Visual Journal Assignment No. 12

Due:  11/30/15

 

A coat of arms is a unique symbol on a shield that is meant to represent and identify a family.

For this visual journal assignment, you will be creating a “Coat of Arms” for yourself. You may base your design on your first name or your last name. The shield should include the following:

*Your name (first or last) written large and in an interesting font;

* Elements that represent yourself;

*A “motto” to describe yourself.

A motto is a phrase meant to summarize the general intention of a person or organization. Maybe if you love art, your motto could be, “Art Above All Else”.

You can take the traditional approach like the coat of arms below, or you can make a shield of your own design.

 If your family already has a coat of arms, please do not copy it. I’d like to see you come up with something original and new.

For your paragraph, please explain why you designed the coat of arms they way you did. What does it symbolize? How does it represent you or your family?

Visual Journal Assignment No. 11

Due: 11/23/15

Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols. A symbol is an object, action or idea that represents something other than itself.

Artists often use symbols in their artwork.  These symbols have deeper meanings than just their outward appearance. For instance, a heart is often a symbol used for love. The color purple can represent things that appear royal or regal.

For this visual journal assignment, you will be creating symbols to represent each member of your immediate family, yourself included.

Think about each member of your family. What images come to mind? Each symbol should be well thought out and executed. Please do not draw pictures of the members of your family; you should be creating symbols that represent them.

Perhaps your Dad loves to cook. A symbol for him could be a chef’s hat and a whisk. Maybe your sister is really into technology and you could symbolize her with pictures of electronics and gadgets.

For your paragraph, you will explain how you came up with each symbol for your family. Don’t forget to include yourself!

Visual Journal Assignment No. 10

Visual Journal Assignment #10

Due:  11/16/15

You have been hired by a playing card company to redesign the face cards of their playing deck.

You will be redesigning the Jack, Queen and King cards in your own personal style. Will they be zombie inspired cards? Will the face cards be replaced by your three favorite singers or three favorite animals?

For your drawings, you will show each card (the Jack, the Queen and the King) drawn individually. Please drawing them in the standard card shape (a rectangle) and be sure to label them as J, Q or K. Check out the photos of the cards below to help you. Also your cards should have a common theme and look as if they belong together.

For your paragraph, you will describe how you came up with your new card concept. Where did you get your inspiration? Do you think your new design would be something that people would want to buy, why?

Visual Journal Assignment No. 9

Due:  11/9/15

One regular old Monday morning, you drag your sleepy self into Remington Middle School for another day filled with learning. You drowsily walk up to your locker and begin to put in your combination. The lock clicks and you pull your locker door open to find that the normal inside of your locker is gone. In its place is a doorway to another dimension.

For this visual journal assignment you will illustrate what this “new world” you found inside your locker looks like. Is it a world from another planet with aliens and space ships? Is it a world where animals rule the planet and humans are kept as pets? Have fun and be creative!

You will be using a specific format for this visual journal assignment. Your piece of paper should be folded in half vertically, so you’re creating a skinny rectangle. On the outside of the paper you’ll draw the door of your locker. On the inside of the paper, you’ll draw this other “dimension” using the whole sheet of paper.

For your paragraph, describe this other world. What is it like there? What do you see? Would you want to live in this other dimension? 

Visual Journal Assignment No. 8

Due: 11/2/15

A book illustrator is an artist that creates images for a book that goes along with the text on the pages. For this visual journal assignment, you will create an illustration based on the following text from the book Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.

It was a very old house – it had an attic under the roof and a cellar under the ground and an overgrown garden with huge old trees in it.

Coraline's family didn't own all of the house, it was too big for that. Instead they owned part of it.

There were other people who lived in the old house.

In the flat above Coraline’s, under the roof, was a crazy old man with a big moustache. He told Coraline that he was training a mouse circus. He wouldn't let anyone see it.

"One day, little Caroline, when they are all ready, everyone in the whole world will see the wonders of my mouse circus. You ask me why you cannot see it now. Is that what you asked me?"

"No," said Coraline quietly, "I asked you not to call me Caroline. It's Coraline."

"The reason you cannot see the Mouse Circus," said the man upstairs, "is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed. Also, they refuse to play the songs I have written for them. All the songs I have written for the mice to play go oompah oompah. But the white mice will only play toodle oodle, like that. I am thinking of trying them on different types of cheese."

Coraline didn't think there really was a mouse circus. She thought the old man was probably making it up.

The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring.

For your assignment, choose part of this excerpt to illustrate, being sure to give lots of details to let the viewer see what’s happening in the text in pictures.  Imagine it as a scene from a movie, showing the characters and what else would be in the scene.

For your paragraph, explain why you chose to illustrate what portion of the excerpt that you did, and if it was easy or difficult to “create” the scene on paper based on what you read.

Visual Journal Assignment No. 7

Due:  10/26/15

A big publishing company has asked you to create a new magazine to put out on newsstands all around the U.S. that’s geared towards other middle school students. What are topics or issues you think are important to other kids your age?

For this assignment you will be designing the cover of this magazine. You cover should include:

·        The name of your magazine

·        An illustration that goes along with the content of the magazine

·        Articles that could be found inside the magazine issue

Along with your illustration of your cover, you will write a paragraph explaining why you chose the topic you did for your magazine and how you feel it’s important to other middle school students.

Remember, this magazine is aimed towards the middle school are group. Be sure to keep your magazine topics appropriate.

Visual Journal Assignment No. 6

Due:  10/19/15

Have you ever wanted to design your own t-shirt? Websites like threadless.com allow you to do just that!

For this visual journal assignment, you will be creating an original design that you think would look great on a t-shirt. You can design anything you want for the image on your t-shirt (must be school appropriate). It could be images, words, or a combination of both.

The design MUST be original though, meaning you cannot use your favorite band or sports team logo. Get creative!

For your paragraph, explain to me how you came up with your t-shirt design, what inspired you and why you think it would be a good design to put on a shirt.

Visual Journal Assignment No. 5

Visual Journal Assignment #5

Due:  10/13/15

You have won and all-expense paid vacation to anywhere in the world you’d like. If money were not an issue, where would you go on your dream vacation?

For this visual journal assignment, you will illustrate what your “dream vacation” would look like. Would you take a tropical vacation to Hawaii? Or would you go backpacking around Europe? Is your dream to go see Mt. Fuji in Japan or do a safari in Africa?

In your paragraph, tell me where you’d like to go if you could go anywhere in the world. Why did you choose this location? What would you do when you got there?

 

Visual Journal Assignment No. 4

Visual Journal Assignment #4

Due:  10/5/15

A pet peeve is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to them, to a greater degree as others may find it.

What are your pet peeves? Are there things that really bug you that others may not find annoying at all?

For this visual journal assignment, you will create an illustration of a pet peeve of yours. Along with your illustration, you will write a paragraph describing what your pet peeve is and why it bothers you.

Remember, these are general annoyances such as people chewing with their mouths open, or not covering their mouths when they sneeze or cough. They’re not an attack against a single individual.

Visual Journal Assignment #3

Due: 9/28/15

A phobia can be defined as: a persistent fear of an object or situation. For this visual journal assignment, you will illustrate (show in pictures) a fear or phobia you may have. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your fear or phobia, or don’t have any, feel free to make something up.

It can be something you’re afraid of now, or something that may have frightened you as a younger child. It can be a rational fear, or something completely silly.

Along with your illustration, please write a paragraph describing what frightens you and why you find it scary.

Visual Journal Assignment No.2

Visual Journal Assignment #2

Due:  9/21/15

Music has the power to move us. It can make us feel happy or sad, energetic or calm and relaxed. We listen to music to remember or to forget.

For this visual journal assignment, think of a song that has personal meaning to you (or a song that you really like). Pick part of the lyrics of that song and illustrate them (show in pictures). It can be a literal illustration of the lyrics or it can be entirely your own interpretation. You may choose to incorporate the lyrics of your song into your illustration.

Along with your illustration, write a paragraph (3-5 sentences) as to why you choose the song lyrics that you did and what that song means to you. Also describe how your illustration relates to the lyrics.

Visual Journal Assignment No. 1

Due:  Tuesday, 9-15-2015

Imagine you are able to start a company of your own choosing. This company can be for anything you choose, a restaurant, clothing line, sporting good supplier, etc. For this visual journal assignment, you are to create a logo to represent your new company.

A logo is a graphic emblem commonly used by commercial businesses, organizations and even individuals to represent and promote public recognition. Logos are either completely graphic (symbols/images) or are composed of the name of the organization as well.

Along with your logo, you will write a paragraph (3-5 sentences) telling me about you company and how you feel your logo represents your company.

Welcome to the world, Jonathan!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer. I wanted to share with you some photos of Jonathan Leonard Walker, who finally made his grand entrance into the world on Tuesday, July 7th at 5:58pm. He's been an awesome baby.

I'm going to enjoy being able to take care of him for the next 4 months, but look forward to seeing all of my "RemDawg Kids" at the beginning of the 2nd term in December.

Mrs. Walker

Visual Journal Assignment #9 (Term 3)

Due: Monday, June 8th

As a young adult, it’s common to think or dream about what career your future adult self will have.

 For this visual journal assignment, you will create an illustration of yourself showing what career you hope to pursue after school. 

For your paragraph, explain why you think this will be your future career and what about this particular career sounds appealing to you.

If you’re not sure what you see yourself doing in the future, that’s okay. Pick a career you think you may wish to have.

**Remember to keep all images and writing school appropriate**

Visual Journal Assignment #8 (Term 3)

Due: Monday, June 1st

Gliese 581 g is an extra solar planet, orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581, 20.5 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Libra. It is the sixth planet discovered in the Gliese 581 planetary system and the fourth in order of increasing distance from the star.

Studies indicate the planet is situated near the middle of the habitable zone of its parent star, where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold to sustain Earth-like life.

Because of Gliese 581 g's proximity to its parent star, it does not have day and night, meaning that it is permanently light on one half and permanently dark on the other half of its surface.

For this visual journal assignment, you will create an illustration of what you think life on Gliese 581 g would look like. Decide if your “life-form” lives on the “dark side” or the “light side” of the planet and reflect this in your drawing. Also, the gravity of Gliese 581 g is 1.1 to 1.7 times stronger than Earth’s. This may also influence your design.

How would dealing with a lot of gravity affect how your alien’s are formed? How would a creature adapt to living in an environment that’s permanently light? Or permanently dark?

Write a paragraph telling me a little bit about your life form. How was your design influenced by the gravity and the light/dark aspects of the planet. What is the name of this alien species you’ve created.

Visual Journal Assignment #7 (Term 3)

Due: Tuesday, May 26th

Imagine that you've been hired by Apple (or some other tech company) to create an app for a smartphone or other device that would be beneficial (helpful) in some way to kids your own age.

What kind of app would you design?

For your assignment, please create an illustration of what your apps logo or icon would look like as it would appear on a device's home-screen. 

For your paragraph, please tell me what your app's name is, what its features are, and why you think it would be helpful to kids your own age. The app doesn't necessarily have to be academic in nature, but it should serve a helpful purpose.

Visual Journal Assignment #6 (Term 3)

Due: Monday, May 18th 

Artists sometimes combine the features of several animals together to create a totally new creature. Describe and draw such a creature. 

You should combine at the minimum the features of three animals. You may combine more if you wish.

 Write a paragraph including the following information:

Your animal’s name (species name), where it lives, what it eats and any special abilities it may have (night vision, super speed?).

**Remember**

-Your visual journal assignments must include artwork and a paragraph (3-5 sentences) of writing.

Each assignment should take up a page in your sketchbook

 

Visual Journal Assignment #5 (Term 3)

Due: Monday, May 11th

You will create a drawing of your “dream room”. If you had an unlimited amount of money to create a room for yourself, what kind of room would you build?

An art studio? A music studio? A gaming room?

Create a detailed illustration of what you envision your “dream room” to look like and write a paragraph (3-5 sentences) to tell me what would be in your room and why you chose this particular “dream room”.

Your illustration can be a top view of your room (as if you were looking down at the room from the ceiling) or drawn as if you were standing in the room.

Visual Journal Assignment #4 (Term 3)

Due: Monday, May 4th 

For this visual journal assignment, you will design your own original superhero or villain. Create an illustration of what your superhero or villain would look like (be sure to give them a costume to protect their identity).

Write a paragraph (3-5 sentences) to tell me about your superhero or villain. What is their name? Where do they live? How do they improve the well-being of society or wreak havoc on it?

Your superhero/villain can be serious or funny. It’s up toyou! Just make sure they’re an original idea and not a copy of something that’s already been created.

Visual Journal Assignment #3 (Term 3)

Visual Journal Assignment #3

Due: Monday, April 27^th

If you’ve ever watched Cake Boss or Next Great Baker you know that cakes for special occasions can be works of art.

For this assignment, please design a cake for a special occasion of your choice that is over the top and extreme!

Write a paragraph (3-5 sentences) to tell me how you came up with your design and how it relates to the occasion it’s meant to be for. Also tell me what flavors your cake and frosting would be. Yum.

 

Visual Journal Assignment #2 (Term 3)

Due: Monday, April 13^th

Imagine you are a movie special effects artist and have been commissioned to create the creature for a big block buster movie.

Design your own “Movie Creature” and create a detailed illustration of what this creature would look like. You are only require to draw an illustration of the face of your creature, but if you’d like to include the body, you may.

Remember, this should be make-up that could be applied to an actor or actresses face.

Tim Burton inspired make-up from the show "Face Off"

Give your creature a name and in the paragraph, tell me a little bit about how you came up with your creature design and the plot of the film you think this creature would be in.

Your creature can be creepy, whimsical, silly or cute. It’s up to you. It’s YOUR creature and YOUR movie. Your creature and movie must be original. Please don’t copy from a pre-existing creature or film.

Visual Journal Assignment #1 (Term 3)

Due: Monday, April 6th

Sometimes, dreams can be flat out weird. For this visual journal assignment, please illustrate (show in pictures) an odd dream you’ve had. Maybe you were flying over a city with Kermit the Frog, or having a lovely dinner with table full of talking cupcakes.

The odder the dream, the better.

For your paragraph (3-5 sentences) please describe to me what happened in your dream and why it was so odd. Your paragraph may be typed, or hand written.

              Remember to keep all images school appropriate.

Visual Journal Assignment #13 (Term 2)

Due: Monday, March 16th

Artist Cheeming Boey creates amazing pieces of artwork, using plain white cups as his canvas. Cheering uses Sharpie markers to make his incredible drawings on the sides of cups.

For this visual journal assignment, you will create a drawing on the "cup template" Mrs. Walker gave you in class. Remember, cups are circular, so you should consider this when coming up with your design. If you lost your cup template and didn't get another one, you can google, "cup template" and find one similar to what I passed out in class. Print this out and draw your design. If you don't have access to a printer, draw your design on a regular piece of paper.

For your paragraph, please write down what you think about Cheeming Boey's form of art, based on what you saw in the video we watched in class (which can be found below if you should need to view it again).

Please answer the following question in your paragraph (3-5 sentences):

Do you think Boey's form of artwork is still considered art, even thought it's created on something simple like a cup, rather than a traditional canvas? Why or why not? Please support your answer.

Visual Journal Assignment #11 (Term 2)

Due: Monday, March 9th

  A Munny is a figure made out of vinyl (a plastic material) with movable joints. The figures are blank and the owner can decorate them using pens, pencils, markers, paint, and other supplies.

For this visual journal assignment, you will be designing your own Munny. You will use the template given to you by Mrs. Walker to show the front, back and side views of your Munny.

How you customize your Munny is up to you. Perhaps you cover your Munny in graffiti style lettering, or fill your Munny with intricate patterns and designs. Maybe you create a new character.

For your paragraph (3-5 sentences) please describe to me how you came with your Munny design.  What inspired you?

7th Grade Portraits

7^th grade has finally finished their rather lengthy and challenging unit on portraiture. Even though one cannot expect students to master the art of portrait drawing in a matter of weeks, I must say I am very pleased in the growth that I saw in each and every student during the course of the unit. 

Since finishing the portrait unit, students have moved on a unit on graffiti and how street art has evolved over time. Students looked at three street artists working today and are in the process of creating their own graffiti “tag” with tempera paint, learning how to blend the tempera paint from one color to another. This is a favorite unit among students and I’m excited to show you the finished products in a few weeks.

Check out some of the finished portraits below!

by Victoria L.

by Molly A.

by Jack H.

by Samhita M.

By Declan L.

by Harry O.

by Meena M.