Now I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to draw on U.S. currency, but the way I see it, it’s your money and you should be allowed to do what you want with it. So while these hacked dollar bills are probably no longer legal tender, they are pretty damned awesome anyhow.
I can’t decide if Bob Ross, the Oompa Loompa or the Lincoln Facehugger is my favorite. All I know is that I’d totally use cash more often than my debit card if paper money were this funny.
[Various Sources via Imgur]
Promising to turn even the poorest of doodlers into artificial Rembrandts, researchers at Keio University have developed a desk that will automatically guide the tip of a pen to draw straight lines or perfectly round circles. It can even guide an artists’ hand through a pre-determined illustration, making the technology sound like a forger’s dream come true. More »
When I was a child I loved to bury myself in the centerfold cutaway illustrations of the monthly scientific magazines my father subscribed to for me. Cars, tractors, ships, trains, engines—I loved every tiny detail. I loved pretending I was one of the tiny men in the pictures. More »
Babies. What’s not to love? They coo, they cry, and while they might throw the occasional tantrum or pee all over you without warning, the smile that they’ll give you at the end of the day makes everything worth it.
Babies are a lot of work, and I’m not talking about the part where you make them. So when they’re resting, it’s understandable that this is when the parents come out to play – only not in the way you’d think they would.
You might have different ideas when I say play, but when it comes to photographer and artist Adele Enersen, ‘play’ means having fun with her kid Vincent by doodling all over his photos. Now it’s time for mom to have some fun at her son’s expense, and the results couldn’t be cuter.
Isn’t this one of the best parent projects you’ve seen or what?
[via Incredible Things]
Kids love to draw and paint on things. Sometimes they make a mess of your walls, tables and floors, but one place that’s just fine for childhood creativity is the sidewalk – assuming they use chalk for their artwork, not spray paint. Now, kids can make drawings on the sidewalk while riding their bikes.
The Chalktrail is a nifty invention which connects securely onto the back wheel of a bicycle, lowering a fat piece of chalk over the ground, so each and every move of the bike is sketched out onto the sidewalk or street. The chalk holde actually fits bikes with wheels from 12 to 29 inches in diameter, so kids and adults can play with it.
A single piece of chalk will last for 1.5 miles of riding, and tight and repeating turns on the blacktop will result in some pretty cool Spirograph-like designs.
You can buy the Chalktrail over at Fat Brain Toys for $19.95(USD) including a single piece of non-toxic, washable chalk, or for $26.90 with a refill of 4 extra chalk pieces. In 2013, a special version of the Chalktrail is coming for scooters (as shown in the video below).
[via Icecream (Chinese)]
Meet the Hex3 JaJa stylus, a pressure-sensitive drawing tool for the iPad (and other tablets, too) that transmits information to the device via sound waves, eschewing the need for a Bluetooth connection. It’s only one of a recent crop of pressure-sensitive styli for the iPad, but its unique, quirky design provides both its big advantages and its most significant flaws.
The JaJa is a capable little accessory that works surprisingly well, given its strange operating mechanism. If you’re used to a Wacom tablet, you’ll probably find this a weak substitute for professional work, but hobbyists and even people looking to do basic illustrations will find much to like about the little guy.
Pros:
Cons:
All I want is a pressure-sensitive iPad stylus that works consistently and reliably. I don’t even care if it works with a wide variety of apps – so long as it’s compatible with one that I enjoy using. The JaJa fits those admittedly limited needs, thanks to a design that makes it easy to set up, fun to use. It does occasionally frustrate, but not enough to mar the overall experience. Would I still rather have a Wacom Cintiq or a ModBook Pro? Of course, but spending $90 instead of $2,000 sure helps to make the JaJa look a lot better by comparison.
For setup, you install a AAA battery (one isn’t supplied, unfortunately), and then turn it on with a 5 second press of one of its two buttons. Then you calibrate pressure levels, both minimum and max, in order to tailor it to your drawing style. That’s a nice touch, and one that I actually find myself taking time to get just right. Others don’t offer that level of customization, which is definitely a point in the JaJa’s favor.
The stylus does offer a bit of frustration at times, due to some occasional skipping and also a startup process that seems hit or miss at times. But it works very well most of the time, and better than a lot of other styli I’ve tried that aren’t even pressure-sensitive. I’m also a fan of the replaceable battery, which allows you to use either rechargeable or alkaline AAAs instead of worrying about a proprietary charger.
App compatibility varies, but once you find the correct setting, it’s easy to switch on detection of the JaJa pen. You can’t use it while playing audio out of the iPad’s speaker, but streaming via Bluetooth or AirPlay doesn’t affect anything. My favorite app for using with the JaJa was Autodesk’s SketchBook Pro, and it works well to vary pencil and brush strokes with that app. Another standout is Procreate, for those with more painterly dispositions. The drawing below in the gallery is one of my hasty, amateurish sketches, but it shows what you can do with the JaJa in just a few minutes that would’ve taken considerably longer with your finger or without the JaJa’s 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity.
In short, the JaJa is a solid buy for avid doodlers looking for something to supplement their existing iPad, without switching to a Windows 8 device with pressure-sensitive pen tech or Galaxy Note 10.1. It’s not perfect, but a lot of what ails it seems like it could be fixed on the software side, and even as-is, it provides a very enjoyable experience for the tablet user who also wants a little more artistic power than the average stylus can provide.
This post sponsored by Lenovo® IdeaPad U Series Ultrabook™ laptops
With the advent of the IdeaPad Ultrabook™, portable computing has gotten faster, lighter weight and more stylish than ever before. These portable powerhouses have enabled a whole new level of creativity for users that was once reserved for the desktop and heavy laptops. With that in mind, I’ve assembled a list of some of my favorite applications and add-ons for IdeaPad Ultrabook users, to extend and enhance their usefulness in creative projects.
Whether you’re a budding artist or sell your work on Etsy, Art Rage 3 Studio Pro ($60 USD) is an incredible bit of software, letting you use your computer as a virtual canvas. It can simulate real media like oil paints, watercolors and charcoal, and colors mix together just like the real deal. It even can simulate paper textures and the variety of realistic brushes provides tremendous creative control. It also provides tools for tracing photos and stenciling, and supports the use of graphic tablets for added control and precision.
A perfect complement to Art Rage Pro is the Wacom Bamboo series of tablets ($79 to $199 USD). I’m a big fan of these compact input devices, which plug into your computer’s USB port and can be easily stashed in a backpack or bookbag. The Capture and Create models support both pen-based input and multitouch gestures, and can be used to draw, paint and manipulate images like a pro, replicating pressure and angle of your pen strokes. And there’s even a wireless option available, so you don’t have to lug a cable around with you.
If you’re more into motion images than still ones, you’ll want to check out Magix Movie Edit Pro 18 MX Plus ($100 USD). This powerful video editing application is optimized for fast performance, and lets you create professional quality video work on a budget. It includes support for full HD video editing, numerous transitions and effects, and even Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and path-based animation tools. Also includes professionally-designed templates to get you up and running fast, and sharing tools to quickly publish to YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook.
Of course if you’re into music, there’s something for you too – the Novation Launch Pad ($149 USD) is a great creative input device for digital music composition. The compact (9.4″ square) device plugs into a USB port, and gives you 64 multi-color, backlit buttons for sequencing music, samples and controlling live performances. Comes with Ableton Live 8 Launchpad Edition, so you can compose tracks out of the box without any additional software.
While trackpads are great, some of us still move fastest with a mouse. Logitech’s M515 Couch Mouse ($50 USD) is the perfect gadget for pointing wherever life takes you. That’s because it works on any surface. Yep, you can even use it on your couch, or your pants leg and it’ll work flawlessly. It also supports “hyperscrolling” which lets you zip through long web pages at supersonic speeds, and an astounding 2 year battery life. It also has hand-detection technology, so your cat can’t accidentally move your cursor when you’re not looking.
For something a bit more whimsical, check out the L8 Smartlight ($69 USD). Recently launched through a successful Kickstarter campaign, this little programmable LED gadget connects via Bluetooth and lets you truly express your creativity. Display custom animations, use it for notifications, or just have it light up when somebody enters the room. Its onboard sensors can detect proximity, temperature and luminosity, and it’s fully programmable to your creative whims. If you didn’t get in on the initial Kickstarter batch, you’ll have to wait a few months to get one – but it’ll be worth the wait.
Last but not least is something that helps you quickly and neatly connect your mobile gadgets to your Ultrabook on the go. Instead of carrying around a bunch of long and tangled USB cables in your bag, the AVIIQ Ready Clip Kits ($20 USD/set of two) are just the perfect thing. These 5.5-inch-long cables are exactly the same length as a pen, so they fit into the pen compartment of backpacks and bookbags. They’re available in USB to Mini-USB, USB to Micro-USB, and USB to 30-Pin versions for connecting just about any gadget.
Armed with these add-ons and apps, you can take your Ultrabook laptop to the next level, providing new outlets for creativity and productivity whether you’re at home, school, traveling or at the coffee shop. And if you are in the market for a new computer, be sure to check out Lenovo’s IdeaPad U310 and U410 Ultrabooks, which weigh in at under 4 pounds, offer battery life up to 9 hours, and look great doing it.
See what you can do with the Book of Do, the IdeaPad® U Series Ultrabook™, at Lenovo.com.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” Technabob received compensation for writing it, however, we only recommend products or services we find interesting or have used personally, and believe will be good for our readers.
I know it’s hard to believe but the picture you see above? It’s not a photograph. It’s actually a drawing by amazing artist Diego Fazio. Like he drew this super realistic picture with a real pencil. It’s stunning. More »
I have a confession: The first time I played Pokémon on my DS was last year. I don’t know why it took me so long to give the game a shot, but needless to say, I was hooked. I finally understood why it has this huge appeal with kids and with adults who are kids at heart.
If I hadn’t played the game sooner and come to know which pocket monster was which, I would probably end up like Noelle Stevenson, who’s behind The Pokeymans Project. Noelle knew little, if not, close to nothing, about Pokémon. So she decided to take requests to draw these critters up, only based on the descriptions that people sent in.
For example, from the above description, Noelle drew the Absol you see below. Needless to say, the results are hilarious.
Check out the gallery below for more of Noelle’s drawings in the gallery below, and find more over at The Pokeymans Project.
[via Geeks Are Sexy]
For most of us with smartphones, a desktop calculator is a relic of days-gone-by. But I still like the convenience of having one around so I don’t have to bother to dig around for the calculator app on my phone. Here’s a fun idea for a calculator that gives you one more reason to own one – you can design your own buttons for it.
The DIY Calculator is just that – a blank slate that you can draw any design you want on. Just get out your pens, pencils, crayons or any other drawing instrument and go to town on the blank sheet of paper on the front of the calculator. I think I’d draw mine with letters instead of numbers, so I’d know exactly how to key in “800813S.”
You’ll still have to put the buttons in the right spot for them to work – but at least they include a template that ensures you don’t end up mixing up your division and multiplication keys. The DIY Calculator will sell for just £6.99 or $8 USD, and will be available soon from both Mustard and Perpetual Kid.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
