Students created self-portrait face card designs after measuring and making observations about playing cards in a traditional deck. They did not have to depict themselves as “royalty,” but they were required to develop complex patterns in their clothing, and their palette was limited to the colors found on the face cards they had studied (red, yellow, black, white, blue).
After determining their suit, pose and the object(s) that they would be holding, photos were taken of them, which they could use for reference. They could draw from observation or they could grid the photo in order to enlarge it. Either way, they were encouraged to create a recognizable portrait of themselves with this project.
This project required them to have their image on the card twice. To keep the design consistent, they were allowed to use the photography department’s lightbox to trace their first drawing in order to accurately copy and invert it.
After tracing their second image to the paper, students went over the lines in ink with Sharpie markers. They used markers or colored pencils to add color to their images.
