Is there a Cartoon Artist in You?

Overview

This activity allows students to develop imaginative and creative skills based on the comprehension of a previously read story. The aim is to produce an original cartoon based on a literary text and to begin to understand the features of an animated narrative. By using Chogger, an online comic strip creator, students explore the different features that are used in cartoons in order to further develop their artistic expression.

Description

Begin with a debate about the characteristics of cartoons as a textual genre and as a form of artistic expression. If this activity is part of an animated film project, let the students know that the cartoons are going to help them define the sequence of the animated narrative. Introduce them to Chogger. Show them how it works and, in particular, how they can import digital drawings or images.

Group the students and ask them to identify the main events in the story that they have studied. Explain to them that they will need to recreate each event in every strip of the cartoon. If the story you’re working on is short, give each group the task of recreating the entire story. If not, divide the story into parts, assign each group a specific part and then gather the cartoons scenes together in order to create a complete story. In this case, encourage discussion and collaboration between groups to ensure some amount of graphic and visual coherence in the final product.

After the work is done, ask each group to present their cartoon to the class and ask the students to analyse it and give ideas on how it could be improved. Save all the files so they can eventually be used in other activities.

Time needed 3-4 hours.

Resources

Internet access.
Previously created illustrations (by the students or others).
Access to Chogger – http://chogger.com/creator.

Hints and tips

This activity can be more engaging if students already have their own illustrations based on the literary text that they are working on.
If students prefer, you can give them some time to study the elements that are going to be used in the cartoon and to sketch their ideas on paper.
In Chogger you can also create drawings directly on the strip. If you have an interactive board in the classroom you could use it to demonstrate different sketching skills.

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