At some point in our art teaching careers we’ve encountered lessons that have been total disasters and others that are hits. This year I have been piloting a new Digital Art and Design class for 8th graders. I’ll be the first to admit there were a lot of flops at the beginning, but I’m starting to get in the groove. I recently experienced a lesson that totally knocked it out of the park– in fact, it went way beyond. I had intended for the project to be fun and light-hearted, but it blossomed into something motivational and inspiring. Yet, the idea was sparked from something quite trivial–an emoji.
Let me introduce to you the most motivating graphic design project of all time: Create Your Own Emoji!
If you’d like to try this project in your classroom, just follow the 5 easy steps below.
1. Provide Inspiration
image courtesy of WE AND THE COLOR
Before you even say the word “emoji,” take a look at the artwork of contemporary Chinese artist Yue Minjun. His artworks are characterized by the Cynical Realism movement, a contemporary Chinese art movement that includes humor, satire, and irony. Share Minjun’s work with your students and ask them how they would describe it. Chances are they’ll look right past the ironic and satirical meaning and look straight to those giant cartoon, emoji-like images. Once you say emoji, your students will be hooked!
2. Lay the Foundation
Before your students begin creating they must determine a subject to turn into an emoji. Have students pick 3 different subjects: themselves, a celebrity, and a teacher. A diverse selection will challenge students to think creatively!
Next, decide on a digital editing platform to create your emojis. In my classroom, we used Photoshop. If you do not have access to Photoshop try out a free, online editing program like Pixlr or Sumo Paint.
To effectively complete this project, students should have a basic understanding of the following 4 tools:
- the lasso tool
- the magic wand/quick selection tool
- the paintbrush tool
- the mixer brush tool
Most of your students will probably want to use the emojis created by Apple. Take this opportunity to discuss Copyright and Fair Use. Ensure your students have an understanding of derivative work and parody.
3. Create the Emojis
After students choose a subject, it’s time to create. Here’s what to do.
A) Make sure that the canvas area you are working with is small.
I found 6” x6” worked well. This limits the features students are able to include, making the emoji more successful when it is shrunk down to size. Students might need to do a little research to determine the characteristics of their subject. As a student described it, a little “awkward creeping” will help determine said features.
B) Once the features are determined, have students start with an emoji base.This may be an emoji that already looks similar to the chosen subject or an emoji that characterizes a particular expression. To do this, students will need to do a simple web search. This base will be put on the blank canvas enabling edits.
C) After the emoji base is decided, encourage students to work in multiple ways to create their emojis. This will include finding images from the web and incorporating digital drawing. The brush tool is perfect for this. When I created my emoji, I started with an emoji base. I used an image of a tie dye pattern to create the shirt, used the lasso tool to edit the hair, and used the paint and mixer brush tool to add a braid. Because many features will be edited and added, emphasize the importance of working in layers. This allows students to easily resolve errors!
