What Do Kids' Drawings and Color Choices Mean? What Research Says

This page does not teach you to interpret drawings. There is no chart here of what each color or shape "means," because the research does not support one.

Can you read feelings from a child's drawing?

Not reliably. Psychologists have tested this idea for decades, and the results are discouraging for anyone hoping to decode a picture.

Research	What it looked at	What it found
Thomas and Jolley, 1998, a review	The evidence for judging children's personality or emotional state from their drawings	Drawings are "inaccurate and unreliable" for that purpose. On their own they are too ambiguous to be reliable sole indicators of a child's emotional experiences
Lilienfeld, Wood and Garb, 2000, a review	Three kinds of projective tests used by psychologists, including human figure drawings	Validity evidence for human figure drawings was the most limited of the three
Joiner, Schmidt and Barnett, 1996, a study	Size, detail and line heaviness in the drawings of 80 young people aged 6 to 16 who were psychiatric inpatients	These features were not significantly associated with other measures of depression and anxiety
Cox and Catte, 2000, a study	Human figure drawings by 44 boys with severe emotional difficulties, each matched with a drawing of equal skill by another boy	No significant difference in so-called emotional indicators, and judges could not tell the two groups' drawings apart

The first review explains why. A given feature of a drawing could plausibly support several very different readings, depending on what was going on when the child made it.

That review does say drawings can be influenced by how a child feels about the topic they are drawing. But it adds that the way this shows up may be personal to each child, and that the measured effects are small at most.

So if trained researchers cannot reliably read emotional state from drawings under controlled conditions, a parent or teacher cannot do it from one picture on the fridge. Drawings are not a diagnostic tool.

Why does my child color everything one color?

Most likely because they like that color, or because it was the nearest one. We found no study showing that using a single color in everyday coloring signals a problem.

What research does show is that children's color choices follow their preferences. In one study, 330 children aged 4 to 11 were asked to color in three identical figures that had been described to them as nice, nasty or neutral. They used the colors they liked most for the nice figure and the colors they liked least for the nasty one. Black was the most frequent choice for the figure described as nasty (Burkitt, Barrett and Davis, 2003).

Read that finding narrowly. It was a set task, in which children were told a figure was nasty and then chose a color for it. It shows that children can use color on purpose to say something about a subject. It does not show that a child who picks black is unhappy, and the study did not test that.

Everyday reasons for a page in one color are easy to think of: a favorite color this month, the crayon within reach, or more interest in the motion than in the picture. We know of no study that ranks them.

Color naming is also still developing at this age. See when do kids learn colors.

Why do kids scribble over a finished picture?

Because for young children, making marks is the point. The finished picture matters much less to them than it does to you.

Zero to Three describes early drawing as stages. Random scribbling runs from about 15 months to 2½ years, and those scribbles usually come from large movements of the shoulder. Controlled scribbling follows from about 2 to 3 years (Zero to Three). A child in these stages who covers a careful drawing with loops is doing what children that age do.

Older preschoolers may scribble over a picture because the story changed, or to see what happens. NAEYC's advice for process-focused art fits here: there is no right or wrong way to explore and create, and it is the child's art, not yours (NAEYC, Bongiorno).

If you want to keep a picture, take a photo before the next layer goes on. See what to do with kids' artwork.

Why are the sky green and the dog purple?

Because your child chose those colors, and choosing is allowed. Zero to Three puts it this way: "Sometimes we get hung up on the fact that trees should be green, not purple." Its advice is to notice the process, not just the product.

None of the research above treats color realism as a sign of anything in young children.

The same goes for people who look odd to adult eyes. The CDC lists drawing a person with three or more body parts as something most children do by age 4 (CDC, 4 years). The American Academy of Pediatrics says a 4-year-old's people may or may not have a body, and the legs may be sticking out of the head. To the child, it adds, the drawing is still a person (AAP). See when do kids draw people for the usual stages, and coloring inside the lines for what to expect from coloring.

How should you talk about a drawing?

Ask, and describe what you see. Do not guess, and do not interpret.

• Say "Tell me about your picture." This is Zero to Three's suggested opener. It lets the child tell you what it is, and saves you from calling a horse a dog.
• Describe what you notice. NAEYC suggests comments like "Look at all the yellow dots you painted."
• Write down their words. If your child tells a story about the picture, write a line of it underneath.
• Expect the story to come after the drawing. Zero to Three notes that at first children name their unplanned creations, and only later plan before they draw. "It's a dinosaur" may have been decided at the end.
• Skip "Why did you use black?" A why question about color suggests there was a wrong answer.

If a drawing shows something sad or scary, stay calm and curious. "Tell me about this part" works here too. A monster or a storm in a picture is not, by itself, a reason for alarm. Zero to Three even suggests offering markers and paper to a very upset child and proposing "a very, very angry picture" as a healthy way to let the feeling out.

When is it worth asking a professional?

When you are worried about your child, not about a picture. Changes in sleep, eating, play, mood or behavior that last, or things your child says, tell you far more than a drawing can.

The CDC's advice to parents is direct. If your child is not meeting milestones, has lost skills they once had, or you have other concerns, talk with your child's doctor and share your concerns (CDC, 4 years).

A few practical points:

• Bring the whole picture, in words. Tell the pediatrician what you have seen at home and for how long. A drawing can be part of that conversation, not the reason for a conclusion.
• Do not diagnose at home. Nothing on this page, and nothing on any chart of "drawing meanings," can tell you that a child has or does not have a problem.
• If a child tells you or shows you that someone has hurt them, take it seriously and contact your pediatrician or your local child protection service. That is about what the child communicated, not about art style.

For most families the answer is simpler. A black scribble is a black scribble. Ask about it, enjoy the answer, and put it on the wall. If your child is not keen on drawing at all, see what to do when a child does not like coloring.

FAQ

What does it mean when a child colors everything black?

Usually nothing beyond liking black or having it close at hand. No study we read shows that black coloring in everyday art signals a problem. One study found children chose black for a figure they were told was nasty, which is a different situation.

Do colors in children's drawings have meanings?

Not fixed ones. Research found that children use colors they like for subjects they see as nice and colors they dislike for subjects they see as nasty. Which colors those are differs from child to child.

Can a drawing show that a child is anxious or sad?

Not reliably. A 1998 research review concluded that drawings are inaccurate and unreliable as measures of a child's emotional state. If you are worried about anxiety or sadness, talk with your pediatrician.

Is it normal for a preschooler to draw people with no body?

Yes. The AAP says a 4-year-old's people may or may not have a body, and the legs may stick out of the head. The CDC milestone for age 4 is a person with three or more body parts.

Should I worry about scary drawings?

A scary subject in a picture is not, by itself, a sign of a problem. Research reviews found drawings unreliable as a measure of how a child feels. Ask "Tell me about your picture." Seek advice if you have wider concerns about your child's mood, behavior or safety.

Sources

• Thomas, G. V., and Jolley, R. P. (1998). Drawing conclusions: a re-examination of empirical and conceptual bases for psychological evaluation of children from their drawings. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 37(2), 127–139: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9631202/
• Lilienfeld, S. O., Wood, J. M., and Garb, H. N. (2000). The scientific status of projective techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 1(2), 27–66: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26151980/
• Joiner, T. E., Schmidt, K. L., and Barnett, J. (1996). Size, detail, and line heaviness in children's drawings as correlates of emotional distress: (more) negative evidence. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67(1), 127–141: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8683422/
• Cox, M. V., and Catte, M. (2000). Severely disturbed children's human figure drawings: are they unusual or just poor drawings? European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 9(4), 301–306: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11202106/
• Burkitt, E., Barrett, M., and Davis, A. (2003). Children's colour choices for completing drawings of affectively characterised topics. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(3), 445–455: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12635973/
• Zero to Three, "Learning to Write and Draw": https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/learning-to-write-and-draw/
• Bongiorno, L. (2014). "How Process-Focused Art Experiences Support Preschoolers." NAEYC, Teaching Young Children, 7(3): https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/feb2014/process-art-experiences
• CDC, "Milestones by 4 Years": https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/4-years.html
• American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, "Hand and Finger Skills of Your Preschooler": https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/preschool/Pages/Hand-and-Finger-Skills-of-Your-Preschooler.aspx