Thoughtful Drawings: A Computational Model of the Cognitive Nature of Children's Drawing

An interpretation of children’s drawing is presented that is based on active perception of the world and the construction of an equivalent self contained two-dimensional world. This model is implemented in a computer program called Rose (Representation Of Spatial Experience). Inspired by the drawings of young children, Rose simulates the perception of the general form and structure of three-dimensional computer models and constructs equivalent childlike two-dimensional representations from them. Rose serves to illustrate the plausibility of the constructive process as a model for real children’s drawing and in addition serves as an alternative approach to traditional computer graphic rendering.