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Original poster

Is this exceptionally talented for a 9YO?

168 replies

Fifi00 · 21/12/2022 16:58

DD has been saying she wants to be an artist for quite a while. I'm not naturally artistic myself so can't really teach her myself nor do I really know what makes good art. Everything she does has been self taught. Is this talented for a 9YO? How could I encourage her?

Is this exceptionally talented for a 9YO?

OP posts:

Suemademedoit · 21/12/2022 17:17

That’s very mature for a 9yo. Amazing.

Original poster

Fifi00 · 21/12/2022 17:17

RudsyFarmer · 21/12/2022 17:15

First of all, yes!

is she copying drawings or is this coming from her imagination?

It's photographs , so she can draw people, she does landscapes but portraits seem to be her thing at the moment.

OP posts:

TheMightyOak · 21/12/2022 17:19

Yes it's fantastic, GCSE level I would say.

My DS was brilliant like that at that age, I took him to art classes, galleries etc, tried to encourage him but now he's 18 he hasn't picked up a pencil since his GCSEs. Such a waste of a talent 😭

Hopefully your DD will continue to improve and flourish with gentle encouragement.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

9 year olds

LBFseBrom · 21/12/2022 17:19

Very good indeed for her age!

glasshole · 21/12/2022 17:19

Which living artists does she admire? Often they are on social media and they have patreon accounts. For a subscription fee they tend to offer draw alongs and can be absolutely brilliant for developing new skills. A great one is Lisa Ann Watkins LAW on fb. Her animal portraits are just breath taking.

Lulu1919 · 21/12/2022 17:19

I think it's great

dontgobaconmyheart · 21/12/2022 17:20

She's been watching Wednesday, I take it? I really enjoyed it and I'm 35.

Yes its good for a 9 year old an an amazing starting point to develop technique onto as she gets older if that's something that still interests her at that point.

There are lots of youtube tutorials and courses on drawing (or other types of art) that are free, she could start a series of those easily enough from home, join an art class outside of the home if you can find one locally, source books from the library to provide inspiration or 'how-to's' or try out other mediums like air dry clay at home. Providing her with reasonable quality - doesn't need to be expensive- shading pencils and charcoals would lend themselves well to the type of drawing you've shown here.

Mostly I would take the focus on 'becoming an artist' if she mentions that and just enjoying the hobby for the hobby's sake at this point. She is very young and a genuine stable career as an artist is a very difficult thing to obtain, there is a lot of talent around once you get to degree level and limited opportunity to turn that into a job. In a couple of years she'll be at secondary school and art lessons will be more available to her through the school system and she'll be able to explore whether she wants to follow it on to a-level or university.

There's a real knack to drawing faces I always found, and she's done very well.

PinkFrogss · 21/12/2022 17:21

I think you know it is OP. It looks familiar have you posted it on another forum?

Notyetacatlady · 21/12/2022 17:21

My dd does various extra curricular art classes she’s very good and is 9. Your dds drawing is lots better than she could do. Nurture her talents for sure.

whoareyouinviting · 21/12/2022 17:21

Yes! Very talented!!

Nap1983 · 21/12/2022 17:23

I was expecting this to be the usual boasting lol but that is really good! My DD 14 is extremely good at drawing, she draws animals and does commissions. I also feel it’s so good for her relaxing and switching off. Definitely encourage her!

upinastar · 21/12/2022 17:24

That's amazing. She's very talented ☺️

mast0650 · 21/12/2022 17:25

Yes. I would say so. Particularly if not copied from another drawing.

My daughter is good at art. A* at A-level (for whatever that's worth...). I would say that is comparable to her drawings in her early teens rather than aged 9.

I hope she continues to enjoy it and develop her skills and creativity.

Nevermindthesquirrels · 21/12/2022 17:27

Is she turning 10 soon? The royal drawing school has an online version of the young people's courses and they provide bursaries. They send you loads of stuff before hand in the post. My DD was similar to yours at 9, she burned out by age 12 though. Secondary school art killed her love for it sadly.
Well done to her, keep it going.

Upsidedownagain · 21/12/2022 17:27

Yes, she is very talented. I have a relative who is very talented at art too. If I were you, I'd just go with the flow as to what your dd wants to do. My relative has developed their own skills and interests. They are an adult now and have never been interested in using their talent to make a living. They hated doing GCSE art as they disliked being told what to do to meet the demands of the syllabus. I think true artists probably prefer to follow their own inclinations.

BroomHandledMouser · 21/12/2022 17:28

Holy shit OP that is amazing!!

RudsyFarmer · 21/12/2022 17:28

I was always excellent at copying pictures but really pants at pulling pictures out of head and getting them down. So if she were my child I’d be really encouraging her illustrative skills and seeing if she could find an original style of drawing.

RudsyFarmer · 21/12/2022 17:29

Nevermindthesquirrels · 21/12/2022 17:27

What a fantastic idea ♥️

pairofrollerskates · 21/12/2022 17:31

I taught art&design at university level for many years. I can say definitively that this is exceptional. You must find classes for her.

jellyjellopeea · 21/12/2022 17:32

What is she like when drawing freehand / from her imagination, OP?

SinnerBoy · 21/12/2022 17:34

Fifi00

The sketchbooks oh my gosh they cost a bomb she goes through so many and the art supplies. I think I will enquire with an art shop she will just sit and draw for hours until she thinks it's ok.

First: wow! That's excellent. Mine's 9 and quite good, but not on that level.

Have you tried B&M Bargains for sketch books? They're considerably cheaper than art shop ones.

LindtChristmas · 21/12/2022 17:35

I mean I have nothing to add that no one hasn't already said... I won a regional art prize at 12 and your daughter would have blown my drawing out of the park - I was a much simpler drawer at 9, and managed to progress quite well..... your daughter could do very, very well. Fantastic!

Original poster

Fifi00 · 21/12/2022 17:37

jellyjellopeea · 21/12/2022 17:32

What is she like when drawing freehand / from her imagination, OP?

She's also good , she likes drawing anime style she's made up . Portraits are a new thing she's been doing, drawing her favourite people, she does photographs though not copying other people's drawings. I will ask her do draw more from memory..

OP posts:

WinnieMac · 21/12/2022 17:38

My daughter could draw like that at 9 and went on to receive an Art Scholarship to a very good school at 13, and then studied Art... Just to give you an idea...

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 21/12/2022 17:40

Also worth bearing her artistic abilities in mind when looking for secondaries. We have a good few secondary schools to choose from, and if my kid has this amount of talent at a specific subject it would help narrow it down.

It would also do well to stash her work in a folder. If it ends up at appeals (eg you don't get the schools you want), you have to say why that specific school is the right fit. A secondary which has the best art dept in the region would be keen to seek out talent.

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