Awesome Drawing

Joto is a modern take on an X/Y plotter that displays pictures, screenshots, notes and more by drawing them on a whiteboard marker, then erasing them when it’s time for a new image. With support from developers, it can integrate with apps like Twitter, Slack and Spotify.

This quirky little robot is small enough to take anywhere, and can be used to sketch out line art images of anything you can draw on screen. Its robotic arm copies your hand movements, though its sketches have a bit of wobble to them – which gives them added character.

The latest version of Evil Mad Scientist Labs‘ versatile pen plotter can write on most flat surfaces, using a writing instrument of your choice to create intricate, precise, and repeatable drawings and handwriting. It runs at up to 2x the speed of the old model.

Jason Allemann of JK Brickworks shows off a relatively simple, yet awesome LEGO machine which uses a motor and hinged arms to move a pen in repeated geometric patterns, resulting in Spirograph-like drawings. Jason provides full instructions for building your own here.

A brilliantly simple way to create two-point perspective drawings by fixing a piece of elastic string to the two edges of your image, then pulling it up and down with a paper clip. It doesn’t provide a hard straight-edge, but it’s still a cool hack.

Artist David Bayo demonstrates his painstaking process, as he creates a beautifully shaded portrait using his Rotring Rapidograph pen to place a seemingly endless flow of tiny dots. We’re not sure he actually counted to a million, but it’s amazing nonetheless.

UK illustrator Megamunden’s 112-page coloring book is loaded with 120 of the artist’s unique and intricate designs in outline form so you can color them in yourself. If you dig this, be sure to check out his color-in postcards.

A plug-and-play writing and drawing machine by Evil Mad Scientist and Lindsay Wilson. The AxiDraw can write or draw precisely on almost any flat surface using most pens and markers, creating a handmade look with perfect accuracy and consistency.

Like a Spirograph on steroids, Joe Freedman’s Cycloid Drawing Machine uses a series of highly adjustable geared discs for create incredibly complex geometric images. Skip to 1:00 if you don’t care to hear how amazing the cardboard box was. Or skip to 3:31 to see it in action.

Artist Heather Rooney shows off her incredible talent for drawing photorealistic portraits using Caran d’Ache Luminance colored pencils. Her work is so good that some of her subjects look better than they do in real life. Check out her YouTube channel for more.

4+ years in the making – the Noteslate aims to replicate the feel of writing with a pencil, but in a digital device that can store and share notes and drawings, and doubles as an e-reader. Be one of the first 999 pre-orders and get the special signature edition. (Thanks Thomas!)

Artists will go bonkers over this new marker, which can blend between multiple tones and intensities of ink from a single pen, allowing for seamless blends and gradations without the need for multiple pens. Here’s how it works.

Long time Disney animator Glen Keane talks about the emotion and expression that goes into each one of his frames, and the limitations of paper. Donning a VR headset, a pair of controllers and Tiltbrush, he now creates artworks in 3D space. (Thanks Pedro!)

Think Kit is a new set of tools for the iPad sketching app Paper. It lets you draw, color, copy and move shapes, lines and more with simple gestures, making it very easy to create flowcharts, diagrams and mockups.

Miss playing with that Spirograph you had when you were a kid? Look no further than Inspirograph, an interactive browser-based Spirograph emulator, designed by Nathan Friend. Say goodbye to your afternoon.

DIY site Handimania shows off a fun and simple way to take the outline of your hand and turn it into a simulated 3-dimensional image. We suppose this would work with your foot too if you can bend over to reach it.

Kinetic sculptor David Bynoe created this cable-driven machine which can create crop-circle like drawings using sand as its medium. The machine was built for the Telus Spark Science Centre in Alberta, Canada.

Adobe solves the iPad pen dilemma. The Ink is a elegant aluminum stylus with a precise tip and pressure sensitivity, and Slide augments on-screen drawing with a tactile ruler for drawing lines and other shapes. Full review on Technabob.

Another neat stop-motion video from chalk artist Chris Carlson. Watch as the classic mobile game Snake comes alive. Can you believe we only had this and Space Impact before, and now we have freakin’ XCOM on our phones?

Artist Marcello Barenghi demonstrates his ability to draw and paint objects that look so real that you could reach out and pluck them from the paper they’ve been drawn on. After your potato chip snack, chase it down with a fried egg.

It’s time for today’s art lesson. Let’s learn how to draw everyone’s favorite video game plumber, Mario, courtesy of Oliver, Age 24. Be sure to get out all of your 3D, 4D and 5D colors and practice your dungareeing technique. Perfectio!

The Zipboard is an ingenious gadget which lets you carry a compact whiteboard in your backpack or suitcase. It unfurls to provide a self-standing, rigid dry-erase drawing surface, and even has a hidden marker compartment.

Tommy Edison, who has been blind since birth, has shown us how he cooks and what he sees; here, he responds to the popular request to draw various objects based on how he thinks they look. (Thanks Ben!)