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GRADES 3–5 · Whole Portraits · Cartoon Portraits

Draw Yourself: Make a Cartoon

Name ____________________ Date __________

WHAT YOU WILL MAKE

Create three cartoon design trials and two consistent drawings of your chosen design, focusing on draw yourself. Use the subject steps as practice before making this final pair or set.

Shared feature reference for Whole Portraits — Shared feature reference. It may not show this task’s exact pose, accessory, or style. Use the teacher’s matching reference too.

Draw it step by step

Observation and design choices can both tell a viewer something about you. Invent an original cartoon interpretation. Exaggerate a drawing choice rather than mocking a real person or a group.

Start from the observed shape. Choose one feature to enlarge, shorten, widen, or curve more strongly; sketch three tiny options.
Study your face in a mirror and note three features you want to include.
Plan the head and shoulders before adding those features.
Compare the drawing with your reflection and adjust one placement.
Pick one option and redraw it clearly. Keep it consistent in a second pose or expression. Use bold, selective lines instead of realistic shading.

Watch out → Try this

Common drawing problem: Adding small details before the main shapes and placement are clear.

Repair: Return to the first subject step: Study your face in a mirror and note three features you want to include. Compare the biggest shapes before refining.

Check your work: Which three choices make this portrait yours? What did you exaggerate? Which two design features stay consistent across both drawings?

Materials: pencil, eraser, paper, and a mirror or teacher-approved reference. Optional black drawing pen; no painting required.

Draw Yourself: Make a Cartoon · Practice page

Name ____________________ Make light trials first. Divide a box further if your task needs extra versions.

1 · Observe and plan

2 · First drawing

3 · Change one choice

4 · Independent application

My evidence: Which three choices make this portrait yours? What did you exaggerate? Which two design features stay consistent across both drawings?

I changed __________________ because I noticed __________________.

My next practice goal: __________________________________________________

Teach this handout · 30–45 minutes

Prepare: Provide a mirror or clear teacher-approved feature reference. Explain that students are practicing decisions, not copying every detail of the illustration.

Demonstrate: Demonstrate the subject sequence: Study your face in a mirror and note three features you want to include. Plan the head and shoulders before adding those features. Compare the drawing with your reflection and adjust one placement. Then show how the final style step changes the drawing.

5 minutes noticing, 5 demonstrating, 15–25 drawing and revising, 5 sharing. Collect the practice page and a specific explanation of one change. Evaluate the target skill and revision—not attractiveness or speed.

Grade	Support and challenge
3	Use a large feature study and one observed change. Supply page divisions and model the first landmark. Two trials are enough before application.
4	Complete the listed sequence. Compare two versions and label the contour, proportion, or overlap that changed.
5	Use an unfamiliar reference or second viewpoint after mastering the first. Explain which choices should stay consistent when simplifying or exaggerating.

Offer adapted grips, larger spaces, extra time, or a spoken reflection. Use fictional characters for deliberate distortion; do not mock classmates or stereotype identities. Obtain consent before drawing a peer. Proportion guides are comparisons, not rules for all faces.

Shared demonstration: plan → add major forms → refine. It supports the process, not every task-specific outcome. Print this image separately if wanted.