How to Draw Children in a Playground

Drawing children creates wonderful results.

Capture children enjoying a fun time while playing on the playground through some basic sketching techniques. Figure drawing uses a basic format, using proportion and line. Drawing children in movement can be accomplished through some practice and attention to detail. Children are fun models, and drawings of your child make great gifts for loved ones, or beautiful memories to cherish for years to come.

Things You'll Need

• Sketchpad
• Charcoal
• Pencil
• Gum eraser
• Camera
• Colored pencils
• Watercolor pencils

Instructions

1. Sketch several quick figure studies of the children playing on the playground to warm up. Use charcoal and a sketchpad, working quickly concentrating on just capturing the shape and form of a child in movement.

2. Select a child, or group of children, at the playground as the main focus for your drawing. A photograph can be taken of the children in movement to work from, or the drawing can be accomplished from memory. Draw the initial sketch, using a sheet of paper from your sketchbook, lightly using a pencil. Use a gum eraser as needed.

3. Add correct proportion once the initial sketch has been created. The body of a child should be about seven times as big as their head. The center of the child’s body should be where they bend at the waist. Adjust the sketch as needed to create the correct proportion for the child’s body.

4. Draw detail in the child’s face by finishing their features. Accomplish this by useing a photograph of the child, or asking the child to pose while adding details. Use a pencil to complete the child’s eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair. The main focus of a children’s portrait is often the face. Once it is completed, the rest of the drawing’s details can be accomplished.

5. Locate the darkest areas of the drawing and use a pencil to add detail and darkness through cross-hatching. This will create depth and dimension to the drawing. Continue shading the rest of the drawing to help create the feeling of movement.

6. Draw the background to the drawing, which will finish the drawing and add the setting. Drawing the playground adds depth and proportion to the drawing, helping to capture the movement of the finished artwork.

7. Add color to the finished sketch, if desired, by using colored pencils or watercolor pencils.

References

• ArtGraphica: Drawing Children by Celia Partridge
• Real Color Wheel: Human Proportions by Don Jusko
• Wet Canvas: Basic 101 Class 19: Drawing Children by Jay D