How Children Learn to Draw Realistic Pictures

Abstract

Children of ages 5 to 17 years were given a real scene to draw from a fixed viewpoint. Their drawings were classified according to the type of drawing system used, and given a score for the number of correct representations of occlusion by overlap. Six classes of drawing system used were identified, and it was found that with increasing age children were able to use an increasingly complex type of system. This development appeared to take place in discrete stages and covered the whole age range tested. Increase in the ability to use overlap as a pictorial device appeared to be continuous; below the age of 9 few children made use of overlap, and rapid learning took place between the ages of 10 and 12. It is argued that the use of these two pictorial devices requires different abilities; and that learning to use a particular type of drawing system does not depend directly on perception or on learning culturally determined stereotypes but in its demands on creative ability closely resembles the acquisition of language.

The Influence of Visual Models and Instructional Methods on the Development of Students' Graphic Representations

“…However, studies such as Willats (1977aWillats ( , 1977b, Duthie (1985) and Cox (1986) indicated that some individuals do not adopt a system of drawing in perspective even when they have reached the age when it is deveiopmentally possible. Linear perspective is rarely used before adolescence, and even then only infrequently (Golomb 1992).…”

“…Kindler (1992) has pointed out the necessity of careful consideration of learning strategies which children spontaneously employ to solve problems of pictorial representation-Strategies such as occlusion and temporal order to name two. Projection systems have been looked at by Willats (1977a), Cox (1986) and Chen (1984), but there is a lack of information about other strategies.…”

“…Now, there is growing evidence that children demonstrate a preference for complexity that goes beyond experience with a particular medium and that desire for complexity can convey (Freeman, 1980;Golomb, -'983a, 1983b) The child's perception is more advanced than the child's drawing performance would indicate (Piaget, 1956;Golomb, 1992). There are difficulties for most children in the production of accurate graphic representations of objects (Willats, 1977a(Willats, , 1977b(Willats, , 1985Freeman, 1980;Golomb, 1992).…”

“…Three possible considerations wouia be; less advanced projection systems, occlusion, and temporal order of graphic representational strategies. Willats (1977aWillats ( , 1977bWillats ( , 1985 conducted a series ot studies that indicated one of the main types of drawing systems necessary to depict a hard-edged three-dimensional object is a projection system. In this system, the individual attempts to show how the object appears in space or how its angles project back into space.…”

“…They used the same six classes of projection systems as Willats (1977aWillats ( , 1977b for their criterion. Their findings about the representation of six to ten-year-old subjects supports the Willats studies.…”