We really like the rough and simple look of the conductive paint, as being used in the picture below.

As mentioned in an earlier blog post it reminds us of work by the artist Franz Kline. We are thinking to create a similar canvas for our etch a sketch to move away form the old visuals to a more modern and artistic one. We could create squares in which we can project the drawing of the digital etch a sketch and at the same time make the controllers, which we’ll be paining with electronic pain and that work like potentiometers, match the visual.

using a style like this also allows us to project several images at once. We can either have multiple etch a sketches working at once or show previously drawn ones in empty squares. As shown in the example below. If we go for several etch a sketches then we can have different styles for our brush. One that that might stick to the typical etch a sketch visuals and then others that are more abstract.

Obviously our main focus is on the actual product namely our modernised etch a sketch but in order to bring it to the market we have to have a way of packaging it, at the very least have a logo to go with it.

Since we  haven’t entirely decided if we are only working towards an etch a sketch or if we want to have other ways of interacting with the product the logo will have to be suitable for any outcome.

Therefor I have had a look at old games (including the etch a sketch) and their logos for inspiration.

There is a definite tendency towards yellow concerning the logos. Whilst the fonts are quite funky the actual games are kept quite simple regarding the visual, yet making them very colourful. The simplicity has obviously to do with the performance of graphic cards from around that time.

I also looked at newer games such as Journey, Limbo and Patapon. all of these games have a very strong yet simple visual aspect to them. Considering we are modernising an old game this might be the style to go for.

Limbo

Patapon

Because we are using black electronic paint, the logo will have to work in black and white to fit our style. Whilst using the paint we saw similarities to Franz Kline’s work which again led us to look at asian calligraphy and art.

This is a very late belated update of what we looked at as inspiration for our piece. Should have been posted 16th Feb 2016

This link take you to a game that lets you create your own beats. Especially the visuals were of interest. http://www.incredibox.com/v3/#

The second example plays with the idea of collecting impressions of different people and creating a collaborative piece.

Should have been posted 16 Feb 2016

Using the Arduino Uno and following the tutorials by “Programming Electronics Academy” we have been able to build simple circuits. Although these test might be really basic and boring to people, they have helped us understand the code and possibilities we have with the Arduino.

These are the tutorials:

And this is what our circuits looked like

*insert image* 

The next test will be to use the Arduino with the paint. One of the tutorials I want to follow is this one:

http://www.bareconductive.com/news/workshop-sensing-with-arduino-and-electric-paint/

Bare Conductive makes creative electronic tools for any designer, engineer or aspiring maker.

Electric Paint is an electrically conductive paint that makes it possible to draw a circuit, cold solder a component or turn any surface into a sensor. The Touch Board is a piece of hardware that can transform Electric Paint sensor data into sound, light or data in the cloud. Our range of kits provide users with context and focused project outcomes for these future-facing platforms, regardless of experience level.

http://www.bareconductive.com/

Should have been posted 02 Feb 2016