My son is 6. He has been drawing basic little "happy men", primitive stick figures with round heads and smiles and circles for hands floating on a page, for about 6-8 months. Before that; nada. Scribbles. He's alwasy frustrated when other kids are drawing because he has trouble with it. His drawings are WAY more basic than the drawings his older AND younger sisters do. I love his joyful, cute, simple stick men and all, and I hang them all over the house, but they are very simplistic. I figure, meh, detailed drawing isn't his thing.
So TODAY I saw him coloring an elaborate dinosaur on the floor (on paper, not the floor itself). Not only was it detailed, but well-designed and sitting on the page in a good composition, with creative, neat coloring...I asked if his older sister drew it for him and he said no, he did it! ??!!! Then he went on to do a crazy frog person, equally elaborate, and a hula girl with proper human proportions and detailed hair, grass skirt, bikini top. ??!!! None of these drawings even look like he did them.
I'm not saying he's a genius at drawing or anything, or any more decent at drawing than any other 6 year old, but it was just so sudden!!! Have any of your kids changed like this over night?
Only one child I know that did that. She could really draw. I mean really
draw. She's very artistic.
It's very different from not being able to draw really well to one day being
able to draw faces, placement of things etc.
I mean this girl could really draw.
It's one of those things.....talent.....you either have it or you don't.
That's great!
My daughter loves to draw and is getting better and better the more she works at it. We found a channel on youtube called doodlekat 1. She shows you step by step how to draw different things. Mostly cartoony cutsie things, but my girl loves it. You should have him check it out!
Thats awesome!
I love art and I know for some kids and even adults have sticking points.
You've seen the saying about if you judge a fish on his ability to climb a tree, he's going to feel like a failure all the time? This is kind of the same thing.
Art comes from the inside. It's teachable and you can mold it, but you can't put it in a box and say because you are artistic, you should be able to do A, B, and C. It doesn't work like that. I can not draw a straight line. But my artistic eye is most expressive in collages, Impressionism, and micro photography.
Give your son tons of chances to try different areas of art.
Cheers to the little boy who found his "eye"!
My grandson has moved in the other direction – as soon as he could manipulate pencils and markers, he made very detailed, colored in drawings. At 3 and 4 years old. But he's much too busy for drawing now, and seldom bothers with much more than stick figures.
Lucky you! As an artist myself, I'd love to be able to draw or paint with him. Maybe next year…
As a matter of fact, yes, my GD did. About 2 years ago ago at xmas she brought me a picture she "drew." I didn't believe she had drawn it because she had never shown any artistic talent at all. I looked at the picture she copied and realized that hers was a different size so she couldn't have traced it. I watched as she drew it out again, and very quickly I might add. That was when I first realized that she has talent!
My 4yo did. One day her "people" included a face with two lines out the side for arms, and two out the bottom for legs. The next, she was drawing them with a head, distinct hairstyles or a hat, neck, shirt, arms, pants (or dress), and feet. You could actually tell they were people. (Not very good people, but sometimes I can tell who she is trying to draw.)
Her animals are still pretty... Rough... But it's fun listening to her try to explain them. :)
No, unfortunately my kids have not had this happen yet. I think it's pretty awesome that this happened to your son. It sounds like a part of his brain developed overnight.
I have never been able to draw well. A few years ago, I went on antidepressants. While on these pills, I could draw very well like I never did before. It was cool. After I got off the pills, I couldn't draw well again. Obviously, it must have something to do with that part of the brain.
No, I have one who is a natural artist since age 1 and one who has to try so hard to draw anything beyond a stick figure. I hope the same thing happens to him. :) How exciting for you and what a fun thing to share.
