5 Ways to Improve Your Kid's Drawing Skills at Home

Kids love drawing; however, while love is the prerequisite to becoming good at something, it’s not enough on its own. Passion is fire, and it needs fuel and control to keep burning. So, how do you control this passion of theirs and keep it burning for as long as possible? If you want to learn how to improve the drawing skills of your kids without pushing them too hard and making them develop an aversion to drawing, you should read up on the subject matter. Here’s what you need to know.

A bit of encouragement goes a long way

First, you need to tell them they have potential. This is just as important as any of your other tips for drawing. Why? Well, simply because if you don’t, they might get discouraged and create an aversion to drawing.

Kids love making paintings, but only because they want to impress you and get some praise for it. If you tell a kid that they’re good at something, they’ll see it as a great way to get some quick validation and keep up with it. In time, by default, they’ll get better at it. Even if they don’t have a natural aptitude for it, practice will improve their skills.

Now, if you want to make this as effective as possible (and as right from the didactic standpoint), you need to praise effort more than you praise the outcome. A study was conducted among two groups of kids. One group was praised for the outcome, and the other was praised for the effort they put in. The latter group showed far greater progress. So, when looking into how to improve the drawing skills of your kids, there’s no reason to avoid applying this principle.

Also, art is about more than just drawing. Try to get them interested in the topic of art, and, according to specialists behind Number Artist, this interest will translate into their drawing skills.

Provide the right tools

Next, you want to provide your kids with age-appropriate drawing materials. In order to teach kids to draw, you need to actually provide them with tools like pencils, crayons, markers, and a lot of paper. While you do want quality, you need to keep in mind that kids will burn through these materials at a pace that would surprise you. So, get them in high quantity and make sure that you restock regularly.

You can also get them some custom paint-by-number kits for beginners. This way, the creation will be a bit more formidable, and you can still place an adequate order (and order in bulk).

Next, you need to take a variety of colors and textures in order to help them explore and find their medium. Even a professional sculptor or a painter has their favorite material. Watercolors, pastels, and colored pencils won’t leave the same type of mark, they won’t feel the same to handle, and they won’t even make the same sound while drawing. Now, these things might seem unimportant to an adult, but for a child, they can be game-changing in terms of what they prefer to use.

You can also boost their immersion by giving them a dedicated drawing space. This way, you’re giving them the best possible space for their creative process. This will be as stimulating as giving them their own room.

Teach them basic techniques

To figure out how to improve the drawing skills of your kids, you need to take a more systematic approach to the issue. Sure, learning by doing is great, but sometimes, there are things that are not necessarily intuitive. Simple shapes and lines are a great starting point, but they have to be done right. The simplest thing is to insist on higher standards. This way, you’re fostering the culture of perfectionism. Just don’t be too harsh.

Next, they can move to shading and light. This concept is a bit more demanding, but it’s one of the essential drawing techniques for kids. When they learn how to use shadow to add depth to their drawings, they’ll be capable of producing their first 3D images, which is something you should never downplay.

Next, teach them about the perspective and proportions. This is one of the best ways to get better at drawing, and it’s what will transform their images the most. When you take a look at kids' drawings and drawings made by adults, one of the biggest differences is the adequate use of perspective and proportions. Sure, for younger kids, this may be a bit too advanced.

Experiment with different styles and if you want to give them something more advanced to create, you can always check out fun and colorful paint-by-numbers kits for kids and pick something from their collections.

Encourage copying and inspiration

One of the best ways to get them immersed is to encourage them to copy things from their favorite cartoons or books. You can give them the lecture about copyrights when they’re a bit older but, for now, this is a free inspiration and a safe way to ensure that thy like drawing.

They can also try recreating objects around the house. One of the most important traits of a good artist is that they have an eye for details and when they start painting them, they’ll start looking at the world differently. Suddenly, they’ll start noticing patterns and ornaments that other people would just miss.

Online tutorials are also a great way to help them get started. This is especially the case when the issue you’re facing is how to get better at drawing people.

While it sounds simple, the truth is that a layman often has trouble knowing how and where to start. A tutorial can be incredibly helpful here.

Exploring different art styles can help them find their own unique style and artistic preferences. Just think about it, some of the world’s most famous painters had the technical prowess to create any type of painting they wanted but they chose to stick with a particular style. Was it a necessity or a preference? Everything indicates the latter.

Offer constructive feedback

Finally, if you want to give them some tips for drawing, from time to time, you’ll have to give them a bit of honest feedback. Sure, sometimes you can point out specific strengths that will work even better, but there are times when you have to point toward something that they’re doing wrong. This is why you need to avoid hard drawings for kids. This way, you’ll reduce the number of instances where you’ll.

Another thing you need is to suggest general areas for improvement. You can tell them to focus on shapes, perspective, or shading. This way, they have an idea what area of their work needs a bit more improvement.

Always use positive language. This way, criticism will feel constructive, and they’ll feel encouraged to move on with their artistic journey.

The balance between praise and critique is what will help them develop the quickest and grow the most as artists. Lessons you manage to instill this way will be with them for as long as they live.

Patience, adequate tools, and the right conditions are all they need

Overall, you need to be patient and encouraging. You also want to make sure that they have a place where they can draw in peace and that they have the right tools for drawing. In other words, the answer to the question of how to improve the drawing skills of your kids is not a difficult one. It does, however, require quite a bit of a long-term commitment on your part. It is, however, more than worth it.