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slashjasper OP t1_irr5eba wrote

Data sourced directly from my toddler's colored pencils. Used with Adobe Illustrator

edit: Thanks for all your comments.

  • For those who commented on the Berlin-Kay color theory/appearance in language, that's super interesting. I love this sub!
  • For the OCD people who feel offended with the poor ordering of the pencils by length: you can take that up with my toddler.
  • Special mention for u/tonybenwhite who took the effort to calculate the colored surface area
873

slashjasper OP t1_irr5rpg wrote

One might assume children prefer colorful things, but in this case, black and white are clear winners throughout. Overall less variance than expected. The 880/810 'gold' color sucks and is poorly visible on (often used) brown paper.

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Spike-Tail-Turtle t1_irr5u7q wrote

Damn what kind of magic pencils are those. We go through a box of crayons about once a month and it'd be nice to have something that lasts longer. My kids are colour beasts

77

[deleted] t1_irr63mr wrote

I think whoever sharpens them has a big influence. Or if the toddler has access to the sharpener, simply exploring that could consume half a pencil.

I think it's no coincidence the longest ones are the least pointy

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Macrophage87 t1_irr6eb4 wrote

Looks about what you'd expect if those colors would be used in a color printer. He's probably even less likely to throw a tantrum when he's out of cyan.

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slashjasper OP t1_irr89b2 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#69,635)

There is obviously a lot of uncertainty in this dataset. For example it's entirely possible one pencil may simply have rolled off the table at one point in these 3 years and be forgotten hidden under the couch for weeks.

I do all the sharpening. Unlike regular pencils however, you can keep using these even when the point is more or less flat, due to its large size. Though it feels painful to watch, my toddler doesn't seem to be bothered by flat tips at all...

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slashjasper OP t1_irr8il0 wrote

Replying to Spike-Tail-Turtle (#69,621)

The pencil info is in the image. I can definitely recommend them for this age range. They're massive, won't ever break, and above all have superb color saturation. They're pretty high on the 'waxy' end. Not cheap I guess.

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frogurtalsocursed t1_irrc1qn wrote

This kid sees a red door and they want to paint it black

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AJSopranosEyebrows t1_irrcdct wrote

Between the skills and time it took to make this, caring about data, and the brand of the pencils, my data analysis suggests you're rich.

4

sternumdogwall t1_irrda6f wrote

The day the crayons quit by Drew daywalt is a fun read to kids book btw..

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TokoBlaster t1_irrduqf wrote

This is awesome: we get to see the pencils they were using, we get to see the amount they used, we get a reference to know how big the pencils are before use.

The only thing we're missing: some of your toddlers art. That would make this chef's kiss

467

Wlng-Man t1_irrjhtg wrote

Can you conclusively separate color preference and pencil taste?

6

MsMrSaturn t1_irrkwgj wrote

Replying to slashjasper (#69,613)

I wonder how much of that is perceptual. Is it easier for the tyke to see black, white, and red?

There's been some cool linguistic studies where words for dark and light emerge first in languages, then the next color is red.

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showmewhoiam t1_irrrysv wrote

Drawing a lot of stop signs and "high ways"?

3

wick319end019en t1_irs4ub0 wrote

I think it's worth noting that blue would be the most popular colour if you consider that there were two shades of blue and only one of other colours.

If I had to guess why, I'd say it's from colouring in skies.

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HilariousConsequence t1_irs4z7x wrote

Why are dark blue, light blue, and white positioned in reverse order?

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Zoefschildpad t1_irs7or3 wrote

When I was a 5 there was a new kid a year below me and my friend who only used black, red, dark blue, dark green and dark purple. So we decided he was evil.

This pencil set is missing dark green and dark purple, but signs are clearly pointing in that direction for your toddler. Tread carefully.

4

slashjasper OP t1_irsav7e wrote

Replying to wick319end019en (#71,274)

This is a valid point I hadn't considered. The 'darker blue' is actually more purple in normal lighting (that's what he calls it, too). However, the same thing applies to the greens.

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adsfew t1_irsf0zh wrote

First black and then red? This kid is so metal.

1

caniborrow50cents t1_irsfivm wrote

A question to any of the experts out there: As suggested in this episode of King of the Hill, is there a correlation to children being visually stimulated by red, black, and white more than other colors as suggested by OP’s data points?

Before anyone says it, NO, I do not get my medical advise from a cartoon (or Reddit for that matter). I have seen this color combination in a small handful of shows in the past.

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mertiy t1_irsiojw wrote

It seems like the colors loosely match the order they appear in human language and perception in history. It is purely anecdotal of course

19

BizzyM t1_irslec1 wrote

Looks like they might have chosen pink, green, lime, and beige a little more if someone sharpened them up a bit.

2

Jlx_27 t1_irsn4is wrote

Kid sees things and wants them painted black.

2

ggndps t1_irsok0p wrote

Someone organize this from most used to least used, don’t get why you would put orange in the middle

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Killawife t1_irspca3 wrote

Black eh? WITCH! BURN HER/HIM!

2

punban t1_irspu1c wrote

Or pencil sharpening preference.

Or the ones used the least got lost more often exactly because they were a favourite.

1

bibslak_ t1_irst1br wrote

What does the sharpener look like?

What happens when the pencil get too dull does your kid find you and bring it to you to sharped or does he/she just move on to a different color lol

1

brainthebuilder t1_irsy2uq wrote

It's interesting to compare your picture to this video on the universality of color-naming progression in languages.

Some similarities in the ordering; black, red, blue...

2

Mattie725 t1_irt25y2 wrote

I love the detail! Not just 'green', no a full colour code and the exact product. An estimated volume etc...

4

trolsor t1_irt4d9n wrote

Black goes first. Because they draw with black most of the time first. For this age it is always red and blue .. this data might from one kid.. but what i saw over 20 years on child drawings and before their nature spoiled by general cliches like pink princess and green dinosaurs all human beings goes that way .. i have same set of pencils with my kids too .. 3 of them.. not different

2

iheartnickleback t1_irt5rsr wrote

how are two different-sized bars both labeled 41,1%?

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T-J_H t1_irt62ix wrote

Hands down the best post I’ve seen today. Thanks for this!

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TokoBlaster t1_irt6ykw wrote

Replying to slashjasper (#71,533)

From a data presentation standpoint: including this shows what he's using them for. The histogram is really good, showing the use of the pencils is amazing with the histogram above them, and then adding this picture shows what they're being used for. And it's easy to read and understand. This is textbook data presentation.

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SebN92 t1_irt75ie wrote

I think your toddler may be a sith lord

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ondono t1_irtiv4s wrote

The last one on the right is missing, check his nose, you don’t want the Homer Simpson syndrome!

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sir_peppiny t1_irtjwns wrote

How did none go missing? My children hide art supplies all over the house.

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UnderwaterDialect t1_irtq256 wrote

Best post I’ve seen on here in a while. Amazing stuff!

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DAZdaHOFF t1_irtu5yr wrote

Cool idea, but fuck the order of them gives me anxiety

1

valahara t1_irtujrx wrote

The black is delicious to be fair.

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BostonBopper t1_iru1cq0 wrote

Make sure you get a copy of the children's book, "The Day The Crayons Quit"... The perfect touchstone to your data.

2

ItsSzethe t1_iru2xzq wrote

Really neat, black would be my guess for most used and I’m curious about the white being so useful. I think it’s worth emphasizing, too, this is a case study and not a generalized study of all toddlers.

1

ITGenji t1_iru3zei wrote

Replying to MsMrSaturn (#70,348)

Probably easier for the to “understand” the shapes. I remember reading somewhere that newborns take greater interest in what is painted on the walls of their rooms if it is black and white images. Probably has to do with high constrast

12

HappiHappiHappi t1_iru7u3g wrote

Replying to slashjasper (#69,613)

Black seems to be a perennial favourite amongst young children in my experience. I assume because it makes the boldest mark with the easiest as many kids struggle with pressing hard enough to get bold colours.

6

ksperry t1_iruak24 wrote

My 4 year old is the same! I have to source black only markers/crayons/paint pens because we run out so quickly.

1

weakhamstrings t1_iruh1xb wrote

Replying to TokoBlaster (#73,050)

I'm guessing you are using the colloquial meaning of "textbook" here but I'm just going to say it - I'm not sure what textbooks you have had but as someone with a Math degree, the textbook stuff is..... really rudimentary.

OP on the other hand - I wish this was a good example of data presentation from textbooks.

If your textbooks looked like OP, more power to you!

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Klatula t1_iruijq9 wrote

do you not live where there is nature and green? or is that toddler was only provided with these colors?

1

arunphilip t1_irul0oe wrote

I'm just amazed you have this many pencils of a set still intact after 3 years, and not buried in the couch cushions, eaten by a dog, or broken to pieces at the bottom of a bag!

1

NeoSniper t1_irunark wrote

Most impressive thing here is you managed to keep them for 3 years.

1

cZero_11 t1_iruo2o1 wrote

It's a boy? LOL

Love the fact he/she uses white more than few others. Often kids deny the existence of it. It's a sign of a brilliant mind.

1

vARROWHEAD t1_iruoe43 wrote

I see your red pencil I want to make it black

2

arothmanmusic t1_iruqvia wrote

Survivorship bias! The most popular ones should be completely gone. :)

1

zexurge t1_irusir7 wrote

Feed into a generative AI to predict what crayon drawings would be drawn from this result

1

acre18 t1_iruuabv wrote

Perfect post for this sub

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Zambini t1_iruuhi8 wrote

This is absolutely the dictionary definition of this sub.

Beautiful representation, beautiful data collection.

Others are also good, but this.... this is perfect.

2

windowtothesoul t1_iruux5d wrote

Replying to slashjasper (#69,613)

Alright so please don't take this wrong but I'm curious. What's your skin color? Do you think that plays into how the colors were used? Or maybe not? I could see kids wanting to color people the same way they see themselves, or maybe something I don't see?

1

Prior_Crazy_4990 t1_iruw05f wrote

Replying to caniborrow50cents (#71,760)

Not an expert by any means but those 3 colors specifically are shown to be more stimulating and understood by babies at a very young age. My daughter’s pediatrician highly suggested black, white, and red flash cards when she was only a couple of months old because they would hold her attention more and she would process the information better

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tonybenwhite t1_iruxri6 wrote

It’d be neat to know the surface area he covered with each color

2

Themellowsaguaro t1_iruzy61 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#69,635)

I was also curious about this. And about if an adult ever used the crayons. Stabilo Woodys are the bomb. I’ve been drawing with my kid for years, and we both always grab the Stabilos. So, in this data set, how do you account for an adult’s use?

1

Snuffleton t1_irv05si wrote

I think somewhere in there, there's a point to be made regarding the frequency of colors used in national flags in this

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Captain_Moose t1_irv0xfa wrote

I'm guessing black is often used for drawing outlines and the others for shading? Otherwise, you might have a future goth on your hands.

1

LeaveMyRoom t1_irv15h9 wrote

I like how the 3 most used ones are the standard pen colours

1

thereaverofdarkness t1_irv1l3i wrote

These color sets should always have 2 blacks instead of just one.

1

Matzum0t0 t1_irv1th8 wrote

Replying to Spike-Tail-Turtle (#69,621)

My son uses the exact same ones shown here. He draws a bit almost every day and so far in half a year he defenitly used more than you can see here. But they are really good anyway and we greatly prefer them to crayons for all the reasons already mentioned. He is also almost done with his second red and darker blue while the first brown is maybe gone half way... police cars and fire trucks I guess

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mason3991 t1_irv292s wrote

Can you explain your numbering the 880/810 and other numbers is confusing. On white any yellow the same length was used but it says 880/100 and 880/205 where do these numbers come from?

1

slashjasper OP t1_irv2qhn wrote

Replying to mason3991 (#76,003)

I realized I should have clarified that. Those numbers correspond to the color codes, because the lighting on the photograph is not entirely accurate (some people commented on the dark blue, which is actually more purple in reality).

1

tonybenwhite t1_irv2wr8 wrote

Replying to slashjasper (#75,981)

Did some noodling:

Pencil graphite lays a 20micron thick layer. Colored pencil leaves a bit thicker, and since I couldn’t find any source that talks about how thick that is, I’ll approximate twice as thick as graphite.

At 40 microns, that creates 1,577.5 discs by evenly segmenting the 63.1mm height of the cylinder of the used core of the black pencil.

Finding the sum of the areas of 1,577.5 circles with a 10mm diameter should give us surface coverage with the formula:

π r² • 1,577.5 circles

= π 5mm² • 1,577.5 circles

= 123,896.6mm²

or 1,239.0cm² or 0.1m² or 1.3ft² for my Yankees out there

With an additional assumption the pencil stayed sharp without any loss to a sharpening process, for which I’m too lazy to calculate what a reasonable margin of error might be for loss in shavings.

Another assumption of consistent pressure. There’s certainly a coefficient of pressure that affects the pencil lead thickness, e.g. increasing the number of cylinder segments with lighter drawing

Tbh though this seems low to me. So maybe my noodling flopped

The rest would be as follows if my math didn’t completely suck:

  • Black: 0.1239m^2 or 1.3336ft^2
  • Red: 0.1005m^2 or 1.0821ft^2
  • Violet: 0.0719m^2 or 0.7735ft^2
  • Blue: 0.0785m^2 or 0.8454ft^2
  • White: 0.0827m^2 or 0.8898ft^2
  • Yellow: 0.0827m^2 or 0.8898ft^2
  • Orange: 0.0807m^2 or 0.8686ft^2
  • Green: 0.0685m^2 or 0.7376ft^2
  • Pink: 0.0685m^2 or 0.7376ft^2
  • Teal: 0.0620m^2 or 0.6679ft^2
  • Tan: 0.0511m^2 or 0.5495ft^2
3

slashjasper OP t1_irv3gke wrote

Replying to mason3991 (#76,038)

Me neither, which is another reason why it probably could have been clarified. I simply used the codes on the pencils, so I'm guessing they're a Stabilo scale/standard.

1

mason3991 t1_irv3m1m wrote

Replying to slashjasper (#76,045)

Gotcha yeah I’ve normally seen colors two ways he code or heat temperature. Basically every color that exists has a heat number and that’s what they use on film sets

1

_ZlaTanskY_ t1_irv4m8t wrote

It hurts me that the colours aren't sorted by usage amount. OCD kicking in

1

SC-Fulmer t1_irv53c3 wrote

Replying to slashjasper (#69,583)

So, children prefer to use colors… which they can most easily see the result of “their coloring” (aka: intensity or lightness)?

Go figure🍺🤷‍♂️

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akib35 t1_irvcft7 wrote

Businessmen will change his/her taste gradually

1

powerburek t1_irvcvyl wrote

This is beautiful, but sounds fake, as a toddler would eat half of them.

2