PROJECT 1
MAKING & UNMAKING

Important Dates & Resources

WEEK 8 – WC/19^th Oct

This week, you will use your Pokémon and Digimon research to begin designing your own original creature. You will explore different ideas through sketching before developing two versions of your character: its original form and its transformed form.

In Lesson Tasks

Character Sketching

The focus is on creativity, experimentation and character design. Your sketches do not need to be perfect or fully coloured.

Task 1 – Exploring Ideas (20 minutes)

Start by creating two quick sketches of different creature ideas.

Think about:

• Body shapes, proportions and anatomy.
• Unique features such as wings, horns, tails or claws.
• How your creature could evolve or transform.

Choose the idea you find most interesting to develop further.

Task 2 – Original Character (40 minutes)

Develop a larger, more detailed sketch of your chosen creature in its original form.

Consider its personality, body structure and recognisable features.

You can use your Pokémon and Digimon research for inspiration, but your character must be original.

Task 3 – Transformed Character (40 minutes)

Now sketch the evolved or transformed version of your creature.

Think about how its appearance could change:

• Will it become bigger, smaller or change shape?
• Will it develop new features or lose existing ones?
• Which features will remain recognisable?

Place both designs side by side to compare their differences.

Final Review (20 minutes)

Add brief annotations explaining the changes between your two character forms.

Photograph or scan your sketches and upload them to your project blog.

Submission

By the end of the lesson, you should have:

• Two initial creature ideas.
• One developed sketch of your original creature.
• One sketch showing its transformed form.
• Brief annotations explaining the changes.

Next Week: You will use these sketches to develop your frame-by-frame morphing animation.

WEEK 7 – WC/12^th Oct

This week, you will explore Making & Unmaking through character transformations in Pokémon and Digimon. You will investigate how characters change their appearance through evolution and how animation techniques are used to communicate these transformations. Your research will help you understand morphing and prepare you to create your own transformation animation.

In Lesson Tasks

1. Research and Analysis

In this task, you will investigate how Pokémon and Digimon use evolution and transformation in animation. You will research both franchises, explore how their characters change and compare their approaches to Making & Unmaking.

Task 1 – Pokémon Research

Choose one Pokémon evolution line and investigate its different stages.

1. Include images of each evolution stage, showing how the Pokémon develops from its original to its final form.
2. Analyse how its shape, size, colours, proportions and physical features change.
3. Find and include at least one animated GIF showing a Pokémon evolution taking place.
4. Explain how the transformation is animated, including any special effects used.

Task 2 – Digimon Research

Choose one Digimon evolution line and investigate its different stages.

1. Include images of each evolution stage, showing how the Digimon develops from its original to its final form.
2. Analyse how its anatomy, size, colours, proportions and physical features change.
3. Find and include at least one animated GIF showing a Digimon transformation taking place.
4. Explain how the transformation is animated, including any special effects used.

Task 3 – Compare and Evaluate

Compare Pokémon and Digimon by answering the following questions:

1. What are the main similarities and differences between their evolutions?
2. Which franchise has the most interesting transformations, and why?
3. How do these transformations relate to Making & Unmaking?
4. What ideas could inspire your own morphing animation?

Submission

Upload your research to the Animation section of your project blog, including:

• Images showing the different evolution stages of both characters.
• At least two animated GIFs: one Pokémon transformation and one Digimon transformation.
• Your written analysis and comparison.
• Links to your research sources.

Remember: Don’t just describe the characters. Explain how their designs change and how animation is used to bring their transformations to life.

WEEK 6 – WC/5^th Oct

This week, you will explore the theme Making & Unmaking by creating a visual mind map on Milanote. You will use images, keywords, artists, materials, techniques and connections to investigate different meanings of the theme and begin identifying ideas that could inspire your own artwork.

In Lesson Tasks

Task 2: Create a Visual Mind Map on Milanote – Exploring ‘Making & Unmaking’

Objective

Create a visual mind map on Milanote to explore the Project 1 theme Making & Unmaking.

Your board should combine keywords, short explanations, images, artists, materials, techniques and connections between ideas. The aim is to help you discover different directions you could explore later in the project.

---

Instructions

1. Open Milanote
   
   
   • Go to Milanote.com and log in or create a free account.
   • Create a new blank board.
   • Title your board: Making & Unmaking – Visual Mind Map.
   • Double click on that board to open it.
     
     
2. Start with the main theme
   
   
   • Place MAKING & UNMAKING note in the centre of your board.
   • Underneath, add a simple explanation in your own words of what you think the theme could mean.
     
     
3. Create different branches
   Add different ideas around the main theme. You could explore:
   
   
   Making / Creating – building, constructing, assembling, producing
   Unmaking / Destruction – breaking, cutting, tearing, dismantling, removing
   Transformation – changing something into something new
   Repair and Restoration – fixing, rebuilding, mending
   Materials – paper, fabric, clay, wood, plastic, digital materials
   Growth and Decay – nature, ageing, erosion, decomposition
   Memory and Traces – marks, remains, fragments, things left behind
   Recycling and Reuse – turning old materials into something new
   Process – how an artwork changes while it is being made
   Technology and Digital Unmaking – glitch, distortion, deleting, editing and manipulating images
   
   You do not need to use every suggestion. Add your own ideas too.
   
   
4. Develop each branch
   
   Do not just write one word. Add smaller ideas around each section.Think about questions such as:
   
   • What could be made?
   • How could something be unmade?
   • Can destroying something actually create something new?
   • What happens when something is cut, broken, erased or changed?
   • Can something damaged be repaired?
   • What materials could you experiment with?
   • What techniques could communicate this idea?
   • What artists or designers could relate to it?
     
     
5. Add techniques and experiments
   
   Include practical ideas you could potentially try, such as:
   
   Collage – tearing – cutting – layering – stitching – weaving – painting over– erasing – sanding – breaking – rebuilding –photography – digital distortion – glitch – repetition – scanning – manipulating images
   
   
   
6. Use lots of visuals
   
   This should be a visual research board, not a page of writing. Add:
   
   Artwork – Photography – Textures – Objects – Materials – Colours – Artist references
   Interesting examples of making, breaking, repairing or transforming
   
   Try to have an image beside most of your main ideas.
   
   
   
7. Show the connections
   
   This is important. Use arrows and lines to connect ideas that relate to each other.
   
   For example:
   
   Destruction → Transformation
   Damage → Repair → Making
   Nature → Decay → Unmaking
   Old materials → Recycling → New artwork
   Technology → Glitch → Distortion
   
   Some ideas should connect to more than one section. Your board should look like a network of ideas rather than separate boxes.
   
   
8. Final check
   
   Before submitting, make sure your board has:
   • Making & Unmaking clearly in the centre
   • At least 8 main branches
   • Short explanations and keywords
   • Plenty of images
   • Materials and techniques you could experiment with
   • Artist/artwork ideas to investigate
   • Arrows connecting related ideas
   • At least 3 connections between different branches
   • Your own ideas, not only the examples given above

The finished board should help you answer the question: “What could Making & Unmaking mean for my own artwork?”