There are few students I have met that don’t enjoy art to some degree whether it’s full-on finger painting or just doodling in a notebook. The only question is what form that ‘art’ takes. It might be photography and selfies, sculpting clay, graffiti, or cutting up pictures in magazines. Most students also enjoy the concept of ‘photoshopping’ (sticking their head on Superman’s body) even if the process is beyond them.
In the ‘old days’ digital art meant simplistic efforts with Microsoft Paint or TuxPaint if you had it. With students district art often has to take on alternative forms due to physical or cognitive challenges. That doesn’t mean they can’t create quality art to display or discuss, in their way, the meaning behind it. It simply means it might involve lights and a surrogate.
Here though are a number of art resources that are simple enough to be used easily even by students with moderate physical challenges. They come in the form of computer apps, mobile apps, and software which should provide options for everyone. This is by no means an endorsement to ditch your box of crayons and markers, but rather an additional resource to supplement your students’ learning.
Awesome Digital Art Projects For Kids
The National Gallery of Art maintains a collection of 15 web-based art tools that students can use to design and learn about various art, math, and language concepts. The applications can also be downloaded for Mac computers. Many of the NGA’s resources are also available for the iPad . Some of my favorite resources from NGA Kids Art Zone include:
Amina’s World will also give student’s a guided experience in art-making where they can start with a pre-made background and gradually add fabric, paper, shells, and more. If you are looking for a more open artistic experience there are Canvastic , Crayola Digital , Nick Jr.’s Free Draw , and ABCYa Paint . My favorite online open paint program is Bomomo which is simple but has algorithms that help create beautiful images. For simple digital coloring pages, there is also Scrap Coloring .
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. -Pablo Picasso Early Artist Apps
Easy Digital Art For Kids
Yes, Adobe Creative Suite remains the standard of artists and creators, but the price, especially since they went to a subscription model, is beyond the reach of most teachers. So for a simple alternative, there is Adobe Sketch or Adobe Illustrator Draw. Some other great apps include ArtRage which feels as though you’re using real paint. Zen Brush 2 is a way to get zen while exploring Japanese calligraphy art. Inspire Pro feels like a high-end editing and drawing software while being incredibly fast and fluid. My go to for a while though has been Pixelmator which allows you to switch between the computer and the tablet. It feels like a more fluid and streamlined version of Photoshop. I used it to create the logos for my school and for #NYCSchoolsTech. Whatever you use, it is important that regardless of a student’s abilities you are able to give them a creative outlet. And Artsonia, while not an art creation tool, is a wonderful place to house student art Are your kids constantly trying to steal your phone to add stickers and filters to your Instagram stories ? Do they love creating beautiful images on Minecraft, or messing around with pens on MS Word? Instead of thinking of this simply as an annoyance, consider that it’s a form of creativity.
If nurtured in the right way, it can both hone their creative skills and increase their computer literacy. Not only could this be beneficial to them later in life, but it’s good for their cognitive development now. And they will have a blast!
So without further ado, here are 8 fun project ideas for budding digital artists of all ages. Cover photo by Kelly Sikkema .
Ways To Personalize Your Digital Pln
Coloring on a computer will get your kids familiar with using a mouse and give them great hand-eye coordination practice. There are so many websites that allow you to color in an image digitally—a Google search will yield lots of results. Some may even include the option to create your own images!
For slightly older kids, the next step up would be using a website or app to make digital drawings. Not only does drawing on a tablet or computer hone digital skills as well as creative skills, but it means less mess and crayon marks on the table! What’s more, you can make this into a bigger project by getting your kids’ artwork printed on T-shirts or mugs.
Kids love to see their creations come to life on usable objects, and they make great Christmas presents! If you have an iPad, a great drawing app for younger kids is Drawing with Carl. For older kids, Tayasui Sketches works beautifully on almost any device, and Scribblify covers the more abstract side for kids of all ages.
Digital Art Projects That Will Spark Student Creativity
Kids of all ages love temporary tattoos—there is something about art that you can put on your own body that is endlessly exciting!
All it takes to make your own is a basic inkjet printer and some printable tattoo paper you can easily get online. Create a digital design, print, and voila! Your kids can wear their very own designs with minimal cost and hassle. This is also a great way for kids to see the connection between the digital and physical world in real-time.
Designing personal logos and following them through all the way to fruition is also a fantastic learning experience for digitally and creatively minded kids. This particular project combines hands-on printmaking with digital design skills.
Satguru Announces All India Online Painting Competition
Get your kids to make monoprinted backgrounds directly on copy paper. Then, use an editing program like Photoshop to create your logo designs. Then, print the logos directly on the monoprinted paper to reveal an awesome finished product. Kids love anything that is all about them, and making logos using all these stages combines different skills and may get them thinking in new ways about creativity.
Photoshop is a fantastic tool for kids interested in digital art due to the incredibly wide range of things you can do with it . Remove the association of Photoshop with making images more ‘flattering’ and instead, get kids to think of it as a tool for endless creative possibilities.
One of the many features offered is creating digital mosaic portraits. Mosaic portraits are not new— think of those pictures that from far away look like a very realistic face, but on closer inspection are made of thousands of tiny photographs. The digital version requires less tedious cutting out of paper, but the results are just as cool. Photoshop also works great for digital collaging, and landscape art using the gradient tool.
The Ultimate List Of Distance Learning Art Projects And Resources For Kids
For kids and adults alike, it’s pretty mesmerizing to see your creations come to life in an animation. Creating GIFs is an accessible way to make that happen, and can be done with kids of a wide range of ages. The other great thing about GIFs is how easy they are to share – all your relatives can expect a barrage of GIF messages after this project. If you’re not sure how to begin, here’s an easy step-by-step guide . You can start off super simple, and add on more complex elements for kids who are interested. The sky’s the limit.
For kids interested in photography, light painting is a way to make it even more fun and expand their idea of what it means to take a photograph. If you have a DSLR camera, that’s great, but you don’t need one to make this work. You can do it with almost any tablet or smartphone.
Simply download a long exposure app to begin, and gather some glow sticks, Christmas lights, laser pointers, or basically anything that creates light. Then it’s just a matter of experimenting and watching the magic unfold.
Lesson Planning Resources For Educators
Canva is an awesome platform for anyone who wants to experiment with digital design, of all ages. Use a template or start from a black canvas to create anything from logos to business cards to infographics to videos. A great option for older kids is to get them to design posters on issues they care about.
For younger kids, why not get them to help out designing virtual Christmas cards? Another option that makes great Christmas presents is to design and make your own calendar, or to print festive designs on mugs or t-shirts . The possibilities are truly endless.
Hopefully this list has given you some ideas for fun digital art projects to do with the kids. But it is just the tip of the iceberg. These days, there are a plethora of platforms that can inspire budding digital artists of all kinds.
Enjoyable Math Crafts And Activities For World Maths Day
We firmly believe that kids’ creativity and passion should be nurtured, and we hope this has inspired you to find new ways to do just that.
Activities, art, computer, creative, creativity, digital, digital arts, fun, fun projects, gifs, ideas, ipad, iphone, kids, painting, photography, posters, print, project ideas, tablet
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site
0 comments
Post a Comment