Nate Williams Self Portrait Art Lesson for Elementary Students
Here you’ll find an easy step-by-step tutorial video for a self portrait art lesson for elementary students. It was inspired by artist and illustrator, Nate Williams.
Nate Williams is an artist and designer who creates illustrations and hand lettering for magazines, books, packaging and advertising. He just finished a new book that follows JJ, a unique centipede with 99 feet, on his first day at The KINDer Garden Elementary. Initially anxious about fitting in, JJ discovers that his new bug friends are just as diverse. This book encourages conversations around acceptance, empathy, friendship, and the beauty of individuality. To support teachers, he’s offering this book as a free resource, complete with a presentation and discussion questions for classroom use.
This self portrait art lesson for elementary students was inspired by the artist Nate Williams. It asks students to draw a simple profile of themselves and fill it with simple descriptive words. Variations of the hair and clothes are encouraged, but the basic idea is to literally fill their head with things that are important to them.
A Teacher Tip to Share
The one tip I would emphasize is that the portraits look best when the letters are as big and varied as they possibly can be. Students can use initial caps, all caps, cursive, any style at all. This is one time when they can break away from all the writing “rules” they usually follow, and try something new.
As a teacher, I would go so far as to give students extra credit for every different lettering style that shows up in their drawing. A lack of emphasis about this will tend to have them go on auto pilot when writing, and fill in each area the same way, as if writing on ruled paper. This is one time to encourage them to literally get creative with their writing.
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Art Gallery
reated by a reader for a special child in their life. 
Cards by Maddic, age 5 and Clark, age 6
Nate Williams Boy Coloring Page
Nate Williams Girl Coloring Page
Materials for a Nate Williams Portrait
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Watercolor Paper*
Liquid Watercolor Paint*
Crayola Crayons*
Rounded Paintbrush
Pencil*
Non Spill Paint Cups*
Directions for a Nate Williams Portrait
Time needed: 45 minutes
How to Draw a Nate Williams Self Style Portrait
- Draw a backwards J shape to start the head.
- Add the neck and shoulders below the head.
- Draw the hair, it can be any length.
- Add the nose and lips on the side of the face.
- Divide the face into sections by drawing three lines as shown.
- Draw an eye on the top line.
- Erase the line inside, and add a circle.
- Trace the lines with a permanent black marker.
Fill the spaces with words, planned in pencil first.
- Trace the words with crayons 2 times to make them dark.
Paint all the sections with watercolor paint.
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