Self Portrait Andy Warhol Art Created with Markers

Kids of all ages will love making this self portrait Andy Warhol art created with markers. It is an art lesson for children that is inexpensive and easy to do, and it provides an opportunity to teach them about art history. 

This art project is also beautiful because it celebrates each child who is wonderfully and fearfully made. I love art and crafts that become personalized because a child’s image was used. It adds extra value.

Here are a couple other projects we’ve done using a child’s photo: turning children’s photos into interchangeable blocks and turning kids into their own magnet dolls.

Self Portrait Andy Warhol Art Created with Markers

If you are looking for an art project for your tween or teen, they tend to love this self portrait Andy Warhol art created with markers. However, younger kids are perfectly capable of taking part in this art lesson also. Below, you will see images of my kids doing this craft project when they were younger.

My girls were 5 and 3 1/2 when we originally did this art activity. While the three year old needed a bit more guidance, they were both capable.

When my kids were younger, the principal at my daughter’s school approached me and introduced me to another teacher. He said, “Since you are an artist and former teacher, I thought of you because there is an Andy Warhol exhibit at our local museum and his students are going. I thought you might be able to come up with a lesson idea that could teach about this great artist.”

I almost laughed out loud, but I composed myself and explained that “artist” was a generous term. We will stick with “psuedo-artist” for now, thank you very much.

All that said, I remembered an art lesson I learned when I was getting my teaching degree. My professor believed strongly in teaching art and art history at the same time. It was a really fun class because we were able to just do a bunch of the art and create lessons around it. One of our text books was this one: Discovering Great Artists. Our teacher taught us about this Andy Warhol art project from that book in that class.

When I started my blog, I passed on the lesson to you.

Life came full circle when the authors of this book reached out to ask if they could use a photo from my site for the updated 2nd edition of their book. How fun. Below you will see picture a picture of me updating this post and an image from the book. We are also featured in the book in the M.C. Escher lesson.

Materials Needed to Make Self Portrait Andy Warhol Art Created with Markers

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• Markers
• Scissors or a Cutter
• White Scrapbook Paper, 12″ x 12″
• 4 Black and White Photos of Your Child (same photo just copied), printed to 6″ x 6″
• Double Sided Tape or Glue Stick

Note: See directions for alternate size options.

Find All Your Product Needs Here:

Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art Experiences in the Styles of Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning)Crayola Ultra Clean Washable Markers, Fine Line Marker Set, Gift for Kids, 40 CountSwingline Paper Trimmer, Guillotine Paper Cutter, 15 inches Cut Length, 10 Sheet Capacity, ClassicCut Lite (9315)Heavyweight 80lb Cover Bright White 12×12 Cardstock Scrapbook Paper – 40 PackScotch Double Sided Tape, 1/2 in x 500 in, 6 Dispensered Rolls (6137H-2PC-MP)Elmer’s Clear Glue Sticks, Washable, 0.28 Ounce Glue Sticks for Kids | School Supplies | Scrapbooking Supplies | Vision Board Supplies, 6 Count

How to Make Self Portrait Andy Warhol Art Created with Markers

1. Take a picture of your child. You could even take a picture of your dog or yourself.  You can do this craft with or for anyone! With Kenzie, I added a hair ribbon, and she already had some fabulous beads on her neck. Abby’s outfit was a bit more simple, but it worked well. You want to make sure you have a pretty plain background and a clear picture. 
2. The next step is to crop the phot, resize it and turn it black and white. You will want to crop and resize it to be a 6″ x 6″ square. I use Picasa, but you can use an online editing program like PicMonkey too. Print this out four times. Important note: All that said, you can make this project any size. In the video tutorial you can see the 4 photos all resized onto a 8.5″ x 11″ paper and printed directly from there.
3. Now it is time color the images. Introduce the idea of contrasting colors end encourage childr3en to use contrasting colors where two colors would be touching.
4. Once the coloring is complete, cut out each picture.
5. The final step is to use a glue stick or double stick tape to attach the picture to the 12″ x 12″ heavy scrapbook paper.

Note: With my younger child, I found the best way to get a cool product for her was to let her choose the colors for the different areas. Then, I drew a line around a specific section with the marker. She was then able to color it more accurately.

Now, some of you art history buffs may be calling foul. You may look at these images and say they aren’t exactly like Andy Warhol because we didn’t color the face.

You are right.

Do a Google image search if you have no idea what I am talking about.

I’m giving myself some leniency by saying that art is subjective and this is our own version. You are allowed to color the faces any way you please. I kinda liked keeping all the skin black and white, but it’s totally up to you. 

Video and Pictures of the Process

Enjoy creating with your kids and students. Make art fun for all.