Edit:Well, Elton made his goal and wanted to thank all those who contributed.

Last week we received a new stylus from a Elton @ GreenBulb. He is an independent designer who asked us to do a review and get the word out about his new stylus. Obviously we gladly accepted.

I have spent some time with the Xstylus and I have to say it’s very well made. I’ve always struggled with all the cheap stylus’ out there and this is definitely not one of them. The pen is made using the standard stylus tip (the squishy rubber ball…eh.) and a combo plastic/metal body (yea!). The body of the stylus has a very solid weight and feel, and when you combine the weight with the expandability of the stylus you get a very comfortable experience. It feels like you’re holding a normal pen and the flexing plastic provides a nice finger rest. This really helps out when you’re using it for long periods of time. The Xstylus also comes with a magnetic Ipad dock that is suprisingly secure and useful.

My only complaint is the squishy tip; it doesn’t provide an accurate sketching experience. I mentioned this to Elton and he did mention he already made the change to a firmer tip. Overall, it’s enjoyable to use and if you like sketching on your tablet then I would highly recommend looking into the XStylus.

Being on your own and getting one of your ideas into production is very tough.  If you are interested in the Xstylus and want one, or just want to help out an independent designer, go and check out his IndieGogo page and contribute. http://www.indiegogo.com/XStylus-Touch

Well, well, well. This is VERY VERY exciting news. Now before you say, “Hey, I’ve seen this before. Just another photo editing app…”, take a look at this. Adobe has just revealed a version of photoshop in development for tablets and demoed said app on the Apple iPad. The demo was unveiled at the Photoshop World 2011 Keynote address. Pretty exciting stuff considering the iPad has long been said to be a content consumption, rather than creation device. I for one am excited to see what coming hardware improvements will mean for tablets and their capabilities when it comes to content creation as a designer.

Apple, if you’re listening, which I highly doubt, a pressure sensitive input solution would be fantastic for the iPad.

Via Macrumors.com and Photography Bay

Recently I was invited to travel to Chicago to work with the students at UIC’s Industrial design program for a sketching workshop session. i always look forward to not only traveling, but to engaging with students and faculty in an effort to share what I know and love about sketching with those I can share.

As usual, the day started with a short presentation about visual communication, it’s broad meaning to all of us, and in the context of sketching concepts and designs. I won’t bore you with details here, but if you are interested, you can always email me about coming out for a workshop at your school some time.

Then what followed was a marathon session of some serious non-stop sketching. There’s always so much to pack into just a few hours of presentation time, and it’s near impossible to get it all in, so I rarely take breaks these days during my presentations so that I can get as much out as possible for the students.

All in all, it was received well. One of the concepts I do teach about it having a conversation with the sketch you’re working on. I didn’t coin that idea, and I cede it’s origin to a classmate of mine in college. Sketching really is an iterative process and rarely do I ever conceive an idea in my head only to have it perfectly executed on paper. It’s always good then to see someone present the process live and in the raw and acknowledge this simple, yet oft overlooked fact. It’s a process and it takes time.

Nate lived in Las Vegas until at the age of 11 when his family moved to Sandy, Utah. “I grew up tearing things apart and trying to rebuild them.” says Nate. “At the age of 20 I was diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkins Lymphona). I went through chemo and raditation and was deemed cured after 2 years.” Since then Nate has served an LDS mission, graduated from Brigham Young University in Industrial Design, and got married. Two years into the Industrial Design program my wife and I had our first boy. Nate and his family still reside in Utah. They have 2 boys and another boy due in 2 weeks

Nate has worked with Taylormade Golf, Tupperware, Ogio, General Electric, and is currently the Product Design Manager at Handstand Inc.

Nate also plans to help with tutorials where he can. He’s got skills, so look out, and if you ever want to ping him, you’re sure to find him lurking around in the forums helping out another new member to the idsketching community. He’s got a good heart, a passion for design, and a keen knack for sketching as well.

We’re planning a few good things here and there in the near future that hopefully will help simplify, streamline, and make things smoother for everyone here. We’re excited for the new year and what’s ahead. So, without further ado, here’s some of Nate’s work -

A week or so ago, I had the opportunity to travel from California to Louisiana to work with the students at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette for an entire day. I’ve never been to Louisiana, but the people were warm and friendly, and there were good eats to be had all around. I must say, crawfish are amazing. I’m not sure how to spell what I had to eat, but it was delish.

We started the workshop around 10 AM and plowed through the entire day non-stop. We covered everything from basic sketching, drawing through, primitives, warming up and line quality to marker sketching, photoshop rendering, and some light illustrator work. There was too much to cover in too short a time for me to take a break. Down there, not taking a lunch break is a sin, but I had to keep going. After all, the reason I do these workshops with schools is mostly to give back and give students what I didn’t always have when I was going through school. We had a great time and as far as I can tell, it was good for the students.

As always, if you’re interested in having me visit in person for a workshop, contact me at spencer [at] idsketching.com

I happened to check in on the fellas over at Simkom.com. It has continued to be an on-going site of sketch inspiration and awesomeness! Right now they are featuring a sketch contest to create some hotness around snowmobiles. The person that creates the coolest snowmobile sketches will be featured in CARR magazine and have an internship opportunity at a design firm across the pond.

It’s too late to hop in on the competition, but not too late to check out the “in progress selected works” that have been decided on through the rounds. Check it out! Image credit : Mishu Batra

Recently I was invited by IDSA Boston to host a Visual Communication and Sketching workshop with local designers and students alike. I had a great time working with the crew there. Initially I was slated to go for only about 4 hours, but we were having so much fun, I went for a whopping 6.5 hours of sketching and instruction. From what I hear, it was well received, and I just want to give a shout out to the crew there – Jeremy Ogg and Ryan Foote and anyone else who helped out.

So what’s in a workshop and why do I do them? Read on to find out more.

idsketching.com was started as a means to share knowledge and skills with others and to give back to the community as a whole something that I didn’t have as a student. To put it simply, I love my craft.

Sketching is merely a subset of visual communication – or as I like to put it, our visual language. As designers, we think visually, we speak visually, and we sell our ideas visually. Of course, there are several ways to do this, however I find that quick and effective sketching is the best, low cost, low commitment means of doing so.

While the videos on the site do allow one to practice and be better at sketching, working on-site with me as an instructor has its distinct advantages -

1. Specific content presented to your group’s needs and skill levels.
2. On site/ In person review and critique.
3. Interactive activities that allow for group participation.
4. In person observation of techniques presented.
5. Presentation of advanced techniques for rendering.
6. Additional Materials and resources in handout form not found on the site
7. Q/A sessions

All in all, flexibility is the key here and I cover a range of topics as needed for your group.

Typically things are kicked off with a short 30-40 minute presentation on visual communication which is then followed by demos and whatever other tailored activities for the group.

As I mentioned with IDSA Boston, sometimes things go a little longer than planned, however, workshops can be anywhere from 4-8 hours depending on the need. Frankly, the interest and involvement of the group in attendance will be the major deciding factor as far as the length goes. I’ve had small and large group workshops and in most cases, 6-7 hours tends to be just right.

Interested?

Currently, my workshops are only available to groups and not individuals. I may offer individual online sessions in the future, however, that’s not a part of my plans for now.

Workshops tend to be quite affordable and at any rate are a steal by industry standards. Travel costs and  a small day rate are expected as part of the package. Material costs may vary. International travel is okay as well.

If you’re interested in having me in person for a live workshop, contact me at spencer [at] idsketching.com, or use the contact form below and tell me a little about what you’re looking for and what time frame you might be thinking about. I tend to get booked out a lot, so the sooner the better for contacting me.