MS STEAM B, Animation

Welcome to our new class!

This semester we are going to focus on using your MacBook as a tool for animation. Animation is sometimes a thing moving across the screen, like a ball--or balls.

But animation means moving anything! You can really enrich the projects you create and the work you submit through animation!

So, your first project is going to be to animate your name. We are going to use use Autodesk SketchBook Pro's new FlipBook feature. You'll start there and then export your animation to iMovie after adding sounds and music to complete augment your animation. You'll then post it onto your school YouTube account.

We will start here: https://docs.google.com/a/claytonbradleyacademy.org/presentation/d/13apseMmaLtKipEuP0L8WC2oqKtJfaDYtMGIcC3mAtxA/edit?usp=sharing

MS STEAM YR A, Google SketchUp

Welcome to your class for the semester! To start, we are going to use SketchUp, which is a 3D modeling computer program. We'll start by downloading the software, working through a list of tutorials to learn how to use the program.

This is the first tutorial that you'll work through.

Here is the list of tutorials that you will work through: https://www.youtube.com/user/SketchUpVideo This is the channel where the other videos are that you will work through.

Once you have a command of SketchUp, you will make your name as a group--nothing to it!

Graphics: LSs and LLGs

Your mission is to create a meme using any image that you take and your chosen Lifelong Guidelines--or "Principles for Living," (Thank you Hannah!)

Once all of the memes are created we will either send them out over the webs or have your peers vote on a winner.

You must use your LLG in your piece, and you can use any other text you choose. But the message must be clear.

Some things to consider are these: message, clear image, and if the text and image conflict.

Usually the simpler the meme the more effective. But simple doesn't mean without stuff!

Classcraft! Your future--now!

Spend 15 minutes or so going over any information concerning Classcraft on the line. Use any source!

Then spend the remaining time filling out the form linked here: https://docs.google.com/a/claytonbradleyacademy.org/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_aM3XM-v_yQqoXF-Gdw7H46HaeED7zwFNVD7Ol7plK4w2Zw/viewform

Graphics: Animal Mash-up!

This week we will review the self portraits that are composed of five "images".

We are also going to start our animal mash-up, where we will create a, perhaps, cute combination of animals to make one, like this Dubbit.

Check out more cuteness here: http://www.boredpanda.com/animals-hybrids-photoshop/ !

STEAM Lab: Homework Time: How Much?

http://www.psychdadphd.com/blog
/2016/6/20/3-tips-for-managing-homework

As you've experienced from our work with Sheets thus far, you can plan events, make a survey or poll, give your peers a quiz, or collect other information in an easy, streamlined way with Google Forms.

You can create a form from Google Drive or from an existing spreadsheet that can record the responses to your form. Go to docs.google.com/forms. Click Plus Expand icon.
A new form will automatically open. Just as we did with the tool quiz, you can add any questions you want in the form template. You can also organize your form by adding headers and dividing your form into several pages. Learn more about editing your form.

Of course there are 100 ways to do this, and you need only do one: Create a form in Google Drive by going to drive.google.com and clicking New > More > Google Forms.

Or create a form from a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. To poll, survey, quiz, or otherwise collect information using a form from a spreadsheet in Google Sheets:

1. While working with a spreadsheet, click Insert > Form.
2. A message will display at the top of the page notifying you that a new form has been created
3. To begin editing your form, click Add questions here in the message.
4. To get rid of this message and continue editing your spreadsheet, click Dismiss. Note: If you dismiss this message, you can edit your form at any time. Click Form > Edit form.
5. A new form will automatically be created. A new tab will appear at the bottom of your spreadsheet labeled “Form responses,”  where all responses to your form will be added.
6. After you’ve created your form, you can add and edit questions, headers, and page breaks. You can also choose how to collect responses to your form.

Create this survey using Google Forms: How much time do you spend on homework for each class? You will share it with all of your classmates. You will create at least three charts to analyze the data that you've collected. You will present to the class your findings.

Studio Art: Color of the Skull

This week in class we'll continue to work with western, conventional color theory as a means to make our art stronger. Please be aware that there are many theories out there that have led up to our current model, including thinkers such as Goethe:

"Light spectrum, from Theory of Colours – Goethe observed that colour arises at the edges, and the spectrum occurs where these coloured edges overlap." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Colours)


And please remember that there is a whole bunch of peoples' worth of color and what color means in the world to those folks:

Your project for the week is to finish your mandala color wheel using the water color paint. You may embellish them however you wish.

Then you'll draw the buffalo skull focusing on the highlights and lowlights, but you'll use color to define them. You can use the ideas of warm or cool colors, light or dark colors, or some other way to define how you are coloring your image. But you must remain consistent to what you are doing!

For example, you cannot say I'm using a system of lights and darks to define my skull and then use the lightest colors to define the shadows--or can you?!

Art and Mindfulness: Paths of Meditation

Thank you:
 http://www.duelinganalogs.com
/image/dead-link/

We can talk about meditations in terms of style or types, but that seems static to me. So we will us the idea of a path as a way to break up the myriad ways to meditate. How many paths of meditation can you come up with?

When you start any RPG you have to choose a path—which usually leads to your demise on the first few times you start out!

Here is the way that I’ll break them up:
Path Through Intellect
Path Through Emotion
Route Through the Body
The Path of Action

STEAM Lab and Google Sheets

As a class we've been using Google Sheets, which is a powerful tool in several ways. The kids will build a Sheet to practice.

https://docs.google.com/a/claytonbradleyacademy.org/spreadsheets/d/1qAphCruHqb-xlu5052wFE44xZNaLGXlJ43qvwTonXX4/edit?usp=sharing

National Art Honor Society

We have a wonderful opportunity to start the first Honor Society here at CBA. We envision this as an active group invested in community service. Our first meeting will be today!

The NAHS: https://www.arteducators.org/community/nahs-njahs

What other Chapters are doing (starts on page 36): http://digitaleditions.sheridan.com/publication/?i=302160&pre=1#%7B%22issue_id%22:302160,%22page%22:1%7D

Self Portrait Collage

The graphics class will start a new project this week. They will create a self portrait out of at least five different images composited into one finished and polished piece.

To begin I will introduce some really important tools and workflow ideas, like using linear Bézier curves as the prime selection tool: Given points P0 and P1, a linear Bezier curve is simply a straight line between those points. The cure is given by B(t) = P0 + t(P1 - P0) = (1-t) P1, 0 < t < 1 and is equivalent to linear interpolation.

We'll begin by using these images: https://drive.google.com/a/claytonbradleyacademy.org/file/d/0B5B6pBQBS0KidFowc0I1Tlc0Qlk/view?usp=sharing

I've made two rubrics for my graphics class, and here they are:

Word Counting Exercise 1

Today we did a word counting mindfulness exercise, where we counted the number of words in a paragraph or two. We did the first exercise for five minutes, and I barely made it through two times. I don't remember any of the numbers I counted up to. The second time we did it for six minutes, and I had much better results. I made it through twice and then nearly a third time. I counted 164 words first and 168 words the second time, which leads me to believe that I was fairly accurate.

The book I counted from was The Complete Book of Drawing Techniques, By Peter Stanyer
My actual word count is this:  168. I made this count after reflecting on the process.

I really enjoyed the process because I had to concentrate, which is the point. And while I was doing it I "went away," as indicated by my counting. But I did feel a little anxiety in having to get the numbers right!

6th Grade Tech

In tech so far we have explored a Journeyman's Chest, pulling it apart to check out the tools and layers.

Now the final project has been named! The kids must design a box that when opened quadruples in volume!

Let the engineering begin!

Art and Mindfulness

What a fantastic first week. We've participated in a couple types of mindfulness exercises and expressed ourselves on paper. As the year progresses we will expand our experiences and make more art. So for now, just turn your phone off once in a while and express yourself in some exceptional way!

Graphics Class

I have the secret codes for our software, so we'll get that loaded into your computers. That and the Wacom tablet will be your main tools this year, if we don't count your sense of imagination, play, and ability to create.

Our first goal will be to watch the videos linked here: https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/tutorials/photo/ . This way we all have the same foundation to build upon. 

Winding Down in the Last Quarter

Add caption

The kids are steppin' and fetchin' to get their work done, and some are moving onto their final projects!
Paige is creating her family portrait in wood, and she is learning to use a variety of tools to do so.

All of our students are exhibiting in some way in our STEM Fair, which will be held in a couple of weeks. The students will present a project or problem upon which they worked. I'm really happy that a few of my students decided to use their Family Portrait projects as their chosen work for the fair.

Our Dulcimers4Vets is off and running, and we're working on our design. We've not finished the first instrument yet, but we're taking measurements and making templates so that we can reproduce our work.

 Some kids are as done as they can be with their current projects, either because they have finished them or are waiting on parts or pieces. One of those classes is helping me to construct a big machine, where we will make bevel gears to transfer vertical power into horizontal motion. I told the kids they could design whatever they want.


Now, you need to know I'm in the Slytherin House, so the idiot Voldemort is a real sore spot for me. But the kids are going to do what the kids are going to do!

STEAM Lab E

While we are finishing up the coop jump, we will design and build a Gauge Frame Level, seen here:

Here is a video of the tool broken down and assembled by the guy who makes them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeT9xJI-0mk

So, you will watch the video, do some preliminary drawings of the different parts, and then draw the tool to scale, including a parts list.

507 Movements

Review the following sites and take note of the interesting movements, as they may apply to your family portrait!

http://507movements.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQ2pXkYjRM

HS: Steam Lab D

You are to add another page to your blog. That page will house five songs that are research for your "family" portrait project.

You can use any music you want, but please link an audio or video file on your music page. Remember, if your music has anything that is not school appropriate put this disclaimer on it.

Then continue to work on your paper shapes and mechanisms.

Paige, just keep keeping on!

HS: House in Perspective

You are to draw a house in two point perspective. You may choose bird's eye, worm's eye, or human perspective. Once you've made your drawing use different brushes and textures to embellish your drawing. Remember that you can import images, textures, etc.

Your house must be for one of the American creatures found on this page:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_folklore_legendary_creatures .

1. You will begin by choosing a creature and emailing to me your choice and why you made it. 
2. You will also send to me a brief description of your house idea in words, as well as an image, which can be a rough drawing. 
3. You will use proper email etiquette:

1. A subject that explains succinctly your email.
2. A body, written in complete sentences and with correct grammar and syntax where appropriate.
3. A description of your image.
4. A signature, which doesn't mean your name--although it could be that. A signature personalizes your email.

HS: 3 pt Perspective

http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/technical-drawing-for-beginners-three-point-perspective--vector-23680

MS: Combination Wrench Cut Down

We are going to design a combination wrench that folds in two places so that it will be reduced in length by 1/3 of its original length.

Your folds can be anywhere you choose, but the wrench still has to function as a wrench.

We will employ an Engineering Design Process as shown here.

We will focus on the first four steps, and with your group you will create a shared Google Doc to document your team's work.

Your steps:

• create a shared doc
• define your mission!
• title your doc according to your mission statement
• state the idea and perimeters
• and brainstorm a solution to execute your mission.

10th Graders Stuff: HW and Expectations

Look up blogs--find three you love and three you do not care for. Put links in your new blog post.

Make or find a favicon, and put it in your blog.

Make a new blog post.

Work hard. Work more than enough. Mean what you do. Don't be afraid to play freely. Document your work.

9th Graders: Welcome Back!

I hope that all y'all had a great break and are well rested!

After we catch up on your comings and goings from over the break, I'd love to spend the first couple of days getting you used to working again.

I have some information that I need to put out concerning tools and their usage. Before you can use the drill press or bandsaw it will be necessary for you to take a written assessment, as well as a practical test, where you'll show me that you know how to safely use the equipment.

Don't forget to blog!