Teaching Science Through Graphic Novels

I recently stumbled upon some graphic novels (GNs) which contained Science topics, which will no doubt provide a great source of inspiration for us in the pursuit of creating our very own GN on science.

"The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook" is written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis and has received lots n lots of positive reviews.

You can check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Science-Alliance-Copycat-Crook/dp/1599903962

From what I've seen and read, it appears to have all of the ingredients that we're striving for in our book, so if we can achieve something anywhere near as good as this, then I'm sure we'd be extremely happy. I've ordered my copy and can't wait to give it a read!

I also found a whole series of 'Graphic Science' books called "Max Axiom", by Capstone:

http://www.capstonekids.com/characters/Max-Axiom/index.html

The series seems to cover a whole range of science topics.

Dave & Harold Page Development

I love looking back on our work and seeing how the drawings and pages first started out. Here's an example of page 2 from Dave & Harold's Science Mysteries. I think it will look great when it is inked and coloured! More page sketches and development to follow.

 

Paperman

 

Paperman is an oscar nominated animation by John Kahrs which combines all that is technically and visually awesome about CGI with the sublime and often splendid subtitles of traditional hand-drawn 2D animations. The result is beautiful. Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLySbGoMX0&feature=player_embedded

The reason that it is making such a splash is that the artists working on the seven-minute film developed new technology which combines computer-generated art with hand-drawn, but paperless 2D animation (the drawings were made on digital tablets). John Kahr believes that the combination of the two really adds something:

“There’s a lot of soul in the eyes of our characters and that’s because of the decisions that the artist(s) made. The eyes are really only black discs, but they’re drawn so carefully and cleverly that the characters look alive. You’re drawn to them. And I think that’s the difference. As much as I love computer animation, I still feel there’s a place for the hand of the artist.”

The rest of his interview with AICD can be seen here:

http://www.aicad.org/john-kahrs-animator/

Jorge Cham (Creator of PhD Comics) giving his TED Talk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AzcMEwAxSP8

Dave & Harold Storyboard Pics

RoofKitty Tequilla

It was Summer 2012. My friend (Nick) had just finished his degree in English and I was in the middle of my research position in Chemistry. We couldn't have been as far apart from eachother's academic subjects and yet, one night we decided to embark on a project together, one which would combine our academic strengths and our common interests. As we sipped our tequilla cocktails into the early hours atop a rooftop overlooking the city (with our feline friend Blukitty) we realized that we shared an urge to tell stories and we had a passion for learning. More than that, we had an urge to tell stories which conveyed information, especially to a young audience, but in a very fun, engaging and visual way. We came to a few conclusions from our discussions that night:

a) textbooks can be a pretty dry and not so visual way for children to learn
b) we all learn better in visual ways
c) graphic novels are a great way to tell stories
d) informal engagement is a great tool for kids to learn and develop interests
e) strong tequilla cocktails give you a pretty bad headache the next day

So, there you have it. A story and a collaboration was born. Dave & Harold's Science Mysteries, a visually engaging info-graphic novel based upon the science mystery solving shenanigans of Dave and his pet cat Harold.

Artificial Leaf - cheap and clean energy from water

"A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades," - Daniel Nocera

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20047814-54.html