resources for print design, digital media, graphic novels

Resources are sometimes hard to find when teaching some concepts and knowledge in digital technologies or technology.

I have been planning with a fantastic teacher of english the last couple of days around "digitally creative through text". We have been planning a specialised learning module for our year 9 students. We have four hours a week for the semester. We are looking at developing a comic relating to the text that the students are studying, be it short story, poem or a novel. We are looking at developing skills around Digital Media using Print Design, under the Technology Level 4, Characteristics of Technology http://technology.tki.org.nz/Technology-in-the-NZC/What-does-learning-in-technology-look-like/Progression-Diagrams/Characteristics-of-Technology-Learning-Progression-Diagram

Now finding resources to support this, we have a great librarian who when given a concept has helped us find resources to support the teaching. On the shelve in the library office was a teacher guide on how to develop a graphic novel, with copies of the graphic novel.

The ministry has a great website called down the back of the chair. http://www.thechair.co.nz/, if you don't know your schools login, like many people, give them a ring on

The people at the other end of the phone would love to hear from you. 

The codes you are after are 711004(teacher guide) and 711002 (Graphic Novel)

Teacher guide

Graphic novel, not bad a $0.50c a copy!

The teacher guide has a fantastic section in it, in how the graphic novel is created.

This is a step-by-step run through of the process I used to draw the Arohanui graphic novel. Everything you see here was drawn on the computer using a programme called Photoshop. This panel was one of the first I chose to work on, mainly because it was relatively simple and a good one to work out my overall approach on. If I could get this panel looking good, it would give me confidence for my many pages to come. 

The author explains why he uses layers in Photoshop.

Flattening entails using the lasso tool in the too bar to section off different areas of the picture and then filling them with colours you have chosen.

What the final outcome looks like in the form of the graphic novel.

I like the ideas of the students going through and highlighting the skills and techniques that the author used to develop his outcome. In this unit I am looking at the Characteristics of Technology - Level 4.