Creative Explorations: The Artist\ · 3rd Year · Lines, Marks, and Meanings · Autumn Term

Self-Portraiture and Identity

Using drawing techniques to create self-portraits that reflect personal identity and character, focusing on facial features and expressions.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Drawing
• NCCA: Primary - Visual Awareness

About This Topic

Portraiture and Identity allows students to explore the complex relationship between their physical appearance and their inner selves. In the 3rd Year NCCA framework, this topic bridges the gap between technical skill and personal expression. Students learn the basic proportions of the human face while also considering how symbols, colors, and backgrounds can tell a story about who they are. This is a sensitive area where students can reflect on their heritage, hobbies, and aspirations.

By looking at portraits from Irish history and contemporary artists, students see how identity has been portrayed over time. This topic encourages empathy and self-reflection, helping students to appreciate the diversity within their own classroom. The process of creating a self-portrait is deeply personal, but it benefits immensely from collaborative environments. This topic comes alive when students can physically model expressions for one another or engage in structured dialogue about the symbols that represent them.

Key Questions

1. Analyze how facial expressions can convey a specific emotion in a portrait.
2. Explain what the colors and symbols in a portrait communicate about the person.
3. Differentiate between a self-portrait and a photograph in terms of artistic intent.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how specific facial features and their arrangement contribute to the overall expression in a self-portrait.
• Compare and contrast the artistic intent behind a self-portrait versus a photographic portrait.
• Explain how the choice of colors and symbolic elements in a self-portrait communicates aspects of personal identity.
• Create a self-portrait that visually represents a chosen aspect of personal identity using learned drawing techniques.

Before You Start

Basic Drawing Techniques: Line and Shape

Why: Students need foundational skills in using lines to define forms and shapes before they can accurately represent facial features.

Observation Skills

Why: Accurate self-portraits require careful observation of one's own features, a skill developed in earlier observational drawing exercises.

Key Vocabulary

Proportion	The relative size of facial features to each other and to the overall head shape, crucial for realistic representation.
Expression	The way facial muscles are arranged to convey a particular emotion or mood, achieved through the depiction of eyes, mouth, and brows.
Symbolism	The use of objects, colors, or patterns within the artwork to represent abstract ideas or personal meanings related to identity.
Artistic Intent	The artist's purpose or message in creating the artwork, which in a self-portrait often goes beyond mere likeness to explore inner self.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The eyes are at the very top of the head.

What to Teach Instead

Students often forget about the forehead and hair. Using a hands-on measuring activity with their own faces helps them realize that eyes are actually located roughly in the middle of the head.

Common Misconception

A portrait must look exactly like a photograph to be good.

What to Teach Instead

Many students feel their work is a failure if it isn't hyper-realistic. Analyzing expressive portraits by artists like Louis le Brocquy helps them understand that capturing a 'feeling' is often more important than a literal likeness.

Active Learning Ideas

Role Play: The Artist and the Muse

Students work in pairs, taking turns to be the 'model' and the 'artist'. The model chooses an emotion to portray through facial expression and posture, while the artist tries to capture that specific mood in a quick sketch.

30 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Symbolic Self

Students list three objects or colors that represent their personality. They share these with a partner to explain the meaning behind them, then brainstorm how to incorporate these elements into a portrait background.

20 min·Pairs

Gallery Walk: Identity Uncovered

Students display their finished portraits without names. The class moves around the room, trying to match the portrait to the student based on the symbols and personality traits depicted in the artwork.

25 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• Forensic artists use their understanding of facial structure and proportion to create composite sketches or age progressions based on witness descriptions, aiding in identification.
• Actors and performers meticulously study facial expressions to convey a wide range of emotions convincingly to an audience, enhancing their character portrayals.
• Graphic designers and illustrators often incorporate symbolic imagery and color palettes to communicate brand identity or the personality of a character in their visual work.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Present students with three different self-portraits (e.g., Rembrandt, Frida Kahlo, a contemporary artist). Ask them to identify one specific element (feature, color, symbol) in each portrait and write one sentence explaining what it communicates about the artist's identity or emotion.

Peer Assessment

Students complete a preliminary sketch of their self-portrait focusing on facial proportions. They then exchange sketches with a partner. The partner uses a checklist to assess: Are the basic proportions accurate? Are the eyes, nose, and mouth placed correctly? They provide one specific suggestion for improvement.

Discussion Prompt

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'How does the way an artist draws their eyes or mouth change the emotion we feel when looking at their self-portrait? Give an example from your own work or from an artist we have studied.'

Frequently Asked Questions

How can active learning help students understand portraiture?

Active learning, such as role-playing different facial expressions or using mirrors for 'live' observation, makes the abstract rules of proportion tangible. When students act as models for each other, they gain a physical understanding of how the face moves and changes, which they can then translate onto paper more effectively than following a static diagram.

How do I handle sensitive topics like skin tone and heritage?

Provide a wide range of skin-tone pencils and paints. Use this as an opportunity for a collaborative investigation into color mixing, showing that every skin tone is a unique blend of many colors, fostering an inclusive classroom environment.

What is the best way to teach facial proportions to 3rd Year?

Use a 'follow-the-leader' drawing session where you model the steps on a large board, but encourage students to use their fingers to measure their own facial features (e.g., 'how many eyes wide is your head?') as they go.

How can I incorporate Irish culture into this topic?

Look at portraits of famous Irish figures or contemporary Irish artists. Discuss how their clothing, settings, or even the style of the painting reflects their Irish identity or the time period they lived in.