Stages of child art Child art

1 stages of child art

1.1 scribbling
1.2 pre-symbolism
1.3 symbolism
1.4 realism

stages of child art

as child develops, art passes through number of stages. 4 of them first time defined e. cooke, under influence of herbert spencer s evolutionary theory.

presently, stages differentiated follows:

scribbling


scribbling



scribble one-year-old.

from first birthday children achieve fine motor control handle crayon. @ first scribble. youngest child scribbles series of left , right motions, later up, down , circular motions added. child appears considerable pleasure watching line or colours appear. children not pay attention edges of page , lines go beyond confines of page. children interested in body painting and, given opportunity, draw on hands or smear paint on faces.

later, second birthday, controlled scribbling starts. children produce patterns of simple shapes: circles, crosses , star-bursts. become interested in arrangement , can produce simple collages of coloured paper, or place stones in patterns. once children have established controlled scribbling begin name scribbles.

pre-symbolism

smiling person (combined head , body) age 4½

from age three, child begins combine circles , lines make simple figures. @ first, people drawn without body , arms emerging directly head. eyes drawn large, filling of face, , hands , feet omitted. @ stage may impossible identify subject of art without child s help.

later drawings stage show figures drawn floating in space , sized reflect child s view of importance. children @ age not concerned producing realistic picture.

symbolism

birch bark document 202, showing symbolic drawing of people, age 6-7 (onfim)

in stage of child s development, create vocabulary of images. when child draws picture of cat, draw same basic image, perhaps modified (this cat has stripes 1 has dots, example). stage of drawing begins @ around age five. basic shapes called symbols or schema.

each child develops his/her own set of symbols, based on understanding of being drawn rather on observation. each child s symbols therefore unique child. age, children develop person symbol has defined head, trunk , limbs in sort of rough proportion.

two schematic figures on green base line

before stage objects child draw appear float in space, @ 5 6 years old child introduces baseline organize space. baseline green line (representing grass) @ bottom of paper. figures stand on line. older children may add secondary baselines background objects , skyline hold sun , clouds.

it @ stage cultural influences become more important. children not draw life, copy images in surroundings. may draw copies of cartoons. children become more aware of story-telling possibilities in picture. earliest understanding of more realistic representation of space, such using perspective, comes copying.

realism

as children mature begin find symbols limiting. realize schema person not flexible enough, , doesn t real thing. @ stage, begins @ 9 or ten years old, child lend greater importance whether drawing looks object being drawn.

artwork 9 year old (rafael mesa)

this can frustrating time children, aspirations outstrip abilities , knowledge. children give on drawing entirely. others become skilled, , @ stage formal artistic training can benefit child most. baseline dropped , child can learn use rules such perspective organize space better. story-telling becomes more refined , children start use formal devices such comic strip.