The current human figure drawings of 40 5‐year‐olds and 40 7‐year‐olds were compared with their figures drawn as if they were 3 and 9 years old. The figures were examined for changes in height, detail and schema complexity. When projecting backwards in time, 5‐year‐olds made quantitative and some made qualitative changes. When projecting forwards in time, however, they made only quantitative changes and it is only at age 7 that children begin to make qualitative changes. In a second task, the children were asked to allocate drawings of varying complexity to artists of different ages. Whereas most 5‐year‐olds allocated a ready‐drawn tadpole figure to an appropriately aged drawer, they were not able to allocate more complex figures appropriately. In contrast, 7‐year‐olds were quite adept at this task.