Digital Carpet Painting:
 Magic Carpet Template made in Do Ink Drawing app | This digital magic carpet painting project is a great opportunity to explore color, line, and shape patterns, layers, and symmetry. I began by downloading my magic carpet template into Brushes Redux app. I added a layer BELOW the template to begin painting. |
| Normally I would have students use Sketchbook Express and it's symmetry tool to draw only half the carpet while the other half magically fills in with the mirror image. However, the app is not going to be supported any longer, so I'm working on another solution. |  Aladdin's Magic Carpet |
I began coloring base colors and added line/shape pattern above on only 1/2 carpet
I duplicated the painting layer and used the horizontal flip button to create symmetry
The finished carpet is a symmetrical rectangle-not ready for flying yet.
Adding Perspective:
Before you can go on a magic carpet ride like Aladdin, you need your digital carpet painting in perspective so that you can view it from the side so you can climb aboard. I added my painting into the superimpose app over a plain color background. I found the tool mode for the foreground layer and chose perspective (the default). The configuration needed could be pulled and stretched by grabbing the handles on the image or you can chose a pre-created configuration at the bottom of the screen. I chose the one all the way on the right. Then, chose the checkmark to apply.
Superimpose App has a tool mode that allows you to add perspective with a simple button
Save the carpet in perspective with "save mask as png" to keep the transparent background
Fly on carpet (using still images)
This simple method will get your students up and flying without animating a background. They could pose as if they are riding their magic carpet paintings, use the superimpose app to layer their photo onto the carpet, and take it for a ride using the Do Ink Animation app over a background photo (like clouds). This would also create a fun still image for students' Artsonia gallery.
Moving Background Video:
 | To help create the illusion of flying, the background video needs to show movement. Below is a very simple composition created in the Do Ink animation app made by duplicating and resizing one cloud drawing and making multiple paths in the same direction. |
Clouds moving fast to show flying-created in Do Ink Animation App
One really fun way to extend this lesson into geographic/cultural studies is to have each student draw a landmark that they could fly over: Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore, The Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Stonehenge Grand Canyon, Red Woods, Golden Gate Bridge, Taj Mahal, Hohenzollern Castle, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, etc. See this list of 15o famous landmarks.
Film the Green Screen:
 | Students need to film a few seconds of flying on and before green screen. I usually have students pose one at a time while I film them on my iPad on the tripod. I upload the videos to dropbox so students can access them. |
Do Ink Green Screen App 1. background video 2.carpet in perspective 3. Green Screen Video
| I like to do the green screen effect with my students in post production so students can each have the experience of layering, resizing, and setting up effects. The app does allow you to create effects in real time, but when you work with a full class, you can get much more done with nicer results this way. Before we export the effect as a video, I like to go around and check their work. Showing this magic carpet ride clip from Aladdin will keep them engaged. |  Aladdin and Jasmine on Magic Carpet |
Flying on a magic carpet
Paper Cut Version:
BACKGROUND: This version of the magic carpet ride lesson includes a paper cut landscape that shows foreground, middle ground, background in paper pieces. These will be animated traveling across the field of view through stop motion animation. It would be a great opportunity for students to show an understanding of foreground, middle ground, and background in the pieces they create and how they animate the scene.
Pieces needed for a paper cut animation of flying over the Hollywood sign
Hills in the foreground, sign in the middle ground, and sky in the background
I took 40 pictures in the iMotion App at 10 fps to make a 4 sec video
GROUP ANIMATION: I'm thinking that the background animation would be a group project. Each group would work on designing, drawing, cutting, and animating their landmark landscape. Each student would make their own magic carpet video of themselves flying over their group landmark landscape. Therefore, the class compilation video will only have six backgrounds but 24 videos.
MAGIC CARPET MADE FROM PAPER: A digital magic carpet wouldn't look right with a paper cut background. So, they would need to make a paper carpet in perspective. This is a great opportunity to teach students about a vanishing point, converging lines, and how pattern would be small in the back and large in the front (relative size).
MAGIC CARPET MADE FROM PAPER: A digital magic carpet wouldn't look right with a paper cut background. So, they would need to make a paper carpet in perspective. This is a great opportunity to teach students about a vanishing point, converging lines, and how pattern would be small in the back and large in the front (relative size).
Digital picture of the paper cut carpet. I erased the background in Superimpose app
Since you are not going to use stop motion for the carpet, I just took a digital picture of the paper drawing and erased the background in the Superimpose app. It needs to be digital for the green screen effect where a student rides the carpet.
 | GREEN SCREEN VIDEO: I am more conscious now that I've practiced this lesson, that the student looks more convincing if they are facing right since the world moves from right to left below them in the final video. So now I have all the pieces: animated background, carpet saved with a transparent background, and green screen video. Magic time! |
Paper Cut Magic Carpet Ride with Stop Motion Animation and Green Screen FX
Students Working
 |  |
Student Results: view the paintings on Artsonia
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Finished: Riding over Landmarks
3-1 MAGIC CARPETS from Tricia Fuglestad on Vimeo.
3-2 MAGIC CARPETS from Tricia Fuglestad on Vimeo.
3-3 MAGIC CARPETS from Tricia Fuglestad on Vimeo.
3-4 MAGIC CARPETS from Tricia Fuglestad on Vimeo.
Resources:
This link takes you to a travel website featuring 150 famous landmarks. Every student can feature a different landmark in the background video/animation. This would make the class video even more exciting as they fly over scenes from around the world.
View this safeshare.TV link of the "Whole New World" scene from Aladdin.
Update: SchoolArts Magazine Article
I wrote up this lesson for the March 2019 Edition of School Arts Magazine. View it here.
RSS Feed
