Running head: A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

A Childs Drawing Analysis

Madelyn Kartheiser
University of Missouri

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

A Childs Drawing Analysis

Children have stages of development for many different areas of growth, and art is one of
these areas that children progress in stages. According to Erickson and Young (1996), children
progress through stages of development in their artwork in predictable ways, with wide
variations within an age norm or stage (p. 41), so one cannot just look at the age of the child to
determine the stage, but must know the characteristics of each stage to determine where the child
is. The stages are called Lowenfeldian stages, and children move through them as their art
becomes more detailed and representative. The stages are as follows: the Scribbling stage, which
is typical of two- to four-year-olds; the Preschematic stage, which is typical of four- to sevenyear-olds; the Schematic stage, which is typical of seven- to nine-year-olds; the Gang stage,
which is typical of nine- to twelve-year-olds; the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage, which is typical of
twelve- to fourteen-year-olds; and the Adolescent stage, which is typical of fourteen- to
seventeen-year-olds (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 474-479). However, just because the stages
are commonly found in those ages, does not mean a child of a certain age will be in the stage that
corresponds. In a study that measured the stages of drawings from people of various ages,
Erickson and Young (1996) found that some adult college students drawings were not more
and in some cases, were perhaps even lesssophisticated than some of the primary grade
students drawings (p. 41). This study showed that while the students skills do progress through
stages, it is not necessarily by the childs age but also by the amount of instruction he/she has had
in art.
It is important for instructors to know how these stages progress and to be able to identify
what stage the student is in, so that the instructor can appropriately assign work based on that
stage. The instructor will know what to expect the child to do, and can think of ways to help the

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

student learn and move on to the following stages. For this paper, I had a student draw a scene
(Figure 1), and I will identify what stage I believe the student to be in based on this artwork. I
will analyze the artwork and compare it to the characteristics of each stage in order to determine
where the student is developmentally.
Method
I gave the student the option of what to draw, and Maggie (pseudonym) chose to draw an
outdoor scene. While she drew, I watched her and wrote down notes of her process. She started
the drawing by coloring the grass in, pressing hard with her green crayon. Maggie then moved on
to drawing the tree, where she started with straight lines for the trunk, then finished coloring that
brown and moved on to draw a rounded shape of green leaves. After completing the bushy
treetop, she drew a small brown crescent in the leaves. I questioned her as to what it was, and she
responded that it was a birds nest. She then took her yellow crayon to draw the round sun in the
corner with lines coming out, and then drew curved black lines underneath which she called
birds. Finally, she ended by drawing blue clouds in the blank sky.
Findings
Based on this drawing, I believe Maggie to be in between the Schematic and Gang stages.
Her drawing possesses many of the characteristics of the Schematic stage, but it also progresses
past some of these characteristics in certain parts and appears to be more aligned with the Gang
stage in those areas. Lowenfeld (1970) describes the Schematic stage as having a form repeated
again and again, which is done with the shape Maggie chose to use for the birds (p. 476). The
schematic stage is also said to have a bold, direct, flat representation (Brittain & Lowenfeld,
1970, p. 476), which is seen in Maggies drawing as she does not have shading, it is two
dimensional, and the colors are not varied in objects. This drawing also reflects Maggies

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

knowledge of the environment, as she knows outdoor scenes typically have birds, nests, trees,
and grass, and so it is symbolizing the environment, which is common to see in the Schematic
stage (Brittain and Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 476).
The Gang stage is characterized by no use of shade or shadow and also by an awareness
of the physical environment, both of which are present in Maggies drawing (Brittain &
Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 477). She did not use and shading, and she clearly understood the physical
environment, especially with her placement of the nest in the tree. I think she is in between the
two stages especially because of her use of overlapping objectsnone are typically seen in the
Schematic stage, but in the Gang stage there are some. Maggie overlapped the nest in the tree,
and also the leaves on the trunk, and so that leads me to believe she is not solely in the Schematic
stage. The Gang stage is also represented when the sky comes down to the horizon, instead of
just being a line at the top and having space in-between the sky and horizon (Brittain &
Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 477). While Maggies sky is just white, one can see that it does come down
to the horizon as the blank space is inferred as the sky due to the sun, birds, and clouds seen in it.
Another evidence I have for Maggie being between the Schematic and Gang stages is the fact
that she attempts to show depth through the size of her birdsthey are all different sizes,
showing that the smaller ones are further away while the larger ones are closer, even though the
size of the birds may not be realistic compared to the size of the other objects in the scene (the
tree is smaller, for example).
Maggie drew a typical outdoor scene, though she made it unique with the addition of blue
clouds and a birds nest. Her use of two dimensional objects and repeated form lead me to
believe she is in the Schematic stage, but the addition of no shading, overlapping objects, and her
knowledge of the physical world lean more toward the Gang stage bringing me to the conclusion

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

that she is in-between those two stages. Maggie can advance to the following stages if she
receives more instruction. She can be fully in the Gang stage if she learns to characterize events,
become even more aware of details, and start to fully develop the interrelationships between
objects, just as she has started to by putting a nest in the tree. Children can continually develop in
art if they have practice, materials, and support as they learn how to refine motor action and
to formulate basic visual, relational, and expressive concepts (Burton, p. 60). By receiving
lessons geared toward helping her progress to the next stage, and especially focusing on refining
her skills, Maggie will be able to constantly improve her artistic skills.

Figure 1
Conclusion
It is important for teachers to know the stages of art development their students are in, not
just for art class, but to integrate art and creativity into all subjects. According to Pink (2006),

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

the right hemisphere specializes in context (p. 20). The right hemisphere is used when thinking
creatively, like when doing artwork. It would be a beneficial strategy to use art when teaching a
subject because it will help the students better understand the context, as they will be using their
right-hemisphere. By looking at or creating art when learning a concept, the students can put
themselves more in the lesson as they will have a part in making it, and will then be able to better
understand what everything means.

A CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

7
References

Brittain, W.L., & Lowenfeld, V. (1970). Creative and mental growth. New York, NY:
MacMillan Co.
Burton, J. M. The first visual symbols. Developing Minds, 60.
Erickson, M., & Young, B. (1996). What every educator should (but maybe doesnt) know. Art
Advocacy, 40-42.
Pink, D. H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York, NY:
Riverhead Books.