
Brittain, W. L, & V. Lowenfeld. (1970) Creative and Mental Growth. New York, NY.
MacMillian Co. pgs. 476.
Eisner, Elliot. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. Yale University Press.
Pink, D. H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New
York, NY: Riverhead Books.