Module Introduction: Where we're going

(taken from my art class and now shared with the world - ENJOY!)

Hello Artists!

We're about to embark on a brave and exciting quest. To tell a story never told before, build a world never before seen, and reveal a glimpse into the most guarded places on earth... A place behind a door that can only be opened from the inside, magically hidden, an undiscoverable vault... Your creative imaginations inside your minds and hearts!

We are beginning our unit that builds on everything we've done so far this year.

Firstly, we learned about the basics of art and design when we talked about the elements and principles. Then we developed the skills of character creation when we learned how to draw portraits. We built that portrait skill by incorporating Gimp 2.0 to digitally alter our photography. After we learned the basics of character building and editing, we moved into the realm of environmental design when we drew the interior and exterior of our school both on Gimp and by hand. 

Now we're going put those skills together as a team and write, and then illustrate a children's book filled with pictures of your invention and creative expression.

In the end, each story will be digitized to either a video or a printable PDF.

Here is an example of work completed by a few of my previous students at J. M. Alexander Middle School in 2018.

Now that you have read about where we're going, I want to begin the process of how we're going to get there.

Step 1: Consider your favorite books from childhood. Make a list of your favorite reasons you like those stories and illustrations.

Step 2: Select your top three reasons you loved your favorite books from childhood.

Step 3: Now, using your top three list, begin to write a new original story that includes a beginning, middle, and end. If possible try to make it rhyme! Not a requirement of course, but it certainly makes it more catchy to read aloud and when making a video.

This is as far as we will get today. Next, you will find an inspirational book for the story or the illustration. You may use elements of this story but you MUST transform it to make it uniquely your own. Maybe you make the story funnier, or scarier, or... More you!

Now... Get to work! :)

Thanks,

Mr. Lursen (What my students at Lakeshore Middle School call me.)