Drawing
Each lesson Plan focuses primarily on one of the 4 Cornerstones of Art:
Drawing | Painting | Color | Style
OVERVIEW
The mouth is looked at and then the basics of the face as well. A self portrait with a twist is fun for the young grades, while the older ones get ready for next week’s portrait.– – –
Grades 3 – 5
Week of Feb 24 – 28
1 Hour & 45 Minutes
Student Work
Lesson At A Glance
Here’s a brief overview of the complete lesson. It’s also on your prep page in the Ready, Set, Go! section (below the lesson).
Colored buttons jump to each section in the full lesson plan below.
10 Minutes – Draw a quick face diagram
10 Min – discuss mouth shapes and shadows.
5 Min – Bottle shows how a mouth is shaped
10 Min – Draw face using handout guide
17 Min – Mirror for self portrait as favorite hero
15 Min – Cool color shadows in oil pastel
15 Min – Lighter areas in warm colors
15 Min – Blend pastels with white
5 Min – Outline with a bold color
2 Min – Everyone helps
Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.
SCROLL & TEACH
LESSONPLAN
Each section is a different color. Read over once and then you can SCROLL & TEACH using any device you like. It’s designed to work well with your phone.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to warm up with a sketch
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- 2B Pencil
- White Eraser
All materials are suggestions and may be modified as you see fit. We have tried many items, and these seem to allow the most versatility for the cost.
1.1 Sketch
Everyone creates a simple sketch in pencil.
Draw a quick face with no shading, keeping the features simple. Don’t make it look cartoonish, just simplified.
Then have everyone write the word “MOUTH” in all caps on their paper somewhere. Ask, “which letter represents the shape of the teeth?” Then emphasize how rounded the letter U is, and point out that the teeth are just as rounded. If you have a skull model you can show them the teeth.
TIP
You can have students imagine the bite taken out of a sandwich, and the shape a bite makes to help them think about the curved shape of the teeth.
Advanced Student Lesson
CREATIONS - tap here to open
Our Creations lessons are for students who have completed the two years of Foundations and are ready to begin using all that they have learned to create new work. These more challenging versions of the same concepts and techniques are easily taught along-side students in the Foundations course. This allows for excellent review, and is encouraging for students to see progress from each viewpoint.
Use the Student Instructions printout below to distribute to your Creations students. Tap the image to open the PDF in a new window.
Portrait Painting or Artists’ Choice
Continued from last week.
Overview: Students choose their own reference and create an artwork based on their own planning and vision.
Step 1. Choose reference options and create some warmup sketches.
Step 2. Create several ideas for composition with thumbnail sketches. Plan paintings or drawings.
Step 3. Guide lines on chosen surface(s).
Step 4. Create artwork.
Tap image to open Creations Student Reference Materials in new windows. 7 Page PDF.
Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know the structure of the mouth and surrounding muscle anatomy
M A T E R I A L S
- 11″ x 17″ copy paper for placemat
- Clay mouth (premade)
2.1 Prep
Make your clay mouth ahead of time.
Follow the video below to help you sculpt and know some of the features and muscles.
2.2 Demo
Point out features and shadows of the mouth.
Use your pre-made clay mouth sculpture to discuss mouth shapes and shadows shown in the graphic. You can display the graphic to help make your points.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how curved the mouth is
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- Clear Plastic Bottle
- Sharpie
3.1 DEMO
Use a plastic bottle for an object lesson.
Continue with mouth viewpoint demo using plastic water bottle. Draw a life-sized mouth on a 16 oz. water bottle. When it is turned to the side, the corners are lined up one behind the other. People know this. But when it is in the 3/4 view, (mid-way between the front and the side views), it is surprising how the farthest corner of the mouth is BEHIND the bottle. You can see it through the bottle, but if you draw this viewpoint, you cannot draw the far corner of the mouth because it’s not visible. The curve of the mouth is important to understand as you draw it in any angle.Students set up their work area. Ask several people to go get water tubs filled, and others to find smocks. That way you have two or three groups in different areas so you don’t get backed up with lines.
Try wrapping your hand over your mouth. Freeze your hand in position and pull it away. The bottle will actually fit neatly into the curve your hand made, demonstrating how much more curvy the mouth is than WE THINK IT IS. Pass the bottle around the room and let students try this, as well turning the view slightly to see how rapidly the far corner disappears.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to draw a human face
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- 2B Pencil
- White Eraser
4.1 print
Reference
Face Facts
A diagram with some simple but important measurements and information about the human face.
Hand out prints. Make sure each student gets one to view or keep.
1 Page – Opens in new window
4.2 Sketch
Students create a learning sketch.
Draw the face using a handout guide. Emphasis is on proportion, not details. Have students erase and redraw features in more accurate places as you point them out.
“You are only learning about the face, but you’re doing so with your pencil. That may make it seem like you’re also creating artwork but you are not. If you use your pencil to write a rough idea down, that doesn’t mean you’ll have a book made of your note. This sketch is only about learning the accurate proportions of the face. Then you’ll be better at drawing artwork of the face in a few minutes.”
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to draw a self portrait
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- White Eraser
- Kneaded Eraser
- Mirror
- Directional lighting if possible
- 2B Pencil
5.1 print
Reference
Portrait Examples
Make sure every student has one or two students to share between them.
1 Page – Opens in new window
5.2 set up
Students help set up their work area.
Mirrors should be set up on stands and raised onto a stack of books if needed. A mirror that is too low will make a portrait that is viewed from below, looking up the nose, which is unflattering. Looking straight and level is best.
5.3 explain
Talk to students about how to create this unusual and expressive self-portrait.
Students use their mirror to draw self portrait of the head, neck, and shoulders only – not full body.
IDEA
If you want to add another fun element to this project, have students turn themselves into a super hero. Add a hat, helmet, or small mask, and a cape and bit of costume around the shoulders. They can make up a new super hero and decide what powers they’ll have.
“For this portrait, you’ll use only lines right now. Draw some super-light big shapes to get the proportions accurate like you did a minute ago for the learning sketch. Erase and adjust as you need to.
Then draw regular lines for your main features. Afterwards you’ll draw extra lines as shown in the example.
Draw outlines around shadows and any area that has different lightness or color. It looks good to break up really large areas into smaller ones, and it doesn’t matter much how you do that. You can just draw a line across a large area and then fill each area in with different colors. Try to make all your lines at least somewhat curved, not straight.
In the next step we’ll add all the bright colors!”
5.4 Draw
Students draw their portraits.
Move around the room and help students with proportions, adjustments, and confidence.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to work with oil pastels
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- Oil Pastels
- Paper towels
6.1 Layer
Find all of the cool color oil pastels to work with.
Students should layer at least 2 colors in each area to create lots of variations. Going over the area lightly at first and then layering in more of either the same or slightly different colors will work much better than pressing hard right at first. We’ll be blending these later when we’re finishing up.
TIP
Use a paper towel to wipe off dirty pastel tips to clean them and keep the colors pure.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to use oil pastels
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- Oil pastels
- Paper towels
7.1 Layer
Fill in the lighter areas using light warm colors. They can be bright and/or light.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to blend oil pastels
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- Oil pastels
- Blending sticks (stumps)
- Paper towels
- Sandpaper board
8.1 Blend
Blend each area using two techniques.
1. Use your white pastel to blend all the colors together in some areas. It won’t lighten the colors too much, but will make them less bright.
2. Use blending sticks to blend other areas. This will keep bright areas bright.
Be careful to keep cool colors away from the warm if you want them to remain bright!
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to add final details to artwork
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- Oil pastels
9.1 Draw
Everyone can add bold lines using black or color.
This is optional.
Outline with a bold color such as bright red, electric blue, or black. some further blending around the outlines can be done. Do not outline all of the color areas, just the main features. Even the eyes and the mouth can be left alone.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know the importance of cleaning up.
M A T E R I A L S
- Paper Towels
- Cleaning wipes
- Sink
- Waste baskets
- Well-lit spot for photos
- Camera or phone-camera
10.1 CLEAN
Students set up their work area.
- Wash hands
- Put art supplies away
- Wipe tables & toss trash
- Remove any smocks (last)
- Check for loose pastels and personal items on floors and tables
10.2 PHOTO
Try to get photos of your student’s artwork. Find a good spot for quick lighting without highlights or shadows from your hands and device. Ideally in-between two strong lights on each side.
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OBJECTIVES
- Practice and improvement drawing a human mouth
- Understanding how shadows are formed and used in artwork
- Accomplishment in drawing a face with shading
- Fulfillment by accurately drawing a face
TROUBLESPOTS
ART WORDS
CLASSROOM
PREP
Create a clay model of the mouth using the video instructions in STEP 2.
Find a 16 ounce water bottle and draw a life sized mouth on it.
Print all of your PDFs from the lesson plan and cut any references apart as needed.
What your room needs
Here are your printable lists and room prep instructions.
Opens in new window
CLASSROOM
MATERIALS
- Clay Mouth (premade)
- Clay
- Clear plastic bottle
- Sharpie
- Mirror
STUDENT’S
MATERIALS
- 14 “ x 17” Sketch Paper
- 2B Pencil
- White Eraser
- Kneaded eraser
- Oil pastels
- Sandpaper board
- Blending sticks (stumps)
PREVIEW
Week 28: Face Sculpture
Artists get to create a face sculpture out of air-dry clay or salt dough that will be painted next week. They’re free to have fun with ideas to make the face anything, even an animal face. Before they work on the sculptures, young artist create a fun face warmup and then make practice faces in modeling clay. Older students finish their watercolor portrait and then move to the sculpture.
Week 29: Painting Sculptures
Last week’s face sculptures have been drying all week. The first half of the lesson this week, is painting the sculptures with acrylic paints. The second half is artists’ choice with dreams: using the acrylics in an expressive painting of a happy dream.
