One of my students’ favorite art projects is a Tim Burton art lesson I call “Spooky Selfies”. Often students are self-conscious or extra critical when asked to draw a self-portrait and often moan when I introduce a self-portrait lesson. However, this self-portrait lesson is just the opposite. They love it, it yields excellent results and it can be done by 2nd grade artists to high school artists. Here’s what I think students love about it and how I teach it.
The Lesson Objective
In this drawing lesson, students critique and analyze the style and artwork of Tim Burton. Common characteristics associated with his style include: oversize eyes, petite nose and mouth, long thin neck, body and arms, and helmet hair. In addition, most of his work is black, white and every value in between.
The students use value to create a self-portrait that looks 3 dimensional using shading and blending techniques. Each student creates an original masterpiece, with the help of a Tim Burton Inspired Selfies ideas handout.
Why Students Love It
Tim Burton’s style is whimsical, simple and slightly spooky. His simple monochromatic style allows students to focus on the subject matter rather than the expression of color. The whimsical nature of his characters provides the opportunity for students to use their imagination and explore a variety of facial expressions. Lastly, his spooky style makes this a perfect lesson to teach during the month of October. My students love holiday themed art lessons, and beg for Halloween art lessons.
Drawing With Value
Another reason I think the Tim Burton art lesson is a student favorite is that students love drawing with value and getting their fingers dirty. This lesson encourages students to smudge and blend their pencil lead to create blended values and a 3D form for the head.
High Success Rate
Due to the simplicity of this lesson, I find most students are successful with this lesson. Plus, students do not have to fuss or worry about getting the proportions spot on or making the face look symmetrical, because each of those things is encouraged when creating a work of art inspired by Tim Burton’s whimsical style.
What They Learn
This is not just a fun lesson that students enjoy. This lesson is a great way to introduce shading and blending to create highlights on the human face. Often I feel like I want to teach students how to use a medium they are unfamiliar with, such as oil pastel, chalk, clay or paint. However, I need to remember pencil can be just as engaging. Students can master the skill of creating a 3D sphere and find pleasure in adding creative details that express who they are. Maybe best of all, the lesson requires few art supplies.
Tim Burton Spooky Selfies video tutorial
How I Teach the Tim Burton Art Lesson
I introduce my students to Tim Burton. They learn a few fun facts about the artist and spend some time critiquing his work. We look at examples of characters from his movies and have a class discussion to identify attributes that define his style. I show my YouTube video tutorial (above) to preview the steps of creating a “Spooky Selfie”.
Then I have my students practice the technique on scrap paper as they draw along with me. I provide my students with a “Tim Burton Inspired Selfies” ideas handout they use for help with selecting eyes, noses, and mouths. The handout also provides ideas for hair styles and head shapes. I encourage my students to add something interesting on their shirt and background. Once my students have had time to practice blending and sketching ideas, they begin the final drawing. The final drawing includes white colored pencils for the eyes and highlights, as well as Sharpie markers to create bold outlines and contrast.
Great For All Ages
I personally enjoy demonstrating this lesson and creating my own Spooky Selfie. With that being said, I think that is why this lesson is a hit with students of all ages. High school to 2nd grade, all artists will find some pleasure in creating a self-portrait inspired by Tim Burton. Younger artists are impressed with the new skill they learned, while the older students spend more time on the creative details.
My Spooky Selfies full art lesson plan is available here.
Thanks for Reading – Trista
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