Link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/269050554/
I had a lot of fun using Scratch for the last project so I knew I wanted to use it again for my final. I think I like it because the art preparation for it reminds me of the visual development process in animation, so I also knew that I wanted to form a lesson based around some aspect of that. I think it’s important that art educators know whats going on in the art industry in terms of career options and be able to help to prepare students who show promise or an interest in tapping into those highly competitive fields. Visual development and character design are just a couple examples of the many exciting career paths that are available to artists in the animation and gaming world.
I decided that for my final project, I wanted to focus specifically on character development through the exploration of facial features. I originally thought that I might take a more “realistic” and painterly approach, stylistically. My lesson was going to include a more in depth look at anatomy and form for facial structure BUT I then decided that would be biting off more than this lesson could or should chew. I think it would be easy to get overwhelmed and caught up in unnecessary details – Encouraging a more simplistic and cartoon approach would allow students more freedom to explore expression without the weight of feeling like they have to “flesh” their figure out too much. I was inspired to create this lesson plan because it seems to me that portraits and figures tend to be one of the most challenging subjects for many students and artists to really nail. Humans are so intricate and it can be really hard to capture the essence of the human spirit so that it doesn’t look like a lifeless bag of flesh… Often times, features are drawn too predictably (ex. the standard almond shaped eyes, the same nose over and over, etc..) and the expression tends to feel stiff and lifeless.. Through cartooning, one can feel a little more brave to explore a range of emotions and stylizing through exaggeration and simplified drawing techniques.
SO…. I started out by visualizing a character in my head. “Abigail.. Yes, that’ll be her name. She lives in an old stone house in New England with her pet rabbits. Her favorite holiday is probably Beltane but we still know nothing about her emotions or mannerisms.”
I first sketched her out on paper while lightly building up the form of her face with a rough idea of where her facial features would go based off of the positioning and 3 quarter angle of her body. I also roughly started sketching little facial features for her and began playing with combining and rearranging them around….
THIS proved to be harder than I thought it would be. There were so many different things to take into consideration (like if this nose and these pair of lips line up nicely like this, then the moment I swap out this nose for another, suddenly the lips are now being cut off. Or if these eyes are at this angle, the moment I use these brows, they overlap in a way that they’re not supposed to.) It is easy to run into many small problems that effect the accuracy of how all of these facial features should flow and interact with each other. The lesson that I learned from this is that keeping things slightly simple is key. Students must be mindful when drawing the facial features of how they lay on the face and how they will work in different combinations, like a puzzle.
I also created a background just by drawing a little design and repeating it on photoshop. I wanted the background to feel like wallpaper to compliment my character Abigail. Just as all aspects of the character should be well thought out (From the hair, to the clothes) so should the characters’s environment. All design elements should feel like they belong to the same world. Students will of course be asked to create their own characters but creating a background is optional.
Once I began uploading my files into Scratch, I then realized just how SMALL and pixelized everything is on there. *ouch, that hurts my detail oriented soul!* Each facial feature will be uploaded as a separate sprite and in order to get them to fit onto the face of my character bust, I had to size them down until they were so tiny, that they lost all sense of detail and now look like mere blocks of legos or like they belong in minecraft…… As I said before, simple works best for this particular assignment 🙂 The most important part of this assignment is that students are able to explore emotions through cartooning and how this expands their perspectives on the limitless ways one can portray the human figure/character.
December 11, 2018 at 5:03 pm
This lesson plan is coming together so great! I absolutely love the way that you’re bringing your background in illustration to this lesson plan. I think that this project is something students would really enjoy and look forward to. It is such a unique and creative way to encourage students to explore character design.
December 11, 2018 at 7:06 pm
Capturing the life in characters is a hard thing to do. I am glad that you stayed away from the stereotypical almond shaped eyes and what not like you mentioned. You simplified the project so that students didn’t feel overwhelmed with understanding anatomy, and anatomy is something that takes a lot of time and practice to understand. Emotion is just as important and getting students to understand the capabilities using facial features is magnificent. You also stylized your figure which would allow them to think more about their personal style so that they can develop their identities as artist.
December 13, 2018 at 12:04 am
character development is a great thing to focus on! it helps students in so many ways and is honestly a pretty challenging activity I think could get some great results. like others mentioned I think you simplified this in an optimal way for students to be able to tackle.
December 15, 2018 at 7:48 pm
I love love love this project!! Even though I love doing portraits, capturing emotions was something I never was able to do (or taught to do, really). I think teaching about the importance portraying emotion and how to do that is super important, especially because portraiture is such a huge step in art. Also having it on scratch makes it all the more fun! 🙂 I also love how you’re letting the students have authority over what type of style they want to draw in. Realism is nice but having a personal style and touch is so much more visually exciting, plus enhances the artist and their identity! P.S. Love your cute little backstory on Abigail.. hope her rabbits are well 🙂
December 16, 2018 at 10:37 pm
I love this project! I think this project would be so fun for students. Developing a character and being able change it’s features will be a great introduction for students learning about creating emotion in their artwork. I often struggle with capturing emotion in a portrait and I never though about practicing with animation, but what a good idea! This lesson will help students be able to create a portrait’s charisma which can help them develop a story about that character. I think this project allows a lot of creative freedom, which is so important. I think this project would really inspire students to get really creative with their images and with their stories. I think it is awesome that they will be able to change their characters emotions through Scratch.
You really did a great job on this project, and your designs are gorgeous (as always) !
December 18, 2018 at 4:23 am
You’re such an animator!! Oh my gosh, this is sooooo cool! This game is a really great opportunity for students to learn about drawing faces and conveying emotions. Cartooning is a great way for students to be creative as well and not having to worry too much about being 100% realistic. Also, I think your “Abigail” character is very charming and fun…great name choice! 🙂
December 20, 2018 at 1:10 am
Seeing different projects of yours throughout the semester incoporating your art style has been so intriguing. I love your art style and its amazing detail, seeing you create a game with(even though they turned out so small and in so much smaller resolution) such great design: amazing. As a child I loved creating different people and dressing up different characters online so I just know the younger kids would love this, especially adding in their own art. It’d be cool to see everyone’s different art styles and characters at the end.