Digital Puppetry Using Adobe Character Animator

In this course, we will be building upon skills within Adobe Illustrator and applying them to the Animation world.  By using Adobe's Character Animator, students will learn how to "program" a "puppet" they create using Adobe Illustrator.  By the end of the course, students will record and edit a puppet reading a children's story of their own choosing.

Each week will have a specific topic discussed as well as weekly objectives:
Part 1: Starting the Creative Process
Part 2: Introduction to Adobe Illustrator
Part 3: Introduction to Adobe Character Animator
Part 4: Special Animation
Part 5: Giving your Character a Voice
Part 6: Presenting your Project

Each class will entail a 25-45 minute lesson from the instructor to cover some of the most basic features and skills for the topic being covered.  The remainder of the class will be dedicated to discussing and troubleshooting ideas within the class itself.  This is an opportunity for students to develop their own personal projects for the next week.  Students can also share discoveries they found, tips, tricks, and methods they may have discovered outside the learning environment.  Students will get to learn and show throughout the whole process.

The goal is to assess students through the use of Project-Based Learning and Applied or Work-Based Learning techniques.  The students will learn the skills through a demonstration and then apply them to the work they personally want to create.

Students will be encouraged to talk and collaborate with one another throughout the course.  Students will present their projects at the end through a pre-recorded environment.  Students will be encouraged to give feedback in a productive methodology called delta-plus (What did you like, what would you have done differently) during the presentation to help encourage social norms in an art-based work environment.  Parents and students concerned with presentations can talk to the instructor about this before the final class. 

It is encouraged that students take the Introduction to Illustrator class prior to this one, but it is not required.  Portions of that course will be covered in Part 2, but practice with Adobe Illustrator is highly encouraged.