September 2011 Archives

For this Bi Weekly Reporting, I chose to look at a couple of lesson plans based on beginning animation. At teachanimation.org there are a lot of resources for lesson plans and working with kids in art and technology. I was drawn to a lesson plan on making a flipbook. It would be a simple way to start to teach students about tweening and how you can create movement with multiple pictures. I really enjoy the idea of teaching this because I believe it wouldn't be over whelming for young students to learn and by doing this process they may have a easier time tweening in Photo Shop. I would have the kids make a very simple, couple paged flipbook the first day I introduce the idea. I would explain tweening and how you would just move your characters a little bit at a time and show examples on the web of flipbooks made. After the students have sketched out the character or charters' they would like to use, they would be able to begin their more complex flipbook with alot more pages. I would try to have them focus on accuracy with color, size and their image. This would be a fun and great way to ease into using technology to make a video.

http://www.teachanimation.org/flipbook.html

Another Lesson Plan I was drawn to was very similar to the Flip Book. It was a lesson plan on phenakistocopes. I don't believe I have ever made one but it is very similar to a flipbook, only this one is looping. Students (especially) elementary would really enjoy doing this project because it's simple, fun and hands on. The students will also become more aware of looping and that you can have an ongoing video. Both these lesson plans would be very helpful for an introduction to animation for young kids.

http://www.teachanimation.org/phenakistoscopes.html

Gunn, Karin. "Flipbooks." Teach Animation. Feb. 2008. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. http://www.teachanimation.org/fliplesson.html.

Gunn, Karin. "Phenakistoscopes Lesson." Teach Animation. Feb. 2008. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. http://www.teachanimation.org/phenalesson.html.

Article Reading Response

I have stumbled across an interesting article: Is it art or is it digital decorating? By: Nadine Kam; Assistant Feature Editor of Honolulu Star-Bulletin. He had worked for Hawaii Computer Art Society for ten years before this article was published. I found it interesting because he touched on how technology is changing art and how its undeniable that computers are going to have a huge impact on art in the future. The fact that the article was written in 1998 might make it seem irrelevant to some, but to me I think it makes it clearer that digital art is growing.

Technology is helping artists to make art as fast as they can think of it. Some may think that is doesn't give artists a chance to show their true talents and that hand made art is something that is getting lost, but technology is just a way of enhancing art. It can be used to enhance and help with paintings, drawings, murals, and give directions on how to create. Not only does it help with other aspects of making art, but it is a art form of its own. It will not be demolishing anything to do with art but enhancing everything.

Nelander, a artist Kam interviewed seemed to have a fear of technology. "I feared for a long time that I'd lose the painter in myself, that technology takes the hands out of the medium. It still frightens me to an extent, but in defense of digital imagery, I still paint. That's my discipline" (Nelander). I am curious to see if this is still a fear of his today. I understand teachers may be intimidated that kids may be more familiar than them with an Ipad, Internet searching or cell phones, but it is the future of these kids and it is something we can not turn away from. Instead of fearing it, teachers should embrace it and not be afraid of letting the kids teach them. By letting them use technology for their projects and internet to research for them, the students will be engaged in what they are doing and put more effort into them.

I thought this article was interesting because I can relate. I am a college age student going to school to be a Art Educator and am intimidated at times with technology. In particular, technology with art. I grew up seeing technology spread in the school system but feel as though I cannot compete with kids who have had great technology their whole lives. This is something our generation will have to slowly embrace day by day.

Kam, Nadine. "Is It Art or Is It Digital Decorationg?" Global Living Diary of Digital Art. Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 18 June 1998. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. http://www.lastplace.com/livhhawi.html