January Portrait Drawing

After completing the exercise below, ask students to look at the pictures of Martin Luther King Jr. at the About African American Gallery and try to draw a portrait of the American leader using the skills they have acquired.

Ask students to draw the person seated next to them.   Assure the students that it doesn't matter what their drawing abilities are, the object of the exercise is to have fun, learn to observe, and improve drawing skills.  After they have completed the exercise, ask them to include the name of the model, their name, and the date of the exercise. Lay the drawings aside-these are the "Before" drawings.

Students should not spend too much time on this initial drawing nor use overuse the eraser.  Assure them they will have the opportunity to improve their drawing.
Next ask the students to observe their model once again.  Ask them to fold their paper in half and draw an oval, next draw a vertical line through the center of the oval. Instruct them to observe their model.  Notice that there is equal weight distribution on both sides of the face.  When they draw the features of the model, they will want to be sure that the drawing is balanced.  Next, ask them to notice the eye level of their model.  Draw a line on their drawing that corresponds to the placement of the eye level in their model.  Ask the students where the eye level is located.  Ask them to really observe their model and they will see that the placement is not quite l/2.  Draw accordingly.  Now ask them to observe their model again, and to indicate on their drawing where the nose of the model would be placed, and draw a line to indicate it.    Betty Edwards of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," suggests Indicating the eye level line into 5 equal parts.  Tell your students that you can place 1 eye in-between the two and l on each side (spatially that is).  Next draw the pupils of the eyes, and the lines to form the eye sockets, and lids.  Ask your students to observe their modeled at the pupil.  If they made an imaginary line going from the pupil down the face, where would the line "line-up" or end?  At the corners of the mouth.  Yes.  Now measure the line from the inside corner of the eye.  Where does it end?  At the edge of the nose-Yes!  Ask students to practice drawing the eyes, ears, and mouths on the hand-outs.  Then ask them to make a new drawing using the new information.  Use Q-tips or paper stumps to blend and tone drawings.  Encourage students to use short brisk lines for the facial hairs such as the eyebrows and lashes.  One of the common mistakes of beginning portrait artists is that they make too many eyelashes.  If your model's eyes look more like spiders than human eyes it is a good indication that you are overdoing the eyelashes.

Compare the Before drawings to the After.  Glue the After drawing to a black piece of construction paper, or mat and hang in the classroom or school library.
 
  References: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Betty Edwards
 

Cross Curriculum: Students will learn biology, science, and mathematics.  Remind them that Renaissance artists such as Leonardo di Vinci was a scientist and artist who maintained a journal of his drawings, keeping intricate notes on the human body and plant life.

Experiment with different medias,technologies and expressions