#Selfie

In this project, students used the "grid method" on a photograph in order to correctly draw their facial features and head/hair shapes. Then they erased the grid lines and shaded their drawings using a variety of drawing pencils. By employing a wide range of values, students were able to achieve the look of three dimensions on a 2D surface.

I have been teaching 7th graders how to create fully rendered self-portraits from a photograph for the past eight years (some examples include split portraits for which students drew half the face and the other half was a photo, these portraits with backgrounds inspired by Kehinde Wiley, and these "Shades of Summer" portraits which included a reflection in sunglasses). In the past, I have taken their pictures myself, but this year, I thought it would be fun to have the students take their own photos ("selfies") and I am so excited with the results! Equipped with an ipad, each student chose their pose, the crop of their photo and the amount of light/dark present on their face (there was a spotlight in the room where they took their photo). The completed portraits were mounted to an iPhone screen template, to make them appear even more like a real selfie!