Drawing: Portraits from Life

In Drawing and Studio Art class we will be working in our sketchbook drawing portraits of students in class from life.  We'll start with a full page portrait of someone in class and then we'll fill a page with smaller drawings of other students at different angles like the demonstration I created in my sketchbook above.  The finished drawings will be due on Thursday at the beginning of class.

Here are some of the drawing tips for portraits from Craftsy we talked about yesterday in case you forget.  Remember start from the interior, make sure your proportions are correct, and draw a sketch before you make the lines dark and more permanent!

Digital Media: Drawing with Code Zombies

We will continue our computer coding art workshop today using the Zombie Drawing Code.  Now that we've learned some of the basics it's time to get creative and be original.  Play with the code and use any of the variables to create your own art piece.  Your welcome to use Adobe Photoshop or apps such as Over and Vine in conjunction with the code but make sure it's a completely original work. The final digital artwork will be due at the end of class on Wednesday so Thursday and Friday we'll meet back downstairs in the classroom to critique and reflect on the work and what we learned.

The examples above and below that I made in class give you a sense of some of the variations that you can work with.  Above all: experiment, play, and have fun!

Studio Art: Drawing Terms

In Studio Art we began our Drawing unit and are beginning to review the drawing terminology.  The videos above and below show the basic elements and principles or art and design that we are working with and you can also reference my Quizlet study guide to review all the terms you'll be responsible for.  We'll have a short quiz Friday on the drawing terms.

Digital Media: Drawing Code

In Digital Media we are going to start on a more advanced tutorial to learn some mathematical Drawing Code featuring the characters from Disney's Frozen.

Art Honor Society: Planning Meeting

Today the Art Honor Society will meet after school in room 161 to plan some of our upcoming events such as the October field trip, possible walk in the homecoming parade, volunteering at the Hampton's Film Festival, and  possible Haunted House for Spooky Hallways.

Digital Media: Coding Basics

In Digital Media we are going to start learning the basics of coding with a very simple tutorial for the game Flappy Birds.  We'll be learning a bit of coding once a month, each month as the school year progresses in order to have the skills to create some of our more complicated future projects.

Studio Art: Sketchbook Week

Each day this week in Studio Art class we will be working on a short 15-20 minute drawings in our sketchbooks and sharing them, all 4 will count together for a grade on Friday.  The pieces can be created in any media as long as it uses the full page.  Below are the week's themes with links to specifics and examples:

Monday: Observational Drawing
Tuesday: Doodle
Thursday: Words
Friday: Fills

Extra Credit: September

This month's extra credit assignment comes courtesy of the Studio 360 radio show and actor Nick Offerman best know for playing Ron on Park's and Rec.  It's a popsicle stick sculpture creative challenge the rules are below- be creative!:

The Challenge: Build a popsicle stick sculpture for Nick Offerman based on one (or more) of his favorite things:

• Bratwurst
• Fishing
• Masonry
• Wilco (the band)
• The Hoover Dam
• Puzzles
• America

Deadline: September 28th by the end of class

Drawing: Illustration Friday

Today in Studio Art and Drawing class we'll be drawing the Illustration Friday theme which is: Mermaid.  Be original, be creative, and make your mermaid- they will be shared, critiqued, and graded at the end of class!

When you are finished you can return to work on sketching out your Wyland "climate and coast" mural design for Monday!

Inspired by my morning @Starbucks #coffee while drawing today's @ifri #mermaid theme as a demonstration for my class! pic.twitter.com/x8S4HKaZUK

— Tim Needles (@timneedles) September 18, 2015

Studio Art: 2015 Wyland National 'Water is Life" Mural and Art Challenge

Educational leaders and teachers take part in the 2015 Wyland National 'Water is Life" Mural and Art Challenge Sept.25 – Nov. 25. Sign up before Aug. 15 to win 1 of 100 free mural canvases for your classroom to participate in a nationwide environmental mural and individual art contest celebrating our ocean, lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands. This year’s theme will be “Our Coasts and Climate.” 

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2015 Mural Art Contest:categories include grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The class in each category whose mural best expresses their understanding of and appreciation for "Our Coast and Climate" will receive a $250 gift card to Michael's for art supplies and a grand prize signed Wyland artwork (Total ARV. $1,000) Schools may register multiple classes. 

Studio Art: Dot Day

Today we are going to celebrate #DotDay15 by creating an intricate "dot" that represents the spirit of Peter Reynolds children's book The Dot.  Creating a dot is not really the challenge, it's more creating a original and inventive dot that represents you.  Make sure you sign it and we'll create a short film of all our dots to share with the elementary students and social media. 

Additionally today I'll be collecting your completed Shanti Peace Poster and your Illustration Friday drawing from last week for a grade.

My #dot- a quick expression of #creativity painted to celebrate @peterhreynolds #dotday15! pic.twitter.com/hodhVWWY6T

— Tim Needles (@timneedles) September 15, 2015

Remembering September 11

Today marks 14 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11 and we will begin class with two short animated films created from Storycorps recordings created to remember the victims of the attacks.  The video above tells the stories of locals Joe and John Vigiano and the story below tells the story of Michael Trinidad who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center.  We will also have a moment of silence and talk a little bit about our connections to the experience.



We will also be creating our own Storycorps stories later this year for the Great Thanksgiving Listen program which we'll talk about at the end of next month.

Digital Media: Type Design with Photoshop

We will begin our first Photoshop project this week which is creating a text design of a quote on art or creativity.  Above is an example of what a final project might took like but we will be learning a few new tools each day as we work on the project.  We will be reviewing some of these tools and terms using Quizlet and there will be a short quiz at the end of next week.  Here's a link to the class Quizlet to study from: Mr. Needles Digital Media Quizlet

Art and Media Art Honor Society Meeting

Today the cabinet members of the Art Honor Society and the Media Art Honor Society will hold their first meeting to make plans for next week's open meeting and the first quarter activities.  The meeting will be in art room 161 directly after school.  The first meeting for new members is next Wednesday- don't forget!

Digital Art: Introduction to Photoshop

In Digital Media Art we will continue our Introduction to Photoshop today on the computers.  You'll begin by creating a simple text based design using a quote that we will animate later on in class. Above is an example of one I created and posted on Vine.  These designs will be due on Friday at the end of class.

Digital Media: Shanti Peace Poster

In Digital Media class we are beginning work today on our first project the Shanti Peace Poster.  Above is a great example of a good peace poster from the Holstee design lab in Brooklyn.  We'll start by learning a little bit more about Photoshop and then we'll start creating images and researching quotes and symbols of peace.

Before we begin we'll look a bit at what makes good design in a poster such as this and look at some examples below that are clever and original and clearly express ideas of peace.  We'll look at the artists below and do a little bit of research of symbols associated with peaces and some design basics.

Next we will begin to think of designs visually using 3-5 small thumbnail drawings such as the example I created below.  This is a designers visual entrance into the creative process- small quick sketches which give a sense of what the final design might look like and how it might be best composed.

Studio Art: Illustration Friday

It's our first Friday of the year in Studio Art and we'll be participating in Illustration Friday! Today's theme is old and it is an easy one to interpret because there are so many possible approaches!  You'll have 25 minutes to draw an illustration of the theme in any style ftom realism to cartooning to conceptual and it will be your first grade of the year!  These will be graded on concept as more than skill at this early point in the year but try your best to visually achieve your idea!

Here's an example I did in class that is a more realistic interpretation of my father because it's his birthday today, I'll go with a different approach next week to show you some variation!

Here's an examples of a student drawing, Luke from AP Art class, and his interpretation of the IF theme this week.

Digital Media: What's Your Sentence?

Two questions that can change your life from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

In Digital Media well be talking about the work of author Dan Pink and using his concept of "What's Your Sentence?" to create part of our short animated film.  Step one is to think about yourself in the distant future and imagine something you want to have done by then- once you arrive at that idea write it in sentence form as if you've already done it.

Next we'll watch part of his TED talk which was animated by the RSA shown below and discuss what motivates us as people.  Write down something that you think would help motivate you to do your best.  We'll take some of this information and apply it to our class this year.



Finally our first homework assignment is to take 4 photos from your experience during the first week of school.  We'll use them to create a short video montage next week in class.  Make sure you have the photo's in digital form by Tuesday in class.

Studio Art: Zentangle

Today in Studio Art we will learn the basic of the Zentangle drawing technique which mixes different patterns of doodles together for greater effect.  Below is a short tutorial about the basics.  Today we'll begin working with some simple patterns in creating a nameplate that we will finish tomorrow.



This is a technique that can be simple or as you build layers turn complex based upon your design, skill, and precision.  Below is an example of a more advanced Zentangle within a simple design.  The use of patterns that suggest 3 dimensions adds a complexity.  We will experiment with some different patters, use of color, and designs in class and later working on our peace poster designs next week.



Here's a great Zentangle design to begin with that we will follow which uses a simple square inside a square with a circle interior.  The shapes and technique are pretty simple but together form a complex design which gives a good example of how the process works.

The First Day of School

Welcome to the first day of school at Smithtown East High School.  We'll begin with a piece of advice from author Dan Pink.  Today we'll start with a short fun collaborative art activity and go over some of the basics of class.  Below are the supplies you'll need for class:

Studio Art:
- A 8 1/2" x 11" Sketchbook
- Pencils/ Colored Pencils
- A Folder

Digital Media Art:
- A USB digital drive (1 GB minimum)

AP Studio Art: (Depending on which AP test you are taking
- A 8 1/2" x 11" Sketchbook
- Pencils/ Colored Pencils/ Paints/ ect.
- A USB digital drive (3 GB minimum)

Drawing:
- A 8 1/2" x 11" Sketchbook
- Pencils/ Colored Pencils
- A Folder