K12 AI Labs

Animation and Character Design - Character Concept Design with AI

$15.00

K12 AI Labs: Module 4, Lesson 9

Character Concept Design with AI introduces students to AI image generation as a creative and professional tool in animation and visual storytelling. Using platforms like Adobe Firefly, Leonardo AI, and DALL·E, students write and refine prompts to generate original character concepts—discovering that the best AI art starts with intentional, specific language.

Students begin with a close study of character design across different animated worlds, developing an eye for how visual choices—body shape, color palette, costume, expression—communicate personality, backstory, and role in a story. That visual vocabulary becomes the foundation for their own prompting.

From there, students work through multiple rounds of prompt writing and generation, comparing results and identifying what's working and what needs adjustment. They learn to treat the AI as a collaborator that responds to clarity and specificity—and to push through early results toward something genuinely original.

The lesson also addresses the professional landscape of AI in creative industries—where it's already being used in game design, concept art, and animation studios, and what skills human designers need to stay relevant and competitive.

Students leave with a developed character concept, a portfolio of generated images, and a deeper appreciation for the craft of visual storytelling.

ISTE Standards 1 and 6 aligned.

This is a digital lesson accessed via lesson PDF and PowerPoint presentation—no physical product will be shipped.

AI Labs is designed for middle and high school classrooms but is adaptable across grade levels. It fits naturally into computer science, media, elective, or STEM programs—and can be taught as a semester course, stretched to a full-year, or a flexible collection of standalone lessons with 10 Cumulative Project options with teacher materials and student pacing guide.

Details
  • Course Level
    Middle School, High School

What's Included
  • A full instructor guide with brand analysis activities
  • Prompt development worksheets and differentiation support
  • A matching PowerPoint presentation

This is a digital lesson accessed via lesson PDF and PowerPoint presentation—no physical product will be shipped.

Materials Needed
  • Computers with internet access
  • Adobe Firefly, Leonardo AI, or DALL·E accounts
  • Design log template (digital or printed)
  • Shared drive folder for saving image iterations

ABOUT

K12 AI Labs

AI Labs is a hands-on, project-based curriculum that prepares students to understand, use, and think critically about artificial intelligence. Across 25 lessons and seven content modules, students move from foundational AI ethics through real creative and technical work—writing prompts, generating music, designing characters, coding games, training machine learning models, and producing video with AI avatars.

Learn More