Children's use of the height and size cues to depict a projective depth relationship in their pictures

Children from 4-9 years and a group of adults participated in two studies of the use of the height and size pictorial depth cues. In study 1 160 participants drew two apples from imagination, one near and one farther away. Half drew on a blank piece of paper and half drew on a line-drawing of a table; there were no differences between the drawings produced in these two conditions. The majority of 4-year-olds and almost all of the 5-year-olds used the height cue. There was a developmental shift by age 9 when children combined the height and size cues. In study 2 320 participants drew or constructed a picture of two apples either from a model or from imagination. The presence of a model did not affect any age group's use of the height and size cues. At all ages there was a tendency for the height and size cues to be combined in the construction rather than in the drawing condition and, again, there was a developmental shift by age 9 years.