Level 5

Grade Prep

Level 5

This portrait exercise is an effective way to engage students in drawing, shading and blending colour. It begins with a Design Brief which challenges students to create an animal alter-ego for a human being, blending the two faces into a seamless transition.  It provides an excellent medium for explicit teaching of facial proportions, and detail, and for modelling dry pastel technique.

Students are provided with a design Brief and a set of A3 photocopied faces. They are invited to look at the faces, discuss them and brainstorm what possible animal alter-ego each person may have.

The Creative process is then discussed and a graphic organiser of this process is provided to each student to lead them through a series of sequential steps which may take up to 6 weeks to complete:

• Design Brief
• Discussion and Brainstorm
• Internet research to find an appropriate face for the animal of choice
• Design drawings in the Visual Art Diary with explicit teaching of facial proportions
• Modelling and Experimentation with dry pastel technique
• Inlarging face design onto white cardboard
• Colour and blend using dry pastel
• Mount and frame completed artwork
• Complete a self – evaluation sheet.

The Design Brief, Metacognition Sheet, Self Evaluation Sheet and Graphic Organiser of the Creative Process accompany this lesson plan.

Judi Robertson

Haileybury Castlefield

Design Brief

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