Welcome to the Media Component of Foundations 1!

Welcome to the Media component of Foundations 1. In this class, we will explore a range of digital art techniques and become experts at using Photoshop.

Today we will look at some of Ms. Lawson’s artwork, preview some of the projects we will work on in this class, and set up our class blogs.

Homework (due next class):

• Bring in an artwork you are proud of and would like to share with the class

Ms. Lawson’s Artwork

Computer Art

Drawing

Ceramics

Animation

snore animation

Why is it important to be skilled with a variety of art materials and styles?

Ms. Manhardt’s Artwork

Click here to view Ms. Manhardt’s portfolio site.

Foundations 1 Media Project Overview

Here are some examples of the types of projects we will create in this class.

First blog post requirements:

• A picture that is meaningful to you.
• The answers to the following questions:
  • Describe your previous experience with computer art.
  • Whose is responsible if the computer crashes and your project disappears? What will happen?
  • How will you back up your work? (hint: Google Drive, USB Drive)
  • Why is it important to post your work to your blog every class?

You must email Ms. Lawson the link to your blog and publish a blog post today in order to receive participation points.

Part 1: Setting up a WordPress account

1. Click here to set up a WordPress account. (This will be your Foundations 1 class blog.) You may choose any free template you like, but keep in mind that you will need to post both text and images, so you should pick a template that supports both of these requirements well. Use your school Gmail address (890….@rcsd121.org) – you will have to verify your email in order to publish blog posts.
2. Log into your school email account, open the email from WordPress, and click on the link to verify your email address.

Part 2: Logging into your district Gmail account

1. Click here to log into your district Gmail account. Your username will be your student ID # @rcsd121.org.) Ex. 8123456@rcsd121.org, and your password is your district computer password. (Your district gmail account has unlimited storage space and will give you access to DropBox, which is a great free way to back up your files.)
2. Click on the email from WordPress to verify your class blog.
3. Email Ms. Lawson (2013045 at rcsd121.org) from your district Gmail account. You will not receive credit if you email me from another email client. Your email should include:
   1. Your first and last name
   2. A link to your WordPress blog. For example, “Stephanie Lawson – My blog URL is SOTAfoundations1.wordpress.com.”

Part 3: Publishing your first blog post

Publish your first post by clicking on this icon at the top of your WordPress screen
Include the following:

1. Post an image by following these steps:
   1. Go to images.google.com
   2. type in what you are looking for (ex. “cutest kitten in the world”)
   3. click on the image you want to download
   4. control +click -> save images as
   5. save the image to your desktop
   6. Click on the “add media” button
   7. Click on “upload files”
   8. Click on “select file”
   9. Select the image you want to insert
2. Copy and paste the following questions and answer them:
   1. Describe your previous experience with computer art.
   2. Whose is responsible if the computer crashes and your project disappears? What will happen?
   3. How will you back up your work? (hint: blog, Google Drive)
   4. Why is it important to post your work to your blog every class?
3. Click “publish” at the bottom of the screen to publish your post.

Need help? Please follow the following process:

1. Check the blog
2. Ask two classmates
3. Still stuck? Raise your hand and Ms. Lawson will help you as soon as she is available.

If you finish early, help your classmates set up their blogs or set up the About page on your blog.

Today we will:

• Look at some of Ms. Lawson’s and Ms. Manhardt’s artwork
• Preview some of the projects we will work on in this class
• Set up our class blogs, email Ms. Lawson the link to our class blogs, and publish our first blog post

Last Day of the Course

This is the last day of the course. Please finish any missing/incomplete assignments and post them to your blog.

Missing/Incomplete Assignments:

• Antonio – 4 celebrity prints, celebrity artist statement
• Lamya – 4 celebrity prints, celebrity artist statement
• Arleigh – celebrity artist statement
• Nicky – celebrity artist statement
• Isaias – stop motion animation & artist statement
• Alicia – 4 celebrity prints, celebrity artist statement
• Alexis – 4 celebrity prints, celebrity artist statement
• Isaiah – stop motion animation & artist statement
• Hakim – 4 celebrity prints, celebrity artist statement
• Jesse – 4 celebrity prints, celebrity artist statement
• Mara – 4 celebrity prints, celebrity artist statement

Optional survey (copy and paste questions in a new blog post):

• What was your favorite project(s) this semester? Why?
• Were there any projects you did not like? Which ones? What did you not like about them?
• What types of (digital art) projects would you like to see more of?

Today we will:

• Finish any incomplete projects and post them to the blog along with artist statements
• Make sure all finished projects are in the Google Drive folder you have shared with Ms. Lawson
• Complete the survey in a new blog post (optional)

Pop Art Celebrity Prints Day 4: Featured Artist: Andy Warhol

If you have not already done so, please make sure the Photoshop files of your room designs, and any celebrity prints that you have finished, are shared with Ms. Lawson in Google Drive.

Today’s essential question: What are some ways our celebrity prints are similar to the artwork of Andy Warhol? What are some ways they are different?

Today we will discuss the artwork of Andy Warhol and then continue working on our celebrity prints. If you think you have your set of 4 final coordinating prints, call Ms. Lawson over for feedback. Once she approved your set, you can create a final blog post with all 4 prints and a 150-word artist statement about the project.

Andy Warhol was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art, or the art of popular culture. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising. By the 1960s, Warhol ran a studio known as “The Factory,” where he collaborated with dozens of assistants and celebrities, eventually becoming a celebrity himself. Learn more about Andy Warhol from the Warhol Foundation.

Here is a 1 minute video of Andy Warhol making a print. Do you think his assistant should have received credit? Why or why not?

Why do you think Andy Warhol focused on printmaking instead of drawing or painting?

Do you think Andy Warhol would have used Photoshop if he were alive today? Why or why not?

Here are some of Andy Warhol’s prints:

Artist Statement Brainstorming Questions:

• Describe your artwork
  • What does your artwork look like?
  • What is the subject matter?
  • What art elements (ex. color, value, shape, line, texture, form) or principles are most obvious in your work?
• How did you create your art?
  • What media is your artwork made from?
  • Describe the process or steps you took to create your artwork.
• What is the big idea behind your artwork?
  • Who or what inspired your artwork?
  • What is your artwork about?
  • How do you want people to feel when they view your artwork?
• Overall thoughts
  • What did you learn from creating this artwork?
  • Is the final piece what you imagined? How so?
  • What did you do well? What could you have done better?

Today we will:

• Learn about Andy Warhol and discuss his prints
• Continue working on our celebrity prints
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • If you have not finished the project, you will post an image of anything you worked on today
  • If your finished your project, you will post:
    • a set of your 4 favorite PNG or JPGs of your celebrity that you created in Photoshop
    • a 150 word artist statement about the project

Pop Art Celebrity Prints Day 3: Creating a Unified Set of Four Prints

This is the last week of the semester (and the course). Please plan your time accordingly and arrange to come in during lunches and advisements as needed.

Student Teacher – Ms. Manhardt

We have a student teacher, Ms. Manhardt, joining us from RIT. You can learn more about Ms. Manhardt, and see examples of her artwork on her class blog.

Today’s Essential Question: How will you tie your favorite 4 prints together so they read as one unified artwork?

Today we will continue making celebrity prints in different color schemes. Aim for 8-10 prints total. This will give you the most options to pick from, ensuring that your set of four prints will display unity. Here are some examples of print sets that work well together created by past students. What are some reasons each of these sets goes together?

Remember, the design seeds website is a great resource for color schemes.

By the end of today’s class, make sure the following have been posted to your blog AND your shared Google Drive folder:

• The grayscale cutout image of your celebrity
• Every version of your celebrity that you have created. You will not like every image, and that is ok. The point of this project is to experiment with different color schemes that push the boundaries of our comfort zone.

Today we will:

• continue making celebrity prints in different color schemes
• Post all the prints (including the original black and white one) to our blogs
• Upload all of our prints to our shared Google Drive folders

Pop Art Celebrity Prints Day 2: Adding Color

Open Studio Hours

This room will have Open Studio hours next week at the following times:

• Tuesday, 1/21 from 7:30-10:30am
• Thursday, 1/23 from 7:30-10:30am

The following projects count towards 2nd marking period:

• Room Design
• Stop Motion Animation
• Set Of 4 Celebrity Prints

Today’s essential question: How can I add color to my celebrity portrait?

Today we will finish smoothing out our celebrity portraits. You will show your finished design to Ms. Lawson, and once she approves it, you will post a PNG of your smoothed out portrait to your blog, and upload the black and white smoothed out image to your shared Foundations 1 Google Drive folder.

Then you will begin adding color to your celebrity portrait, following the steps in this post. You will save each color scheme as a different file name. (ex. arianna_grande_blue, arianna_grande_purple_orange, etc).

A Monochromatic Color Scheme is comprised of different tints and shades of one color.

The design seeds website is a great resource for color schemes.
I used several of their color schemes for my Drake prints:

     

How to Add Color to your Photoshop Portrait

1. Open Photoshop (Go to the windows icon at the bottom left of the screen -> All Programs -> Adobe Master Collection CS5 -> Adobe Photoshop).
2. Open the Photoshop file of your monochromatic celebrity portrait (File -> Open).
3. Convert the Image to CMYK. This will allow you to add color. (Image -> Mode -> CMYK). If will ask if you want to flatten the image by merging the layers. Say yes.
4. Open the image of the color scheme you want to use. Select the move tool.  Use it to drag your color scheme into your photoshop file. Double click on the layer with the color scheme, and name it “color scheme.”
5. Save a version of this file that recognizes that you can add color (File -> Save as -> filename_red_monochromatic.psd)
6. Select the eyedropper tool.  Use it to select your first color. (It is easiest to start with the darkest or lightest color, and get progressively darker or lighter.)
7. Click on the layer with your image.
8. Select the magic wand tool.  Use it to select your first color.
9. At the top of the screen, click Select -> Select Similar. This will select all the areas of that color.
10. Make a new layer.
11. Select the brush tool.  Make sure it is set to 100% hardness. Make the brush size huge by clicking holding down on the right bracket (}) key. Color over your entire image. Only the selected areas should change color.
12. Select -> Deselect
13. Repeat steps for your next color.
14. Repeat steps until you have added all the colors.
15. Save your photoshop file. File -> Save).
16. Save your file as a jpg file. File -> Save As -> filename_red_monochomatic.jpg (or some other name that identifies your color scheme).
17. Close your file.
18. Repeat these steps to create more prints in different color schemes.

Today we will:

• Demonstrate how to add color in Photoshop and save different versions for each color scheme
• Create several variations of our portrait using different color schemes
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • our black and white celebrity print
  • each digital version and the color scheme it was inspired by

New Project: Pop Art Celebrity Prints

Today’s essential question: What celebrity will you use for your portrait project? Why?

Project requirements:

• one black and white high contrast portrait with 4-6 shades
  
• a set of four coordinating Photoshop portraits of that celebrity featuring a range of different color schemes
  

How to Create your cropped, monochromatic high-contrast celebrity portrait

1. Download your celebrity image
   1. Go to images.google.com and search for a LARGE image of your celebrity
   2. Click on the image of your choice until you can view it full size. Then right click -> save image as and REMEMBER WHERE YOU SAVED THE IMAGE
2. Open your celebrity photo in Photoshop
   1. Open Photoshop
3. File -> Open (Select the image you downloaded. You will need to remember where you saved it!)
   
4. Turn the image black & white. (Image -> Mode -> Grayscale).
5. Crop your image.
   1. Select the crop tool.
      Set the crop tool to 5.5×7 inches at the top of the screen.
      Click and drag the crop tool until the area you want to crop is selected.
   2. Hit enter to crop your image.
      
6. Intensify your shadows & highlights.
   1. Image -> Adjustments -> Levels
      
7. Double click on the background layer in your layers palette and rename it.
   Then use the eraser tool to erase the background:
   
8. Simplify your image to 4-6 shades.
   1. Layer -> Duplicate Layer
   2. Filter -> Artistic -> Cutout
      
9. Touch up your image so it looks smooth and has a solid color background.
   1. Layer -> Duplicate Layer.
   2. Use the eyedropper tool  to select a color, then use the brush tool (with hardness set to 100%) to color over the image and smooth out any awkward spot:
      
      The { key will make your brush smaller, and the } key will make your brush larger. You can use the magnifying glass to zoom in on the image.
      
10. Save your file as both a Photoshop (.psd) and a jpg (.jpg).
11. Upload your original image and your cutout image to your blog.
12. Upload your Photoshop (.psd) file to your Google Drive

Today we will:

• Download a high-res celebrity image to work with
• Crop the image so it is 5.5×7 inches
• Alter the image so it is a black and white image with 4-6 shades
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • The original celebrity image
  • Your cropped, monochromatic high-contrast celebrity portrait
  • A paragraph describing why you picked the celebrity, and which colors you plan to use for each part of the project.

Stop Motion Progress

Today’s essential question: How can I create a smooth realistic animation?

Here are some animations created by students in this class:

Today we will:

• Continue animating our stop motion movies in the Stop Motion Studio App
• Export the movie as a GIF
• Upload the GIF to your school Google Drive account
• Create a new blog post with a GIF of your progress

Stop Motion Animation Day 4: Using the StikBot Studio App

Today’s essential question: How can I create the illusion of motion through a series of pictures?

Today we will begin animating our stop motion movies in the StikBot Studio App.

The StikBot Studio App is set at a default of 10 frames per second. This means that you will need to take 200-300 photos to make your 20-30 second animation. Follow these steps from the iMore website to get started!

Getting started with StikBot Studio

1. Download and Install StikBot Studio from the App Store. (If you are using your phone or personal tablet. StikBot Studio has already been installed on the class iPads.)
2. Tap Open.
3. Tap the Video Camera icon.
4. Tap OK to allow access to the camera.

Set your scene

At this point your camera will be enables and ready to start taking photos.

1. Set you camera on a small stable location like a tripod for best results.
2. Set up your initial scene.
3. Tap the red face to take your first shot.
4. Make a small adjustment to your figure. You’ll see a ghost image of your previous position so that you get the motion “just right”.
5. Tap the red face to take your next shot. You’ll notice that the ghost image in now gone awaiting your next stop motion movement.
6. Continue until you have completed your scene.
7. Once you’ve completed your scene, tap the video editor icon.

Modify your animation

Once you have your desired scene completed, you can add sound effects, dialog, text, and items from your camera roll in the video editor.

1. Tap the new scene you’ve created.
2. You can preview your video by tapping the play arrow.
3. Press the pause button to stop the preview.

Exporting and sharing

Once you’ve completed your awesome animation you’re ready to save and share it!

1. Tap the export icon.
2. Tap YES to save your movie to the camera roll.
3. Choose your video format.
4. Tap OK to allow StikBot to access your photos.
5. Tap OK once the export to camera roll is complete.
6. Go into your Photos.
7. Tap your movie.
8. Tap the Share icon.
9. Select the method your wish to share your video. For this class, you should upload it to YouTube and then post the link to your blog.

Today we will:

• Begin animating our stop motion movies in the StikBot Studio App
• Log in to YouTube using your school Gmail account
• Post the animation to YouTube
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • A link to the video
  • The answers to the following questions:
    • Describe what is happening in your animation.
    • How did you create this animation?
    • What was easy? What was difficult?
    • What will you do differently during our next class?

Stop Motion Animation Day 2: Character & Scene Creation & Layout

Today’s essential question: How will I create my scene and characters from cut paper?

Today we will create our scenes and characters by cutting paper.
Your scene must be landscape orientation in order to work properly with the app:

Character Design

You will need to create each moving body part as a separate shape, and certain body parts may need to be broken into several shapes that overlap, as in the example below. Why is it important to have overlapping separate shapes? Here is an example of what I am looking for:

separate character body parts

assembled character

Depending on your story, you may need to create multiple versions of the same character to show it from different angles (ie. front vs side view).

Apply these same rules when building your scene. For examples, any parts of the scene that will move (such as clouds or tree branches that sway in the wind) should be a separate shape. When in doubt, consult with Ms. Lawson before gluing anything!

You must post photos of the work you did today to your class blog in order to receive participation points.

Storage & Organization

It is important to keep your pieces organized. Use one ziploc bag per character, and a separate ziploc bag for the pieces that make up the scene. Then store all the bags in a folder with your name on it.

Today we will:

• Create our scenes and characters by cutting paper
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • Photos of the work we did today
  • A few sentences describing what you created, and how you created it
• Organize our pieces by storing them neatly in separate bags within a folder

New Project: Paper Cut Out Stop Motion Animation

Today’s essential question: How can I use a storyboard to plan out my animation?

Stop motion animation is animation that is captured one frame at time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. When you play back the sequence of images rapidly, it creates the illusion of movement.

Here are some examples of paper cut out stop motion animations:

 

Project Requirements:

• Created from cut paper and filmed using StikBot Studio Pro
• Tells a cohesive story with a clear beginning, middle, and end
• 20-30 seconds long
• High-quality craftsmanship
  • smooth, fluid animation
  • consistent camera angles
  • well-designed frames

Part 1: The Storyboard

“The story is king.” – Pixar

In order to have a good animation, you must start with a good story. As you plan your animation, you will sketch each key moment in the story as a key frame. You should also write a brief description of what is happening in each key frame. Here are some examples of what I am looking for in a storyboard:

Credit: Aaliyah

Credit: Aaliyah

Today we will:

• Plan out our cut paper animations by filling out the storyboard packet. You must fill out BOTH the planning overview page and the storyboard page in order to receive full credit.
• Post photos of the work we did today to our class blog