Today I have scheduled a meeting with Mark Edmund Parkinson a senior lecturer from Art and Design.
At this point I am unsure as to wether to design an educational game based around drawing focusing on characters or to implement the same idea based around real life objects utilising a camera for the user to take a picture then draw that object, giving them an round outline and how to proceed with completing it.
I aim to get more of an idea in relation to drawing techniques and requirements at this level as the students have to complete a drawing module within the Foundation Degree of Fine Arts.
In order for this to go smoothly, and not go off topic, I have outlined some questions below that could be asked.
- What drawing techniques are the learners required to have before starting the foundation degree?
- What drawing techniques will the learners focus on within the Drawing module?
- Are the assignments practical, theoretical or both?
- In your opinion, would an app assist with drawing techniques?
- If yes, what would be the main priority to focus on?
- Have you used any form of technology to assist with your own drawing skills and techniques? E.g.Videos, online tutorials, games or apps.
- Have you recommended any form of technology to teach with drawing skills and techniques? E.g.Videos, online tutorials, games or apps.
This should then form part of the basis for further research and narrowing down the topic further.
The discussion with Mark Parkinson assisted with numerous questions. An important point to note is that while there is a drawing module it can be covered in many areas of art, such as perspective drawing and portrait drawing. It is perhaps an idea to focus the research on a sixth form level, 3 for example. the explanation was "they try to break the mold from a 'perfect' drawing, to discover new techniques and realise that 'Art' is not just about creating perfection, but each individuals perception of the object, portrait, etc.
The modules and lecturers also encourage using traditional methods to draw, such as paper/canvas/charcoal/pencil rather than using any type of software, as once the student has mastered/obtained the basic skills in drawing then can implement software into their practice to assist. Not rely upon on it solely as a means of their skill.
When discussing the previous games and apps I had found via mobile, PC and platform I mentioned that the applications relied more upon tracing the shape outlines rather than illustrating how to do it then drawing it yourself.
Mark recommended a TV show that was on BBC 4 last nightwith regards to a documentary, that teaches individuals to avoid the 'perfect look'. I have researched this and it is called No Body's Perfect with Rankin and Alison Lapper. Available here.
Above all I got numerous ideas to concentrate on and expand as one sole part of research to narrow the drawing skill/technique.
Other ideas that were discussed were to perhaps look at the samsung galaxy note tablet or a PC/Laptop used with a wacom graphics tablet, and to implement the camera feature to have a 'mobile' image that you can take anywhere to work on later. I managed to create a quick sketch of a layout.
