Drawing Book of Faces by Ed Emberley

Drawing Book of Faces - Work on precision with a writing tool and reading facial expressions.

In the book: Faces, faces, and more faces

Drawing Book of Faces by Ed Emberley is a fun and simple book with step-by-step instructions for drawing expressive faces. Most faces start off with a square or circle. Then over the course of six steps, simple features are added, lines and shapes, and a funny face is the result. Many kids are surprised and pleased when they see what they can do using this approach.

From his book page on Amazon.

I like to use this book with kids who are working on writing smaller with distal rotation, holding a writing tool, precision with a writing tool, bilateral integration and/or drawing shapes, spatial relations, visual closure, the list is long. If I want the person to work on making small marks, I control how big the face is by drawing the starting circle or square.

Drawing Book of Faces has 32 pages and over 100 faces. It's also a fun book to use if you are working on reading facial expressions, as there are lots of faces that would help with that. Expressions include happy, sad, embarrassed, angry, scared, mischievous, defeated, determined, conceited, grumpy, neutral, and many more. In the back of the book there are a couple of pages of completed faces, no step-by-step instructions, so you can try your hand at putting it all together once you've learned the step-by-step process. There are also a couple of pages with sections such as eyes, mouths, ears, hair, etc. so you can create your own custom faces.

The faces represent all kinds of occupations and actions and include Laughing Lena, Sly Sid, Sleeping Simone, Black Eye Bob, Freckles Frieda, Earmuff Earl, Engineer Eric, Diver Dick, Donkey Don, Bulldog Brunhilda. You get the idea. I like to use colored pencils or an ultra fine dry erase marker (more about that here - EXPO Dry Erase Boards and Markers) for kids who are working on writing. 

I love using the Ed Emberley books and the kids loved them too. I have blogged about several of his other books:

• Make a Face with Ed Emberley - The basic shape is already supplied. You fill in the details.
• Goody Gumdrops by Ed Emberley - My favorite for beginners. Each animal starts out with the exact same shape, a gumdrop.
• Ed Emberley's Christmas Drawing Book -  It's all about winter and Christmas.
• Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book - Use an ink pad and start with a fingerprint shape.
• Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint Drawing Book - Use an ink pad and start with a thumbprint shape. 

From his book page on Amazon.

If you would like to read more about games that require writing or drawing in some form, check out my post Games That Require a Writing Tool. 

Try this:

• Use colored pencils. Adds just a bit more fun to be able to change colors.
• Let the individual choose the face to make the experience more positive if the person does not like drawing or writing.
• Look at each new step and, before drawing, ask the individual what has changed, what has been added.
• If the individual makes a mistake or omits something, note that his picture is a little different from the book and ask him to find the difference. Can he compare and spot it without help?
• Open the book to a page and ask the child to look at each finished face and name the facial expression (i.e. happy, angry, scared)
• Ask the individual to verbally give the directions, step-by-step, using spatial terms, and you draw along. For instance, for a profile like the green example above, a circle nose is on the left, a half-circle ear is on the right, curly hair is across the top and down the back, etc. 
• Go to the pages at the back of the book that just show features. Give the individual an example, such as Michelle was just settling in to watch her favorite TV show when her mom told her it was time to go to the dentist. Ask the individual to draw how Michelle felt (angry, scared?). See if his features match the emotion.
 

• MORE TIPS FROM MY EXPO DRY ERASE BOARD POST: 
• Work on diagonal lines for letters such as K, Y, X, W by drawing pictures that incorporate diagonal lines (whiskers, sharp teeth, legs, bird toes). Work on distal rotation by drawing pictures that incorporate small, colored-in circles (eyes, freckles, tassels, chicken pox). Work on rounded lines, such as needed for many lower case letters, by drawing pictures with rounded and wavy lines (ears, water, noses, hair). Sounds pretty basic, doesn't it? One big reason I like the Ed Emberley books is because I can quickly scan each page, looking for the shapes and feature(s) that I want to practice without having to make up a variety of my own drawings on the spot.
• Be short and precise with your verbal instructions as you model. Draw only one line or shape at a time and make sure they are following your instructions to the best of their ability. Drawings may start out looking rough, but typically improve over time with practice. The kids often recognize this and are very pleased when they see their improvement result in recognizable pictures.  
• Model how to start and stop on a line. I often just reach over and erase overflow with my finger and they quickly get the idea.
• Draw a picture and then erase and try to draw it again from memory.
• Use the Ed Emberley Book of faces when working on emotions. Emphasize the shapes of the eyes, eyebrows and mouth when talking about reading facial expressions.
• Work on fine motor precision, pencil control, efficient pencil grasp, coordinated use of both hands, distal rotation, visual memory, spatial relations, visual closure, visual form constancy, visual motor integration, visual discrimination, motor planning, drawing and recognizing shapes, body awareness, proportion, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation, reading facial expressions

If you are interested in purchasing this book or just want more information, click on the image below.