Art & Craft — Picture Making: Human Forms

These notes help you (age 9) draw people. We use easy steps: stick figure → shapes → details → colour. Look at people around you (school, market, home) for ideas.

Materials

• Pencil and rubber (eraser)
• Crayons, colouring pencils or paints
• Plain or recycled paper
• Sharpener and ruler (for straight guide lines)

Easy steps to draw people

1. Start with a stick figure — quick way to get the pose.
   Stick figure shows head, spine, arms and legs.
2. Change lines into simple shapes — add round head, oval body and limbs with shapes.
   Use ovals for arms and legs and a rounded rectangle for the body.
3. Place the face features — eyes, nose and mouth have simple rules:
   • Draw a vertical line down the head for centre.
   • Draw a horizontal line halfway down the head — this is the eye line.
   • Nose sits halfway between the eyes and the chin; mouth halfway between nose and chin.
   Use small, simple shapes for eyes, nose and mouth.
4. Proportions — how tall? — Children are easier to draw with fewer "heads" tall.
   For a child: about 4–5 head lengths tall. Adults are taller (6–8 heads). For school drawings, use 4–5 heads — people look like children your age.
5. Add clothes and details
   • Look at uniforms at school — shirts, skirts, ties. Draw simple shapes for clothes: triangles for skirts, rectangles for shirts.
   • For Kenyan scenes, try: school pupil, mama mboga (veg seller) with basket, or a friend wearing a kitenge or shuka.
6. Colour and pattern
   Use bright colours and simple patterns. For kitenge or shuka, draw big shapes of colour and add dots or lines for the pattern.

Quick tips

• Keep lines light at first. Erase and change until it looks right.
• Hands and feet can be simple: mittens and shoes with no detail.
• Practice drawing faces in a small square many times to get comfortable.
• Look at people nearby for real shapes — remember to ask before drawing someone close up.

Simple classroom activities

1. Draw a classmate from a distance — first a stick figure, then shapes, then details.
2. Draw a market scene: one person selling vegetables, one buying. Use bright colours.
3. Draw your family: try 4–5 heads tall for each child in the picture.

Mini practice page

Try these little tasks on a single page:

• Task 1: Draw a stick figure that waves. Then change it to shapes and colour it.
• Task 2: Draw a face and place eyes, nose and mouth in the right places.
• Task 3: Draw yourself in your school uniform. Add a background (playground or classroom).