The drawing board
It’s hard to forget the crushing delight of turning the knobs on an Etch A Sketch for the first time. So, my heart beat a little faster when I discovered Photojojo’s tutorial on how to transform the magic screen into a picture frame. The trick is to convert a digital photo into an etch-like image using Photoshop, and then place it on top of the screen. It made me want to buy a truckload of the tablets—which now come in all sizes, from the classic 7×5 to keychain-sized minis—and customize them for friends. Even if your urbane sensibilities reject this kind of kitsch, you’ll be interested to read about the history of Ohio Art’s breakout toy, a late 1950s basement invention by Frenchman Arthur Granjean that he called L’Ecran Magique or—The Magic Screen. And if you can’t come up with your own art, there’s always the Etch A Sketch flickr group.
