SYLLABUS

SYLLABUS 2012 - 2013 ******************* MISSION STATEMENT THE PURPOSE OF THE ANIME CLASS IS FOR STUDENTS TO BE INTRODUCED TO ANIMATION AND SEQUENTIAL ART, ILLUSTRATION, GRAPHIC NOVELS AND LITERATURE. STUDENT WORK IS DOCUMENTED ONLINE AT THIS BLOG, IN PHOTOCOPIED SMALL SCALE STUDENT "ZINES", COMIC BOOKS and MAGAZINES AND ON DISPLAY IN VARIOUS SCHOOL GLASS BOXES. (IF POSSIBLE, COULD WE HAVE THE GLASS BOXES IN THE BASEMENT HALLWAY ROTATE? I'D LOVE ART THAT IS DISPLAYED PUBLICLY.) PART 1: ICONIC ART - DRAWING WITH EMOTICONS AND FACES In September and October, the class discusses "ICONIC ART". We talk about how there is the English language, the Chinese language, the Spanish language, Portougiuse, etc. but that art is a UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. For example, everyone understands what these mean ... :-( :-) ;-) Sad, happy and winking. This type of communication can be understood by everyone. As a result, anime is a great introduction to literature as the illustrations in anime work like training wheels for the young reader. It gives a young reader the ability to converge iconic language with the English language. EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES: GAME: (takes about 15-20 minutes) The student is given an emotion or present state, like "patient", "frustration", or "bewildered". The emotions will work themselves up in complexity. I'll probably start with "sad". GAME/STUDENT ACTIVITY (Takes about 50 minutes): "EPIC EMOTION" In our daily lives, we usually go through a variety of emotions. If you think of how many moments make up a day, sometimes you'll feel tired, sometimes you'll feel sad, sometimes you'll be confused, sometimes you'll be hungry. ANIMATION ASSIGNMENT (ACTIVITY OVER MULTIPLE CLASSES) Once students have time TOP 5 STUDENTS WITH MOST EPIC EMOTION'S WORK WILL BE SCANNED AND PUT ON BLOG. (Supplies: Pencils and Paper and ERASERS. Photocopy paper is fine. Perfect circle stencils preferable as a tool a student can practice using). ********** PART 2: ICONIC ART TWO: RELIGIOUS ICONS ACROSS THE GLOBE, CORPORATE AND BRAND ICONS, ICONS THAT ARE SYSTEMS OF TRANSPORTATION CLASS QUESTION: WHO DECIDED GREEN MEANS GO AND RED MEANS STOP? * Why do we accept red light/green light? Slide lecture is given on the use of icons. Topics range from contemporary artist Shepard Fairey's iconic illustration of the President to MICHAEL JORDAN'S "AIR JORDAN" brand. EXERCISE: DRAW AS MANY ICONS FROM CORPORATIONS, RELIGIONS, SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS, ETC. AS POSSIBLE. CLASS: MAKE A LOGO OR A BRAND FOR YOURSELF. CLASS: REBRAND A PRE EXISTING PRODUCT. ********* 3 types of drawing We have gone over a lot in class and this website has not gone along with it. Therefore, this posting is a review. We have talked about 3 types of drawing. * Iconic * Abstract * Figurative 1. Iconic: Iconic drawing is the closest type of drawing to writing; iconic comes from the word "icon". i·con (kn) n. 1. also i·kon (kn) a. An image; a representation. b. A representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified Christian personage, traditionally used and venerated in the Eastern Church. 2. An important and enduring symbol: "Voyager will take its place ... alongside such icons of airborne adventure as The Spirit of St. Louis and [the] Bell X-1" (William D. Marbach). Icons are EVERYWHERE and express multitudes of ideas, instructions, faiths ... even corporations. They are so powerful and simplistic we forget that they are designed DRAWINGS. Icons are used constantly in manga, cartoons, graphic novels and sequential art. In manga, one of the most apparent is the sweat bead. The sweat bead represents embarrassment, anxiety or other emotions and usually works along side a facial expression to fully represent an emotion. Here is another iconic drawing. This smiley face looks absolutely nothing like a real face. It is a circle, a line and two dots. However, our minds do not read it as such. We read a face. This is because the smiley is an accepted icon to represent "smile" ... or ... "happy". As described in Scott McCloud's "Understand Comics", the more iconic an image is, the more universal it becomes. This can work for the artist's advantage or disadvantage depending on what the artist is attempting to articulate. Here are some iconic cartoon heads to depict various emotions. Notice how this artist is not your typically cliche version of a "good drawer". This person's drawing ability lies in his/her ability to express emotion iconically. I particularly like "dizzy" ... a scribble line is next to the person's head (this does not exist in reality, but totally makes sense in the context of a cartoon). 2. Abstract Drawing Abstract drawing in manga and cartoons is related to iconic drawing and can help express emotions, but in a subtly different way. The "contours" of a line can express emotion in and of themselves. In America one of the most famous abstract expressionist painters was Jackson Pollock. By today's standards where abstraction is fully accepted in the art world, this above painting is a bit dull. But in the context of the time of its creation (1950ties), a time of repression, Pollock's lines were LIBERATING, FREE, OUT OF CONTROL and captivating. Let's look at how specific manga artists use their lines to convey certain emotions. Taiyo Matsumoto's "Black and White" takes place is a dystopian future Japan where the mafia and government control people's lives, including when it is ok to go outside, how and where people work, etc. However, the mafia and the government have a problem with the two street brat/building jumpers known as black and white; two 10 year old orphans who play by their own rules and disobey law. The artist's line is on purposely linear and childish. The faces are very iconic; while the artist enjoys detail, perspective and advanced drawing techniques, the contours of his line are loose, care free and not attempting to depict reality. Brian Chippendale's line is fast, frantic and bursting with energy. You can read the comic in English, but the abstract line gives his comics a very unique aesthetic that compliments the fast paced, stream of consciousness storytelling. He makes "mess-ter-pieces". 3. Figurative Drawing Figurative drawing is different than iconic drawing as it is less concerned with presenting an idea and more concerned with depicting the human body as it is seen. Drawing figuratively takes time, patience and practice; but the outcome in well worth the wait. To draw figuratively the artist must have a memorized sense of how the human body is made up. Understanding anatomy is paramount; first the artist must have a good sense of the skeleton and THEN the muscular structure. In this class, I am not super concerned with students memorizing the body; college students spend entire semesters simply figure drawing and its HARD. With this said, I do expect everyone in this class to try figure drawing and to IMPROVE by the end of the semester. There are tricks to understanding the figure better as well; 3 heads equals the distance from between the head and the shoulders for instance. But more importantly, figure drawing means a student must LOOK at the figure constantly. When figure drawing, keep your head UP! LOOK! Don't keep your eyes on the paper ... this is a recipe for making inaccurate mistakes. Figurative drawing is the basis to lots of action/adventure mangas, as well as dramas, sci-fis, etc. In Manga, all three types of drawing is utilized to express a character. CLASS TEST: 1. find an example on the page of ICONIC drawing. 2. Find an example on the page of ABSTRACT drawing. 3. Find an example on the page of FIGURATIVE drawing.