DISTORTED PORTRAIT – Value, Shape, Space

Students will be able to:

• create a distorted self-portrait using coloured pencil techniques;
• use an altered grid to enlarge and change the proportions of an image of their face;
• use 3 different values of colours to show shadows and highlights;
• demonstrate technical accomplishment and creativity;
• support their ideas with evidence found in the artworks.

Have students:

• use the Inspired by Chuck Close lesson plan available on this website to explore the way he used grids;
• present their work to the class explaining what they learned from the process.

1. ​Prior to this lesson you may want to have students practice/learn the grid system using the Picture This lesson available on this website.
2. Download and display the Shape, Value, and Space posters available on this website.
   - review or teach the elements of shape and value – positive and negative shapes, the ligtness or darkness of a colour
   - review or teach the principle of contrast – extreme differences
3. Review and have students practice scanning or downloading a photo, and then resizing it. 
4. Review or teach the proportions of the face. (Downloads - Proportions_Face.pdf)
5. Download the face transformations images by Albrecht Dürer from the Internet.
   Dürer

1. Ask students to share what they know about transforming and morphing images on their devices and how they feel about the images they can create.
2. View and discuss the Dürer transformation images.
   - Albrecht Dürer was a German artist during the Renaissance
   - he invented the transformation grid or morphing grid in the early 1500s
   - this is the same process that we use today with the transformation and morphing tools in image processing programs such as Corel Photo-Paint and Photoshop
   - sometimes artists change the proportions of a subject to create a special effect or just for fun
   - changing the proportions using a grid means that the distorted elements will still have the correct relationships so the drawing is more effective
3. Introduce the challenge.

1. Display the self-portraits as a ‘body of work’.
2. Ask students to gather in front of the display and look at the works thoughtfully.
3. Ask them to find 3 things they find interesting about one of them.
4. During the discussion include references to:
   - distortion - how it affects the overall impact of the work
   - contrast - how contrast is used in the face and the drawing as a whole
   - feelings the work evokes
   ​- communication - how the title connects with the image
5. Display the images in and around the classroom so students can view them as a body of work throughout the next few weeks.

1. Observe students as they work – thoughtful focus, discriminating, seeking more information, elaborating, experimenting.
2. Observe students as they discuss their self-portraits – speaks with a clear voice, looks at audience while speaking, points to areas in the self-portrait, provides accurate information, answers questions from the audience effectively.
3. Observe students as they listen – looks at presenter, asks effective questions, supports ideas with evidence found in the artwork.
4. Use a checklist to track progress. (Downloads – DistortedPortrait_tracking.pdf)
5. Have students use the self-assessment form to evaluate their work. (Downloads – DistortedPortrait_self-assessment.pdf)