Amazing Art Works Based On Children’s Drawings

The photos you are about to see are part of the “The Monster Engine Project“, created by Dave DeVries. It includes a book, a demonstration, lecture and a gallery exhibition. The Monster Engine is based on the idea of creating realistic paintings from children’s drawings. It all turned out to be a great success and an innovative concept. Sometimes artists just happen to get to one point where their imagination stops. But not children. They are an endless “resource” for creations and we are going to prove that to you with this post. 22 images presenting the drawing made by children, all around 6 years old and then their representations made by Dave DeVries.

The Good Man

The Good Man author: Dave DeVries

Big Moth

Big Moth author: Dave DeVries

By Kimbelry

By Kimbelry author: Dave DeVries

Monster

Monster author: Dave DeVries

Weird Cat

Weird Cat author: Dave DeVries

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman author: Dave DeVries

4 Arms

4 Arms author: Dave DeVries

Michael

Michael author: Dave DeVries

Imaginative Art

Imaginative Art author: Dave DeVries

By Brendon Miller – age 7

By Brendon Miller - age 7 author: Dave DeVries

Monster Attacking

Monster Attacking author: Dave DeVries

For Uncle David

For Uncle David author: Dave DeVries

Weird Vehicle

Weird Vehicle author: Dave DeVries

Dinosaur

Dinosaur author: Dave DeVries

Superman Sketch

Superman Sketch author: Dave DeVries

Superman Color

Superman Color author: Dave DeVries

Supergirl

Supergirl author: Dave DeVries

Angry Ball

Angry Ball author: Dave DeVries

Angry Ball

Angry Ball author: Dave DeVries

Chelsea

Chelsea author: Dave DeVries

Catch

Catch author: Dave DeVries

Hankie

Hankie author: Dave DeVries

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118 Responses:

  1. closedeyes says:

    really impressing…. i am still in its hangover even after wathching it all n number times… hats off for both the artists and the children(young artists)…:)
    loved the use of colour…
    wud luv to see more like this…
    thanks giulia for this session…:)

    ( 2 years and 4329 days ago )
  2. Vino says:

    Just Amazing… Very Nice Collection.

    ( 2 years and 4327 days ago )
  3. Gregory M. Figg says:

    very nice great art starts in the mind

    ( 2 years and 4327 days ago )
  4. Hillary says:

    Really neat! Love the comparisons. πŸ™‚

    ( 2 years and 4327 days ago )
  5. Helen says:

    Very beautiful works!

    ( 2 years and 4326 days ago )
  6. suraj says:

    wow thats so cool, I saw this first time. πŸ™‚

    ( 2 years and 4325 days ago )
  7. Anonymous says:

    Brilliant.

    ( 2 years and 4325 days ago )
  8. Anon says:

    Cool, but some of the little kid ones are obviously not drawn by children. the faces on some have 3-dimensional features that a toddlers mind could not articulate on paper with a drawing.

    ( 2 years and 4321 days ago )
  9. Jason says:

    I was actually there when he painted one of those. Dave is amazing.

    ( 2 years and 4321 days ago )
  10. Cindy says:

    Wow, you were a great artist when you were young. What happened? LOL Kidding. Very inspiring work.

    ( 2 years and 4320 days ago )
  11. Liz says:

    It’s weird, it’s like childrens drawings when converted into a detailed art form are images we see in our dreams or something. I like the structureless off it.

    ( 2 years and 4320 days ago )
  12. hazem says:

    it is very good idea and the turned is very good and amzing

    ( 2 years and 4319 days ago )
  13. R Logan says:

    This is an atrocious undermining of the young artist mind. Disgraceful.

    ( 2 years and 4318 days ago )
  14. Mike says:

    So cool these draws!

    ( 2 years and 4317 days ago )
  15. Christina says:

    So basically this is a job for someone who can draw really well, but has no imagination, so he uses the kid’s imaginations.

    ( 2 years and 4317 days ago )
  16. anonymous2 says:

    great stuff! -to anon- you must be confused…

    ( 2 years and 4316 days ago )
  17. anon says:

    its things like this that remind me of the beauty in innocence.

    ( 2 years and 4310 days ago )
  18. Anon says:

    Why are all the super heroes so thin, like super models..

    ( 2 years and 4308 days ago )
  19. Furis says:

    Wow..I think this is amazing..its beautiful to see the changes that have been made from the children’s drawings to the grown up’s drawings.

    ( 2 years and 4306 days ago )
  20. nisha says:

    brilliant work…….jus awesome……hats off to u and children who helped u with it……still speechless!!

    ( 2 years and 4306 days ago )
  21. Tiles says:

    An absolutely stunning and inspiring collection of work by artists, based on real kids’ drawings. I’m just totally blown away by this!

    ( 2 years and 4299 days ago )
  22. kif says:

    At least Kimberly is a better speller than you!

    ( 2 years and 4298 days ago )
  23. Hayley J says:

    These are absolutely genius! One of the most difficult things to do as an artist is finding inspiration. Children have the purest sense of creativity and what has been derived from their work here is amazing!

    ( 2 years and 4297 days ago )
  24. vwe says:

    to first Anon – how are any of the children’s drawing *not* children’s drawings?

    not to mention that you’re wrong… toddler’s CAN have an idea of dimensionality … although i didn’t really see any dimensionality (3D kind) in any of the toddler drawings… were you thinking that the one’s made by an adult artist were made by children?
    maybe next time read the caption? =]

    ( 2 years and 4297 days ago )
  25. Dede Briscoe says:

    what a great series that takes the vision and art of a child,and interprets it with the skills of a great artist that happens to be an adult.I’ll bet the kids said “thats exactly what I was seeing” [; so cool they will really apprecciate it when they are grown artists,and it will inspire them to continue to create with such freedom.

    ( 2 years and 4297 days ago )
  26. dj says:

    I like the childrens’ drawings much better. The way he colours them seems to alter the innocence of how child creates a picture. Kids draw the way they do because it is what they are capable of at their age and they believe they have accurately depicted their subject. His renderings seem rather frightening, though his work is still very interesting and I appreciate how he worked with what he saw in the child’s drawing and gave it depth. Its cool but slightly uncomfortable as though looking at a crazy dream or odd night mare.

    ( 2 years and 4297 days ago )
  27. Emi says:

    I think that it’s kind of creepy that they all look so scary. I’m imagining those creatures, running around in the imaginations of little kids. O_O Unicorns that eat rainbows and poop butterflies are soooo much happier. anyway, some good photoshop skills πŸ™‚

    ( 2 years and 4292 days ago )
  28. Rafael says:

    This exploitation of child labor has to be stopped!

    ( 2 years and 4292 days ago )
  29. Joanne says:

    Great idea! Children are mini artists.

    ( 2 years and 4292 days ago )
  30. Pratyush says:

    What a great way to get inspired!!

    ( 2 years and 4291 days ago )
  31. Elena Dunca says:

    I am very impressed. Good art and idea. Congrats, Elena

    ( 2 years and 4291 days ago )
  32. Ahmad says:

    Pure sense and brilliant works. thanks

    ( 2 years and 4289 days ago )
  33. Tawny says:

    that was so much fun! thanks for sharing πŸ™‚

    ( 2 years and 4283 days ago )
  34. Mog says:

    To the silly Anon above…many of the kids were 7. That is hardly a “toddler”. None of these drawings are beyond what even a mildly talented 7 year old could draw.

    Love the comparisons, great stuff!

    ( 2 years and 4280 days ago )
  35. Solveigh Calderin says:

    Here you can find a lot of – not so scarring – child’s drawings, turned into oil paintings.

    The motto of this website is:

    Add value to their expression!
    …feel like a “Young-Rembrandt”

    ( 2 years and 4280 days ago )
  36. Pablo says:

    This is interesting, however, the fact that the artist took a somewhat disturbing angle to the drawings turns me off. Adults often have a way to mar the creativity and innocence of a child’s art.

    Joanne – I find it odd you call children ‘mini-artists’….seems to take something away from what they create. In fact, I would say they in some way more pure than adult artists.

    ( 2 years and 4276 days ago )
  37. Bobby Dopamine says:

    The adult versions emphasizes ugliness and distortion, while the children’s versions are merely uncomplicated. I think this shows that the artists have lost a great deal — or been swayed by the rough edges of the material world — in the aesthetic consciousness they’ve cultivated since youth.

    ( 2 years and 4274 days ago )
  38. Anon says:

    Hanky got a Spanky!! Hanky looks like he’s got two spankys… That child draws a penis fairly well.

    ( 2 years and 4273 days ago )
  39. elucyuk says:

    very cool!

    ( 2 years and 4271 days ago )
  40. sir jorge says:

    those are incredible

    ( 2 years and 4267 days ago )
  41. xendlessxurbiax says:

    Very nice, but would be way better if the drawings weren’t all traced. The beauty in a child’s ability to draw comes from being able to perceive shapes and reproduce them on paper, or to see shapes in their imagination and to reproduce them on paper. In these drawings, the shapes are too similar to the originals which I conclude were all traced. Nice effort indeed.

    ( 2 years and 4267 days ago )
  42. shav says:

    Love these, so so cool!!!

    ( 2 years and 4267 days ago )
  43. The Old Wolf says:

    Amazing work. Just fix the typo that says “by Kimbelry”

    ( 2 years and 4262 days ago )
  44. Eric says:

    very nice collection… just wonder if the last one about the “Spanky Hanky” isn’t the childs (parrot like) memory comming out on paper… as if to say that his mother was yelling this to his father the night before??!!

    ( 2 years and 4262 days ago )
  45. Dan says:

    A lot of the kid’s art was better than the adults’ who ripped them off.

    ( 2 years and 4262 days ago )
  46. sara says:

    Children’s artwork is so amazing, this is really interesting stuff.

    ( 2 years and 4262 days ago )
  47. m says:

    i like the kid ones better

    ( 2 years and 4261 days ago )
  48. Sorana says:

    Great work! I’m still amazed!!

    ( 2 years and 4261 days ago )
  49. Sorana Rotaru says:

    And of course…I would love to go at an exhibition here, just like this one!

    ( 2 years and 4261 days ago )
  50. huh? says:

    these are sorta scary. a little psychotic if you ask me

    ( 2 years and 4260 days ago )
  51. Sinte says:

    This is pure reality, scary as the childrens really see. Amazing.

    ( 2 years and 4257 days ago )
  52. Sean says:

    I find nothing at all exploitative about this art project. The artist is playing a wonderful “what if?” game of re-envisioning what a child’s drawing might look like if they possessed more mature graphic skills. I thought he kept true to the intent of the drawings. If they seemed too scary to some of the viewers here, look again at the child’s drawing and notice the cues he picked up. When kids draw pointy teeth and spikey hair, they are drawing monsters. Devries just pushed them forward in the direction they were already going, and if it scared and disturbed you, GOOD!, you got the intent of the kid’s drawing as well as Devries’.

    As for the kids’ drawings that did not have obvious cues to monsterdom, I agree that he could have opted to use a less lurid palette and push them in a more positive direction (for Wonder Woman and Catch, i.e.)

    ( 2 years and 4250 days ago )
  53. Benedicta says:

    Just so amazing!!!! Great idea, great effort and a fucking good eye!!! He lets adults to be able to see the imagination of kids. I do respect. :)))

    ( 2 years and 4245 days ago )
  54. Maryam says:

    Nice & Amazing

    ( 2 years and 4244 days ago )
  55. Coco says:

    They’re a little demented. Only boys draw demented pictures. But nice idea!

    ( 2 years and 4232 days ago )
  56. Marina says:

    Awesome how the imagination of a child becomes a reality by the hands of a artist.

    ( 2 years and 4227 days ago )
  57. allison says:

    how can i get prints of these??? they are awesome!

    ( 2 years and 4226 days ago )
  58. meme says:

    xendlessxurbiax needs to read the opening statement. The children drew their picture first.

    “idea of creating realistic paintings from children’s drawings”

    ( 2 years and 4226 days ago )
  59. []lc[w says:

    The children’s work was more inspired and multidimensional. When this “artist,” does his rendition the pictures loose all of their former depth and complexity. Advice to Artist: Take the kids example, get off the computer, back to pencil and paper and your own mind.

    ( 2 years and 4226 days ago )
  60. Mary Ann says:

    I enjoyed both artist’s rendition; but I feel that the children showed another emotion, such as love and friendship, and the monster artist changed into something wicked and scary.

    ( 2 years and 4225 days ago )
  61. Mercedes Calvo says:

    muy bueno

    ( 2 years and 4212 days ago )
  62. zeba says:

    very good, great imagination in kids mind

    ( 2 years and 4207 days ago )
  63. Anonymous says:

    I don’t think this guy knows what art is

    ( 2 years and 4206 days ago )
  64. Zenda says:

    I think I see a lot of stereotypes playing out here…. first off, as a little girl, not all of my drawing were full of sunshine and butterflies. When something scared me, or made me feel insecure, I would often try to draw my boogeyman. Also, these are all obviously done by children, just look at the crude brush strokes. Toddlers are creatures of imitation to learn, so if they had seen someone draw a face with three-dimensional attributes, they would do the same. I was overall impressed with this artists ideas, and felt that each and every picture was a vivid recreation of the original. This ability allows for adults to pay closer attention to what we can learn from the artistic musings of children. Too often these drawings would be dismissed out of hand.

    ( 2 years and 4200 days ago )
  65. Kamik says:

    Amazing. Verry warped, but some how compelling. I like how the artist/artists didn’t try to change the original picture. It makes you think that children often hold more wisdome and creativity than most adults.

    ( 2 years and 4198 days ago )
  66. Zach says:

    Goes to show we were all born creative, just look at those children’s drawings they’re hard to comprehend they are so creative

    ( 2 years and 4197 days ago )
  67. Kristin says:

    creative and inspiring!

    ( 2 years and 4197 days ago )
  68. surfraptor says:

    What a wonderful idea!
    Am very impressed!
    Maybe I should take another look at my kids’ drawings πŸ˜‰

    Marco

    ( 2 years and 4191 days ago )
  69. :O says:

    Sponky Hanky? ewwwwwwwwwwwwww

    ( 2 years and 4183 days ago )
  70. RONALD LAWROSKY, Sr. says:

    great idea,great art & talent

    ( 2 years and 4183 days ago )
  71. Buggsy says:

    I dunno, lots of these kids seem to have problems. Many of the pics looks like variations of the Rage Guy! The rest look pretty messed up.

    ( 2 years and 4180 days ago )
  72. Barbar@ says:

    very nice kids poster.
    i love owl……………….
    send me owl poster for me owlmuseum,
    thanks

    ( 2 years and 4177 days ago )
  73. T says:

    Ugh. This just demeans kids. It’s like, “Look, Joey! This is what I can do! Aren’t I so much better than you?!”

    ( 2 years and 4172 days ago )
  74. Joshua "Lakey" Hinson says:

    First off I LOVE this!

    Just genius!

    However I’m bothered by all these people tearing the adult down without even knowing any of the details and making a basket load of assumptions.

    First off about how the artist made the pictures scary…Kids see some scary stuff, why do you think they’re afraid of monsters? They have pictures of them in their heads. When I was 10 and younger most of my art was snakes and swords drawn as scary as I could. From 11-15 when I wasn’t drawing cars and babes like all the other cool kids I was drawing stick men dying horrible deaths in huge endless traps that guaranteed nothing but death by dismemberment, smashing, burning or something else equally horrible.

    To those saying the kids drawings are better…I’m sorry. No. They’re very mediocre drawings. Not to say they’re not interesting or I don’t like them I’ve just seen much more creative and much more talented artists. The adult on the other hand was able to look at a kid’s drawing and have the imagination to turn it into what he did…that’s some insane talent!

    ( 2 years and 4172 days ago )
  75. ShutYourFaceThisSucks says:

    “This is an atrocious undermining of the young artist mind. Disgraceful.”
    Agreed. The art the children did should NOT have been tampered with!
    Also.. the new art isn’t that good…. the coloring looks muddy, he made the faces even MORE disproportionate with bad shading and overall he ruins the charm of the original drawings.

    ( 2 years and 4167 days ago )
  76. mark randell says:

    brilliant ~ thank you for putting these up on the net

    ( 2 years and 4159 days ago )
  77. fabulli says:

    i like all the comments from that weirdo with many names πŸ™‚

    ( 2 years and 4157 days ago )
  78. jesyl gonzer says:

    i think these are wonderful! adults showing love for their children.

    ( 2 years and 4151 days ago )
  79. FattMikE says:

    Very creative idea and beautiful implementation πŸ™‚

    ( 2 years and 4150 days ago )
  80. Garge Montague says:

    Shutup Dede “Oh blah blah the great art of a child “blah blah” Dede get a life

    ( 2 years and 4148 days ago )
  81. JITHIN says:

    superb job by Michale his drawings are awesome

    ( 2 years and 4136 days ago )
  82. shapewear says:

    These children draw waay better than me.. and im 22… haha

    ( 2 years and 4123 days ago )
  83. Kyriakos says:

    very good work.
    well done guys!

    ( 2 years and 4123 days ago )
  84. Petuunia says:

    I’m struck by how all the images are horrific, or negative.
    Children use art to tame their fears and empower themselves. I love that. And love the drawings.

    I’m just startled by how there’s no gentle imagery here. (Not blaming the kids!) But our culture.

    Way, way too much TV. I’ve seen stuff on daytime TV I know incredible numbers of little 3 and 3 and 4-year-olds are absorbing unprotected. We’re numbed to the damage it causes them.

    ( 2 years and 4123 days ago )
  85. Warren Lewis says:

    Fantastic work.

    ( 2 years and 4123 days ago )
  86. Vanessa says:

    that anon guy is an idiot, toddlers aren’t 6 years old, they’re like 2 and 3… If you had read the paragraph explaining the artwork, you would have noticed.
    i really love this, it is very inspiring.

    ( 2 years and 4123 days ago )
  87. kristina says:

    lol those arts

    ( 2 years and 4121 days ago )
  88. Wowzerz says:

    the avatar for this comment i’m making kinda looks like one of the drawings.

    ( 2 years and 4116 days ago )
  89. Gerry Wieder says:

    These are marvelous! Would love to see more. Gerry.

    ( 2 years and 4094 days ago )
  90. nibbles says:

    I think that its funny, adults look at it as either simply scribbles, or amazing art. The artists themselves see it as a christmas present πŸ™‚

    ( 2 years and 4083 days ago )
  91. JD says:

    Best thing ive seen in a while.

    Brilliant and pure.

    ( 2 years and 4081 days ago )
  92. Megan says:

    I absolutely love these. My VERY favorite would have to be the wierd cat. :]] You, and the children, did great. :]]

    ( 2 years and 4077 days ago )
  93. chris says:

    In one of the comments above left by Anon, he states that most of the drawing could not have been done by kids. You are very wrong. if given the freedom, kinds have a very good concept of images. my son who is 4 years old can do amazing pictures. I even put up a website for him http://www.zacharysart.com I will try to post some of the more recent ones as he is becoming more amazing every day

    ( 2 years and 4072 days ago )
  94. bella says:

    What a very cool idea! I love that the kids are providing the inspiration for the adults. The results look great.

    ( 2 years and 4070 days ago )
  95. Paul says:

    I love these! My 6 yr old daughter (who I’ve named my site after) does the most wonderful drawings, very naive but extremely inventive and unique. The drawings are full of life and the characters have fantastic expressions. I’ve often wondered what they would be like as an actual painting, and as an artist myself, have often thought about creating one from her drawings, just to investigate the look. I love her drawings and have kept many. I think kids drawings are full of life as they explore their creative freedom and try to capture the world around them, or their imagination.

    ( 2 years and 4066 days ago )
  96. JJ says:

    Why do so many of theses pics look scary? (both kid’s drawings and the artist’s version)

    ( 2 years and 4056 days ago )
  97. gabriel says:

    It looks like a bunch of little kids drew these.

    ( 2 years and 4051 days ago )
  98. Igor the Illustrator says:

    The idea is pretty interesting. I’ve never seen such illustrations. But some of children’s drawings are so much scary. This is what too much TV makes with children. Anyway I enjoyed to see this unique collection of illustrations by Dave DeVries

    Igor
    Artist and illustrator from Ukraine

    ( 2 years and 4051 days ago )
  99. Anonymous says:

    For those of you who say these are scary and claim it’s because children watch too much tv please note it’s titled “The Monster Engine Project” and for those of you who cannot distinguish which is the child’s artwork you….should not be on the internet, I don’t know how you figured out how to comment let alone find this website

    ( 2 years and 4048 days ago )
  100. Anonymous says:

    Amazing interpretations…and a bit creepy! I love looking at children’s art. It’s amazing how such cute, innocent drawings can be so cleverly twisted into such horrifying creations.

    ( 2 years and 4044 days ago )
  101. Chelsea says:

    Im not the Chelsea who drew those pictures but dang shes got some talent!!

    ( 2 years and 4040 days ago )
  102. Andy Tope says:

    Simply a great way to spend time while eating your cereal. And I wasn’t even eating my cereal!

    ( 2 years and 4018 days ago )
  103. scott says:

    I love the use of color that really transforms the originals. I can not even draw as well as the children so I find the whole process impressive.

    ( 2 years and 4004 days ago )
  104. Sandy says:

    I think these are amazing, and I can’t stop looking at them. It bothers me that people are so caught up on how “scary” the pictures are. To me, the disturbing nature of the images comes from our judgments. Children don’t censor their imaginations like adults do, and some really wild stuff comes out. That is what innocence means to me.

    They made me look twice…and three times…and more. I’m overcome with a sort of nostalgia….they are actually triggering a visual memory of what it was like to imagine things as a child. The manner in which these pictures are rendered is strangely familiar.

    Sure, they are dark – but not entirely. And I think people underestimate children. We don’t like to imagine that they are anything other than light and joy, and that we become corrupt as we get older…but it is really our judgments of ourselves that make us corrupt. I think these pictures are valuable to help us remember what it was like to be a kid, and to help us understand them as whole human beings again.

    Anyway, enough of this rambling. I just wanna say – AAAMMMAAAZZZINGGGG!!!! Thank you for this! This has inspired me to try it out myself on a couple of my own old childhood drawings.

    ( 2 years and 3994 days ago )
  105. εŠ¨ζ„Ÿε…‰ζ³’ says:

    nice work
    Children get really amazing imagination and the artist make their idea come true , love these works

    ( 2 years and 3990 days ago )
  106. tanne evans says:

    Hi,i am wish draw and i can draw anything.thanks

    ( 2 years and 3987 days ago )
  107. brent says:

    Wow amazing. Does anyone know what the kids thought? Creative and fun.

    ( 2 years and 3971 days ago )
  108. Drawing says:

    Great. very inspirational collection. All those draws done by kids? Its really great they work well. Nice thoughts and sketches. It will very useful for kids and who people want to start drawing. Thanks a lot.

    ( 2 years and 3815 days ago )
  109. brianna says:

    awesome did they really draw them?

    ( 2 years and 3727 days ago )
  110. swansong says:

    My daughter 5 year old daughter says the baseball looks like a fish with metal teeth, the one with a black dress looks like a ballerina creature, Big Moth looks like he has to keep his mouth open all the time, and Weird Cat looks kind of like a cat.

    ( 2 years and 3705 days ago )
  111. Anonymous says:

    wow! These drawings are amazing! πŸ˜€ I’m an artist myself.. but when I looked at these, it really impressed me. [that one with the steel tooth colored purple is a little bit creepy]

    ( 2 years and 3601 days ago )
  112. Anonymous says:

    great imagination

    ( 2 years and 3594 days ago )
  113. allan says:

    I relly like all those pictures.

    ( 2 years and 3577 days ago )
  114. allan says:

    these are weird pictures.

    ( 2 years and 3574 days ago )
  115. allan says:

    who drew these pictures

    ( 2 years and 3574 days ago )
  116. FoldPage says:

    Fantastic, very creative and inspiring

    ( 2 years and 3543 days ago )
  117. kaelani says:

    i love your art work you inspired me to become a artist once i saw your work thats when i knew iwanted to be a artist keep up the amazing work <3<3<3<3<3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ( 2 years and 3523 days ago )
  118. Alex says:

    Love this xoxo

    ( 2 years and 3378 days ago )