Art, particularly observational drawing, plays an important role in science. Scientific illustrators combine science content knowledge, observation skills, and artistic ability. For students, creating representational artwork helps develop observation skills and an appreciation of the diverse ways organisms have adapted to life on Earth. In this…

When children draw pictures of human beings, they reveal things not only about their general intellectual and artistic abilities, but also about their awareness and conception of themselves and others. What might the human figure drawings of children with autism reveal about their images of self and other--and what might they disclose about social…

We investigated the relationships among attachment representation, social withdrawal, and depressive symptomatology in childhood. A total of 326 children aged 8 to 10 years participated in the study. Children completed a family drawing procedure to assess attachment representation, the Children's Depression Inventory and the Social Withdrawal…

This study explored whether child molesters can be differentiated from rapists in their self-figure drawings. To achieve this aim, the Machover Draw-A-Person test (Machover, 1949) was used. A sample of 41 male adult perpetrators of sexual assault, 19 rapists and 22 child molesters (all incarcerated in jail) participated in the study. Participants…

In this study, two samples of 4-year-old Chinese children were given two drawing tasks, one very familiar task and one novel and challenging task. The first sample was drawn from a nursery that taught art in a similar way to that widely used in the West, with an emphasis on individual expression. The second sample was from a nursery where drawing…

This student artist's handbook provides illustrations and instructions for rendering three-dimensional form with light and shade. Focus is on realistic representation and imitation of natural phenomena. Fifteen chapters cover: (1) "Black-and-White Silhouette; (2) "Minimal Light"; (3) "Five Categories of Light and Shade";…

Investigated Piaget's distinction between the roles of scheme and schema in memory. Proposed that schemas may vary within wide limits while the underlying schemes from which the schemas stem remain stable. Subjects were 78, 6-year-old children. (SDH)

For this study of the influence of the diameter of implements on children's drawing products, performances, and preferences, toddlers and preschoolers were observed while they drew with primary (larger-sized) and standard markers, pencils, and crayons. The relationship between drawing and early home manipulative experience was also investigated. A…

It is hypothesized that graphic skills among the general U.S. population level off at puberty. Examined were the characteristics of 357 pairs of pencil drawings of human figures (one man and one woman) made by male and female adolescents (eighth graders), nonartistic adults (university elementary education majors), and artistic adults (beginning…

Article investigated whether an art program for children could be a creative endeavor with real-life focus as well as a valid educational experience. (Author/RK)

Described a mural created by young artists who employed facial drawings. (RK)

In this article is presented art created by students at various grade levels in many areas of visual expression. (Editor/RK)

Studies using human figure drawing as a measurement technique are reviewed as part of an inquiry concerning the effectiveness of instruction to improve children's body image. It is concluded that the findings reviewed are inconclusive as to whether instruction can improve children's perceptions and knowledge of body image, and that further…

A study was undertaken to determine how children of different ages used drawing to present an atypical situation, to what extent children's responses were governed by their increasing cognitive competence, and to what extent children's responses reflected an increasingly articulate grasp of the medium itself. A total of 137 children in…

Creative drawings of three preschool girls were modified using reinforcement procedures. Adult judges gave higher ratings of creativity for drawings with increased form diversity but not for those with increased color diversity. The role of social validation in defining and encouraging creativity is discussed. (Author/BH)