Pop Art Personalities

Focus on feelings in facial expressions as you draw in the comic book style of Roy Lichtenstein.

• 1.

  Roy Lichtenstein was born in New York on October 27, 1923. Lichtenstein worked as both a professor of art and an exhibiting artist. His artwork was exhibited at a World's Fair, the Paris Biennale, the Guggenheim Museum, and many other prestigious places.

• 2.

  Lichtenstein's most famous art resembles comic book illustrations in everything except its large scale. His subject matter was popular culture, earning his work the label of Pop Art. The images he drew were outlined and filled with flat color and textural dots, exactly as if they were comics. With a partner, compare his paintings <i>In the Car</i> and <i>Takka Takka</i> to pictures you might find in comic books. Identify several similarities and differences.

• 3.

  What are some of the techniques that comic book artists use to tell you more about their characters and plots? Often, these artists include words or thought bubbles containing alternate images to explain the meaning of their drawings.

• 4.

  To begin a drawing in this comic book style, use a black Crayola® Marker to draw a portrait of a person who is thinking about something. Draw the person's face fairly large, and show the person's feelings by giving him or her the appropriate facial expression.

• 5.

  Draw a thought bubble in the space near your subject. In the thought bubble, draw whatever the person is thinking about.

• 6.

  Cover a table with recycled newspaper. Use Crayola Watercolors and Watercolor Brushes to color in your drawing. Dry.

• 7.

  On the back of your portrait, write a short description of your character's thoughts with Crayola Colored Pencils.

Benefits

• Students study the artwork of Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein, and compare and contrast his art with popular comic book imagery.
• Students create drawings in Lichtenstein's style that reflect emotions in facial expressions and thought bubbles.
• Students describe their character's thoughts by writing a paragraph on the back of the image.

Adaptations

• Draw a second comic book illustration. Fill in the shaded areas with small dots, then finish it with watercolor as described above.
• Create your own comic strip, using Lichtenstein's techniques.
• Design a large-scale Pop Art Personality. Use these as sets for humorous readings, plays, or musical performances.