Self Portraits Made Easy

I love how children draw themselves. Each is as unique as they are. I like to have my students draw self portraits several times during the year. It is amazing to see their growth and development.

Recently, I shared my students' self portraits on Instagram. Several teachers wanted to know more about them.

A photo posted by Mrs.Parker (@learningwithmrsparker) on Apr 15, 2015 at 6:47pm PDT

I have a little secret that helps keep these self portraits large rather than small. I give them a starting point by drawing a u-like shape on their paper. This makes a huge different in getting a good sized portrait.

We complete all our drawings in pencil first; no erasing. Depending on the time of year, I may model and coach them on how to draw different features. For the one displayed above, I gave them the paper and they completed them independently.

Students trace with marker before coloring. I try to emphasize that they should press hard as they color to get a bold look.

Here is what our self portraits looked like at the beginning of the year.