Project – Single Line Contour Drawing Self-Portraits
What you need:
- White construction paper cut into half sheets
- Pieces of white watercolor paper
- Mirrors
- Pencils
- Black markers or Sharpies
- Black construction paper for mounting
- Glue sticks
- Oil pastels
- Masking tape
Set up:
- Each student will receive a piece of white construction paper (to be used for drawing practice), a mirror, a pencil, and a black marker for the project.
- Tape down the practice paper on the tables.
- Students can share oil pastels placed in small bowls set at the tables.
- Save the watercolor paper and mirrors give the students for the final project .
Discussion: Ask students examples of Line in art they know: prompt cartoons, stick drawings, etc. Go over the Line Discussion Notes
Today we’ll discuss Contour Lines and how they can make art work look more interesting and realistic. (Follow slides below)
Contour Lines can make an object look 3-D as on the following slide of the Contour Map. Show how straight lines look flat but curved lines give more dimension.
Introduce Blind Contour Line Drawing. Emphasize that many blind contour drawings are created with one line; never picking the pen up off the page. Blind Contour Line Drawing Blind contour drawings are those created by looking only at the subject and not the paper while drawing.
Guided Practice: Have the students hold up their hand, take their pencil in the other and have them look only at their hand while they draw what it looks like, without looking at the paper or lifting their pencil off the page. Remind them to draw in their knuckles, rings, etc. When the students are finished, they can take a piece of watercolor paper, two pieces of masking tape, and a mirror from the front table.
Independent Practice (project): The artist, Alexander Calder, created Contour Line drawings of faces and circus animals using pen and paper and also wire. Notice how the wire starts at the chin and continuously winds around the shape of the face including the ears to the bottom of the chin. Contour Lines – A single line contour drawing is made by drawing an object and NEVER lifting the pen off the paper.
- Students should hold their mirrors or set them flat on the table and look only at their image while they draw their face without lifting the pencil off the paper.
- Suggest that they start from one side of the face, or the top or bottom, and continue around the entire face including the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Remember to add glasses, earrings, and anything else unique to their own face.
- Retrace the pencil line with a black Sharpie.
- After creating the line drawing, use the oil pastels to color in the face in an unusual way.
- Suggest bright colors to create a cartoon or Andy Warhol-like effect. Finished pieces can be mounted on a piece of black construction paper with glue sticks, or staples.
