“Modeling Art History: Exploring Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks Outside and …IN!” by Finnegan, Kopp, Augustine, Banik, Rajski, et al. …

How can teachers get students to explore art and art related fields and have or learn the process of critical analysis and critical thinking in an educational curriculum that is heavy on the engineering and technology courses? Inevitably these students are asked to be artistic and to have knowledge of disciplines outside computer graphics technology. Indeed, they will seek employment in the entertainment industry, where they will work on films that have an artistic, literary and historical component. Additionally, how can we expose them to the working methodologies of group or collaborative learning while still advancing their knowledge base in computer graphics-specifically three dimensional modeling, texturing and lighting. This paper outlines and describes one approach that is immersive in the outside disciplines while still utilizing the tools of computer graphics to solve the visual problem. It also contains the collaborative learning elements and critical thinking components that students need to be successful in these endeavors.