Who's Behind That Mask?

Materials:
- White Drawing Paper
- Practice Paper
- Oval Tracer
- Pencils
- Black Marker
- Markers/ Colored Pencils
- Brads
- Scissors
- Mirrors (optional)

I began by making a "practice portrait" with the students. We reviewed correct proportions and how to draw facial features.

1. Trace and oval tracer for your head.
2. Add neck, shoulders and a neck line so it doesn't look like you're nakie!

                    

3. Divide your face in half vertically. This is our symmetry line.
4. Divide your face in half horizontally. This is where our eyes generally are. (The kids always are amazed by this until you explain to them that your hair line is much lower and is not at the very tippy top of your head.)

                     

5. Draw a line half way between the eye-line and the chin. This is how long our noses are.
6. Draw a line half way between the nose-line and the chin, or a shmidge above half. This is where our mouth is.

                     

7. Discuss how the width of a head is around five eyes wide. Make marks for 5 even spaces on the eye line. Space 2 and 4 is where your eyes go.
8. Discuss how your nose is generally as wide as the width between your tear ducts. Make guidelines to show how wide your nose will be.

                      

9. Discuss that your mouth is generally as wide as as the width between your pupils.

10. Fill in the guidelines with eyes, nose and mouth. Don't forget the eyebrows! Finish with hair (which generally starts halfway between the top of your head and eyes). 

                    

11. Using mirrors and the practice as a reference, each student will draw a self-portrait and then outline with a black marker.

12. Using the same oval tracer as a guideline, design a mask. Explain that the mask doesn't have to be an oval, but can be larger, have added horns, a half-mask, etc.

13. Attach with brad at the top of portrait.