Garfield

Fifth graders learned about Garfield's artist Jim Davis.  We learned that Garfield has changed over time.  Here is a fun video link to a brief history of Garfield.  From this video we learned that Garfield changed over time.
Here are some changes:
- He started walking on two legs (so that humans could relate to him better)
- He was given larger eyes (in order to better show emotion)
- He lost weight (cultural trend)


Through this project I wanted my students to see that even cartoon artists change and modify their creations over time in order to better relate to their audience!  Even Jim Davis didn't have his artwork perfect the first time.  It took him a while to go from Gnorm Gnat (which people weren't as interested in) to Garfield (a house pet that everyone could relate to and embrace). 

Learning Goals: I can...
- Explain how Garfield changed over time
- Describe what Garfield likes (and use this information in your artwork)
- Create unique artwork
- Explain what a cartoonist does (careers)