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Submitted
by: Jennifer Auble, Westfield
Middle School, Westfield Indiana
UNIT: Cartooning - Graphic Design (Sculpture
lesson below)
LESSON PLAN: Comic
book or comic strip design
Grade
Level: Middle School (Jennie did this with 8th grade)
TIME LENGTH:
1 -1 ˝ weeks
click images for larger views
Objectives:
Design an
original cartoon character
Understand the
creative process and development of a cartoon from brainstorming
to final draft
Use the correct
terminology associated with cartooning
Recognize the
different kinds of cartooning including a gag comic, comic
strip, caricature, and a comic book.
Materials:
scrap paper, graph paper, pencils, erasers, colored
pencil, markers, final draft paper, templates
Instructional
Resources:
Assorted
cartooning videos, comic books, Sunday and weekday comic strips,
cartooning books
Vocabulary:
gag, caricature, strip, comic book, panel, thumbnail sketch,
plot, point of view, cropping, rule of thirds, caption, bubble,
narrative
Introduction/Motivation:
Brainstorm
favorite cartoons (include TV, comic book, movies, comic strips)
Look at main
characters and analyze personality, plot, and characteristics of
comic character
I.e.:
hero, clutz, nerd, shy, boastful, popular, cute, brave,
funny
Brainstorm
possible character types for original cartoon character
I.e.: animals, babies,
teenagers, elderly, teachers, athletes, aliens
Look at
displays and sample cartooning ideas
Procedure:
Write out a
written description of the original character.
What is the characters name?
What type of character will it be? Describe the
personality and what type of events or circumstances the
character might be involved in.
Will the character have a supporting cast or a side-kick? Will the character have props or a special environment that
they live in?
Begin making
thumbnail sketches of what the character might look like.
Take one idea and continue to develop the character
showing both a frontal and side view.
Include the full body and any props the cartoon will
need. Add color and
detail. Turn in 2
view character drawing for approval.
This drawing will be used as the standard for both the
comic and the sculpture so it will need to be returned to the
student for the next steps.
Choose
either the comic strip or the comic book cover assignment.
Panel – Look at
different layouts of a comic strip.
Create a rough draft template with a minimum of 3 action
panels and a title panel. Below
or above each panel jot down the ideas for the action or spoken
plot. Sketch ideas in each panel.
Think about point of view, size, cropping, and the rule
of thirds when designing each panel.
Turn in rough draft for approval.
Transfer rough draft to final draft paper.
Draw lightly in pencil.
Add lettering, detail and color.
Finish with a fine point marker outline.
Comic Book Cover –
Look at the different sizes and shapes of comic books.
Create a rough draft book.
Include the title, character, background, props,
captions, etc. Think
about point of view, size, cropping, and the rule of thirds, and
a border when designing the cover. Turn in rough draft for
approval. Transfer
ideas to the final draft. Draw
lightly in pencil, add color and finish in marker.
The final cover design should include details such as a
bar code, price, and other details found on a real comic book
cover.
Closure:
Share comic book or strip with the class and create
school display. Prepare
for 3-D sculpture project.
Evaluation:
teacher rubric, self evaluation
Cartooning
Unit Self Evaluation
Name
_____________________________________________
period _____
1.
All parts
are turned in
_____ Original writing, thumbnails, rough drafts
_____
Original character in full color – 2 views
_____
Comic strip or comic book full color
_____
This self evaluation!
2.
Your character’s name _____________________________
3.
Describe the personality of your character or any special
powers it has:
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
4.
Do you feel your cartoon character is original and
creative?
5 4
3 2
1
5.
Do you feel you cartoon character took some effort and
challenged you? 5
4 3 2
1
Comic Book or
Comic Strip – which one did you do?
__________________________
6.
Book – Circle any you did:
full color, marker
outline, detail, border, background setting or situation for you
character, supporting cast of characters or side-kick character,
cool title lettering, realistic book details
OR
6.
Strip – Circle any you did:
Title panel, 3 or more
additional panels, full color, marker outline, detail,
backgrounds, supporting cast of characters or side-kick
character, bubbles or narrative captions
7.
Craftsmanship
5 4
3 2 1
8.
Effort and Creativity
5 4
3 2 1
9.
Use of class time
5 4
3 2
1
__________
Extra credit – did both book and comic strip
Submitted by Jennifer
Auble
UNIT: Cartooning - Sculpture
LESSON: 3-D clay
sculpture of original comic character
TIME LENGTH:
1 -1 ˝ weeks
Objectives:
Create a 3-D model from
2-D design of original cartoon character
Understanding how to
model clay from a basic shape to a finished detailed sculpture
Know the stages clay
goes through and how to use sculpture tools correctly
Materials:
white art clay, modeling tools, sculpture stands,
sculpture boards, plastic bags, acrylic paints, brushes
Instructional
Resources: sculpture
books, stages of clay, vocab, and sculpture technique posters,
finished examples
Vocabulary:
2-D, 3-D, model, carve, pinch, slip, score, even thickness, self
supporting, wet, leather hard, bone dry, bisque, fire, kneading,
bust, full figure, base, kiln, acrylic paint
Introduction/Motivation:
Bringing the drawings to
LIFE!
Demonstration of the
process of modeling, detailing, hollowing, firing, painting
Procedure:
Day
1:
Photo copy the 2-view drawing to have a working copy of
character, decide if clay sculpture will be a bust or a full
figure. If it is a
full figure how will it be self supporting and structurally
strong – will modifications be needed from the original
drawing? Example:
a bird with long thin legs might be a seated bird with
crossed legs instead. A
horse might only be crafted from the neck up.
Make sure they understand a sculpture may need to be
simplified or altered to be strong and self supporting.
Give
students a soft ball sized piece of clay, prepare clay for use
by kneading and checking for air bubbles, shape clay into the
basic shape of character, gather storage boards, plastic bags,
put name on plastic bag, identify storage areas, clean-up time
10 minutes or more today!
Day
2:
Using modeling, carving, additive techniques students
will begin to “see” their character in the block of clay.
Remind students that it will be rough in the beginning
and clay has to evolve just like the story of the Ugly Duckling
to become a finished sculpture.
Daily reminders about not allowing areas to become too
thin or they will dry out quicker and fall off.
It is best to pinch out the main shapes rather than
adding many small parts. If
parts are added be sure to score and slip so they will be
strong. Make sure
it is self supporting as they work.
Day
3:
Begin to detail and fine tune sculptures, remind student
about score and slip if attaching parts, keeping clay moist,
etc. All greenware
is very delicate and special care may be needed for storage of
certain shapes. Use
extra clay to help support parts that stick off.
Day
4:
Continue to modify, add detail, begin smoothing and
working on surface texture, and finalize the clay before
hollowing. I like
to allow the projects some air time once students are finished
with all modeling. They
bring them to a designated area on their board with their bag
sitting under their board. I give them 2-3 hours of open air and then I wrap them for
the hollowing procedure the next day.
This gets them near leather hard but not quite.
Day
5:
Demonstrate hollowing of sculptures using a wire loop
tool. Reminder –
the goal is even thickness near the size of your index finger
all the way through the project.
Hard to reach areas may need to be cut off, hollowed, and
then reattached with slip and scoring.
DANGER!
Bumping, holding upside-down on the table (flat head
disease), or any non-gentle handling will result in a broken
project. Break
throughs will happen if you do not keep checking the thickness
by sight and by touch.
Day
6 & 7:
Finish hollowing, smoothing and allow projects to slowly
dry out.
Once
clay is bisque fired we use acrylic paint to decorate – this
usually takes 2-3 days depending on detail.
Closure:
Comparing drawings to finished sculptures.
Class display
Evaluation:
teacher rubric, self evaluation
[MIDDLE
SCHOOL LESSONS] |
