Grid Portrait Transfer Collage

Engaging and leveraging A.I. (optional)

Grid portraits are nothing new. They’re an easy way to connect to the Renaissance, teach students a manageable way to achieve likeness/realism, it ties to Geometry, and teaches to break big jobs into smaller, manageable pieces for success.
 
In the past I have explored gridded portraits in many ways on my blog:
Traditional grid portraits with an expressive twist
Post-It Note Collages
Grid Collage Portraits
Portraits inspired by Kehinde Wiley
Chuck Close-style Painted Portraits
 
This lesson is actually a simplified version of one that I did many years ago and published during the Covid pandemic I titled Puzzle Collage.
 
We begin with an overview of the Renaissance. (I have snapshots of the major western art movements HERE. And a resource HERE) I focused on portraits and how they used grids. I held up my own image and noted how complicated it was to draw and make it look realistic. Then I showed them one small square of my portrait (enlarged) and asked how hard would that be to draw? They all agreed, easy! I explained that’s what we were going to do, but we needed our own images of ourselves, or a family member or a best friend. But the photos were ones we had to take ourselves.
 
I set up a blank area in my room for selfies, but also allowed students to scroll through their phones to find clear images of faces they might use. I did not allow students to select images from the internet or celebrities. 20% of my rubric addresses a personal connection to the world you create. More on my rubric here.
 
While students worked, I printed a stack of about 150 pages of 8 x 10 square grids on photocopy paper. This would be reprinted with student images so their grids would be overlaid by their faces. It was a helpful step.
 
Images then had to be uploaded to a Google Document I shared with everyone to print from. I gave the whole class editing rights. I also gave students a new option. They could upload their image to AI and have it simplified and converted to a line drawing, like in a coloring book. On the first page of the shared Google Doc, I pasted this prompt that students could copy and paste into their own AI platforms. 90% of my students did.

“Convert this portrait into detailed black-and-white line art for a coloring book. Use varied line weights for depth and hierarchy. Preserve facial structure and expression accurately. Replace shading with contour lines only where necessary. Remove background or simplify into minimal outline shapes. No grayscale, no halftones, no color. Clean vector-style illustration on pure white background.”
 
I loaded my printer with my gridded paper and printed their faces. Then we made 2 x 2 inch grids on larger paper, and began the normal transfer process, one square at a time. Nothing different than any other grid portrait project… but here’s where we take a turn into new territory…
 
When complete, students then got a new drawing paper and laid it underneath with 2 pieces of blue tape to make sure the image wouldn’t slide. Layered underneath, we added 4 sheets of carbon paper and transferred the original image to the second piece of paper. When that was complete, the original drawing was signed and set aside for later use.

Students then selected 4 or 5 backing papers to put behind the carbon copy portrait. This could be ANY papers you have available. For me it was newspaper, construction paper, and hand-painted papers we created from leftover painting projects. (More on that here) You could even use fabric or wrapping paper as well. I did speak to students about using their color knowledge in selecting colors. They could go for analogous colors for a harmonious image, or contrasting colors for something more energetic.
 
These papers are lined up BEHIND the carbon portrait and stapled along the outside edge, a staple about every 3 or 4 inches. This prevents the papers from fanning out as you cut and preserves the accuracy of cutting. Without this step, this becomes nearly impossible. Students then cut out small sections of the portrait following the contours of the image, choose one layer from the pack, and paste it ONTO the ORIGINAL drawing piece by piece. As they go, they should vary the layers they use for a more dynamic image. It will be helpful to have staple removers around.
 
We used Elmer's glue and glue sticks to lay our prices back into the original drawing piece by piece. Those who were able to fill in the whole page with collage papers were then given paint markers to trace contours to make the image pop visually.

What I like most about this project, from the teaching point of view, was that every student was engaged. Those who lagged and did not transfer much collage paper, and had to stop, had really good results. Those who worked fast, always had something they could do to stay on task. (Paint pen outlines, adding patterns, additional textures, fabric embellishments, etc.) As I talk about in THIS blogpost, it’s important to always have multiple goals for student success… and your sanity as a teacher.


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