 There have been many studies in the field of children's drawings. The views of various researchers differ somewhat. However, everyone agrees on the three stages in the development of visual ability. |
These three stages are:
After the last period, the drawings have acquired an adult character, and we no longer refer to them as children's drawings. This stage is called the period of complete independence. It occurs after puberty. Drawings from Period 1: scribbling and material handlingThis period generally spans from the last quarter of the second year to the end of the fourth year of life. |
 In this drawing, you can clearly see that the creator is still in the scribbling phase. We observe several characteristic scribbles:
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 This boy is also still in the scribbling phase. However, in addition to the scribbles from the previous drawing, we can also see some fine motor scribbles here. These are made using the forearm and hand. In this drawing, we see the following scribbles:
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 Although you can already see more controlled small scribbles appearing here, the creator of this drawing is still in the scribbling stage. These were clearly made using the wrist and fingers. The following scribbles can be distinguished here:
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 This painting should also be placed in the scribbling phase, although the individual scribbles are hardly visible anymore. What is very clearly visible, however, is the motor enjoyment the creator experienced while making this piece. No spot has been left unused. Here, too, the use of color was probably incidental, though with a bit of imagination, you could see the blue as water or, conversely, as sky. |
Drawings from Period 2: the coded realityThis period spans approximately from the beginning of the fifth to the end of the tenth year of life. Within this period, a further distinction can be made between the pre-schematic stage and the schematic stage.The Pre-schematic Stage |
 The boy who drew this stick figure has clearly reached the pre-schematic stage. The human figure still lacks a body and is randomly placed on the paper, amidst some scribbles. In the face, eyes, a nose, and a mouth are clearly recognizable. The arms are very long and attached at the top of the legs. Although the thick lines at the bottom of the paper appear to represent a ground plane, this is just coincidental. |
 Here we see a depiction of several family members. The girl is clearly transitioning from stick figures to linearly drawn human figures, characters with bodies. It's notable that the characters with bodies all consistently have belly buttons. Not all heads have noses, but a mouth and eyes are always recognizable. The figures are somewhat organized on the surface, but this could also be coincidental due to limited space, as well as occasional overlapping. |
 Here we see that the human figure is starting to become quite complete. There's a head with ears, eyes, and a nose; the mouth is not clearly visible. There is a body, and the hands have fingers. Feet are also visible. The use of color is still entirely random.. |
 In this drawing, there's still a tense, uncontrolled line quality. The use of color is cerebral and not yet naturalistic. The bottom of the drawing is used as the ground line, while at the top, you see a strip representing the sky. The squirrel is drawn from different perspectives to represent it as clearly as possible. The artist clearly has a physioplastic inclination. The child is still experimenting with schemas, as seen in the mushrooms and the gnomes. The boy suggests movement using a thick brown line. There's a sense of juxtaposition. |
 This 5-year-old girl is well on her way to developing a schema. She distinguishes between the characters using attributes, such as paying attention to differences in hairstyle. The line work is already fairly controlled, with the circles fitting nicely together. The human figures are all positioned at the edge of the paper and are still depicted statically. |
 In this drawing, the 6-year-old girl has used a combination of the paper's edge and a drawn ground plane. The chimney is placed perpendicular to the house, creating a sharp contrast. There's a sense of transparency within the house. |
The Schematic Stage: |
 Although the girl who drew this family was still very young, she has already developed a schema for people. She distinguishes them by hair color and clothing. Father is wearing pants, and the mother and sister are wearing skirts/dresses. The creator has drawn herself outside the circle. The blue top is likely intended to represent the sky, while the green line below indicates the ground plane—the beginning of the imaginary horizon. |
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| The above three drawings were each drawn a month apart by the same 6-year-old girl. You can see that the schema has taken shape. Notice, for example, the recurring grass and the shape of the skirt. The girl first draws the body and then the clothes on top of it. |
 In this drawing, you can clearly see a first ground line depicted. There's also a clear relationship between the objects; the train is running on the rails (ground line), and beside the rails, there's a tree and a house. The house was probably drawn over the rails later. The colors are still largely preferred colors. The birds, represented as 'V's, are clearly a learned schema. |
 The creator of this artwork utilizes multiple (invisible) ground lines. There is clearly a sense of cropping, particularly at the volcano. The front dinosaur overlaps the volcano and partially overlaps another dinosaur. It's not entirely clear if there's transparency at the top of the volcano or if it represents flowing lava. Object colors have been used. |
 Here, you can clearly see the schemas for the horse and carriage and the castle. The figures on the carriage are drawn entirely from the side. The two standing figures are still very simply represented. Space is suggested through the use of a ground plan. |
 In this drawing, preferred colors are evident. You can also clearly see instances of folding, for example, in the traffic light and the cars. The boy has developed different schemas for various types of cars. There's also a clear schema recognizable in the clouds. |
 There's clearly cerebral use of color in this drawing. The paper's edge is still used as the ground plane. Additionally, there's a green area representing grass with a pond. On a ground line, slightly higher than the paper's edge, there's a trampoline. This trampoline uses Egyptian drawn imagery, the ladder. However, the tree is again drawn on the paper's edge. In the house, there's transparency. Sometimes objects are drawn from the side within the house, such as the bunk beds in the attic. Other times, an overhead view is given, such as the blue areas on the second floor, which represent tables with chairs. Clearly, there's been experimentation with spatial representation, but there's not yet consistent use of it. |
 In this artwork, decorative loop lines have been used. The color usage is cerebral with some preferred colors. The bird is drawn from multiple positions, using what's known as Egyptian perspective, clearly a schema. There's decorative use of flat surfaces. The tree is still placed at the bottom of the paper. The girl clearly hasn't reached the stage of understanding perspective yet. |
Drawings from Period 3: the visible realityPeriod 3 spans from 9 to 15 years old. Within this period, a distinction can still be made between the beginning of realism and the pseudo-naturalistic stage. The beginning of realism: |
 In this drawing, there's clearly attention to detail. Spatial representation is achieved through the use of multiple ground lines. There's overlapping and cropping. At the rails, there's folding or Egyptian drawn imagery. The boy seems determined to make it clear that these are indeed rails. However, the road is depicted with just a single line. The swans are still quite schematic. Transparency is used in drawing the engineer. |
 An attempt has been made to create a lifelike depiction of the body. Many details are visible, such as fingers and a thumb, a detailed eye. The drawing is flat and without an attempt at spatial representation. |
 In this drawing, an imaginary ground line with a horizon is visible. An attempt has been made to depict the dog as naturally as possible, and the cat is also clearly recognizable as a cat. However, the bird and the squirrel are depicted much more simply. It seems like the boy may have traced the dog and the cat from a reference. The birds in the sky are drawn in a very schematic manner. The color usage is cerebral. |
 This boy makes a decent attempt to depict the view through the basement window realistically. There's clear movement in the legs. Some schemas are still used, and the color usage is cerebral. There are evident cut-offs and overlapping. Multiple ground lines are present. |
The pseudo-realistic stage: |
 The girl in this drawing uses cropping and overlapping. There are multiple imaginary ground lines and a horizon, represented by the mountains. Additionally, this girl uses increasingly smaller schemas to suggest perspective. The figure is still somewhat schematic, as are the mountains. The color usage is varied, and there's a clear attempt to render the colors as realistically as possible. There are evident shaded areas on the teepees. Multiple shades are visible in the grass. There are also initial attempts to draw shadows inside the teepees. |
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| Drie interpretations of the same assignment: Draw a prisoner in his cell. All three girls are 12 years old. The creator of the first drawing has cleverly avoided dealing with perspective. The artist of the second drawing, despite her drawing skills, has not understood the explanation about perspective. However, she has incorporated a lot of humor into her drawing. On the other hand, her classmate has understood it well. In all three drawings, there's a clear attempt to depict reality as accurately as possible. There's overlapping present. Objects are no longer depicted as rigidly; for example, take a look at the blankets on the bed. There has been a lot of attention to detail, sometimes even an abundance of information. |
 This thirteen-year-old boy can depict the bear quite realistically in various positions relative to the box. However, the bear itself remains very flat. The light and dark gray tones are not yet realistically used to represent shadows and lighting. There's clearly a relationship between the bear and the box. |
  Although the assignment is the same, the execution is very different. Both boys were 13 years old when they drew these houses in parallel perspective. The boy on the left has supplemented the drawing with schemas of trees. He has used various fills to indicate roads, streets, and meadows. The boy on the right has dared to draw multiple rows of houses. The houses become slightly smaller towards the back, which enhances the sense of space. However, the houses themselves are still clearly schematized. |
 Although you can still recognize some schemas in this drawing, such as the eyes and the mouth, it's clear that a realistic representation is being pursued here. Plasticity is suggested through subtle tone variations, for example, under the eyes, around the nose, and in the neck. However, the lines still make the overall appearance somewhat flat. The rendering of the hair is also not very three-dimensional yet. |
Finally, complete independenceThe period of complete independence is after puberty. At this point, you can't really speak of child drawings anymore. |
  These drawings were made by an 18-year-old young man. You can clearly see that the creator has an affinity for drawing. |
Attribution
For this overview, the following source was used: |