How to Teach Children About Portraits

Children can benefit from learning the basics of portrait drawing.

Portraiture is a challenging art method that involves capturing a person's face on a piece of paper or on canvas. If you are teaching children about portraits, you can show them a few techniques that they can use to make their portraits more realistic and balanced. When students learn these techniques, they can use them in other areas of drawing, such as drawing the human form or in drawing animals' shapes. Once finished, the children can color in their portraits with colored pencils to make the portrait colorful and vibrant.

Things You'll Need

• Drawing paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Colored pencils

Instructions

1. Place a sheet of drawing paper and a pencil in front of each child.

2. Instruct each child to draw an oval or rounded shape in the center of her paper. This will be the head shape.

3. Instruct each child to draw a vertical line down the center of the head shape to divide it into two. Use a light pressure with the pencil.

4. Instruct each child to draw three horizontal lines across the head shape to divide it into fourths.

5. Instruct each child to draw another horizontal line across the bottom quarter section.

6. Instruct each child to draw two eyes along the second line down from the top.

7. Instruct each child to draw an ear on either side of the head next to the second line down from the top. The ears should line up with the eyes.

8. Instruct each child to draw a mouth in the center of the top portion of the bottom quarter section.

9. Instruct each child to draw a nose along the vertical line in the section below the eyes.

10. Instruct each child to draw hair in the top quarter section.

11. Instruct each child to erase the guidelines and color in the portrait with colored pencils.

References

• Art Factory: Proportions of a Head