Digital art projects allow a student to grow as an artist in the digital age.
Although nothing can ever replace the tactile feeling of creating art in the real world, advances in technology and newer programs have made the computer an important tool in an artist's toolbox. Many artists have made this transition; to remain relevant, students must get used to creating art in the digital age. Fortunately for educators, art projects don't change much just because they have gone from the canvas to the screen.
Manipulating Images
This project both allows a student to be creative while displaying their knowledge of design software. Pick various background pictures. These should be pictures that have a floor. Don't limit yourself to street pictures; look at cityscapes, beaches,or amusement parks. Show your students the backgrounds you have picked out. These are the pictures from which they can choose. Allow them time to look over the choices. Tape up some green paper against a wall. Allow your students to make two poses they will have in their pictures. Take their pictures, then download the files onto a server file for them. This will test their ability to extract a photo from its background, blend this photo into a background, and allow your students to display free range creativity.
Ad Campaigns
Most students wonder how a certain lesson relates to the real world. This lesson not only forces students to see what it takes to advertise a business, but go about this. Set up a budget that they must work with, and set up a fictional business. Students will have to come up with a logo, brochure and a business card.
This will test their skills in graphic design software. It can also teach them the difference between vector and pixel-based images depending on which software is used. They will learn set up projects for print while allowing them to experience and practice with client relationships.
Art Posters
Another large trend in education is bridging the gap between two subjects while tackling one project. Using a book, or short story your students are reading, and have them create a poster of it. If you are teaching younger students, have them create a poster that displays important story points. If they are older students, allow them to create posters about the lessons of the story, or what they believe comes next in the plot.
Audio Narratives
Digital art doesn't only inhabit the visual realm, but can be an expression of sound. Using free audio software programs, allow your students to come up with a narrative. This must be written out and checked before beginning the next phase.
Using digital recorders or computer microphones, have your students create the story without any voiceover narrator. Have them tell the story through sound, and interacting voices. They are successful if the listener can visualize themselves within the story surrounded by ambient sounds. A variation can be with the use of pictures. This forces students to see the world differently. They must learn to look at the details, an important skill when creating art. It can also bridge the gap between art, literary arts and music.
