technabob » pencil

art academy: learn to paint on your nintendo dsi

technabob — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:53:46 +0000

Ever wanted to learn how to draw and paint, but don’t have the time or money to deal with real world art supplies? Well if you happen to own a Nintendo DSi, you can sign up for the Art Academy without so much as buying a tube of paint.

Art Academy: First Semester (do I smell a sequel already?) is a complete art training course in the form of a DSiWare app. Just download Art Academy from the DSi Shop, and you’ll be a junior Rembrandt in no time. The program teaches you the basics of pencils, paints, blending colors, basic light and shadow techniques and more. Plus, you can either start with a blank canvas or embellish photos from your DSi’s camera album. Here’s a video showing off what you can expect in the Academy:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While it’s not as sophisticated as natural media PC apps like ArtRage (one of my personal favorites), Art Academy looks like a nifty way to express your creativity on the DSi.

pre-chewed pencils require less effort

alisha k. — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:25:33 +0000

Getting students to stay “on task,” as they say, is a constant challenge in the modern school, but one company thinks they have part of the answer. British design company Concentrate has just debuted a new age in the ABCs of reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic… but in this case, that means “already-been-chewed.” As in, their new pencils have been.

The idea is that the pre-chewed pencils will somehow discourage students from chewing on them–because someone’s already been at the wood–and that slight change will magically result in lengthening attention spans, raising grades, and, in all likelihood, curing cancer. Sign me up for a dozen.

Of course, Concentrate never says whether or not the pencils really are pre-chewed, or if it’s artistry only. If they really do retain a posse of gnawers, their plan just might work.

[Concentrate via TechEBlog]

drawdio music pencil lets you doodle electronic sounds

technabob — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:45:22 +0000

Feeling musically inclined, but haven’t the time or knowledge to write sheet music? Now you can produce your own sonic creations simply by doodling on a piece of paper.

Designed by Adafruit (in collaboration with Jay Silver), Drawdio is an analog synthesizer circuit that straps to any soft-leaded pencil, and lets you crank out electronic sounds while you sketch. The kit takes advantage of the conductive properties of the graphite in the pencil lead, and produces a veritable cacophony of sounds as you put pencil to paper.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

So maybe you can’t call those otherworldly bleeps, beeps and squeaks “music”, but with enough practice you might be able to carry a basic tune… or you could give one of these a try the next time you have to fill in all those perfect little circles on your SAT or GMAT exam. I’m sure the test administrator would love that.

Adafruit sells the Drawdio kit for $19.50 (USD), including the circuit board, all necessary hardware and a 2B pencil. You’ll need basic soldering skills to put Drawdio together, so don’t expect it to work without some experience building electronic kits.

felt lightsaber pencil holders are not exact replicas

karen m. — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:30:19 +0000

If your kids aren’t getting beat up in school enough for your liking, then you could try your hand at these felt lightsaber pencil holders and see if that kicks it up a notch.

Seriously, this is a pretty cool idea, but there is one problem: they don’t actually resemble lightsabers. Staging them with Star Wars pencils is definitely helping, but I’m pretty sure people would just think you had a random wad of felt wrapped around your pencils. Unless, of course, you started battling with them while making the appropriate sound effects. But then your pencils would fall out and you’d be back to square one.

You can make your own with this handy how-to guide. So if your kids are the type who begged you to take them to The Clone Wars on opening day, give yourself a break and leave them alone with some felt, glue, scissors, thread, and the instructions and let them get to it.

[via Craft:]

this robot uses pencil erasers as bumpers

karen m. — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:00:26 +0000

This is a pretty sweet autonomous robot that employs pencil erasers as bumpers. It’s called No. 2, Champion Autonomous Mini-Sumo Robot (a name that just rolls off the tongue, no?)

It was made by David Cook (not the American Idol winner, though, it’s a different David Cook.) The process of making this bot is detailed, and I do mean detailed, on his website Robot Room.

You can see a really quick video of this robot vs. a block of wood (?!?!?!) below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Of course, the sadist in me wants to flip those pencils around and sharpen them to a point to make it a more stabby robot, but that would be more offensive than defensive, I suppose.

[via Make:]

panda shredder destroys tiny documents, not pandas

technabob — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:45:47 +0000

These wacky mini panda bear shredders aren’t really big enough to destroy that second set of books you’ve been keeping for your business (let alone pandas), but they are perfect for getting rid of tiny pieces of paper you’ve written secret love notes on. As an added convenience, the desktop panda will sharpen your pencil while it shreds.

The little hand-cranked shredders are also great for getting rid of business cards from unsolicited sales visits, that fortune you didn’t like from your Chinese lunch, and the occasional ATM receipt.

You should be able to find these for about $12 bucks over on Stupid.com, but they’re currently sold out, so you might have to settle for a crummy elephant shredder instead.

nintendo ds pencil stylus won’t write on your screen

technabob — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 16:59:51 +0000

While the thought of someone writing on the screen of my Nintendo DS Lite with a Number 2 pencil makes me cringe, these clever styli won’t actually do any damage to your console’s delicate touchscreen.

The Official Nintendo DS Pencil Stylus really does look like a pencil, but has a soft tip that protects your DS screen from any scratches. They’re imported from Japan, so they’re a little pricey at about $10 each (although with a little shopping around you can find ‘em for as little as $8 each.)

no cats were harmed in the making of this pencil sharpener

technabob — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:38:56 +0000

Here’s a nice conversation piece for your desk… The appropriately named Cat’s Arse Sharpener ensures that your pencil gets a nice sharp point in the most disturbing manner possible.

Insert your dull pencil into the cat’s “third eye,” and it lets out a meow and sharpens your pencil. There’s nothing more I can really say about this, exect that all you sickos who want one can pick one up from I Want One of Those for about $13.

[via Random Good Stuff]

create 3d images the old school way

technabob — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:29:27 +0000

With all the talk about pixel shaders, normal mapping and HDR lighting, sometimes I just wish for a kinder, gentler time when 3D meant watching a bad science fiction movie through a pair of cheap, headache-inducing red and blue glasses.

Now you too can create 3D images using the classic red and blue method using this fun little kit. The $6 Incredible “3D” Doodle Kit (that’s a self-proclaimed “incredible”,) comes with a pair of 3D colored paper and plastic glasses, two colored pencils and a special holder that lets you draw with both pencils at the same time. As long as you follow the instructions to keep the blue pencil on the left side of the red one, your drawings will produce a fun 3D-esque sensation when you put on your pair of oh-so-dorky looking shades.

[via UberReview]