CSI: Keeping the Streets Clean
That's the title of my cartoon I did to show how DNA fingerprinting is used in crime scene investigation. This was created for BiSci 002's Genetics module. Prior to this Michael Troyan had a single image showing a chalk outline of a body and a diagram to explain how samples were taken and analyzed. We talked about actually fleshing out a story in comic book form (sort of) to explain the process instead. I wrote the story as I went, illustrating each panel as I decided where the story would go and actually changed the ending a few times, but I think it works. It was a "big hit" when it was shown in class last week. Check it out:
Not sure if my last comment got through. If yes, disregard this one ... the comic idea is brilliant and is executed so well. Amazing strytelling from start to finish. Just one question, the crows late in the story, are they cleaning up the cat?
Great stuff!
Thanks, Cole. I draw the pictures and let viewers draw their own conclusions. I'd say the crows are in jeopardy too, though. Should have put a few black feathers in front of the street sweeper as well.
Bravo, Pat! I laughed, I cried, I nearly lost my lunch when I realized the kitty didn't make it across the street and became crow-chow. This has all the makings of a true classic, and I - for one - don't think I'll ever be able to use table salt again without first considering its destructive (or comic) powers.
Thanks, Mark. No cartoon animals were actually harmed in the making of this flash module.
I love that this is so open and available! I'd really like to feature this on the ETS Site or the TLT Site. Is there a way to simply grab the embed and reuse it? I really do like this on so many levels and would love to have a lot of other people see it!
Pat,
I really like how this turned out. On the surface, it's an interesting story and executed well in the comic-book theme. I have a few questions on this:
How will this be delivered to the students? Is this something they view on their own time and then discuss in class?
Also- how many total development hours do you think you spent on this, start to finish?
Thanks, Matt. This probably took a lot longer than it should have, partially due to not really having the story down before starting. I knew roughly what I wanted to show, but ended up changing it to make the story a little more congruent. I did it over a span of a couple of weeks, but that's not working on it constantly just a few hours here and there when I could. Maybe 20? I don't know. Figuring an hour or so per scene perhaps. Not very quick when it comes to illustration. This will live on the Bi Sci 002 Angel website more than likely, although he did show it in class last week.
20 hours is really not all that much in the grand scheme of things. That's pretty impressive to me. From an ID perspective, I would like to follow up on how this is delivered to students and their feedback on it. Who do I contact about that?