Alien Self Portraits: Art Lessons with Grandma

We are starting up our Sunday Art Lessons with Grandma again. I'm excited to share what we did yesterday. Grab some paper and markers and come make Alien Self Portraits with us!

My mom started a fun little tradition of Sunday Art lessons over Zoom to my kids during Covid. We took a break from it for a while but my youngest son requested that we start up again.

 My mom has a Bachelors of Fine Arts and has always loved painting and drawing. She's a wonderful teacher. She always takes a simple craft up a notch and teaches principles of art as we are making something fun. I'm hoping to share some of our Sunday Art Lessons with Grandma here so you can have fun learning art too. 

How to Make an Alien Self Portrait: Art Lesson for kids

We turned our names into aliens. and you can too! Let us show you how. 

We’ve done this activity before so we chose last and middle names for this time around.

Step 1. Fold your paper in half and write your name in cursive along the fold.

Step 2. Trace it in reverse on the other side

If your paper is thin enough you can hold it up to a window and trace it with the sunlight coming through. Our paper was thick so we drew over it with chalk and rubbed it hard transfer the chalk to the other side. Little ones can help trace the letters even if they can’t write in cursive yet.

Step 3. Decide which direction you want your picture to go

Turn the drawing talk about symmetry. We made a symmetrical picture, like a butterfly's wings. 

Step 4. Look for the shapes the letters make. 

Do you see a face? Do you see a body? Have fun adding more lines to turn it into an alien or monster. How many eyes and legs will your alien have? Will you keep it symmetrical or different on each side?

Step 5. Add color to the drawing and repeat your colors to make it cohesive. 

We used markers and oil pastels but you could use colored pencils or crayons and anything. Our challenge this time was to repeat a color 2-3 times to make a more cohesive looking picture. Every color needs a friend in a picture even if its just a little dot or line. 

I'm loving the swords that this alien is holding. He even added wiggle lines to them to show movement. 

I hope that was fun and you feel inspired to add a little art to your summer days this week! Follow along with us on Instagram @bluesusanmakes and share your #alienselfportraits so we can see too!

 A BIG thank you to Grandma for teaching us this lesson!!