Monochromatic Self-Portraits

My 10th grade students began this unit by studying the art of Andy Warhol.  We looked at the multiple images that he created and how he manipulated colors within his prints. 

Students photos were taken with digital cameras and the images were gamatized on the computer with a photo editing program,.  We did this in order to isolate black, white and three to four areas of gray.  Once complete, the images were printed in black and white and then they outlined the black areas as well as the grays.  Lastly, a graph was drawn creating one inch squares on their 8x10 photos. 

On 18x24 drawing paper, students created a graph with two inch squares. Once all the graphing was complete, we had them number the squared on both the photo and the large paper so they matched.  (Numbers across the top and along the side).  They began transferring the outlined areas from the 8x10 photos to the 18x24 drawing paper.  They had to really concentrate to make sure the square in the smaller photo matched the same square in the largher photo.  Some students had real difficulty making the transfer, and had to start over as much as three times, but they eventually got the hang of it.    

Throughout this process, students were using prior knowledge about contour line drawing as well as color theory. They had to create this image monochromatically with a compliment background.

Most of the images turned out extremely well, although there were a few who just struggled and needed that special attention. 

The kids loved it, and there never was a moment where the kids came to class and didn't want to work.