Picasso Inspired Cubist Portraits Craft Kids Mixing Features Geometric Shapes Funny Art

Ready to unleash some creative chaos with the kids? Forget realistic portraits for a day and dive headfirst into the wonderfully wacky world of Cubism, inspired by the master himself, Pablo Picasso. This isn’t about drawing perfect faces; it’s about breaking things down, mixing them up, and sticking them back together in hilarious and unexpected ways using bold shapes and colours. Think of it as visual remixing, perfect for little hands and big imaginations. It’s a fantastic way to explore art history without it feeling like a stuffy lesson, resulting in brilliantly funny and unique pieces of art.

So, What Was Picasso Thinking? A Kid’s Guide to Cubism

Imagine you could see all sides of an object or a person at the very same time. Not just the front, but the side, maybe even a peek at the back, all jumbled together onto a flat piece of paper. That’s kind of what Pablo Picasso and his friend Georges Braque were doing around the early 1900s when they invented Cubism. They wanted to show more than just one viewpoint. They broke down objects and people into geometric shapes – squares, triangles, circles – and then reassembled them from different angles simultaneously. It looked fragmented, abstract, and totally new! For kids, this translates beautifully into permission to play. There’s no “right way” to draw a face in Cubism. Does an eye belong on the side of the head? Sure! Should the nose be pointing left while the face looks forward? Why not! It’s about looking, *really* looking, and then interpreting that in a completely fragmented and fun way using basic shapes.

Why This Art Project Rocks for Kids

Getting children involved in Picasso-inspired Cubist portraits isn’t just about making funny faces (though that’s a big part of the appeal!). It offers several cool benefits:

• Boosts Creativity: It actively encourages thinking outside the box. There are no strict rules about perspective or realism.
• Develops Observation Skills: Kids start looking at faces differently, noticing angles, shapes, and how features relate to each other, even if they jumble them up later.
• Introduces Geometric Shapes: It’s a natural way to talk about squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, and semi-circles as building blocks for art.
• Builds Confidence: The “no mistakes” approach means every child can feel successful. Their unique interpretation is the goal.
• Makes Art History Fun: It’s a hands-on way to connect with a famous artist and a significant art movement without dry textbooks.
• It’s Just Plain Fun: The potential for silly, mixed-up results leads to lots of giggles and enjoyment.

Gather Your Artistic Arsenal

You don’t need fancy supplies for this adventure. Raid your craft cupboard for these basics:

• Paper or Cardstock: A sturdy base is good. White is classic, but coloured paper can add another dimension.
• Pencils: For initial sketching (though confident kids might jump straight to colour!).
• Drawing Tools: Markers, crayons, oil pastels, coloured pencils – whatever you have! Bold colours work brilliantly. Paint (tempera or acrylic) is also a great option for a bolder look.
• Scissors: Especially if you want to try a collage approach.
• Glue Stick or School Glue: Again, essential for collage elements.
• Optional Extras: Old magazines or newspapers (for cutting out features/textures), yarn (for hair), googly eyes (for extra silliness).

Let’s Get Cubist! Step-by-Step Portrait Fun

Step 1: A Little Inspiration (Optional but Fun)

Briefly show the kids a few examples of Picasso’s Cubist portraits. Don’t get bogged down in analysis; just point out the obvious stuff: “Look how he drew the nose from the side but the face is looking forward!” or “See all the shapes he used?” or “Wow, that person has two eyes on the same side of their nose!” Keep it light and focus on the playful, fragmented look.

Step 2: The Basic Head Shape

Start by drawing a large, simple head shape. It doesn’t have to be a perfect oval. Maybe it’s a square? A triangle? An irregular blob? Encourage uniqueness right from the start. You could even draw a simple profile (side view) shape and a front view shape overlapping slightly.

Step 3: Feature Frenzy – Mix and Match!

This is where the Cubist magic happens. Draw the facial features, but deliberately mix up the perspectives. Here are some ideas:

• Eyes: Draw one eye looking straight ahead (like an almond shape with a circle inside) and the other eye in profile (like a sideways V with a dot). Place them at different heights or even both on one side of the nose.
• Nose: Try a classic profile nose (like an L-shape or a triangle) plopped right in the middle of a front-facing head outline. Or draw two different nose views!
• Mouth: Maybe a simple curve looking forward, or lips shown in profile attached to a frontal face. Could it be smiling on one side and frowning on the other?
• Ears: One big, one small? One high, one low? One shaped like a circle, the other a rectangle? Go wild!

Remind the kids: It’s supposed to look jumbled! The weirder, the better.

Step 4: Shape Up! Break it Down Geometrically

Now, encourage the kids to break up the face and features further using geometric shapes. Draw lines that cut across the face, dividing it into sections. Fill some sections with patterns (stripes, dots, zig-zags) and others with flat colour. Redefine features using simple shapes: square eyes, a triangular nose, a rectangular mouth outline. Use circles for cheeks, maybe. This enhances the fragmented, multi-dimensional feel.

Verified Cubist Concept: Cubism aimed to depict subjects from multiple viewpoints simultaneously. This created a fragmented, geometric appearance. Instead of showing a face from just one angle, artists like Picasso incorporated different angles into a single image, challenging traditional perspective.

Step 5: Colour Crazy

Picasso wasn’t afraid of colour! Encourage kids to use bold, bright, even unrealistic colours. A blue face? Green hair? A purple nose? Absolutely! Fill in the geometric sections created in the previous step with contrasting colours. Don’t worry about shading or making it look ‘real’. Flat, bold colour blocks work perfectly for this style.

Step 6: Cut, Paste, Collage (Optional Extension)

For a different texture and more mixed-media fun, introduce collage. Cut out eye shapes, nose shapes, or mouth shapes from coloured paper or magazines and glue them onto the drawing. You could cut out geometric shapes to add layers or use textured paper for hair or clothes. This really emphasizes the constructed, pieced-together nature of Cubism.

The Joy of Jumbled Features

The real giggle factor in this project comes from deliberately mismatching facial features. It’s the core of making it feel “Picasso-esque” for kids. Encourage them to actively try combinations that feel wrong in traditional portraiture. A profile eye demands attention when placed in a frontal face. A nose drawn straight-on looks delightfully odd when the head outline is purely sideways. Challenge them: Can you draw one happy eye and one sad eye? Can you put an ear where the mouth should be? (Maybe!). It’s this playful disregard for convention that makes the process so freeing and the results so uniquely charming.

Embracing Geometric Simplicity

Shapes are your best friends in this project. Remind kids that everything can be simplified into a geometric form. Hair isn’t individual strands; it’s a collection of triangles or rectangles. A cheek isn’t a soft curve; it’s a circle or a square patch of colour. Shoulders can be sharp rectangular blocks. Breaking everything down into these basic components makes the drawing process less intimidating and reinforces the Cubist aesthetic. Encourage layering shapes, overlapping them to create depth and further fragmentation. A square on top of a circle next to a triangle – that’s the language of your Cubist portrait!

Making it Genuinely Funny Art

Lean into the humour! Exaggeration is key. Make one eye enormous and the other tiny. Stretch the neck or squash the head. Give the portrait wildly patterned clothing made of clashing shapes and colours. Add a bizarre hat constructed from geometric bits. The goal isn’t just to mimic Cubism but to create a piece of genuinely funny art through the Cubist lens. The unexpected combinations, the bold colours, the wonky perspectives – it all adds up to something that should bring a smile to everyone’s face.

Take it Further: More Cubist Creations

Once the kids have mastered (or had fun messing up!) a basic portrait, try these variations:

• Self-Portraits: Use a mirror and try to capture their own features from different angles.
• Family & Friends: Make Cubist portraits of siblings, parents, or friends – they make funny gifts!
• Pet Portraits: Apply the same principles to the family dog, cat, or hamster. Imagine a Cubist goldfish!
• Different Materials: Try sculpting a Cubist head from playdough or clay, focusing on adding features from different angles. Use fabric scraps for a textile collage version.
• Digital Cubism: Use a simple drawing app on a tablet to create Cubist portraits with digital tools.

Art That Breaks the Rules (and Builds Skills)

Creating Picasso-inspired Cubist portraits is more than just an afternoon craft activity. It’s a fantastic way for children to explore artistic freedom, learn about shapes, play with perspective, and discover that art doesn’t always have to be realistic to be amazing. It teaches them that famous artists were rule-breakers and innovators too. So, grab the paper, embrace the odd angles and funny faces, and let your little artists create their own Cubist masterpieces. The results are guaranteed to be unique, expressive, and delightfully weird – just like the best kind of art often is!