pencil

Photo alteration tool

FotoSketcher provides users with a simple tool for re-imagining their photos as handmade drawings. While the program provides easy controls and a lot of flexibility, nobody will mistake the results for actual art.

This program is very simple, especially if users have prior experience with drawing and photo-touching software like Paintbrush or Photoshop. The controls mimic those programs with their simplicity and logical progressions. Users having any difficulties will find an informative Help file that walks people through the process. Converting our pictures was easy. Once we selected a photo to work with from our own hard drive, we were … Read more

Pencil and paper battle

Scribattle Lite is a free preview of Scribattle, a very fast-paced arcade game with an original look and interface that evokes pencil-and-paper games. You control three stationary warriors--stick figures drawn on graph paper--with a fixed amount of ammo per level (similar to classic games like Missile Comand), as they fire up at wave after wave of scribbled, fast-moving enemies. To fire, you touch a warrior and then quickly flick up to determine the speed and direction of each shot.

The multitouch controls mean that you can fire from one, two, or three warriors at once, which makes for interesting tactical … Read more

The 404 284: Where Heavy & Flo thank Mr. Roboto for his pencil

Heavy & Flo return to the show. It's supposed to be a monthly thing, but our schedule is a little erratic. Just be thankful we're not pregnant. They're up to their usual high-jinks because Daddy Bakalar is out of town to keep us in check.

The Oscars were on last night, so Heavy & Flo think it's an appropriate time to make fun of Japanese men, who can barely speak English. OK, Mr. Yu and Mr. Tang seem to think that it's pretty damn funny, too, when he thanks his pencil. Flo recounts her story … Read more

No need for a pencil

Dots Free is a free game that lets you play the classic pencil-and-paper game Dots and Boxes (aka Dots and Dashes, the Dot Game, Squares, and so on).

Players take turns placing horizontal or vertical lines between dots on a five-by-seven grid, and the player that places the last line to close off a box scores a point and takes another turn. In Dots Free, you can play with one or two players (or, if you're particularly risk averse, you can even watch the game play by itself), and you can choose between Easy and Medium artificial intelligence settings. … Read more

The 404 168: Where we've got 2 generations of MTI in the studio

On today's show, we trade in one Wilson for two MTIs- sounds like a deal! Mark's pop sits in on this episode where we officially begin the JYu PS2 project, give an update Justin's floating apartment, provide video game console updates, and reminisce about pogs, mechanical pencils, and the good ol' days when places like Walmart didn't exist.

Mark's Dad visits the studio today and sits in on the podcast and Mark replaces Wilson on the show- two Marks for the price of one! And the good news keeps on coming when Jeff busts out … Read more

A tool for sharp art

A Manhattan artist friend recently asked me if I knew of any "cool portable electric pencil sharpener gadgets." Someone actually has use for an electric pencil sharpener? Isn't that like using an electric can opener, when the hand crank is faster?

Actually, no. While in the zone, artists don't want to have to stop to sharpen pencils, I was informed. That would make them lose their groove. They just want a quick dunk to sharpen up so that they can go right on back to sketching.

This one may work for you, my friend. The iSharpener, … Read more