Common Interpretations of Human Figure Drawings-KNOW YOUR SELF BETTER
Drawings indicate that a body part has significance for you.
Head and face
Who draw large heads on their figures often wish they were smarter and better able to achieve. Achievement concerns also may be indicated when figures are poorly integrated, for example, when the head does not join the body.
It states that a very tiny head on a drawing points toward intense feelings of intellectual inadequacy.
The mouth can reveal happiness or sadness with a smile or a frown, and emphasizing the mouth can indicate speech and language difficulty, or being overly dependent.
Drawing teeth (especially if there are many pointed teeth) is a sign of aggressiveness.
Timid adults typically do not draw teeth.
Drawing a few teeth could indicate leadership abilities rather than aggression.
Drawings of the nose, ears, and eye.
Emphasizing the nose can be a sign of respiratory problems.
When the ears are emphasized, a hearing problem could be present, or, if there is no hearing problem, then you may be suspicious of what others might be saying about you.
Drawing eyes with no pupils can point to visual problems but also can suggest that an adult has trouble meeting and socializing with people. Large eyes hint at suspiciousness.
Drawing the person turned to the side can indicate evasiveness, and drawing sex organs can indicate aggressiveness or body anxiety.
Arms and hands.
Long or large arms imply that you want to control others and desire strength, power, and reaching out to others.
Small arms, point toward a fear of power or seeing him/herself as weak or ineffective. Small arms can be interpreted to mean that you are well-behaved or withdrawn.
Drawing arms that cling to the body often indicates that you may have rigid inner controls and that it is difficult you to reach out to others; therefore, he or she may have poor interpersonal relationships.
Big hands as indicating aggressiveness. Aggressive often draw fingers that end in points and look like claws or talons.
Legs and feet.
Drawing the legs close together indicates tenseness, an attempt to control sexual impulses, or a concern about a sexual attack by others.
Drawing the feet very large or heavily outlined may indicate that the you seeks security or a firm footing
Drawing tiny feet can be an indicator of feeling insecure or helpless.
Heavy lines
Are frequently shows: aggressiveness, forcefulness and have high energy, while light lines are often associated with shyness, inhibitions, insecurity, and low energy. Boys typically use heavier lines than girls.
Excessive cuts and shading are related to anxiety, with increased shading pointing toward increased anxiety.
Shading the face is very significant and indicates concern about the part that is shaded, transparent body parts can suggest anxiety and concern about that body part.
Examples of overall impressions:
Are happy/sad, friendly/unfriendly, active/passive, and strong/weak. This general impression provides an idea of the mood at the time the picture was drawn.
If you have drawn more than one picture, a common impression of sadness provides a stronger indication that you feel consistently sad than does one picture.
Colour
The overuse of one colour can lead to excessive emotional response, extreme reactions, and restlessness, the smearing and playing with bright colours enables the clients to experience various aspects of their personalities.
Depressed clients use significantly fewer colours than those who are not depressed.
People who suffered recent traumas, such as earthquake, chose more red and black colours in drawing than others.
Outgoing adults often prefer warm colours like red and orange and find cool colours not stimulating enough
Whereas introverts are more sensitive to cool, calming colours and reports the warm colours to be distressing.
Size of people:
Who draw small figures of people (about 1 to 3 inches high)
