For friends of the San Jose Area Writing Project
- for all ages, but young children are the best cartoonists!
River Brown
Teacher Consultant & Illustrator
Welcome to a week of fun to dip into. You only need some paper, a pen and your imagination.
On your card draw a frame. Inside the frame is the “LIVE” area – where stuff happens. Outside is just paper.
Today!
GET STARTED ON YOUR FIRST SELF-PORTRAIT, using the Ivan Brunatti exercise, adapted here from Lynda Barry’s book, Making Comics.
Figure 1. The big head
Start here. Use the space!
Figure 2. Body shape with lively arms and leg lines
More fun than stick figures!
Figure 3. Add snowball hands, noodle arms & legs, simple shoes
Draw quickly and don’t erase.
Figure 4. Use face features, and details that show it's you. Hair, shirt pattern, object...etc.
A few details will remind you it’s you. 🙂
Take another minute to add more detail -- shapes or shading to your sketch. Ha, ha! I look funny...
[see photo above]
Got the idea? Ready to play?
Set up several blank cards with frames. Find a song you like that’s about 3 minutes, or use a timer.
- On one new card, start with the big head [fig. 1] This time you’ll be drawing yourself as — an astronaut in space. Go!
When your song ends, or 3 minutes are up, show your card to someone, a sibling or parent who is drawing with you, or just someone in your household. Then set it next to you and try the next one.
2. Ready? For 3 minutes, on the next card, draw yourself — turning into an animal. Go! [CLICK the black square to go to page 2]
River Brown 
Leave a Reply