How to Teach Drawing to Children

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How to Teach Drawing to Childrenby Marvin Bartel

This essay was inspired by an Australian mother whose son, age eight,was feelingdiscouraged and wanted help in learning to draw better. She

wanted to know how to helphim. Observation drawing provides themethod of choice. Of course observationdrawing is not the only form ofgood drawing practice, but it is often the best way todevelop drawingskills. Drawing from remembered experiences and drawing basedonimagination are good to develop those aspects of thinking. Copy workdrawing is notencouraged, but only tolerated if it is self-initiated. Manyself-taught artists have learned by copying because it was the onlyalternative they knew about. However, copywork isnot the best way tolearn to draw actual objects, animals, scenes, and people.For anattractively printed version of a previous version of this article with

additional photographs, consider ordering a copy of the March, 2007 issueof HomeschoolingHorizons Magazine.

Drawing and ChildrenChildren who know me sometimes ask me how to draw better.Manychildren do not know that artists have learned to draw by doingobservation-drawing practice. They often assume that you can draw oryou can't. Of course this istrue, but it is also true that nearly anybody canlearn to draw at any age. Many childrenfeel inferior about their own abilityto draw. Too often no teacher or adult has everhelped them learn to make

a proper observation. Most teachers have not beeneducated aboutteaching drawing. Some generalist teachers even say, "That's okay, Ican'tdraw either." This is the opposite of good motivation. They would neverdare say,"That's okay, I can't read and write. I just don't have the talentfor it."I explain that drawing ability comes from practice. I call it "practice"so it isn't asintimidating as final products. This essay explains somepractice processes that lead tobetter drawing skills. Sometimes childrenwant to develop their practice into moreelaborate finished work. Iencourage their desire to finish some works, but I also affirmthe need todo lots of practice that does not have to be finished work. I explain itbyusing music analogies. We practice piano a long time to learn some

pieces. We don'tworry two much about mistakes while we are learning,but eventually it is good to play arecital. Then I give them some provenways to practice and encourage them to make amany choices as possibleas they learn to draw.I never draw to show a child how to draw do something.If I would show a child how something is drawn, the child would get theidea that mydrawing is the answer. The child would think that her job is tocopy my drawing. Lookingat my drawing is a very poor way to learn to seefor yourself.I go over to the thing being observed. I run my finger slowlyalong the edge of the thing.While doing this, I encourage the child tobegin drawing in the air (by pointing a fingertoward my finger) as


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preliminary practice following the edge contour slowly as my fingermoves.After practice in the air, the child practices on paper with a slowdeliberatecontour while NOT looking at the paper.I never draw on thechild's paper. Learning to see is done by studying the thing, animal,orperson being drawn - not by getting the teacher to correct the work. The

studentshould own the whole process and product.I never ask a child to copy apicture made by me, by another artist, or by a camera. Ihave thempractice from actual objects or models. When children do copy work forfunon their own, I do not condemn them for this, but I do withholdcompliments for copiedwork, and I withhold all encouragement related tocopy work. I encourage them topractice from actual objects - neverworking from pictures.Eliciting a careful description from the studentWecannot draw what we do not notice. Before starting I take extra time todiscusssome details of a small area where the student will start. This givesfocus, familiarity,and confidence. Visual information is useless unless younotice it.I give instruction in the form of open questions rather thandirections. "How much of this edge is straight and how much is curved?""How much longer is this side than thetop edge?" "What are the differentlengths you get when you extend your arm andmeasure by holding thepencil across it in the air?" "How do the lengths compare?""Isn't this a sillyline? Can you see how it wiggles?" If I use questions, it implies thattheteacher will not be needed in the future. Once the student knows thequestions, thestudent can practice alone. If I give commands, the studentmight not feel empoweredto work alone.Simplify but never dumb itdownSometimes we start with a small part of something that wouldotherwise seem much totoo complex and overwhelming. Adding a bit at a

time, I am often amazed at some of the elaborate drawings that a childcan make. Think about the amazing thinking habitsthat are being fosteredby this approach.Mistakes are normalI prepare them in advance for whatto expect so that they can be pleased with whatworks rather thandisappointed by what does not work. In blind contour line (drawingtheouter edge of objects without looking at the paper) I let them know that Ido not expect to get a better line, but I also expect that my line probablywill not end up at theright place when it comes around to where it started.If it comes around and meets, itmeans that I just got lucky, or maybe Ipeeked at the paper (treat with humor). "Blind"contour drawing meansdrawing without looking at the paper, but only looking at

theobject.Blinders as drawing helpersI use a large blinder card on ourpencil so we cannot see what is being drawn. Igenerally allow looking atthe paper only when the pencil is stopped (when it is placedto start a newline). While the pencil moves, I do not allow looking down at the paper,butonly looking at the edge of the object being observed and drawn. It isgood to movethe pencil very slowly and deliberately so that each littlechange of direction, notch,bump, zigzag, etc. can be included (as slow asand ant crawling). Not every drawingexperience needs to be blind contourpractice, but some regular practice using blindcontour is a good way todiscipline the mind to develop the skill of observation.With young children

I often encourage them to use a blinder helper while they practiceall thelines of the edges without concern for making a picture. This practice


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session istheir preparation prior to drawing a picture on another paper orelsewhere on the samepaper. This part is simply a jumble of practicelines. After this rehearsal, when they drawthe picture, all the lines arealready familiar and easier.Viewfinders as framing helpersA viewfinder,which can be a simple 2x2 inch empty slide frame, is useful to view

thescene. For drawing, the viewfinder can be a piece of 8x10 inchcardboard with arectangle cut out as a window about 3x4 inches.Thisstudent is using a viewfinder taped on a stick placed to frame somesunflowers. Inthe second view she is adding tomatoes seen from herposition as she looks through theviewfinder window.This can be held atarms length or closer to help the student decide what to include inthedrawing. We use it the same way you would frame a picture with acameraviewfinder. It can zoom closer (bending the arm) to give a wideangle. It can zoom out tocreate a telephoto framing (holding it with anextended arm). The window in theviewfinder (also called isolator) makes iteasier for the student decide on what toinclude, how to arrange things,how to fit the paper, which way to turn the paper, andhow large to makethings in a drawing. A more advanced viewfinder might have blackthreadtaped across the window to form a grid through which to view the scene,stilllife, animal, or person that is being observed.MistakesMost of us needto get more comfortable with mistakes. I do not point outmistakesbecause the effect is not helpful. It works better to emphasizethe things that are

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How to Teach Drawing to Children