Teaching children to draw
Question from Jason, Drawing Academy student
My 8-year old daughter has begun to show a lot of interest in learning to draw (no doubt because of the program I am doing with you). Her mother just bought her a “painting by numbers” book, which leads me to want to intervene before any real damage is done. Is there a particular approach you would suggest for a child of her age?
Thanks,
Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you very much for asking this question.
We are currently thinking of developing a drawing course for children age 7 to 14. However, it will take few years to create the course we would be proud of as we want it to be the most useful, helpful and educational guide unlike so many “cartoon characters copying” or “how to draw a dragon” time-wasters.
I started my professional fine art education at the age of 9. First 5 years it was a children art school, a very comprehensive one by the standards of contemporary art colleges. This school gave me a strong foundation in art.
Traditional art education I went through from the young age included the following six subjects:
– Drawing
– Painting
– Sculpture
– History of arts
– Composition
– Decorative arts
The “painting by numbers” would not help to develop your daughter’s drawing or creative skills, and good taste in art; neither would copying from photos.
Yes, the principles of learning drawing are the same for children and adults (needless to say that the life drawing of naked models is not suitable for children).
I’m sure you can teach your child good drawing techniques. Drawing is the essential communication skill, just like speaking, only in visual non-verbal form; as such it is a very important part of education.
Just take my word for it, ability to draw will change and influence her entire adult life. It will help in every project she would undertake, regardless whether it is art-related at all.
You may find this article interesting:
http://drawingacademy.com/teaching-art-to-children
I wish you all the patience and dedication you need in your new undertaking of teaching art to your daughter.
Kind regards,
Vladimir
- Receive 15 new videos monthly (45 in total)
- Incredible discount – $4,164
- Bonuses - Fine Art eBooks and Videos
- Drawing Academy Diploma of Excellence after course completion in 3 months
- Personal coaching by Drawing Academy Tutors
- Lifetime membership. Free after the 3rd month
- Immediate access to all 45 video lessons
- Incredible discount – $4,198
- Bonuses - Fine Art eBooks and Videos
- Drawing Academy Diploma of Excellence after course completion in 3 months
- Personal coaching by Drawing Academy Tutors
- Lifetime membership. No more payments
Hello Vladimir,
I agree what you said. But i would like to add that, teaching children doesn’t have to follow rules as long as they understand what they see, how they see. I teach children, not only that i concentrate on shapes but also on relative proportion. I try to improve observation skills and i see that they can understand more. The drawings might not be exactly what they see but features are there. I usually have to put more effort for that children aged between 6-9 but above 9, I tend to make sure that they exactly understand what they draw. I don’t follow a strict path for teaching children for the age of 6-9 but i do make sure that that they practice. “Practice” is only word that i keep repeating because, as you know almost all the kids would like to learn everything in a very short duration. Just having patience helps a lot.