Have you seen Tim Burton Self-portraits come across your news feed? If you teach upper elementary (or higher) this is a MUST-DO for the fall.
You do not need to be an art teacher to do this! They are easier than they may seem and the end result is an absolutely amazing seasonal bulletin board for the hallway.
I've had my eye on this particular bulletin board idea for a couple years. I would see it every October and kick myself "once again" because I forgot to do it. This past fall I was determined to remember.
PRO TIP: Put it in your plans when you start your back-to-school planning. I mean it - write it into your calendar for the last week of September or the first week of October because, otherwise, the days will start to fly by and you will forget!
MATERIALS:
- Grey Construction Paper (cut off 1 inch horizontally and vertically if you want to mat onto the black construction paper)
- #2 Pencils
- Black Colored Pencils
- White Colored Pencils
- Sharpie (optional)
- Black Construction Paper (optional; to mat the finished portraits)
TIME:
I make copies of possible face shapes, features, and hair for every student. (A quick Google search will give you plenty of choices.) These reference sheets come in handy during the beginning drafts. I hand these out first and ask students to think about which shapes and features make the best sense for their self-portrait. We also talk about how Tim Burton exaggerates features. So, maybe your eyes will be disproportionately large, but your ears and/or nose can be small.
It's important for students to know a few things:
1. They need to lightly sketch the shape of their face and the features. If they need to erase and/or adjust the lines, it will be much easier. This is especially true with construction paper. Too much erasing leads to "fuzzy" paper and tears.
2. There is no "wrong" way to draw these self-portraits. A wacky line, uneven ears, a crooked smile: these are the norm in Tim Burton's world.
TIME TO SKETCH!
Once we have had this discussion, I hand out the grey construction paper and #2 pencils. I set up my projector and lead the students through a directed drawing. I talk a lot about filling the majority of the page with the head. Some students will still draw a really small head shape. When they do, just have them erase (or turn the page over) and start again. For students who struggle with visualizing or planning space, this will be a frustrating step. But once the head shape is in place, it gets easier.
It's important to not move forward until every one has a really good head shape sketched.
As we move to facial features and hair, I try and give the students some pointers for spacing. For instance, draw a very light line down the center of the head shape to have a visual guide for symmetry, use your fingers to "measure" distances and keep eyes the same size, measure from the edge of the head shape toward either side of the mouth to keep lip lines equidistant. (Although, many students choose a crooked smile.)
It's also helpful to remind students to keep lines extra-light during this process because they may add an accessory that will be drawn over other parts (ex: glasses over eyebrows) and they may need to erase the original lines in favor of the newly added lines.
Through directed drawing I guide them in the following order:
- eyes first (they need to be big and will take up the most space)
- mouth
- nose
- eyebrows (just a single light line to begin)
- ears
- hair
- neck/shoulders
- accessories (glasses, earrings, stitches)
When students have finished their sketch, I collect them and store them until our next lesson.
TIME TO SHADE!
Once students have a solid self-portrait sketched out, it's time to shade! There is skill to shading. Some students will be very skilled with this task, others will need a fresh tutorial. I have them practice on scrap paper first. (I don't hand out their self-portraits until after we have practiced.)
We talk "all the art talk" so they have a grasp of how to shade the eyes, other features, and hair. We discuss the power of both the black and the white colored pencil. There is practice at shading with repeated strokes versus rubbing with a finger. We spend a bit of time shading. It's worth taking the time to discuss and practice because when students apply the skill to their self-portraits they are more confident, there are fewer mistakes, and the results are beautiful.
After practice, I hand out the self-portrait sketches and lead them through the start of shading. They are invited to watch and listen as I make my way around my own self-portrait.
This is the time in the process where there needs to be a discussion about how to "finish" the eyes. Specifically, where will they draw the irises and where do they want their self-portrait to be looking? Once we had this chat I noticed alot of students changing the location of their irises. Once the shading is applied, some stduents will prefer a different spot. Guide them to start shading the eyes lightly and deliberately. They should be able to get an idea of what their eyes will look like without shading (if case they want to move the irises around before settling on the final spot). Remind them to take their time.
The eyes are a bit of a focal point in a Tim Burton self-portrait, so it's important to get it right.
My students took a couple days to shade their self-portraits. Most were done in 2 days. A few others took a day or two more during free time to finish. The results were outstanding!
One of the stark differences in shading and finishing the portraits was "the Sharpie factor". If a student used a Sharpie to outline or shade, those portraits had a sharper contrast. The portraits that only used pencils displayed a little softer. We loved them all.
Time to Display!
To complete our self-portraits, I placed a black piece of construction paper behind the grey to give the illusion of a "mat". Then they were ready for the hallway!
I had some extra space on the board, so I decided to add a couple Tim Burton elements to accent the work and finish off the display.
If you are a visual learner and would like to see a video of this process, I thought the following two tutorials below were the most helpful.
I sent these two links to my team. We each checked them out (separately) and then proceeded to execute the lessons! Even though each teacher watched tutorials independently and delivered instruction differently, the end result was a perfectly themed hallway display for the fourth grade wing!
Other Blog Posts You May Be Interested in: