Make a Silhouette

Make a Silhouette

Grade Level: K-3

Classroom Time: 45 minutes

Materials:

        Masking tape                              Glue

        Large White paper                       Lamp

        Black Construction paper           Scissors         

Objectives:

1. Given instruction students will create a silhouette.

   1. Have your subject sit in a chair. Position your light source so it casts a shadow of your subject on a wall. Adjust your subject's head until the shadow is a pleasing profile.

   2. Tape a large sheet of white paper on the wall where the shadow appears. Position it so there is some room at the top and bottom and the shadow on the paper includes a portion of the subject's neck. You can also include the top of the shoulders.

   3. Instruct your subject to sit very still. Using a soft pencil, trace the outline of the shadow onto the paper. Be careful to stand to the side and position your drawing arm so your own shadow doesn't cover your subjects.

   4. Reposition your subject when necessary. He or she won't be able to sit perfectly still so you'll have to stop and gently guide your subject's head so the shadow fits within what you've already traced.

   5. Complete the tracing and remove the paper from the wall and cut it out carefully.

   6. Trace the silhouette onto black construction paper.

   7. Paste the black silhouette on a sheet of rectangular white paper and frame.
      
      

Teacher’s introduction to the material:

Silhouettes are outlines of a person in profile, filled in with black color and placed on a white background. The technique was developed by Etienne de Silhouette and, before photography was invented, it was a less expensive way of having a portrait made.

Silhouette art originated in France in the 1600s, moved through England and reached the height of its popularity in the United States in the late 1700s. Silhouette cutting began as an amusement for European royalty but in the U.S. became a popular way to capture portraits of both privileged and common people.

Instruction:

Skills: Art.

Vocabulary: Silhouette.

Variation: Take a photo of the subject posed sideways. Then cut out the head from the photo and trace unto black paper.

How to Make a Silhouette Art Piece. eHow.com. Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/how_2267239_make-silhouette-art-piece.html#ixzz27D5ePmZL