When you’ve grown up with a movie since you were a kid, its characters can seem just as close and familiar to you as your own family. Maybe even more so, since they’re frozen in time. Which is why these early concept images of some of our most iconic cinematic friends are so jarring. That is not the Chewy we’re looking for.
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Hot on the heels of the recent iOS and Android overhaul of OneNote comes an update for the Windows 8 and Windows RT versions which adds Office 365 integration and touch keyboard improvements. The app is available in the Windows Store right now and lets you sign into your Office 365 school or work account and sync notebooks right from within the OneNote app. As for the touch keyboard, it’s both invoked and dismissed by simply tapping into any empty space, which makes it easier to use. This allows you to switch seamlessly between inputting text and finger painting — or basically, just focus on your notes. Hit the source link below for the update.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Via: OneNote Blog
Source: Windows Store
My eyes are telling me that this is 3D art. My brain is telling me that these are 3D drawings. My entire being believes that this is crafted in 3D. But nope. These drawings are actually 2D with clever shading and angles to make us believe they’re in 3D. I still can’t believe it.
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There are lots of games with virtual drawing mechanics. Okami and Max & the Magic Marker come to mind. But what if you could literally draw your own game from scratch? That’s the idea behind Pixel Press, a mobile app that will help you make a short platforming game without the need to code or even use a PC.
Pixel Press has two main components: a Sketch Kit and the app itself. The Sketch Kit is simply a sheet of graphing paper customized for the app. You can download the pdf template for free from the Pixel Press website and then print it together with the instructions. In simple terms, your goal is to make a platforming game with five stages. Your character can walk, run and jump on and over the obstacles you made.
When you’re done with your drawing, you then take a picture of it with your mobile device and the app will process it. You’ll then test the app, polish it with textures and sound effects and finally play it from within the app. You’ll also be able to share your game and play other people’s games.
Clearly it takes imagination, patience and discipline to make a good Pixel Press game, but these are traits that you’ll need before you can program a game anyway. Plus it gives you the chance to be a game designer! You’ll learn the ropes of creating games without grappling with much of the technical difficulties that go along with it.
Pledge at least $10 (USD) on Kickstarter to be one of the first to own the app. The Pixel Press folks hope to raise $100,000 for the iOS apps, but if they raise at least $350,000 they’ll make an Android version as well.
[via Gamezebo]
There’s little in life finer than pitting youths against each other in battle, which Google’s annual “Doodle 4 Google” contest clearly appreciates. The competition takes thousands of Google logo doodle entries and pits them down from thousands to 50, one per US State, and organizes those entries by grade level. The images are then put online for the world to enjoy, as well as to vote on — out of the five doodles with the highest votes, one national winner is selected, which Google plans on revealing on May 22nd in New York City. This year’s theme is “Best Day Ever,” which means outdoor activities to one Maine-based middle schooler (seen above), and hanging out with bees to a Michigan-based high school student. Of course, there are 48 other excellent pieces to peek at before casting your vote, though you’ve gotta get in there before May 10th at 11:59pm ET.
Filed under: Misc, Internet, Google
Source: Google, 2013 Doodle 4 Google Voting Page
Although Microsoft’s OneNote is virtually tailor-made for pen input, we doubt most Windows fans would splurge on the likes of a Surface Pro just for the sake of a quick doodle or two. With the latest update to OneNote for Windows 8 and RT, they won’t have to. The app refresh lets touchscreen PC users draw with their fingers using the same color and thickness options as their stylus-toting counterparts. The new input method won’t be as precise as a pen, but it should do the job for simple diagrams or dusting off those kindergarten-era fingerpainting skills. Whether or not you’re on a nostalgia kick, you can swing by the Windows Store today for the upgrade.
Filed under: Tablets, Software, Microsoft
Via: OneNote Blog
Source: Windows Store
‘Sloth’ is defined as a person having a ‘reluctance to work or make an effort.’ It could also be referring to the ‘slow-moving tropical American mammal that hangs upside down from tree branches.’
Seemingly combining these two definitions is artist Phillip Light with his unique series which crosses the great Disney Princesses over with the ever-lovable sloth. Of course, this statement is only valid if you make the assumption that the princesses do nothing but laze around their palaces all day while being waited upon on hand and foot.
Aside from the illustrations being extremely adorable, Philip has creatively dubbed each with a unique but distinctly slothy princess name. Take, for example, Snow Sloth.
My personal favorite happens to be the Little Sloth-maid. Who’s yours?
[via Incredible Things]
Backdrops are called backdrops for a reason—they’re designed to fade against the focus of a particular scene. But as a new single-serving Tumblr called Anime Backgrounds proves, sometimes the best art is to be found behind the characters. More »
I can always tell when my daughter is an art making mood. I don’t have to see her artwork to know she’s feeling artsy, I can look at her hands and tell when she’s been in the marker box. She always ends up with pink and orange swirls on her fingers and on the side of her hand. We also end up with Crayola wrappers everywhere and pieces of paper thrown all around. She typically makes a big mess but ends up with beautiful artwork.
If your kid likes to make a lot of artwork, but isn’t exactly neat about it you might want to check out a new product from Griffin called the Crayola Light Marker for iPad.
The device itself looks like your typical Crayola marker, only it has a glowing light on one end and works in conjunction with an application that runs on the iPad. Instead of drawing directly on the screen of your iPad, you draw in the air with the Light Marker. It uses the iPad’s front-facing camera to track the position of the marker. It also comes with a stand to hold the iPad in place at just the proper angle for drawing.
The app offers several different things the kids can do including a free draw where they can draw on the screen just like they would on a piece of paper with any color marker they want. The app also includes coloring pages, dot-to-dot pictures, and hide and seek pages to play with. The app is available on the app store at no cost and the Crayola Light Marker itself is available right now for $29.99(USD).
Robots: great for a lot of things, not so much for having autonomous feelings or thoughts, widely believed to be crucial for making art (an increasingly contested point). While we’ve seen plenty of toasters draw and sculpt based on human direction or input from a camera, BNJMN is one of the first to generate his own imagery. More »
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