Stop Motion with Legos

Legos are a fun idea for stop motion. Many of your students will have them at home. This video is a little long, but there are some really great parts you can use for reference. I also think the theme of classic video games for this animation is fun.

Fist Full of Fur - Stop Motion

I find this movie inspiring. In fact, I had students create a production company intro for an animated short they put together, and they were only okay with little to no guidance on my part. I would use the intro on this video as an example to students. Completely doable for them, and of a much higher quality than what they might do otherwise.

Overall this project demonstrates strong storytelling through stop motion animation, including a very clever use of dialogue.

Digital Graffiti

Students might find this sort of light play really interesting, and more importantly inspiring. How could artists use this medium to create a conceptual artwork, beyond just exploration?

Visual Performance - Lichtfaktor vs Optix from Jens Heinen on Vimeo.

Face-amations

The face-amation project is a fun way to have students create a sort of stop motion animation using photography and video editing. Credit goes to teacher Ian Sanders of Apex High School for this project. Check out a student example here.

Animata - Real-Time Animation

Animata is an open source tool that allows you to create real-time animation. Could be an interesting tool for performance art or for live visuals at a concert. It also gives students a sense of how character rigging works.

Animata Jazz Pub from gabor papp on Vimeo.

Conceptual Music Video

Digital artist Andrew Huang created a music video titled "Doll Face". It is a beautiful conceptual piece that is also visually stunning. This video can be shown to students to discuss the role of concept in an artwork.

Iconongraphy Development

From Felix Sockwell's website:


Felix Sockwell is a high end identity designer and illustrator. His icons are simple, clean, and brilliant! When I teach students about designing logos, I like to show them the process of evolution an icon design can go through, and the truly endless possibilities.

Felix Sockwell on Drawger - Mr. Sockwell designed the New York Times GUI for a new iPhone application. This page shows his process - a fantastic resource to share with your students!

Felix Sockwell's Professional Website - He shares so many great examples of his work here. Just be cautious, not all of the work is appropriate for students.

'Desconstructing Dumbo' - A fun exploration of the Republican party icon, the elephant.