If you're like me and you've limited your digital art creations to undecipherable Draw Something scribbles, get ready to be inspired.
Ten One Design, creator of the Pogo capacitive touch-screen stylus, on Monday announced the winners of its 2013 Pogo Art Contest. The company invited professional and amateur artists to submit original work drawn with a Pogo-branded pen on an iPad or other iOS device, and more than 200 artists entered the contest, submitting images ranging from stunningly detailed portraits to vividly colored nature-scapes and whimsical flights of fantasy.
"We were amazed at the broad range of styles and immense talent," said one of the three judges, Susan Murtaugh, a graduate of the Chicago Academy of Fine Art and herself a mobile artist. "We think the winners show a wide range of subject, creativity, and finish. Each piece stands on its own, a visual voice of the artist and an inspiration to all who create."
The contest isn't the first we've seen of astounding art created on mobile devices. Last year, in just one example, the emerging art form known as iPhoneography got the red-carpet treatment at the inaugural LA Mobile Arts Festival, which showcased some seriously impressive art.
Monday's announcement of the Pogo Art Contest winners coincides with the launch of Ten One Design's new line of magnetically interchangeable tips for the Pogo Connect Bluetooth-connected pressure-sensitive stylus. That news might not mean much to those who count stick figures among their masterworks, but to the artists who participated in the Pogo contest, it could mean a whole new layer of nuanced artistry.
See our gallery of Pogo Art Contest submissions below for proof that in the right hands, the stylus can be a tool for amazing creations.
