Wacom Inkling transfers normal drawings to a computer
The Inkling from Wacom allows you to create digital vector images automatically by drawing in regular ink on your normal sketchpad.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
The Inkling, fresh from the graphics brain of Wacom, hopes to make graphic artists out of everyday doodlers by automatically turning simple paper sketches into digital vector art.
The Inkling operates as a traditional ballpoint pen where you draw on normal paper with regular ink as usual. But rather than scanning in your creations, a sensor clipped onto the edge of your sketchpad tracks the movements of the pen tip to create digital versions of the drawing to be transferred to a computer. Scanners be damned!
The pen's nib can detect 1,024 levels of sensitivity, which are tracked along with the movements. This means that the harder you press down on the paper, the bolder the line becomes.
You can also draw on top of an existing image without altering it by adding a new layer. Although you will be looking at one drawing on your sheet of paper, you can edit each layer independently on your computer later.
Once your drawing is complete, you simply hook the sensor up to your computer via USB and download all of your sketches to be edited in compatible programmes such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, or simply view them as a JPEG.
The Inkling will be available from October for £150. Here's Wacom's video showing the product off.