I chose to do an animation for my first art challenge because I am very interested in learning computer programming and have had some experience coding. I also wanted to do a project about something I cared deeply about. As a teacher associate, I see the way students treat each other, and I wanted to make a statement about the value of human life. I feel like they are constantly being told not to be bullies but rarely why they should be nice to one another.
There were several apps that I could use to create my animation, but before I even chose an app, I wrote out a script of what I wanted to include in the animation. I found app options at code.org and ultimately chose to use Tynker because it had the best selection of backgrounds and characters to use for animations.
The easiest way to learn is through imitation, so we study how other people have created art in the past and use that knowledge to create our own works of art. I looked at several examples of animations before beginning and while doing my project to figure out how to position and move the characters in my animation.
Some artists follow established traditions while others break from these traditions. I think artists break from tradition because they want to do something no one else has ever done before. I think using coding to create animations is an example of breaking from tradition. One issue with animations, as with other art forms that break tradition, is that some people do not want to accept it as "real" art. I am not sure if I would call what I created "a work of art" because I did not design the characters or setting.