STANDARDS

Core Art Standards:

VA2: Develop artistic work.

VA5: Develop artistic work for presentation.

VA7: Analyze artistic work.

 

Objective: Students will explore traditional and/ or digital animation. They may complete a storyboard, develop one or more characters, create a scenic design, produce an animated short, or some combination thereof.

 

Time: 9-13 hours

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Hands-On Studio Project: Experiment With Animation

Use with page 12.

Objective: Students will explore traditional and/or digital animation. They may complete a storyboard, develop one or more characters, create a scenic design, produce an animated short, or some combination thereof.

PREPARATION: (1 hour)

Have students read about animation in the May/June 2021 issue of Scholastic Art. Remind them that much of animation is about storytelling, and encourage them to start thinking about stories they’d like to tell through animation.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: (2 hours)

  1. Have students independently research to learn more about any steps in the animation process that interest them. Remind them that these steps might include storyboarding, character design, scenic design, programming, and digital animation.
  2. Students should decide which steps in this process they plan to tackle. Encourage them to take careful notes and develop a plan.
  3. Provide guidance, helping students create feasible plans based on the time, resources, and technology available. Encourage students to think big but have a contingency plan if they encounter challenges or setbacks.

DEVELOP IDEAS: (3-5 hours)

  1. Have students begin making sketches. If they are working on a storyboard, explain that it might help them to begin by writing the entire narrative and then create a bullet list of the scenes they plan to illustrate.
  2. If students are working on character development, encourage them to make a variety of sketches to help work out details from mannerisms and facial expressions to clothing and hair.
  3. Students who choose to work on scenic design should look for reference photos to help them develop the scenery.
  4. For all of the above steps, explain that students should feel free to experiment with and adopt a visual style. It might be realistic, stylized, cartoonlike, or even abstract.

FINAL WORKS: (3-5 hours)

  1. Have students create polished versions of their work. Allow students to dig into whatever part of animation excites them most. This might mean that one student completes a series of fully developed character sketches, while another makes a rough digital animation.
  2. Help students acknowledge their successes and encourage them to push themselves, but don’t expect every student to finish the lesson with a completed, polished animation.
  3. Conclude with a class critique. Have students complete the “Artist Statement: Experiment With Animation” skills sheets.

ASSESSMENT:

  1. Did student demonstrate an understanding of one or more aspects of animation?
  2. Did student develop one or more aspects of an animation including but not limited to storyboard, character sketches, scenic designs, or animations?

Rubric

4

Student completes an exemplary work that seamlessly demonstrates an understanding of one or more aspects of animation. 

3

Student completes a work that demonstrates an understanding of one or more aspects of animation. 

2

Student attempts to complete a work that demonstrates an understanding of one or more aspects of animation. 

1

Student struggles to complete a work that demonstrates an understanding of one or more aspects of animation.

Prepared by:

Peter Yuscavage

Jersey City Arts

Jersey City, New Jersey

Download a printable PDF of this lesson plan.

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