Scottish Graffiti

Gary M (S4) did not enjoy Intermediate Art, he was expecting an easier course and did not keep his interest and enthusiasm for the subject. After deciding that the course was not for him, he had a lot of spare time on his hands, so instead of wasting it, he decided that he would try and create works around his interest; Graffiti. He spent a lot of time making stencils and using paint and toothbrushes to simulate spray paint. He also brought in some drawings from home. These drawings were scanned and placed into photoshop to arrange them onto wall backgrounds. This method allows you to produce graffiti effects without actually having to damage property.

 

Let It Beetle

This week’s “Artwork of the Week’ comes from Iona M (S1 from St Benedicts). Iona had been working on a quick sketch of a Stag Beetle, studying layout and shape drawing. She imagined the photo of the insect as simplified shapes, rectangles and sausages, so that she could layout the size, angles and segments. After checking these guidelines, she then darkened and defined her lines to make the insect stand out. After that, she had a few minutes before the end of class to tone the insect using shading and smudging.

Iona shows great confidence and skill for S1 and if she had more time to add to her work, I’m sure her drawing would have been even more fabulous. That aside, what she has achieved in around 15 mins appealed to me. A nice clean style, with confident lines and a good use of tonal contrasts.

Class Visits

Think Of The Week 5: Animal Language

Recessionists Final Poster

So I posted recently on how school taught design has similar links to professional design. I explained how the three examples of development required for the intermediate and higher exams are similar to the three ideas provided to a client for a choice of designs. I posted my designs and provided you with the client’s choice. Today I will show you the final draft of the poster and explain its construction. The first draft of the idea:

The first draft had all the relevant ideas, though it didn’t have any illustrative skill or eye catching elements. It was a version to allow the client to picture what the final poster would convey. The final draft is below:

As you can see, several things have changed. The client wished for the poster to be portrait, so the canvas was rotated. I have spent a little longer on the written and drawn pages in the poster, they contain a little more colour, skill and overall attractiveness. This doesn’t mean that I think they’re beautiful. It just means that they attract the eye to certain parts of the layout. The viewer’s eye is drawn down the poster, looking at each relevant piece of information, attracted to little pieces of red.

Sometimes as a designer you have to compromise your idea to keep the client happy, after all, if they’re are paying for it, they have the last say. You may feel that you have the skill and experience to argue against them, you may be right, though it is important to give your pride a back seat and provide a piece of work that the client wants. I had heard that although they liked my idea and were happy with it, they had hoped that the title was bigger and at the top of the poster, as well as lighting the image a little more. I decided that I would do this for them, as I new the image was to be printed billboard style and it would be easier for the printer.

There are things I don’t like about this version, though I can understand why they were requested. So there you go. How design works outside of school.

WWII Animation Exemplar

Animation, although difficult to introduce and needing lots of time to complete, can be very successful if given the chance. It allows understanding of materials, of composition, of movement and team working,  that other units cannot provide. Like all introductions to group design, it should be explored with brainstorming, mind mapping and exchanging ideas.

After the brainstorming, an idea is decided upon, then storyboards and character development is explored.

When the characters are developed, they can be made in the chosen material, scenery needs to be created and any effects that will add to the atmosphere and the feeling of the short film. After all that and 30 mins of animation, I ended up with this:

As you can see, it’s a small input to what was technically 3 hours work, though now that the elements have been made, it should be easy to carry on and finalise. This is exactly how the unit will work in class, the first few sessions will be terrible and stressful, though after pupils have their ideas and animating elements, you’ll find that you are no longer needed. You can just stand back, give some advice and admire your pupils’ great work.

WWII Primary Teachers Films – Week 1

Here’s an example of the few frames that were taken in Week 1 of the Primary Teachers introduction to iStop Motion and stop animation.

Primary Examples Of WWII Animations

This week I’ve had the chance to work with a group of enthusiastic Primary School Teaching Students. Their project of work involves making an exemplar World War II animation aimed towards P7 pupils and to arrange a unit of work around it for teaching in class.

It’s interesting to see the differences between the Primary and Secondary levels in teaching. Secondary School Teachers are required to be specific and a master in their field, Primary Teachers are required to be good at everything, which can be stressful, I’m sure. So, I was surprised at the overall standard of artistic skill among the teachers.

Above, a train collage is trimmed from sugar paper, details are added with a fine black pen. Below, a queuing man is sculpted in plastercine, storyboarding panels can be seen behind the figure.

Above, a well dressed girl is created from a pipe cleaners wire frame surrounded by modelling clay. Below, a similarly dressed girl is created from the top down.

Below, Two great examples of background creation using printouts and paints.

These were elements created within a 3 hour crash course to stop animation, they are aimed towards a primary level and remain unfinished, though the storyboards, characters and scenery being developed looks very promising and I can’t wait to see the next stages.

Artoween

Halloween always brings out the best in us. It’s a time that calls for creativity, imagination and resourcefulness. From the carving of the pumpkin, to the decorations and the costume, Halloween is a great time to show off your art skills. Below, a few fine examples of creepy art.

Above: Thanks to Mrs Techman for this image of one of her students as a barrel of slime.

Below: Ms McCartney below shows how to get rid of those pesky garden gnomes.

Below: Halloween doesn’t have to be creepy, it can be fun as well. The photo below (provided by Ms Ledingham) shows what you can do with a lamp-shade, some green fur and a whole lot of insulation… Oscar the grouch.

Below: “Who ordered the severed head?” (Ms Pritchard)

 

Below: I show off my skills at pumpkin carving and my gruesome costume ‘The Thing’.

Above: Ross B provides an excellent little digital sketch of the Grim Reaper.

Think Of The Week 4: Halloween Special