Cartoon-style line drawings contain very condensed information, after all most of the page stays blank. Yet, they constrain the contents of immediate visual awareness to an extraordinary extent. This is true even for drawings that are--though nominally "representational"--not even in central projection. Moreover, the strokes used in a drawing may…

Representing the spatial appearance of objects and scenes in drawings is a difficult task for young children in particular. In the present study, the relationship between spatial drawing and cognitive flexibility was investigated. Seven- to 11-year-olds (N = 60) were asked to copy a three-dimensional model in a drawing. The use of depth cues as an…

Previous research suggests individuals with autism may be less influenced by a three-dimensional interpretation when copying line drawings (Sheppard et al. "J Autism Dev Disord" 37:1913-1924, 2007). The current research aimed to determine whether this reduced dimensionality effect extends to drawings of an actual object. Twenty-four children and…

In 3 experiments the authors investigate how errors in perception produce errors in drawings. In Experiment 1, when Shepard stimuli were shown as a pair of tables, participants made severe errors in trying to adjust 1 part of the stimulus to match the other. When the table legs were removed, revealing a pair of parallelograms with minimal…

The present study casts doubt on (1) the validity of assuming certain geometric illusions as being "perspective" related, and (2) the consistency of perspective explanation (constancy scaling) for geometric illusions. (Author)

These studies confirm the view that the "air gap" phenomenon, which refers to the area that remains when ground and sky lines are constructed at the bottom and top of a drawing, is commonly found in the free drawings of middle and later childhood, but that it is readily abandoned when task demands are modified accordingly. (Author/DB)

Young children drew two opaque objects placed one behind the other. Over two-thirds of the children drew the objects separately in horizontal or vertical relationships. When drawing an object in a glass beaker, half of the children depicted the object vertically or horizontally separate from the beaker. (Author/DB)

In a theoretical and philosophical discussion, the author examines the results of two drawing exercises he used with elementary students. Exercise One, "blind contour" drawing from life, was based on child-centered art learning theory. Exercise Two, copying an artwork, emphasized the learning of graphic conventions and cultural forms. (SJL)