Self Portraits : Part One

As advanced as this may seem for first and third graders, the kids had a blast and it was challenging.

Materials:
Sketch books
pencils
erasers
mirrors

Intro: Self Portrait
What is a portrait/self portrait?
We looked at self portraits in an art history book. (A slide show with larger images would be better). Portraits are people; a self portrait is of the artist.

The vertical position of the paper is also called portrait.

Step One: Following Instructions
With limited instructions, students were asked to draw a self portrait: a picture of their face, with the paper positioned vertically(portrait), and that they draw a very large face that takes up the entire page. No erasing. Students will ask how to do things, like draw a nose?, but insist they do what they think is best, no helping. Again, no erasing.

Sign and date.

Once the artwork is signed it is finished and students are not allowed to erase, draw, or make any changes to it.

Review drawings and using the mirror starting from the top of the head with their head, proceed down listing their features and asking students if they remembered to draw each feature.

Step Two: Proportions
Talk about proportions: that there is a set of measurements that can be used to accurately depict how big to draw a nose and where on your head to draw eyes. Using the dry erase board begin with drawing the head or face shape. (Refer to: A Lifetime of Color).

Head:
The head shape will be an oval or an upside down egg shape. Boiled eggs were used as a visual guide for this. An oval is a long stretched out circle, but the face shape is wider at the top and smaller at the bottom. Students can look in to their mirrors and using a ruler take measurements of the length of the face (past the hair line to the top of the head), width of the forehead, and the width of the chin. The actual number of the measurement(it should be 4/3 length to width) is not necessary but starting with the length of the face compare that number to the width of the forehead-- it will be smaller, compared to the chin-- which will be smaller still.

Have students practice drawing this shape-- filling an entire page with practice face shapes. Look at each student's page and have them pick out which shape they think best fits the face proportions, an oval wider at the top than the bottom. On a new sheet of paper have them to draw that shape large enough to fill the page. Students can place their non-drawing hand on the page, palm down and fingers widely splayed (except the thumb) to approximate where and how big to draw the face shape. This hand position will be an oval, wider on the top than the bottom.

Eyes:
Eyes will be shaped like almonds or footballs, practice this shape if necessary.
With the new correctly drawn face shape, have the students LIGHTLY draw a horizontal line through the middle of the face. Divide that line LIGHTLY into 5 parts. Use two fingers as an estimate for the width of each part. Then LIGHTLY draw an eye shape in each section for a total of 5 eyes. Giggle over the aliens, then ask students which eyes they think should be erased.
Erase middle and outside eyes.

Have students look into the mirrors, have them describe what they think the are the three main parts of an eye. Define what a pupil (black inner dot), iris (colored part), and eyelid (fold of skin that covers the eye). Describe how the pupil and iris fill most of the eye, but you can't see it because your eyelid overlaps the iris. Have students lightly draw iris and pupil, then the eyelid on each eye.

Ears:
Ears will resemble a C-shape. Using the line drawn for the eyes have the students follow in the mirror a line from their eyes to the ears. Ears should begin just above eye level. Draw C-shape compare to ears, redraw shape so that it is larger at the top than the bottom and taper to either a detached or attached earlobe. Look in mirror at earlobes and ear shape. Try to balance ear and eye size by comparing their ear and eye size in the mirror to their drawing. Then do the comparison between the eyes and ears to their face/head size.


Vocabulary:
Portrait
Self Portrait
Oval
Face Shape
Almond
Iris
Pupil
Eyelid

Review:
Head: should be longer than width a 3width to 4 length. Wider at top of head than bottom of chin, as in an upside down egg shape.
Eyes: should be placed just above the middle of the face, spaced and sized that 5 eyes shapes could be equally drawn horizontally across the face. Leaving space enough between the eyes for a third eye, and space enough beside each eye and edge of the head for a fourth and fifth eye. Each eye should have an upper and lower lid (forming an almond or football shape), a white, iris, and pupil. Eyelids must intersect the iris, so the iris will not be seen as a whole circle, but rather be drawn as 2 parenthesis. Also include an eye lid and eyebrow.
Ears:should begin just above eye level and resemble a C-shape. Ears should be larger at the top than the bottom and taper to either a detached or attached earlobe.

Homework:
Draw one self-portrait using newly learned proportion techniques.
Use this website to practice correctly placing facial features.

Teaching Art

So I have been teaching art classes to a group of homeschooled 1st and third graders. It has been fun and I am going to keep track of the lesson plans and post some of the work that is being done here.

Sarah