Characters in search of a story
Create characters and invent stories by combining details from reality in the virtual world


Have you ever invented a story and characters? Have you ever played with the stories you already know, maybe changing the ending, the characters etc.?
What if someone told you… “The story stops here. You have to continue and finish it. What happens next?”
Gianni Rodari, “Stories to Play With” in “The Grammar of Fantasy”
In this activity, children and young people will observe the reality around them and, thanks to their imaginations and digital tools, they will transform it and give life to new characters and worlds that become the protagonists of stories they invent.
Like Alphabets of shapes / household object sets, they will use everyday objects, shapes, colors and small details that are hidden at home or wherever they are; they will explore spaces and create evocative and unexpected encounters, impossible in the physical world.


The free Photoshop Mix app (for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets) lets you to take photos and manipulate them digitally: you can delete the background, isolate a detail, change the size, color and transparency and add more images.
This activity can follow Alphabets of shapes / household object sets or it can be the starting point for other explorations or proposals.
→ age
from age 7 up (for younger children, together with an adult)
→ tools
tablet or telephone connected to the internet, Photoshop Mix (free app), paper and pen
→ competences
art, technology, science, math, language, arts
from designing to sharing
This section is a guide for adults to orient and support children’s and young people’s projects. The children’s hypotheses, starting from some initial questions, will be verified and deepened during the activity.
Questions to start with:
Have you ever invented a character and their story?
Are there objects in your house that intrigue and inspire you?
Have you ever thought that a lamp in your house might have a name? What about the refrigerator?
What would they say if they met?
What if a character with an apple head and a faucet body appeared?
What story could happen?
What could your characters be? What about their story?
Tip:
You can choose to use a character created by scintillae, which you can download here and add it to the Photoshop Mix app.
What’s their name?
How would you describe the world they live in?
Where will this character go? Who will they meet?
Play with their story!
designing
experiencing
sharing
how to continue the project
