Choosing a children's easel

Patience and attentiveness, observation and precision of movements are just some useful skills and abilities acquired by a child in the process of drawing. It is not surprising that almost all children love to draw - nature has laid down that the child must master these disciplines, and at the level of instincts it offers the little game way to achieve the goal.

At the same time, children in school are taught to draw in a sitting position, but child development specialists are categorical: in preschool age, the child’s long sitting in a sitting posture threatens with impaired posture. Moreover, adult professional artists also do not differ in love to work in a sitting position, preferring to use a special stand - an easel. Today, this device is further developed and most closely matches the needs of children.

An easel is a special stand under a certain inclination that allows you to draw while standing and at the same time clearly see the image without leaning over it, as it would be if you were painting at the table. However, since the easels were actively used by artists (it happened in the late Middle Ages), the design has changed significantly - today it is conveniently adjusted, allowing itself to adjust to the growth of the author, his standing or sitting position.

Modern models, if necessary, are easily folded, which allows professionals to urgently equip a workplace for themselves directly in nature, and parents of toddlers can take this device into the car for visiting or having a picnic.

A typical old easel often looks like a tripod with the possibility of fixing on it one or another basis for the future drawing, although today the variety of options is much wider.

Initially, its fastenings were designed to install the frame with the already stretched canvas, but today such a rarity, and even more so - in the hands of a child, looks a bit strange. Many modern easels are adapted for fastening ordinary sheets of paper, which is very convenient, and children's versions often contain simple slate boards for the very first steps in visual arts.

In childhood, the absolute majority of consumers put forward suggestions not for functionality, but for aesthetics and visual appeal. The main task of the children's easel is to allow the child to draw without harm to their own health.However, many manufacturers try to add a variety of bonuses there - both developmental and entertaining.

Children's varieties of easels can be organized in fundamentally different ways, and then each type will have its own strengths and weaknesses, but it must be admitted that all easels for children is a real salvation for parents.

The following advantages are particularly notable.

Professional artists prefer the easel not only because it is more useful for posture - they argue that the conditionally vertical position of the canvas contributes to the formation of the right visual skills.

Devoting a lot of time to doing well is more likely to acquire all related skills.

The posture of the baby is formed throughout almost all of his childhood, so do not expect that the small spine will already be sufficiently stable to withstand the wrong position. Naturally, the child will be able to straighten out from any position that he has voluntarily occupied, however, the vertebrae will still gradually deform, and over time it will be necessary to make an effort to accomplish such a simple task.

A common problem for all families with small children is that babies tend to decorate literally everything around, without thinking too much about whether this area is intended for artistic experiments.

On the one hand, this is due to the fact that children at a young age are deprived of their due responsibility, but a common cause is the banal absence of their own workplace.

When creating special easels for children, manufacturers are guided by comparative simplicity and convenience, even if this is at the expense of the artistic value of the product.

Very often, such products are equipped with special supports and pockets for art supplies, not to mention additional features for the smallest, which will be discussed in more detail below. In addition, children's models are usually characterized by low weight and compact size, which makes it easy to transport them, if the model is quite large - it is usually possible to fold it.

There are no significant flaws in children's easels. You can complain about the fact that they are usually unsuitable for use in serious art, but in the case when the child is constantly engaged in drawing and making serious progress, it makes sense to pay attention to ordinary, "adult" easels.

In addition, you should not hurry with the purchase of such a device - psychologists believe that before the age of two, it is not useful to the baby for the reason that the crumb just does not understand its meaning. However, many parents believe that such a purchase can be made in advance - it does not spoil.

The device of a children's easel can be different - if you wish, you can count a dozen variations of such a piece of furniture. Each variety has its own advantages and disadvantages, so we consider them in detail.

In our country, when mentioning an easel, it is this kind that most often arises in the imagination of the audience - this is a typical student device of a folding structure, characterized by a low price and the highest compactness.

Another common model is a classic children's easel tripod for painting with paints, less often with a felt-tip pen, crayons or markers. A good "lira" should allow adjustment along several axes, while the most primitive tripods of this bonus are deprived.

This model is stable and compact, it allows you to work with the basics of any type (provided a solid pad-tablet) and size.However, large dimensions interfere with transportation, the structure is more complicated, and there is always the risk of inadvertent tipping. "Lyra" - a universal easel for all occasionsso it should be useful for children.

This design is considered something average between the two previous models, however, despite its lightness and compactness, it is rarely claimed - it is unstable, creates problems when working with large formats, it is problematic.

Due to low demand, it is not easy to find such an easel, and it is usually not used as an art but as an exhibition piece of furniture. In general, this model is not created for children.

With all its advantages, parents will probably immediately realize that this is a strictly professional easel. There are plenty of options for customization, but such furniture looks quite impressive - it is unlikely anyone would ever think to entrust such a unit to the baby, and it costs a lot.

In fact, this is the same "lira", but without its own legs - this model is installed directly on the table. The most compact and lightweight, portable, suitable for all categories of lovers, appropriate in terms of the apartment.

Does not need additional shelves for art supplies - everything can be placed on the table. At the same time, it does not have reliable fixation, it is also criticized for the lack of opportunities to work with a large format.

This is a great solution for those fans of painting who prefer to do it in nature. It is a special box with legs (less often - without them), in which all the necessary tools are stored. It moves easily as an easel-suitcase, which, thanks to the folding design, turns into a easel table with a hinged lid on the spot - it will become a support for the future picture.

The thing is universal and very common, but it is often criticized for its considerable weight, its limitations in matters of large format, and also its rather high cost.

The question arises - it is an easel or a table. In fact, it is a transformer, a folding folding table, in which the lid can occupy both a classic horizontal position, and rise under a certain adjustable inclination.

This easel board is highly resistant, and underneath it hides a drawer where you can store everything you need for drawing. The type of support allows you to draw literally everything - in fact, it is not only watercolor, but also chalk, marker and any other table.

This kind of easels is distinguished by the maximum variety of models, because its meaning is that the artist's workplace is combined with some other piece of furniture - usually a bedside table, a wardrobe, a table.

However, everything is individual here, so an easel of this type can turn all ideas about such furniture: floor and wall, for drawing with chalk and for embroidery, stationary or mobile on wheels, a simple board or a book design with glass to hold the canvas.

Perhaps, such an easel doesn’t happen that there is a double-sided one - it is always one-sided, because it would be inconvenient to turn in all directions what is mounted on the wall. Because of the high cost and rarity of children, such products are rarely bought.

A developing easel is also in demand, providing for some additional gaming capabilities not related to drawing.

On sale there is also an easel-palette that allows for convenient mixing of colors and teaching this painting, as well as whole sets that include the easel itself, as well as all the other drawing supplies.

Manufacturers try to interest the consumer in their products using all possible methods, therefore they often offer children's easels with such details and components that were not originally included in the package, and are not mandatory for products of this kind. In particular, parents really like the easel, which is sold immediately with a high chair, since it is still problematic for a child to spend a long time on his feet.

Naturally, easels, equipped with devices that simplify the process of drawing, are very popular. In particular, models with a pencil case or drawer for storing brushes, paints, pencils or felt-tip pens are in great demand, since they significantly contribute to maintaining order in the nursery.

Some companies also offer models with a roll of paper or canvas - the fabric is often already installed correctly, which helps those who would like to try a real canvas, but does not have the proper experience at all.

Once there are easels that are combined with ordinary furniture, then such models are also possible that are equipped with other devices that do not have a binding to drawing, but that do have one or another developing function.

Wooden easel Looks like the perfect solution from almost all sides. First of all, it is an environmentally friendly, guaranteed non-toxic material. Made of solid wood, such as beech, such an easel can withstand even desperate childish pranks.

This product looks very stylish. All these qualities make professional artists make a choice in favor of wood, but parents can be deterred by another important factor - price. Of course, options from MDF with a plywood sheet support will be much cheaper, but then all the advantages described are put into question.

When focusing on strength and safety, one of the leaders is metal easel. It will look not so stylish as wooden, but it will be very difficult for a child to break it, which is an undoubted advantage.

Aluminum table option will cost parents a mere penny. If desired, you can find or order even a wrought easel that could serve for decades, but the expediency of such a purchase is small.

There are other types of materials. Plastic easel usually less valued - if the material is of poor quality, then it is both toxic and short-lived, and the quality alternative at the price may not be inferior to counterparts from natural materials.

Since the easel is an accessory for drawing, you can try using bright colors to further stimulate the interest of the child. However, neutral tones help the baby to focus on drawing and fit well into any interior.

Wooden models are the only ones that are almost never painted, since the natural color of wood is aesthetic in itself.

As for metal or plastic, then designers have a huge scope for imagination - you can not even limit yourself to choosing one color, but please the future owner with a full-fledged picture.

It should be noted separately that Many children's easels are not only a stand for paper or canvas, but are often also equipped with a slate. In this case, it can largely determine the design of the entire product, because black and brown color of the boards are suitable for full-color chalk drawings, other tones may interfere with perception.

It would seem that a child for whom a special children's easel is being purchased does not need too large spaces for drawing - there will be enough ordinary album sheets. However, this approach is too old-fashioned, because for the complete pleasure and disclosure of the talent of the child does not need to limit anything, especially if he already shows some success.

In this case, the toddler has the motivation to go beyond and draw on the walls, the talent turns out to be limited in its impulse. A large easel is no longer represented in such a wide variety of models — for such situations, the clapperboard or the lira is most often chosen.

Although the easel (at least for children) does not seem to be such a complicated construction, there are quite a few criteria for its selection, which should not be ignored. We list only some of them.

Classical artists put canvas on the easel already in the frame, which requires holders - the same cracker, in particular, is not suitable for such purposes.

However, kids usually do not solve such complicated tasks - they need easels for children either for self-indulgence or for mastering the watercolor and gouache program in the school. With such paints they paint mostly on paper, but for it you also need a tablet - a special plywood stand.

Here two factors are important at once - the growth of the child and the size of the basis for drawing. Regarding the growth of the child should be repelled from the fact that the baby could confidently, without standing on tiptoes, reach to any corner of the fixed sheet.

Due to the fact that children grow up for kids it is better to buy those models that are adjustable in height. At the same time, it is worth giving such things from the age of 2-3 years - earlier they simply would not be interested in the baby.

As for the size of the base, preschool children usually have enough sheets from A4 to A3. Such a task will be solved by any compact easel - for example, desktop or etude.

The universal easel for children is traditionally considered to be the famous clapperboard, which all art schools in our country are equipped with, but this does not mean that it is necessary to take it.

If the child has already grown to school age, but his entire interest in the visual arts is limited to preparing homework, then it is better to buy a small table easel or watercolor table instead of writing - this will also help save room space.

If the choice in favor of drawing is made consciously at an independent age, it may be worthwhile to immediately buy a lyre - it will give the opportunity to draw, including on large formats.

At home, for the needs of the child, you can use absolutely any easel, as long as it fits in the apartment and meets all other requirements.

With drawing on the street, things are somewhat worse - most easels are quite heavy, and even a teenager will not be so easy to carry them with you. To ease the burden, you should choose either a tablet (requires a convenient place to install), or a portable easel (paints and brushes will have to be carried separately, in a backpack).

Parents are mostly satisfied with the purchase - most often they indicate that the child, fascinated by his own workplace, quickly stops painting on the walls and other surfaces not intended for this.

In addition, a properly selected model that meets the child’s tastes both in color and in interest (if various developmental bonuses are represented there) is generally very conducive to increasing the interest of the child in drawing.

Some adolescents who have succeeded in drawing, indicate that the early purchase of an easel probably contributed to their advancement, because peers who are unable to draw correctly from the very beginning often experience problems with mastering complex techniques.

Easels - not the product, the quality of which is strongly influenced by the brand. Domestic easels “Fairy” and American Crayola are popular in our country.

On what easel is better to choose for the child, see the following video.