This test is built on the real method of John N. Buck, the House-Tree-Person (H-T-P) test, published in 1948. His idea: three separate drawings, because each object would act as a different projection screen.
- House: would evoke domestic life and family relationships.
- Tree: a deeper, more unconscious self-portrait.
- Person: a conscious self-portrait, closer to how you see yourself.
The original protocol includes, after each drawing, a structured questionnaire that in clinical practice carries as much information as the drawing itself. Our test keeps the graphic part, directly measurable or observable, plus the questions most closely tied to what you drew.
How the report works
It uses 13 real indicators: 5 are measured directly on your three canvases (house size, person size and placement, line thickness, shading) and 8 depend on you telling us what you drew (door, chimney, windows, roots, fruit, facial features, arms, clothing), since they require recognizing content. Most of these symbolic readings come from Isaac Jolles (1964), who published a detailed catalog building on Buck's system.
A canvas drawn with a mouse will never capture the nuance of a real pencil stroke, but it does capture magnitudes (size, position, thickness), which is exactly what we measure. We're not claiming diagnostic precision, and neither does the original test.
Sources
- Buck, J. N. (1948). The H-T-P technique, a qualitative and quantitative scoring manual. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 4, 317-396.
- Jolles, I. (1964). A Catalogue for the Qualitative Interpretation of the House-Tree-Person (H-T-P). Western Psychological Services.
- Lin, Y., Zhang, N., Qu, Y., Li, T., Liu, J., & Song, Y. (2022). The House-Tree-Person test is not valid for the prediction of mental health: An empirical study using deep neural networks. Acta Psychologica, 230, 103734.
- Motta, R. W., Little, S. G., & Tobin, M. I. (1993). The use and abuse of human figure drawings. School Psychology Quarterly, 8(3), 162-169.
- Kahill, S. (1984). Human figure drawing in adults: An update of the empirical evidence, 1967-1982. Canadian Psychology, 25, 269-292.
All possible results
Your House-Tree-Person Report
Thirteen real indicators from Buck's H-T-P method, each one connected to what you drew: what he and later researchers claimed about that specific value, and what the scientific evidence says today.
See the detail
John Buck published the H-T-P test in 1948; Isaac Jolles expanded its symbolic catalog in 1964. A 2022 study of 4,196 Chinese children and adolescents reviewed the H-T-P indicators proposed in earlier work without finding a reliable link to mental health, and found that neural networks trained on the complete drawings could not tell apart those who scored high on depression (Lin et al., 2022). This report exists to show the real method, with the same rigor used to study it today, not to diagnose anything about you.
Indicative result, not a diagnosis. Drawing tests have no recognised diagnostic validity: research does not support most of their interpretations. This describes what you drew today, not your personality or your psychological state.
How this test was built
A report with 13 indicators : 5 are measured directly on your three drawings (size of the house, size and placement of the person, line thickness, shading) and 8 depend on your answer about what you drew (door, chimney, windows, roots, fru…
This is not a psychological diagnosis or a validated personality test, and it does not replace a professional's evaluation.
None of this report's 13 indicators has confirmed empirical support: most aren't backed by data, and several (placement, windows, roots, fruit, clothing) lack controlled studies testing them in isolation.
See the full methodology
What it measures
A report with 13 indicators: 5 are measured directly on your three drawings (size of the house, size and placement of the person, line thickness, shading) and 8 depend on your answer about what you drew (door, chimney, windows, roots, fruit, facial features, arms, clothing).
What model it uses
Buck built the test around three drawings, each one a different projection screen:
- House: domestic life and family relationships.
- Tree: a deeper, unconscious self-portrait.
- Person: a conscious self-portrait, closer to how you see yourself.
Where that model comes from
John N. Buck published the House-Tree-Person (H-T-P) test in 1948; much of the symbolic catalog of specific details comes from Isaac Jolles's later expansion (1964).
How the result is calculated
You draw a house, a tree, and a full person. The size of the house, the size and placement of the person, the line thickness, and the shading are measured directly on the drawings; the other 8 indicators depend on 8 short questions about what you drew, because they require recognizing content (door, chimney, windows...).
What your result means
Each indicator connects your specific value to the reading Buck or Jolles gave that exact value, and to what the evidence says today about that claim.
What it does NOT mean
This is not a psychological diagnosis or a validated personality test, and it does not replace a professional's evaluation. It's a symbolic reading from clinical tradition, meant for curiosity and reflection, not a tool that reliably reveals your traits.
Limitations
None of this report's 13 indicators has confirmed empirical support: most aren't backed by data, and several (placement, windows, roots, fruit, clothing) lack controlled studies testing them in isolation. A 2022 study of 4,196 Chinese children and adolescents reviewed the H-T-P indicators proposed in earlier work without finding a reliable link to mental health, and found that neural networks trained on the complete drawings could not tell apart those who scored high on depression (Lin et al., 2022). The study focuses on depression in children and adolescents. In the broadest review of human figure drawings, Motta, Little, and Tobin (1993) reach the same conclusion: they don't reliably assess personality, behavior, or emotional state.
Academic references
- Buck, J. N. (1948). The H-T-P technique: A qualitative and quantitative scoring manual. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 4, 317-396.
- Motta, R. W., Little, S. G., y Tobin, M. I. (1993). The use and abuse of human figure drawings. School Psychology Quarterly, 8(3), 162-169.
Frequently asked questions
Is this test a psychological diagnosis?
No, not under any circumstances. Even the original H-T-P test, applied by a trained clinician, isn't considered a reliable standalone diagnostic tool today. This report is informational: it shows the real method alongside the real scientific evidence about its validity.
Why does it ask for three drawings instead of just one?
Buck believed each object (house, tree, person) would act as a different, complementary projection screen: the house would evoke domestic life, the tree a deeper self-portrait, and the person a more conscious, direct self-portrait.
How reliable is this test, according to the most recent evidence?
A 2022 study of 4,196 Chinese children and adolescents reviewed the H-T-P indicators proposed in earlier work without finding a reliable link to mental health, and found that neural networks trained on the complete drawings could not tell apart those who scored high on depression (Lin et al., 2022). The study focuses on depression in children and adolescents.
Can I retake the test?
Yes, as many times as you want. We don't save your drawings or your previous answers.
Is it free?
Yes, it's completely free: no sign-up or payment needed to take the test and see your result.
See all 6 questions
How long does the test take? How many questions does it have?
You draw a house, a tree and a person, then answer 8 short questions about your drawing. About 5-6 minutes in total.
