Employing Expressive Children's Drawings During the Formal Perception Stage to Design Social Comics

Abstract

Children's expressive drawings during the formal perception stage (FPS) are loaded with realistic experience; they represent a level of mental and social maturity and clarify the relationship of children's drawings to local social issues. The study employed drawings during the FPS in order to design social comics. They are drawings that combine pictures and writings about social issues, inspired by children's drawings. The study’s importance lies in describing the characteristics of drawings in the FPS, clarifying the relationship between drawings and local social issues, and demonstrating the possibility of employing children's drawings to design social comics. The sample of the study was intentionally selected, employing six children of the FPS, age 7–9 years, in the Riyadh region, and the study followed descriptive and semi-experimental approaches. The study highlighted the expressive characteristics of the FPS. It also showed a relationship between children's drawings and the social issues surrounding them. Furthermore, it emphasized the possibility of using digital programs to reshape children's drawings and present them as a contemporary artistic outlet. The study also recommended the need to focus on the social role in the child's life to contribute to the development of the various aspects of their personality.