Artchoo! : Contagious art and design for kids

2 Great Creative Sites for Young ‘uns

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 19, 2012

There are tons of fun and addictive sites for kids where they can create their characters and interact and play around and avoid creepy adults posing as kids. Luckily, most of them are linked to the parent’s email address so we can keep an eyeball on their activities. And for the most part they’re interactive cartoons.

I’ve been noticing lately some wonderful sites that don’t rely on games and visual overload to draw in kids, but rather appeal to their sense of creativity and intelligence.

The Night Zookeeper is delightful with a giant capital D. I was drawn in completely upon landing on their main page, but I was patient and waited until Fen got home from school to sign her up. I wanted to get her reaction to it, and she was as intrigued as I was.

This site is reminiscent of a wonderful picture book. The moment you click on, you are met with a friendly British voice, welcoming you to the Night Zoo, and promising a creative adventure:

“Together, we will answer the question: what do animals dream about?”

Love it. The feel is surreal and mysterious but playful. You listen to a story about the Night Zoo, then move onto the other areas where you can create your own Night Zoo animal and upload it, and then you click on different animals to see what your missions are. And get this- they are actual real-life activities, not lazy old computer tasks. Your children will need to get up and use their hands to make things.

Night Zookeeper is more than just a site- it’s a collaboration between a school teacher and a graphic designer/children’s book illustrator to bring a creative approach to learning into the classroom. They’ve visited many classrooms throughout the UK with great response from teachers and kids.

I’m thinking since I just wrote about them that they’ll probably come visit Chicago and present at my kid’s school next year. Don’t you think?

DIY.org is a refreshingly simple-to-use site co-founded by Zach Klein, who also co-founded Vimeo. It’s basically just a place to upload your kid’s artwork, but it includes some fun extras.

You start off the sign up process by choosing an animal to represent you, and then you pick a user name. You can make your own or “pull” a lever to generate one for you. We went through a few options before Fen chose the raccoon and one of the names they came up with. It lends a comforting sense of anonymity to your kids being online.

DIY raccoon face

That’s it! That’s it. You upload creations to keep in your gallery. No buttons to ‘like’ or commenting or gathering followers and sending messages. You can invite family and friends to view and reward your artwork with stickers, but the simplicity of this site is incredible! Such restraint must have gone into designing it. There’s also a great app that corresponds with the site so you can shoot and upload art on the go.

I love that these sites encourage kids to create and reward them by letting them share their artwork online. That’s exciting for kids- and how can it not foster a sense of pride and excitement?

Posted in Sites for art | Tagged creative websites for kids, kids' art sites | 3 Responses

Little Black Sambo Holds a Special Place in My Heart

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 17, 2012

I was pondering some picture books the other day, wondering which my kids would remember when they get older, because I definitely have my favorite current picture books. How lucky kids are now to be bombarded with incredible stories that are told with the help of exquisite illustrations.

I combed my fuzzy brain trying to remember my favorites from childhood and came up with 1 not so surprising, and 1 surprising favorite.

1. The not-so-surprisingly-favorite book of my youthhood:

Yep, Corduroy. I still have my copy, although it is long missing its’ jacket. Mostly I remember the illustrations of the buttons. Why did the buttons captivate me so much? I don’t have a clue, but I would read this book over and over and I’m sure I somehow identified with Corduroy, as I was forever trying to romanticize my life into something dramatic and tragic (with a happy ending, of course.)

corduroy the bear cover

corduroy the bear with buttons

book inscription

2. Next up is the surprise, which is vividly emblazoned into my memory. In fact, when I think of it, I picture myself standing alone in the living room, next to the big window, in between the 2 white sets of bookshelves that my Grandfather made. I am half propped against a window, and I’ve pulled a small copy of Little Black Sambo from the shelves.

I’m sure I was curious what a horribly old kids’ book was doing among big thick books about wars and business. So I didn’t even bother to sit down when I read it. And then I read it a few more times. I’m not sure how often I returned to that same little wedge of space to read this book, but I had the story and the illustrations memorized.

little black sambo cover

I was too young to have a clue about racism, and I was smitten by the story and the strange characters, as children have been since 1899 when it was first published. The original text and illustrations, by Helen Bannerman, have undergone several incarnations at different times and places since its initial release. Some because of the apparent racism of the original, and some inspired by its wild success.

little black sambo shorts

Fifty years after being released, people began to question the stylized way in which Bannerman portrayed Sambo and his mother, Black Mambo and father, Black Jumbo. The name Sambo was a common slave name and took on a racist connotation in some countries.

little black sambo umbrella

What hasn’t changed through the years is the appeal of the story. Sambo is a clever kid, and he outwits a bunch of tigers and ends up having a giant pancake feast with his parents at the end. The original illustrations are simple and bold, with lovely colors and characters. I loved everybody’s clothing especially, with lots of patterns and colors.

little black sambo tiger

Besides these 2, I remember the Richard Scarry books and The Very Hungry Caterpillar as huge favorites. Richard Scarry books, because of the insane amount of detail would suck me in for hours, and the colors and textures of the Very Hungry Caterpillar were unique and yummy for the 70′s.

What are your favorites? What book makes you sink back into nostalgic reverie when you think about it or read it to your kids?

Posted in Books- beautifully illustrated | Tagged favorite books from 70's, nostalgic picture books | 11 Responses

Cool Summer Kid Items

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 16, 2012

It was hot here today! Sort of reminded me of March.

I broke down and bought a baby pool, and I can only buy the cheap plastic kind. My lovely dog would pop the cushy blow-up kind immediately. In fact, If she didn’t pop it with her glamorous toenails, she would probably assume it was a giant ball and bite it.

Anyway, there was lots of splashing and joyful babbling, topped off with a giant water-filled diaper. Those things hold a TON of liquid.

It made me wonder what I need to buy for summer fun. So I went a-lookin’, and here are some really great picks for your style-conscious, creative little monsters.

Baby Banz! Toddlers and sunglasses don’t mix usually due to their spastic nature, and these are completely stylin’.

Tau is a German design company behind this wheelbarrow- can’t you picture kids running around with this filled with dolls or sticks or your petrified family dog?

Custard is a very cool UK shop and I would love to dress my kids in all of their stuff. This tiger suit, though. Oh my. At 6 years old, I would have gladly traded my Elvis t-shirt for this. It’s amazing!

Of course! Duck croquet. What a great alternative to slamming sharp, spiky things into the ground (or a foot).

This is the Mod Lounger, and it is made out of molded plastic, is available in 6 colors, and looks fun beyond belief. I want one in every color dotting the back yard, but they’re $499 each. Gulp.

Weplay Pedal Walker – for ages 3 and up to 110 lbs. Kids can remove the handrails when they get better at balancing on this thing. I really want to buy one of these for my 95 year old Grandma, because she would rock it all through the halls of the nursing home. Actually, it would probably be a pretty fun alternative to scooters or bikes for older kids and adults, so I’m thinking they should make a larger version.

Crewcuts anchor dress! With a rope tie! If my daughter wore this, I would be shouting AHOY! whenever I saw her. She loves that sort of thing.

This is the hippest outdoor playhouse I’ve ever seen in my little life. Plus, I just noticed that it looks like it’s levitating, which makes it all the better.

I hope I’ve inspired you all to do a little summer kid shopping now. Click on the photos if you want to get to the sites for more info. What’s your favorite thing to pull out for your kids come warm weather?

Posted in Well-design Kid Products | Tagged kids' outdoor products, kids' summer ideas, outdoor playthings | 6 Responses

Basic Art Materials For Children

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 15, 2012

art supplies basics

We have trillions of art supplies at our house, so I take for granted that we will always have something new for the kids to experiment with. While it’s great to have mass quantities of strange items with which to make art, the basics are always important to have on hand.

Here’s my list of what I would start with if your house isn’t stockpiled. I would make sure you have the basics for younger kids and add the extras in as you go. Materials you may think are redundant can give vastly different results when they are experimented with. For example, Sharpie markers are great to draw with if you want clean lines, but black ink used with pens with different sized nibs can produce looser, sketchier lines. Watercolor paints are translucent, while acrylics are thicker and opaque, but can be watered down considerably to get a translucent effect. Magic!

Very Basics

pencils

Crayola markers

Crayola crayons

Crayola Twistables colored pencils

drawing paper pad

tracing paper

water color paints (Prang brand)

paint brushes- basic, with different sizes

pad of watercolor paper or bristol paper for painting on- drawing paper just won’t contain all the wet paints

ink pads- (you can find tons of things around your home to make prints with by pressing them onto the ink pads)

Crayola oil pastels

glue sticks

scissors

construction paper

air drying clay

smock/shirt/apron

wax paper or roll of paper for laying out to contain messes

Extra fun stuff for younger kids

dauber/dot markers –
Dots-n-Dashes Painters set of 6 at Mister Art
or

Elmer’s Painters Paint Markers

fabric markers

soft pastels

Next Stage of Art Material Buying

ink/ pens with different sized nibs

glue

printing inks

brayer – for spreading inks evenly for printmaking

bone folder- used to press the folds of papers much flatter than you can do by hand

handmade papers for collaging

heavy weight colored papers/ card stock

drawing pencils in different weights (harder to softer makes lighter to darker marks)

tortillons (rolled paper smudge sticks- this is one of those things you think your kid can do without, but buy it. They’re small, but mighty.)

kneaded erasers – not only are they fun to play with, they’re much more gentle on paper than hard erasers.

better quality oil pastels

chalk pastels

pressed charcoal sticks

watercolor paper

watercolor colored pencils

Prismacolor colored pencils

acrylics

canvases

acrylic gel mediums- I like Golden brand

gesso

black sharpies- thin and thick

better quality markers-

brushes- water color and acrylic- quality really matters with brushes, so buy the best ones you can/want to afford

Extras For Older or More Serious Child Artists

linoleum blocks/cutters for printmaking

art wire/ needle nose pliers

large drawing board/clips/large drawing paper pads for drawing outdoors

gouache paints- similar to watercolors, but opaque

high quality markers- larger sets/ marker paper (Prismacolor)

Black hard cover sketch books (okay, the black covers aren’t completely necessary. They’re just very cool and if you want to, you can gesso the covers and paint on them.)

spray fixative so finished drawings don’t smudge

oil paints/brushes/natural solvent for cleanup/thinning

Obviously this is not a complete list, but I don’t want to be (too) overwhelming. Many art supplies can be purchased in student grade, which are cheaper than artist grade, but are an excellent way for kids to get a feel for different materials. That way they can see what materials they are drawn to using (did you catch that art pun?) before you invest in better quality, more expensive materials.

I am going to revisit this list from time to time and tweak it, so please let me know if I’ve missed something, or if you agree/disagree with my picks. Happy art-making, kids!

Posted in Art/Craft Supplies | Tagged art basics, art supply list for kids, basic art materials | 8 Responses

Print Transfer Project For Kids (You’ll Want to Make One, Too!)

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 14, 2012

I remembered a technique from college, where you brushed 10+ layers of gel medium over glossy magazine pages, letting them dry in between. Then you wet the magazine page and gently rolled the paper away with your fingers to reveal the image had been transferred over to the gel medium. The result was a plasticky, translucent image to do with what you pleased. This is one version of a print transfer.

When I perused Golden Paint’s site for info, they had a really cool project idea using this technique, and an easier one. I thought it would be fun for Fen to try, and I was right (as usual). She loved it. This is a good intro to printmaking and mixed media techniques.

1. Make a painting. We used small canvases, but we’re going to try some on art boards, too.

Doesn't this blank surface look enticing?

Materials:

small canvases
pencil
paint – acrylic, tempera or watercolor. We used acrylics.
paint brushes
acrylic gel medium. We used Golden brand soft gel in a gloss finish, but they have matte and semi gloss, too. I wouldn’t pick a heavy gel, because it’s thick and goopy.
Ink Jet or laser print or photocopy of image to be transferred onto the canvas.

acrylic paints

1. Sketch. I asked Fen to sketch out a scene, leaving an open area where she wanted the print of herself to be.

sketch on canvas

2. Paint it. I squirted out the following acrylic paint colors:

titanium white
cadmium red medium
burnt umber
cadmium yellow medium
cobalt green
green gold
light ultramarine blue

When your child is learning to mix colors, it is better to have fewer color options to choose from, otherwise they will want to use EVERY color and the painting will look like rainbow vomit. Reign them in at first by giving them just a few colors to use in the painting. They can experiment with mixing the colors they DO have together to get new colors.

We use a large cutting board wrapped in foil or contact paper as our paint palette

3. Let the painting dry thoroughly. Prepare your print-outs by cutting neatly around the image you want to transfer. Keep in mind that when you transfer the image, it will be a mirror image of what you see, so print it out backwards if you want it to show up the way you see the print. (Make sense?)

4. Use a wide brush to apply the gel medium to your painting. Use a good amount. We brushed it on the whole canvas going horizontally, and then again vertically.

5. Place your printout down upon the gel wherever you want it and press it thoroughly, but don’t wiggle it around. Let it dry overnight.

6. After thoroughly dry, grab a little dish of water and wet the back of your printout. Gently rub away the wet paper in a circular motion until it’s gone. Your image will remain! Leave as is (we did this) or brush another layer of medium over the whole painting.

rubbing wet paper away

Fini!

Posted in Kids' Art Lesson Plans | 13 Responses

Use Google Art Project as a Teaching Tool

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 11, 2012

Those crazy Googlites. Look what they’ve come up with: Google Art Project.

32,470 artworks from museums around the world. You can browse by collection, search for a specific artist, or just scroll through all of their artworks leisurely. And you can do this with your kid, instead of dragging them onto a 9 hour flight to Rome.

The cool thing I discovered, was that you can zoom waaaaay in on pieces to see the details up close. So all the times you were at a museum and wanted to look at a painting from 1/2 centimeter away are nearly fulfillable. The only difference now is that your kid can’t pull a thread out of a 15th century tapestry. But he can drool on your computer keyboard when he sees this:

The Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh

Then he’ll scream right in your ear that he knows that painting! I love when kids are excited about recognizing artwork.

Look at this:

starry night close up

Yummy close up. Look at those little daubs of paint.

I will be the first to admit that I have the attention span of a child, so this appeals to me very much. I get tired and overwhelmed easily in museums and information overload is a killer. This is such a great way to learn about art at your child’s own pace, so they can really take in a piece of work without distractions. Of course, seeing a favorite piece of art in real life can be a mind blowing experience, but this is a pretty great second.)

Vermeer makes me giddy

Another great thing is that you can also see the piece exactly where it is displayed in the museum, and zoom around like you’re there.

You can create your own collections of favorite pieces and find or make up art projects to go along with them. Or you can simply talk about what you see with your child. Ask them questions about what they see. Anything- simple questions. The idea is to get a dialogue going.

Fränzi in front of Carved Chair, 1910, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

For instance:

Why do you think the person’s face is green?

Who is the person behind her?

Do you like the colors?

Where do you think they are?

No answers are wrong. Kids come with really great answers. They’re honest and they’re talking about art. This is wonderful.

Posted in Sites for art | Tagged google art project, show kids paintings, talking about art with kids | 10 Responses

Kids’ Cool Coolness

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 9, 2012

There actually ARE cool spaces for kids in the world, and I’ve seen a bunch of them lately. Through the internet, of course. But wouldn’t it be fun to take a world tour of kid spaces? These are some of my favorites:

Crocheted installation at the Hokane Open-Air Museum in Japan, by Toshiko Horiuchi-MacAdam

Playgrounds by Monstrum- a Danish design firm.

Playroom at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem

The Kid Republic Bookstore in Beijing, China

Tokyo Tire Park- filled with over 3,000 old tires for fun rubbery times.

A Private kindergarten in Israel designed by Lev-Gargir Architects.

Howard Johnsons Resort Sanya Bay

Play area at Cherry Creek Shopping Center in WI. (I think I just read that it’s closed now, but it’s still really cool.)

Posted in Places and Spaces For Kids | 9 Responses

4 Beautiful Childrens’ Books

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 8, 2012

Many times when I am at the library, I will choose books to check out based on their illustrations. And by many times, I mean 99% of the time. There is nothing that kills a kids’ book faster than bad illustrations. Or, even if they are technically proficient, they do nothing to enhance the story. By far, the most egregious offense is a bad story with bad illustration. That’s when I just shake my head and gently tuck the book back into the shelf, a little further back than the rest of the books.

I hit the mother lode at the library the other day, returning home with several wonderful books. Here they be.

Ice by Arthur Geisert

I am so in love with this wordless book. I just discovered Arthur Geisert from this book, but apparently he has come out with nearly a book a year for the past 30 years. His etchings are beautifully rendered in this story of pigs setting off to find a way to cool down their island. I love the surrealism of the subject matter of this book, and its size and horizontalitiness (?) (!) makes it feel like you are looking through a precious little photo album. Of your long lost pig relatives.

ABC by Alison Jay

I have a copy of this book with a different cover- an air balloon- and the one on Amazon with the balloon cover is called Alphabet so I don’t know how the library got their hands on the book that I have, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. The illustrations are crackly and old looking, with wonderfully disproportionate characters, and I hate the word whimsical, but I feel like I’ll be using it a lot when I describe kids’ book illustrations.

The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers

You will swoon when you see these illustrations. They are very modern/sweet/graphic designy. Some of the expressions and stances of the characters are just really funny. I’d love to see this story animated.

Chester by Ayano Imai

I wasn’t such a fan of this story as much as the illustrations. They’re dreamy. The story was a little disjointed and unsatisfying, but I got lost in the colors and soft shading.

I linked to the books on Amazon, so you can peruse them to see more of the illustrations. Some aren’t even available through the big A anymore, but they link to other sellers if you’re so inclined.

I’ve seen this idea before, but it would be fun to take your favorite illustrations out from the books and frame them for your kids’ walls. Yes, I know that means ripping the book apart, so you’ll just have to buy 2 copies.

Posted in Books- beautifully illustrated | Tagged kids' book illustrations | 5 Responses

Google’s Doodle Contest

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 7, 2012

My mind is constantly blown by Google and how they own the whole internet. All of it. They are king.

A few days ago I heard about this contest they are running, for kids around the U.S. to design a new Google logo. Here, from the Google site, is what the winner scores:

The National Winner will have his or her doodle featured on the U.S. Google.com homepage. He or she will be awarded a $30,000 college scholarship to be used at the school of his or her choice, a trip to New York for an event on May 17, 2012, a Google Chromebook computer, a Wacom digital design tablet, and a t-shirt printed with his or her doodle on it. We’ll also award the winner’s full time school a $50,000 technology grant towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or technology programming.

Holla. Look at these drawings- I picked a few of my favorites, but go check out the rest of them, and vote for your favorites, because there is some amazing talent represented here.

Kaziah V, Milton, VT, Grade 4

Dylan H, Caledonia, WI, Grade 2

Marianne L, Sandy, UT, Grade 1

Herman W, West Covina, CA, Grade 6

Elizabeth C, Pinedale, WY, Grade 7

Alexa B, North Pole, AK, Grade 10

Love these! What a great opportunity. Strangely, I just read that Katy Perry and Jordin Sparks are among the judges, but whatevs. The winner is announced on May 17 in NYC, with the winning doodle featured for a day on May 18. Mark your calendars.

Posted in Graphic Design, Kids' art news | 5 Responses

A Little Graphic Design Lesson for Your Kid

By Jeanette Nyberg on May 6, 2012

Packaging is everywhere. Kids grow up seeing 45,000 different package designs per day (give or take a few), and probably don’t give them a second thought. Unless they are plastered with Dora or Spongebob.

Other package designs must rely on a combination of font and color scheme to help sell what is contained within.

I was trying to think of a way to teach Fen to be aware of graphic design and logos and packaging, when she sort of figured it out for me. She peeled the label off of the peanut butter and wrote Peanut Butter on the jar. So I took it one step further.

First she decided what size label to make and cut out 3-4 of them. Fen made a traditional rectangle that wraps around the jar, but you could go smaller or even cut out a different shape.

Next we rummaged through the pantry, and I had her pull out 3-4 packages of food that caught her eye. We looked at the designs and colors together and she told me what she liked/ didn’t like about each one.

She sketched out three different designs, keeping in mind that normally the name of the product is the most prominent aspect of the label. She decided to rename the peanut butter FEN peanut butter after herself. She is pretty nutty. During her first sketch, she realized her product name wasn’t as large as many labels she had seen, so she changed this for her second and third sketches.

By her third sketch, she was happy with the results and chose a couple of colors that worked well together and with the color of the peanut butter. She also added a special tip to the label to make it that much more appealing. (Tip: try our new peanut butter spoon.)