Contour and Pattern Self-Portraits

Students in middle school began the semester with a review of some drawing activities. One of my favorite lessons is blind contour drawing. It teaches the artist to become more observant and focused while quickly improving their drawing skills. We spent a day doing blind contour drawings of hands before using mirrors and drawing our faces. Once these were finished, students traced them onto another paper with sharpie. Students then needed to add a minimum of five patterns. I encouraged students to choose patterns that would enhance the self-portrait, like if you love to swim then do a pattern that looks like waves or water drops. The final step was to choose a color scheme and fill in parts of the portrait with colored pencils. These turned out great and the artist's personality definitely shines through in each one!