Month: December 2022

Historically, art and technology are separately boxed by our education system and ideological gap between the two is undeniable. However, such interdisciplinary programs are not completely absent from the academic world. There has been much discussion over last decades about how STEM education needs to expand to STEAM, incorporating art and creative thinking into more right-brained areas of innovation. Aware that art can spark an excitement about learning that goes beyond the artistic to embrace science, math, technology, and engineering, prominent tech and science schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and Carnegie Mellon have integrated design and arts education into their curricula. As is true in the best learning moments, a connection to art can ignite the drive for more learning across disciplines, more creativity and motivate students to continue seeking new solutions.

Last year, one of the world’s most prestigious art schools, The Royal College of Art in London, announced plans to expand its curriculum in order to transform the accepted paradigm of an art and design university, by injecting key scientific disciplines into the mix of creative courses traditionally on offer. RCA’s new ambitious five-year campaign programme, named GenerationRCA, sends a clear message that today’s designers must be trained to tackle larger interdisciplinary issues. The world is too complex and interconnected for designers to not be proficient in a variety of disciplines, from traditional craft-based skills to the science and technology that are an integral part of our daily lives.

As announced, the RCA will continue along its recent path of introducing exciting and provocative new programmes such as Environmental Architecture, a year-long masters that focuses on the city from a sustainability perspective, and Digital Direction, another year-long program that concentrates on digital storytelling in the creative economy. In the meantime, future programmes will center on nano and soft robotics, computer science and machine learning, materials science and the circular economy.

According to vice chancellor Paul Thompson, the launch of the GenerationRCA is the most significant development in its 182-year history. “Founded in response to the first Industrial Revolution, today the RCA stands as the vanguard of a new era in art and design, which promises breakthroughs in robotics, autonomous vehicles, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence,” he said. This watershed moment reveals that some art educators finally understand that science and technology need to be part of the curriculum in order for art schools to survive the digital age.

But so far, the science sector has been more open to welcoming art than the reverse. Although there are art and design schools that do digital arts education well, like UCLA’s Design Media Arts curriculum, which uses technology-powered art processes, very rarely a traditional school adopts science and technology as a core focus.

Despite the many possibilities that science and technology present, few art programmes embrace the new paradigm. It is noticed that art teachers are often reluctant to implement computer technology in art education, either because they don’t have the skills to use the technology or because they prefer the traditional approach and techniques. According to the 2019 State of Art Education Survey, 52.2 percent of art teachers want to learn more about teaching digital art effectively, but only 21.9 percent of art teachers feel comfortable actually teaching a digital arts curriculum. Some traditional creatives are not only unsure how to integrate technology into their teaching, but also hesitant to see coding and other technology-led processes as artistic practices.

Prof. Mick Grierson, a research leader at the newly opened Creative Computing Institute at the University of the Arts London, admits, “There are plenty of people who, for decades, have been in the art and design community but haven’t really been able to find a home for their technology-led creations and practice,” he says. “So of course, they naturally migrated to a STEM environment because it’s easier for them to talk about the materials they use and the approaches they take.” “It’s like the art school has handed the baton of creativity over to the computer scientists and programmers, who often make terrible art,” echoes digital artist Alan Warburton.

Back in 1990, Deborah Greh, St. John’s University educator, clarified that using technology as a tool to develop art works should not overshadow art principles, concepts and techniques. Too often artists are enchanted by the novelty of the tool itself, its formal and aesthetic possibilities, so they sacrifice substance in the process, neglecting the fact that art needs something to day. It doesn’t really matter, if a work of art is analog or digital – the qualities that make it meaningful remain the same, and that is something only art schools can teach.

Today, digital art still is not treated as seriously as analog art, and experts admit, universities will need to adopt an even broader shift in thinking to change that.

“The biggest problem that digital art forms have faced is that scarcity equals value, and being readily available means these works essentially are worthless,” says Grierson. This is echoed by digital artist and educator Vicki Fong, who believes that digital art is often perceived as being more about production. “People are using digital skills to speed up the process, so more art is being made at a much quicker rate, which doesn’t necessarily increase the quality,” she says. All this is the negative impact of the traditional creatives and art educators being slow to embrace computerized art and admit that it should belong to the realm of art rather than STEM environment.

Predictably, artists won’t just naturally begin incorporating technology into their work without schools teaching them how. As curator Julia Kaganskiy told Artnet, to succeed in technology-led art teaching schools should integrate both technological thinking and practice. “As software, algorithms, non-conscious cognitive agents and cybernetic thinking increasingly shape the world around us, artists need to have a strong grasp of the practical and philosophical implications of this transformation,” she says. “I’m not saying that every artist needs to learn to code, but they should probably read some media theory and software studies texts, maybe even some posthumanist philosophy.”

The process of integration of science and technology into the art school curriculum still has a long way to go. As technology infiltrates every element of our life, educators need to do more than just prep students with basic graphic software. One thing is clear: the artists and designers who embrace technology as part of their art training will no doubt be more in demand than those who do not.

When people talk about education, they often stress the formal side of learning like delivering knowledge, getting high scores on exams, etc. But animation-based education is here to up the game, with animation you can get fun, practical, and informative learning all at the same time!

While it sounds like it, animation-based learning is not all about visual materials. Rather, resources such as videos, infographics, and GIFs are used in tandem with existing resources when employing this method. This can be applied to many different fields, from scientific visualizations to corporate training schemes; from motion-graphic narratives used in primary courses to university-level demonstrations.

The Advantages Of Animation-Based Learning:

• Making Abstract Concepts Palpable. It doesn’t matter what you study, there are always going to be some concepts in a subject that are topics of the mind and are not actually visible. If you think about it, even something as concrete as math is highly theoretical and intangible for someone who’s never done multiplication and division before. And when you can’t see what you’re dealing with, sometimes it’s difficult to understand and remember the knowledge. In this case animation can be used to visualize complex concepts, for example, the “invisible hands” of supply and demand in economics, or chemical reactions in the brain during everyday
• Alleviating Pressure on Learners’ Imaginations. Animation can also demonstrate visible phenomena too, especially those that are not available in the classroom at that moment. This applies particularly well to scenario-based teaching and training and usually focuses on practical and social skills. Think nurse training, for example. A major part of it is learning about the medicines and internal conditions, but they should also be aware of external symptoms and how to deal with them as well. To better prepare nurses for such situations, animated segments can be provided during their training so that they can see the procedures rather than imagine them in their heads. And when the time comes for them to apply their training, it’s much easier to carry things out.
• Engaging The Learners. When thinking of studying, many of us will probably think about long hours of staring at textbooks, wondering if there’s a faster, more entertaining way to learn. Well, there actually is, in most cases, a learning method that’s more fun, and that’s using visual aid tools like animation. Take TedEd videos—they’re designed to fit our attention spans and they provide useful information in colorful ways. These animations are optimal for learning since they draw the eyes and bring to life the issue at hand. They pique learners’ interests, and if they’re really successful, then the learner will go on to do some more research about the subject themselves!
• Is Affordable and Can Be Watched Anywhere. Contrary to popular belief, quality animation can be produced on a budget. Perhaps you opt for whiteboard or 2D animation rather than the 3D style, but that doesn’t have to mean that the quality will be bad. And what’s good is that once made, you can use that animation again and again, so the investment pays with time. It’s always available to you, and you can make it so even for your learners by putting it online. Learners can access the video through their phone or their computers—they can even download it!

How To Produce Animation-Based Learning. Of course, by no means are you expected to create animations by yourself, although you can if you’re particularly artistic and can maneuver editing software. Oftentimes, educators find animation studios to collaborate with in order to add life to their courses. Once you’ve found your preferred studio, the process goes as follows:

1. Briefing

This is going to be the basis of your partnership. You set out these terms from the very beginning: your objective and your target audience. These help both sides research the best way to present information as you go on.

If you’re working on your own, you’ll be researching your audience at this point and potentially picking out a suitable type of animation. If you’re working with a partner, they might have some industrial insight that can help you better decide, so maintain good and clear communication.

2. Writing A script

Once you’ve found a preferred style, it’s time to settle down and write your script. This depends a lot on the kind of video you’re producing. If, for instance, it’s a highly descriptive video (e.g. demonstrating Earth’s sediments’ formation), then the script will be quite short and straightforward. Consider adding some voice-over to provide extra information and a human touch.

For narrative videos, scripts may be more complex, with characters and dialogue. Always keep your audience in mind when you write the script so that you create the right content (not too easy, not too difficult) for them.

3. Storyboarding

This is where you hand the script over to the animator unless the animator is you. Animators will have specific insights about how the video should progress, how the background should be, and what visual effects can be used. Since this is the skeleton of your video, you should be able to check how well your final result will flow. Again, check also that whatever you have planned matches the abilities and expectations of your target audience.

4. Illustrating the Elements

Now we get into the fun bit of the process, where your imagination starts to come to life. From character design to the settings and background, the still models are first needed before vectors can be added and combined to make a video.

If you’re working with a studio, make sure that they run the designs through you so that their products match the images you have in mind. Be open and constructive when communicating and you should be fine!

If you’re working alone and are wary of this, don’t worry, there are plenty of stock vectors and designs available online for you. Take a look at Vecteezy, for instance.

5. Animating

This final step is when the stars align and things come together. From ideation to storylining to design, it’s finally time to harvest the fruits of your labor! To bring the elements together, remember to stick closely to your approved storyboard and use a good tool to make your video if you’re doing it on your own. If you’re not so invested in mastering Adobe After Effects, programs like PowToon, Vyond, and Moovly can make your life as an animator a little easier!