Ben Heine is a Belgian multidisciplinary artist. Starting as a painter and political cartoonist, he became more widely known for his Pencil Vs. Camera series.

Pencil Vs. Camera

Pencil Vs. Camera is an original visual concept mixing drawing and photo invented and popularized by Ben Heine since April 2010. A new art form and the artist’s special trademark, it is also one of the most creative and powerful art concepts of the 21st century. Heine does not recreate photographs, but he reimagines them. In these images, he likes to tell a story and convey timeless messages using imagination, illusion, poetry and surrealism. His work is powered by a fearless positivity. An already beautiful-looking photo is enhanced with a sketch that adds a splash of satire and whimsy

Option 1: Use Magazines, newspapers, or found images:

• Students will find several magazines or newspapers that feature interesting photographs
• Students will need a blank sheet of paper or a piece of notebook paper
• Tear or cut out a small section of this sheet of paper
• lay this paper over the area of the magazine or newspaper that you want to erase or block out
• Draw your image in this section. Make your drawing fun and exciting. This is your chance to change the meaning of this picture.
• Once you have done a really awesome drawing, take a picture of it and submit it to your google classroom

examples:

Option 2: Take your own pictures:

• Students will use their cell phones or cameras to take their own photographs
• Tear out a small sheet of white paper
• Put this small sheet of paper in front of your camera at least a foot away from the lens so you can block out a section of your image
• Take a picture of your pet, your friends and family and different architectural features while blocking out a section with your sheet of paper
• Either print your photographs and draw on the blank or blocked out sections to create your whimsical drawings or use a free online program or app to do your drawing
• Submit your images to the google classroom

Option 3: Artist provided templates

• Ben Heine has made several templates available for students and teachers. Print out these templates so students can draw their own whimsical pictures over Mr. Heine's photographs. Save the pictures to your computer and print these out.
• Visit Ben Heine's website to access printable versions of this templates for your own students and many more:

https://benheine.com/pencil-vs-camera-in-schools/

Option 4: Student self-portraits

• Teacher should take a photograph of each of the students (with parent's permission)
• Print out each photograph
• Have students cut out a section their portraits
• Have student draw in the missing sections to change the looks and meaning of their self portraits.

examples:

Lesson:

• Choose 1 of the options for the assignment
• Create an image which blends a whimsical drawing with a photograph
• The drawing and the photograph must blend seamlessly and create a new narrative or story
• Your drawing must include at least 2 different textures and utilize at least 2 different types of lines
• Your drawing must include a background that blends in with the background of your photograph or image.
• Your image must include value

Language Objectives:

• Think about various types of lines and textures you can use when creating your drawings. What types of shapes can you create and how can you use value to render the illusion of form. Dont forget to add details to the background to take up as much space in your composition.

QUESTIONS: after completing your drawings, you must answer the following questions about your work:

• What is the title of your artwork? (Create a fun title that reflects the theme of your work)
• What media (materials) did you use and what surface? (For example, a ballpoint pen drawing on a plain white sheet of computer paper over a fashion magazine)
• What is being depicted in your artwork? (Give a detail description of your artwork. Use full sentences)
• How did your drawing change the theme, tone or story of the original photograph? (How does your drawing change the meaning of the magazine you used? Is it more playful? Is it more meaningful? Does it alter what the original magazine or newspaper intended to convey? Use full sentences)
• Describe your use of the elements of art (how did you use line, shape, form, texture, space, shape, or color)

Rubric

Craftsmanship:

• sloppy/rushed/badly drawn (5pts)
• Line work is great and looks like the student used time wisely and showed great effort (10 pts)

Transition:

• The image does not look like it belongs with the photograph (0pts)
• The transition between photograph and drawing is not smooth and could use more work (5pts)
• The photograph and drawing blend seamlessly together (10pts)

Texture:

• The drawing is just an outline and texture was not attempted (0pts)
• The drawing attempts at least 1 noticeable texture (5pts)
• The drawing contains at least 2 noticeable textures (10 pts)

Value:

• The image is flat and contains no values (0pts)
• The image contains very little value or some of the values are placed on the wrong locations (5pts)
• The image showcases a successful range of light and dark values (10 pts)

Creativity:

• The image is plain/boring/not very creative. Very little thought and effort went into making this work (5pts)
• The image is whimsical, original and imaginative (10 pts)

Title:

• Artwork contains no title (0pts)
• Artwork contains a title that reflects the theme of the picture (10pts)

Media and surface questions:

• Does not explain the media and surface used (0pts)
• Contains an accurate representation of the media and surfaces (10pts)

Depiction of artwork:

• Student did not answer question regarding the description of the artwork (0pts)
• Student's description is limited, rushed or did not use full sentences to offer up a clear picture of what is supposed to be represented in the image (5pts)
• Student gave a thoughtful and thorough description of the work (10 pts)

Question: How did your drawing change the theme, tone or story of the original photograph?

• Student did not answer (0pts)
• Student's response is limited, rushed, or did not use full sentences to properly convey the differences between the original intent of the photograph and the new meaning created by the drawing. (5pts)
• Student gave a thoughtful and thorough answer (10 pts)

Question: Describe your use of the elements of art:

• Student did not answer question (0pts)
• Student's response is limited, rushed, or did not use full sentences to properly describe how he or she used the elements of art to create his/her work of art (5pts)
• Student gave a thoughtful and thorough description of the use of the elements and principles of art within the artwork. (10 pts)

TEKS by Level from the TEA website: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter117/ch117c.html#117.302

Art I: (2) Creative expression. The student communicates ideas through original artwork using a variety of media with appropriate skills. The student expresses thoughts and ideas creatively while challenging the imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing disciplined effort and progressive problem-solving skills. The student is expected to:

(A) create original artwork using multiple solutions from direct observation, original sources, experiences, and imagination in order to expand personal themes that demonstrate artistic intent;

Art II: (2) Creative expression. The student communicates ideas through original artworks using a variety of media with appropriate skills. The student expresses thoughts and ideas creatively while challenging the imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing disciplined effort and progressive problem-solving skills. The student is expected to:

(A) create original artwork using multiple solutions from direct observation, original sources, experiences, and imagination in order to expand personal themes that demonstrate artistic intent;

Art III: (2) Creative expression. The student communicates ideas through original artwork using a variety of media with appropriate skills. The student expresses thoughts and ideas creatively while challenging the imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing disciplined effort and progressive problem-solving skills. The student is expected to:

(A) create original artwork using multiple solutions from direct observation, original sources, experiences, and imagination in order to expand personal themes that demonstrate artistic intent;

Art IV: (2) Creative expression. The student communicates ideas through original artworks using a variety of media with appropriate skills. The student expresses thoughts and ideas creatively while challenging the imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing disciplined effort and progressive problem-solving skills. The student is expected to:

(A) produce an original body of artwork that integrates information from a variety of sources, including original sources, and demonstrates sustained self-directed investigations into specific themes such as a series or concentration of works;

Works Cited:

• Heine, Ben. Pencil Vs Camera in Schools. https://benheine.com/pencil-vs-camera-in-schools/