This year, Camp Hill art students from grades eight through twelve have been learning how to navigate the world of digital art, a new medium for many. Thanks to a generous grant from the Lion Foundation, the art room expanded to include stylus pens and iPads installed with drawing programs, including Procreate and Animator’s Desk. Armed with their new tools, the students received a whole month of instruction and training from a professional animator. Keep reading to learn more about our artist-in-residence and the real world impact of digital media, plus see examples of student artwork.
An Interview with the Artist:
My name is Natasha Zook, I’m an Alumni of Camp Hill, class of 2014. I went to college for traditional animation and graduated in 2018. When I started this art residency, I didn’t expect to love teaching as much as I do. Working with everyone and seeing kids of all age groups absorb what I’m teaching and create wonderful works of art has inspired me to go get my art teacher certification and pass my love of art on to the next generations. It’s been absolutely wonderful doing this art residency with Mrs. Tichenor-Holtzman and the art students of Camp Hill High School & Middle School!
Digital art is any sort of art that is created with a digital device such as a computer or IPad. It can be anything from a simple drawing to an entire film created from start to finish digitally. Our society uses technology as a primary communication method and as a primary source of entertainment, so it's only natural that art in all forms has adapted with it.
Digital art is used in daily life more than you would suspect. If you've used any form of social media, the logos that you see used are made by graphic designers working digitally. The majority of children's books are created digitally. The shows you watch on Netflix with dragons and magic have all been created with CGI, a form of digital art. Your favorite graphic tee, or band album cover were all created by a digital artist. Even the advertisements could be created digitally.
Careers in digital arts can happen almost anywhere. A graphic designer could work for a shipping company, digitally creating all of the logos and branding that the company will use. On the more traditional side, a painter or illustrator may create a piece that is used as inspiration in a live action film, or put into a gallery showing. You could also decide to pursue an animation career, helping to create the next big 3D animated film, or you could freelance and create animated advertisements for small businesses or large corporations.
I love digital art. It gives the artist so many opportunities to explore alternative methods for whatever they may be working on. It is a fast paced medium for our fast paced society, and it is already formatted for the general viewers' device. Art is everywhere, and digital art just expands the ways we can create and enjoy art. Animation, since it became an entertainment staple, has inspired so many people. Animation pushes the boundaries of storytelling for children and adults alike. It allows kids to grapple with advanced aspects of our world in a way that engages and delights them. Adults experience wonder and joy at how they can relate to these films now, and are still emotionally affected by these stories. Animation brings life and realism to the most wonderful ideas in a way all age groups can enjoy.
I envision these projects being a way to bring some of the playground creativity back, at a time when all they want to do is grow up. Being an adult doesn't have to mean losing a sense of wonder and joy, but teens feel the need to grow up so fast. I hope I can inspire them to create something that is uniquely theirs. And while encouraging their creativity we're teaching them real world applications and skills that they can use to navigate the professional art world. We'll familiarize them with programs used in the industry such as Procreate and Animation Desk to introduce what the industry is like. I plan on giving kids of all age groups some sort of world development, from creating a wizard who just really loves pies, to creating a classroom for monster hunters in training. I want to inspire them to create their own worlds, their own sandboxes to play in.
Student Examples:
(technical difficulties, will be here soon!)
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