Sara E. Thomas
The structure underneath the entire body is the skeletal system. Throughout our entire body are a network of bones which provide the framework for our muscles and skin. Though it may not seem so, bones determine much of our outward appearance. Height is determined by the size of the bones. Bones determine posture as well. Think about all of the places in the body where you can see the bones through the skin, for instance the bumps on the ankles. Bone structure also has a lot to do appearance of the face. More prominent cheekbones will be seen more easily through the skin. Bones create the infrastructure of our entire bodies.
If the body is viewed as a sculpture, bones are what artists call the armature. The armature of a sculpture is the structure underneath upon which everything else is built. It gives the sculpture its initial form. Armatures can be built out of anything, but are most commonly build out of wood or metal. My students will be creating small sculptures of humans and therefore it will be extremely important for them to understand the armature underneath the human body. In order to start the exploration of the idea of an armature we will look specifically at the head. Students will recreate the bone structure of a human skull using self-hardening clay. They will model a skull, along with a separate jawbone. They will add a layer of polymer clay on top of their skeleton, which will represent the facial muscles. Polymer clay remains pliable, which will allow their character's face to show a variety of different emotions by molding the polymer clay. The reasons for this are two fold. It gives students a smaller portion of the body to learn about first, so that they can understand an example of the general concepts behind bones and muscles. Second, it will provide them with a detailed, larger, sculpture of their character's head. This sculpture will be perfect for close up shots of their character expressing emotion in their stop animation film.
The skull is comprised of a series of bones which are fused together after birth. These bones make up the majority of the cranium and serve to house and protect the brain. This series of bones makes up the foundation for the scalp, where our hair grows. Also on the skull are the zygomatic arches, or cheekbones. These bones give shape to the cheeks and are also the point of origin for the muscle that closes the mouth. If you feel under your eyes all the way along to your ears you can feel your zygomatic arches. Above each zygomatic arch is a hole, or eye socket. Eye sockets are much larger than your actual eye; your eye sits in them, held in place by a variety of muscles. If you feel your eyebrows, all the way down your eye and back along the top of your cheek you can feel the general shape of your eye socket. Eye sockets are usually shaped like a square with rounded edges. In between your zygomatic arches is a triangle shaped hole called your nasal cavity. This is a very important distinction for students to learn. The shape of most of your nose is not determined by bone at all. The nose is mostly cartilage. That is why noses come in such different shapes and sizes. The mandible, or jawbone is attached to the skull by muscles. It is a completely separate bone from the rest of the skull. Students will learn the names of these bones in their faces. They will be asked to touch their faces to try to identify the bones they can feel. They will be given riddles about the bones and will also have to pair their scientific names with their more common vernacular ones. As students explore the bones on their faces I will challenge them to think about how each bone affects their outward appearance. After we have explored all of the bones students will create a small skull of their own out of self-hardening clay. This will serve as the armature for their character's head. It will be about the size of a child's fist (Gosling).
Once students have a grasp of the concept of both armature and bone structure we will begin exploring muscles. "Muscle is a tissue in which active contraction either shortens component cells or generates tension along their length" (Gosling). The muscles which I will be focusing on are voluntary striated muscles, also known as skeletal muscles. These are the muscles which are responsible for the motion of the body. A muscle has two ends that usually remain fixed to bones. One end is called the origin of the muscle. The other end of the muscle, which is more mobile during movement, is called the insertion. For instance, your bicep is located on the top half of your arm. Its main function is to move your forearm up and down. Its origin is the top of the scapula and its insertion is the forearm.
We will study how the movement of the facial muscles effects a person's facial expression, in turn displaying an emotion. The most important difference between the muscles of the face and the muscles of the rest of the body is that the muscles of the face have an origin on some part of the skull, but their point of insertion is not attached to another bone, as it is for most of the rest of the bones of the body. Instead the muscles of the face go from bone to skin. Facial "muscles are arranged as sphincters or dilators around the orifices of the face" (Gosling). This means that the muscles of the face are mostly arranged around the eyes, mouth and nose. The muscles allow the mouth or eyes to pucker and close, or pull back and open wider. As we study each facial muscle students will feel the muscle on their own face, and flex it. Once we have identified the major facial muscles students will use a mirror to pose in a variety of different faces showing different emotions. Students will need to determine which muscles are used to create which facial expressions. Students will then begin adding clay to the skull armature which they produced in the previous lesson. The muscles will be made out of polymer clay which, students can manipulate easily, however it will still hold form and not droop or dry out when left over night. Student will add the polymer clay to the face as though they were reproducing the muscles around both the eyes and the mouth. Students will then add a thin layer of clay over this to simulate skin.
Once students have added their skin we will discuss traits and characteristics that make each individual unique. Students will use other colors of clay and other materials to add details to their characters. Students may wish to add things such as eyebrows, hair, birthmarks, earrings, etc. Students will reference the character drawings they created previously to bring their two dimensional character to life in three dimensions.
At this point students will also use this model of a face to begin experimenting with the stop animation process. Students will shoot a quick series of images capturing their character changing emotions. This is important so that students begin to understand how many frames they need to include to make motion look fluid and not choppy. They will also understand how important keeping the camera in the same place on a tripod is so that their motion does not look choppy. It will also give them a quick introduction to loading the images onto the computer and organizing them using Windows Moviemaker.
Lesson Plan Two
Objectives
Students will understand where facial muscles are located and how they relate to expressions. Students will understand how an armature supports a sculpture, and be able to create a successful armature for their character's head. Students will understand the basics of using a digital camera, and will begin to start the process of creating a stop animation film.
Do Now
Students will be given a mirror and asked to make as many different expressions as they can. They will be given a worksheet with a series of blank faces on it and will be challenged to record as many of the different expressions as they can, playing close attention to which parts of the face actually move.
Procedure
The teacher will start by having students compile a class list of the expressions they have tried. The teacher will then challenge the students to figure out what makes your face look the way that it does.
After some class discussion the teacher will hand out copies of the skull and will also place plastic skulls at each table (borrowed from the science department). The teacher will ask the students to look at their faces again in the mirror to determine which bones on the skull can be seen and easily felt through the skin.
As a class students will discuss the different bones that make up the skull, along with eye sockets and the nasal cavity. Students will need to determine what their character's skull might look like, including cranium, eye sockets, nasal cavity and jawbone.
The teacher will give a demonstration of how to manipulate the self-hardening clay to create a skull armature. As the teacher creates each part of the skull he or she will continue asking the students the correct names for the different bones and will review the facial proportions, which also apply to the skull.
Students will then be challenged to create a skull for their character. Depending on the amount of supplies available, the teacher should limit the size of skulls, possible to an apple size. This portion of the lesson should be done in one class period because once the clay is left overnight; it will be dried out and not malleable the next day.
Closure
The teacher will ask the students what needs to be added to the skull to make the character more realistic. This will be a lead in to get the students to start thinking about adding muscles during the next lesson.
Assessment
Students will be assessed based on a rubric of different bones that should be included in their skull armature. They will also be assessed on how accurate their three dimensional sculpture coincides with their original drawings of their character.