Chippewa Valley Times

Animation and game design students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout collaborated with local preschoolers to bring their imaginary characters to life using 3D software. This initiative, known as the Creature Collaboration, was a joint effort between Assistant Professor Karl Koehle’s 3D Organic Modeling class and Maggie Keenan’s 4K classroom at the university's Child and Family Study Center.

Keenan expressed enthusiasm for the project, saying, “One of the best parts of my classroom is that we are right on campus, so the children get to have these collaborative opportunities. It’s so neat that the kids helped their college partners with this project. And the children were so excited to see their drawings come to life.”

During the collaboration, Koehle's students paired with young artists from Keenan's class. The children first created colored drawings of their characters while the university students observed and took notes for digital adaptation. Later, they met in a computer lab where the college students showed them how their designs were transformed into 3D models.

Koehle highlighted the educational benefits of this exercise: “By introducing an in-person collaboration, it was my intent to give more practice to the early design process, encourage face-to-face communication with clients and offer an opportunity to embrace exploration of ideas.”

The university students adjusted their designs based on feedback from their young partners. Animation senior Megan McDowell noted, “Seeing their faces light up as we brought their creations to life was really heartwarming.” She emphasized learning from working with a client who had clear ideas but struggled with visual communication.

Game design student March Gutman found value in applying personal knowledge to a child's creative vision: “It was really interesting to apply my own knowledge to the kid’s design.”

Alex Rowley, another game design student, spoke about overcoming challenges with new software tools: “There is a lot to learn, especially when you’re working in programs that you’re unfamiliar with.” He also remarked on adapting his work based on children's feedback.

Allison Feller, Director of CFSC, praised the collaboration as beneficial for both groups: “The children were able to see their ideas brought to life while the design students applied their skills.”

The project culminated in creating a large-scale poster combining children's drawings and 3D models. This marks ten years since a similar collaboration between CFSC and Professor Dave Beck’s game design class.

Upcoming events include Stout Game Expo on December 11th and School of Art and Design Senior Show on December 13th at UW-Stout.