Tag Archives: portraiture

Facing Forward

We finished our self-portraits!

We are a pretty fine looking crew, don’t you think? Not every student portrait is represented in this mosaic, but I will up-date this image as the last few are handed in.

These were our first self-portraits, and it’s an exercise we will repeat. Many artists, from Rembrandt to van Gogh painted their portraits again and again throughout their lives. They were able to capture the physical changes in their faces and some subtle qualities of their personalities, too.

Congratulations, Division 16 artists! You did a terrific job. Looking at your portrait, do you feel it is a good representation of you? As you think ahead to doing another portrait in a few months, what will you do differently? What will you do the same?

Facing Yourself: Drawing a Self-Portrait

The Challenge:

Draw a self-portrait. It’s tougher than it sounds!

The Tools:

A hand mirror, pencil, paper, and ruler (to prove to ourselves that our eyes are only half-way up our heads–not closer to the top!)

The Learning:

First, we looked at this video of portraits of women in the last 500 years: do you recognize any faces or artists? Notice that although the styles of portraiture (and what is considered beautiful) change over time, the proportions of the face stay the same.

Then we checked out the lessons on face shapes and facial proportions. THIS IS WORTH REFERRING BACK TO! This little test answers the question What’s Wrong With This Portrait? You can practice portraits–even silly ones–in this drag and drop activity.

The Results?

Wait and see!

The Process:

Division 16, what is it like to draw yourself while looking in the mirror? How did going through the lessons help you? Which facial feature is the most difficult to draw, and why?