Embedded Files
Big Idea
Big Idea
Using flip books to represent changes in motion
Inquiry Question
Inquiry Question
What does it look like when an object gets thrown up in the air and comes back down? How does the motion of the object change over time, and how can we represent this visually?
Grade
Grade
11th
Describe your project: what art and non-art academic content did you integrate into your project?
Describe your project: what art and non-art academic content did you integrate into your project?
In order to make a realistic animation, you have to break up complicated motion into smaller, simple motions. During third quarter, students collected data on motion that changes over time and used that data to derive equations. They used the equations to predict the location of a ball rolling down a ramp for 10 seconds. Kayla used those calculations to make a digital animation of a ball rolling down a ramp, which we compared to an animation showing constant speed. Then, students used their knowledge of how speed changes over time to make a flip book. They had to represent an object slowing down as it moves upwards and then speeding up as it comes back down. For many students, even if they could explain what their flip books should look like, it was a challenge to visually represent what they wanted to show! They had to make a storyboard and edit their drawings to represent smooth motion.
Flip book practice sketch
Flip book practice sketch
Notice the dots towards the end that were erased and re-drawn!
Flip book practice with description
Flip book practice with description
"here it starts slowly, because there are not spaces [between the dots], it has less speed.
What references did you draw from, and what influenced you when creating and planning your project?
What references did you draw from, and what influenced you when creating and planning your project?
We looked at early motion studies by Eadweard Muybridge & Étienne-Jules Marey to think about using still frames to convey motion, and how animation can help us understand how an object moves through space.
Choose 1 academic learning standard and 1 arts learning standard you’re exploring in your project. Describe how they intersected in your project.
Choose 1 academic learning standard and 1 arts learning standard you’re exploring in your project. Describe how they intersected in your project.
Art: Utilize inquiry methods of observation, research, and experimentation to explore unfamiliar subjects through art making. - Students used observation, scientific experiments, and data collection to create their flip books.
Science: Developing and using models. A scientific model identifies and represents smaller parts of a complex phenomenon. Students make a model based on observations or experiments, and then test the model to see if it works! Students had practiced making a single diagram called a "motion map" to show how the speed of an object changes over time. In the flip book project, they had to make an illustration that matched the motion map and their explanation of how objects move.
Describe how the inquiry was introduced and maintained with your students.
Describe how the inquiry was introduced and maintained with your students.
We introduced the inquiry by making a digital animation together and a class, and in subsequent sessions, students worked individually to calculate and represent the acceleration and deceleration of a ball being thrown in the air and falling back down.
What were some unexpected discoveries and observations from you and your students?
What were some unexpected discoveries and observations from you and your students?
This was surprisingly difficult! We noticed that even if students knew that an object slows down or speeds up due to gravity, when it came to draw this they often wanted to space their dots evenly, as if the ball was moving up and down at a constant speed.
This year, A/RP PDs focused on the Social Engager part of the Artist/Researcher Model—that is, that art can be a tool to engage the public and establish a dialogue with the broader community; CAPE Artist/Researchers use both art and the artmaking process to connect beyond the learning space.
This year, A/RP PDs focused on the Social Engager part of the Artist/Researcher Model—that is, that art can be a tool to engage the public and establish a dialogue with the broader community; CAPE Artist/Researchers use both art and the artmaking process to connect beyond the learning space.
How did your project excite the Social Engager piece and connect with the whole Artist/Researcher Model?
How did your project excite the Social Engager piece and connect with the whole Artist/Researcher Model?
One aspect of the project that was exciting to some students was connecting the standards of animation and film (how many frames per second you need to make motion believable to the human eye) that we used in creating our animation and flip book.
Page updated
Report abuse