Provoked use of height in picture as a depth cue in young children's drawings

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Abstract
Young children frequently draw a depth relationship as a left‐right relationship on the page. However, this is not a rigid habit, since they use height in picture if the depth relationship is stressed before they make their drawing. A group of 4–6‐year‐olds was asked to draw an array of two bricks, arranged one behind the other, and an array of three bricks containing both a depth relationship and a left‐right relationship. Most 4‐year‐olds drew the two‐item array horizontally, and there was a limited tendency to shift to vertical portrayal of depth in the three‐item array. Again, most 5‐ and 6‐year‐olds drew the two‐brick array horizontally, but a clear majority used vertical portrayal for the three‐item array. In addition, there was significant carry‐over of the vertical method from the three‐item array to a subsequent drawing of the two‐item array. It is concluded that, when faced with more complex draftsmanship problems, children spontaneously adopt height in picture as a depth cue.

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