Lesson Idea :: Cartoons in the Round :: 3D Design

As an art teacher I get bored easily with lesson and project ideas. Does this happen to you?

For this reason, I do my best to not repeat lesson and project ideas if I can help it but if that has to happen, create an iteration of time to happen such that there is at least a semester or even entire school year in between repeats.

That being said? A favorite of the 3D Design class I teach is clay sculpting cartoons. I like to do this with them as a bit of a final/finale project and (in turn) a reward for all that they have learned and hard work they have invested through the whole semester. And while I usually love/hate dealing with clay because I have a shared studio classroom, by the end of the semester I usually have full confidence in the skillsets and individual investments of each student to know that they will not waste any of their time or high quality materials that they are provided.

The last time I did this project was at the end of the Fall semester of 2010. It is such a favorite project that I try to let at least one 3D Design class do it per year but as it ended up happening, it didn't work out last year because of the budget. This year though, I was able to make it happen and it was quite a success. Here are the finished pieces from this year...

This one started out as Bambi but structurally it just wasn't working it out so I helped the student artist to steer it this way.

I had the students do a few different things this year than I have in previous ones. One of the major ones was they were required to make armatures and then cover them with clay in order to ensure that each of their finished pieces were a little more structurally sound and less likely to break apart. Doing this sort of worked in teaching them that the inside part that you don't see is just as important as the outside that you do see but not all of the armatures worked out so well. I attribute this to the fact many of them didn't use clay thick enough to fully encase the armatures and as the clay shrunk when it set, the armatures were popping and pushing out in weird ways.

Some of the things that remained the same though were the fact that we used boneware clay as we always do, we fully utilized clay sculpting boxwood tools that you can buy in a class set for a really reasonable price, and the students were each required to draw a front view, side view, and aerial view of their design ideas in order to help them better visualize what they would eventually have to do and then for me to be able to help them if they had issues rather than relying on their verbal directions that go something like this, "Well... it kind of has this thing that goes around and then comes back again and it's kind of big but not really." o_O  Seriously. I cannot help a student artist who is going to give me that kind of information to go from in order for me to be able to help them.

All of this being said? I continue to very much like this lesson idea to keep using it in years to come.

WiPs: Cartoons-in-the-round | 3D Design

The 3D Design class finishes out today and I am so incredibly proud of how far they have come...

Took this picture yesterday at the end of class

All of them have improved incredibly from this study of sculpting cartoons in the round (with boneware clay) and each piece really shows the great investment of time and effort that each put forth in order to turn out such carefully sculpted and painted finished works.

Inspired by Mike Wazowski of Monsters Inc.

Inspired by Pearl of Finding Nemo

Inspired by Pascal from Tangled

Something else that isn't so obvious from the works is also how much the students have learned in the way of learning how to navigate and take care of working art studio space. I would like to say that all student artists learn this but this 3D class of this semester did an exceptional job at really learning how to use all of the tools and space available to them on top of really taking care of all of it.

While in the past I have had classes who have really been hard on both the tools, raw materials, AND space offered to them by way of their visual art and design studies, the students I have had this round have shown great integrity and taken great responsibility not only in what they have created but in the ways they have created. It really makes me feel proud as a teacher because I feel like I really and truly have done a pretty solid job teaching them this semester. And I even had this confirmed/affirmed two days ago when I was out sick and the substitute teacher left me a lovely note that said that from her experience as a public school physical education teacher at the elementary school level, she experienced my classes as being incredibly well-mannered, hard-working, focused, and generally pleasant. She said I was very lucky to have the student artists that I have and I can't say that I can do anything other than agree with her whole-heartedly.

Next semester I have two more sections of 3D Design and I really hope and pray that they get as much out of the class as I know this class finishing has. I am going to be keeping some projects (like this clay sculpting one and maybe the Form of the Formless one as well) but I will also be adding in some old favorites from my archives like the Inside Out Masks and an updated version and spin on The Ombre Experience. That being said? Even though I have been a bit spotty with what used to be a pretty faithfully update blogsite every week day morning at 7am, don't abandon checking in with me completely even when I am being (sort of) flaky. There is plenty more to come and I will try and keep sharing as best as I can.

WiPs: Cartoons-in-the-round | 3D Design

Allow me for the lack of presence on the blog lately in the way of student artwork. I give you some works-in-progress from the 3D Design class. It's their last project of the semester!!!

PRIME time with lots of gesso being brushed about (pun definitely intended)

Yesterday and today the 3D class spent time attending to their cartoon sculptures done in the round out of boneware clay. They took about a two weeks of class time drafting up their ideas and then doing the actual sculpting right before we broke for Christmas and NY vacation.

The two weeks that we were out  left just enough time for the pieces to air-dry and set beautifully though some of them did suffer from some hairline fractures and natural separation of different pieces that weren't attached with the blending technique that I pushed them to use. (Hate to be the one to have to say "Told you so" but I absolutely did!!" A combination of gorilla glue, Alene's craft tacky glue, and some plaster tape helped to attend to any of the major issues of the drying out process (in a super cold studio classroom at that!) and it wasn't long until everybody was applying 2-3 good even coats of gesso for them to paint and detail in time for the end of next week when the end of class happens. (Cannot believe the end of classes is coming! Hate this time of year because of this. I ALWAYS hate having to say goodbye to the student artists every time it's time to do so.)

One of the pieces on the mend with some quick setting plaster tape. It was the best I could come up with to fix the very MAJOR crack that resulted from the drying process. This one even had an armature in it. *shrug*

Finding Nemo's Pearl the octopus!! Pretty much every day some one in class would take a turn and say her  infamous phrase, "Awww you guys made me iiiiink!"

A gecko/chameleon from I don't know which animated movie BUT the piece is BEAUTIFULLY sculpted and I know the student artist will do just as beautiful of a job painting and detailing it. Can't wait to see it finished!

One of my faves from this round of student work. It's a minion from Despicable Me!!!! This one also had us quoting Despicable Me at least every other day. It's been so much fun doing this project for everybody!!

There were also two Mike Wazowski's from Monsters Inc. and the dragon from How to train your dragon. There was one Mickey Mouse and one Cookie Monster and then (2?) from Dora the Explorer and one more from Finding Nemo (I think it was Dorie). I can't remember some of the others of the bunch but they are all pretty fun and I will certainly share them finished here on the blog when they are done.

We are HERE.

Both the 2D & 3D Design classes have been working on long-term projects that took almost twice the time I normally schedule for a project (about 2-3) weeks. I already shared the painting project called "a place of Grace" with you and I will be showing you the Op-Art project that 3D did called "Extra dimensional" once I get the work hung/installed in the student gallery.

In the meanwhile, 2D & 3D Design have both been working on new unit projects!

For 2D, they are working on combining what they have learned from color theory to create and assemble interesting pattern combinations that will eventually be used in a poster picture of an animal in order to show how the design principle of variety works. Each them is allowed to pick out whatever animal(s) that will be focused on for their final piece but their biggest challenge is trying to select, draw, color, and then pull together as many patterns with as much diversity as possible.

So far they are being both challenged and a little bit frustrated because they love working with all of the patterns but they are dealing with either indecision within themselves OR annoyance because they are realizing that maybe they don't have as many patterns as would lend themselves to a completed project of this type. (One of the major standards of the project is that ever space of the whole 11x14 surface needs to be covered in pattern and color!)

 The 3D class is loving their new unit of sculpting in the round. (Well, for the most part. You won't be able to walk underneath of the sculptures so it's not totally in the round, I guess.) They are working with clay in this unit and doing the ever popular clay cartoon bust project! Each of them gets to pick their own subject matter (so long as it isn't offensive either obviously or questionable) and then they take it from 2D plans and drafts to 3D form in clay and eventually they will detail and articulate it with acrylic paint. We are using air-dry Boneware clay and something new that I am both permitting and maybe even requiring this year - they have to make wire armatures to help ensure that their finished pieces will be that much more structurally sound.

I'm honestly kind of excited about the armatures since it draws in wire sculpting (that I would have ended up running out of time for) and also shows them a little more about the whole business of the art of gestural sculpting. As 3D is getting started they are required to get pictures of their sculpture ideas and then draw/sketch AT LEAST a front view and then side view of each idea.

Both of these projects might easily carry us through to the very end of the semester and that makes me kind of sad because I never like saying goodbye to a semester with any of my student artists but I'm also realizing that doing the kind of work I have been/can now do with all of the classes only means that they have come so far and learned so much! That's never a bad thing, right?

Kiln... you kill me (-__-)

 While I like, love, and adore most things that come along with my job, there is one thing I strongly dislike, loathe, and even HATE most every time: Using the classroom kiln.

OH MY LAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Now, I understand that this is a COMPLETELY first-world classroom problem because many people have neither clay nor a kiln but indulge me for just a minute since I feel like I rarely make such a request.)

When I first came to this job I was super excited about all of what I was going to get to do. The facilities are pretty much top notch, the students are amazingly talents, and I pretty much could say I had no qualms about anything. Then, they showed me the classroom kiln and I *pretty much*  turned the other way and pretended like it was never shown to me in the first place.

To me, the kiln is this: The place where enthusiasm and what would otherwise be great student artwork comes to die.

Is that melodramatic? Well, that's really the way that it works most of the time and I mean that very literally. Now, I understand that my issues with/against the kiln could be completely as a result of "pilot error" (on my part) but that's not my point here because (in my defense) I have read, researched, and tried the kiln enough times to feel completely legitimized about my raging hatred against it. That being said? I cannot dislike the kiln more at this moment because this is what some beautifully sculpted student work looks like today...

 ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be completely fair, some of the pieces did make it through the firing process and are currently being painted by the students they belong to but I'd say this represents probably less than 10% of the total amount of student work. *GRRRRRRrrrrrrrrr...*

Oh well... *pfffffffffffffffffffffttttttt*

Just had to get this off my chest.

At least there is model magic - THAT I do love!

End of the year woes

Less than two weeks remaining of school for me and the students are finally doing the "unit" of project work that is ceramics and clay sculpting. It's totally a "first world" complaint but I can't tell you how much I detest this project. Why? Well, NORMALLY I love doing the clay project but my supplies budget was cut about December time which left me scrambling to find material and ultimately landed me with some old-ish hand-me-down clay that just wasn't very well suited for this project. Normally I use Sculpture House Boneware clay so I don't have to deal with the in-classroom kiln but this year I guess I'm going to have to fire it up to finish out the year.

(Like I said before, I am aware this is a total "first world" complaint considering I was even able to have clay to use for three whole classes AND I have a very nice kiln to use whenever I want to. Just don't mind me. I know I'm being a baby about this whole thing.)

The objective for the project was to have the students do cartoon versions of themselves but the clay was hardly the kind that should have been used for this type of thing and I also didn't block off enough time for this so I ended up throwing in the towel and just kind of letting the do whatever. Someone did a really awesome "storm trooper" so I'm glad they were at least able to have fun.

Lesson idea: Organically-inspired sculpture ceramic tiles

This project idea is another one I did two years ago (only once) in 3D Design and haven't done since.  It was the final project/assessment and worked out beautifully despite all of the issues that came along with it. Inspiration for it came from Etsy when I stumbled upon the work of Element Clay Studio.

I loved how refined the work looked while still offering a terrific perspective of what texture might look like at a more macro level. It drew upon not just the beauty that real fine art has but also allowed the possibility for cross-curricular teaching since it could draw upon biology and earth sciences because the subject matter was meant to be completely organic.

 Each student was tasked with coming up with just one macro-view and there were plenty of starfish and lots of other aquatic representations. Another student did a beautiful texture inspired by the back of an alligator and a another one (who was very naturally gifted) did a fingerprint. Sorry I don't have closer pictures of these! I should have taken them at that level but they were a real challenge to hang and once they were up in the gallery (they showed BEAUTIFULLY!) I wasn't about to disturb them. Here is a picture to prove that...

I might try these again next year but perhaps go for ones that aren't 6x6" in size and maybe more 8x8". We'll see. Another thing that is hugely important is if I can fit this in the budget. The kind of clay I used was VERY expensive - can't remember if I used porcelain or not and have to check my ordering archives on that - but if I buy it at the top of the year, I might be able to avoid budget cuts if/when they happen.

Student work/Lesson idea: Cartoon busts

My 3D students are finally done with their cartoon pieces. I'd call this round a success, wouldn't you?  (Just to refresh your memory, HERE is a link of how they started out.)