How to: The Blood Bank Project

This project is a collaboration between the San Diego Blood Bank and High Tech High seniors. It is also a collaboration between the Biology / Multimedia Teacher and the art teacher. The students will learn about blood, blood diseases, blood in the body, blood banking and blood politics. They will also educate the community and bring awareness to the issues that surround our San Diego Blood Bank. Hopefully they will get people to give blood and sell their creations to bring money to the blood bank.

I first had my students start to learn to draw. We used charcoal, pen and ink, pencils

Another way to create a hand drawn image is to start with an image, it could be just a photo or a collage that has the elements you were wanting.

Trace it, Scan it, in Photoshop, use Brightness and Contrast, then use the Cutout filter. This filter simplifies and smooths lines. 

Cutout also can color the image digitally, and that looks good sometimes. 

We looked at posters that famous artists made. John Baldessari, Rauschenberg and Christo

We looked at art with text in it as well. Black stock, Kahlo, Haursman, Mel Bochner, Stienburg and Gauguin 

We then practiced making a poster; each team of two students picked a minimalist sculpture to make a poster for. The student’s utilized their new drawing skills, Photoshop skills, Sketchup skills, and an understanding of how visuals and text have been mixed in the past.

Then each team created a poster to explain their subject as it relates to blood and / or blood banking. The images that they used in their posters are starting points for the images that they used to make their After Effects movies. They also put an image of their dioramas on this planning poster. 
Some students painted these posters, used Photoshop and scanners, colored pencils, Google Sketch-up or a combination of all these mediums.

The students’ made their dioramas out of ½” plywood. We constantly critiqued the formal qualities of their paintings. 
This was the first time in a long time that I have taught the students how to draw and shade and then make paintings. I would find my self saying; “remember we did this before, like a week ago”.  This just proves even more that exercises and formal lecture can’t hold a candle to "on the job" experience. The students knew they needed their paintings done and they did it. Learning the basics only helps about 10% of the students, the 10% that probably already know anyway.