In The Pursuit of Perfect Digital Sketchbook

My experience of sketching on digital device started when Apple released Newton in 1994. Black & white. Bitmapped & pixelated stroke. Low resolution screen up to 320 x 240 pixels. But it was awesome! Finally I could sketch, archive it, share it through email, whenever wherever I want.

I was using the best painting software NewtPaint. I could send & receive file between Newton & Mac with desktop software. Good for archiving & printing. The screen was okay, 1 bit 320 x 240 pixels.

After Newton, I met Psion Series 5 in 1997 with built in Sketch app. 4 bit with 16 grey levels, 480 x 640 pixels. It was like, "Whoa this is it! The best sketching device!" But I hate its form factor. Series 5 was intended for business market, with folded screen & keyboard. Felt uncomfortable when drawing with palm of my hand rested on keyboard.

Then in 2000 I got second Palm device, Palm IIIx - the first was US Robotics PalmPilot - with 2 bit grey levels but smaller screen: 160 x 160. Though it was smaller with my previous 'sketching device', I love its form factor. Size wise, it fitted in my palm & my pocket. TealPaint software was my favorite sketching software, from year to year, device to device until Sony Clie PEG-UX50 in 2006.

2007, Apple introduced iPhone without stylus. It was a big disappointment for me since finger painting is not my thingy. I'm a Apple user at heart, but I never use it as sketching device. Not even iPad. Yes, there are tons of drawing app & unofficial stylus' available for iOS devices, but still, something is missing.

2012, I got Samsung Galaxy Note from a drawing competition. When I first ticked the stylus on the screen, I was surprised it recognizes my stroke pressure. Pressure sensitive stylus just like Wacom devices! This is it! So far it's the best digital sketchbook that fits in my pocket! And I couldn't stop sketching & drawing with it ever since.

Now I'm waiting for a smaller & cheaper Cintiq. That will be perfect.

Sketching Kuwait

Digital sketches about our journey in Kuwait with Galaxy Note.


Arabian musics in the mall at Ramadan month.


Free gahwa and tea for iftar at Ramadan month.


Vintage gadgets seller in Kuwait friday market. We find a lot of retro gadgets like Polaroid cameras, calculators, Nintendo consoles. More about Kuwait friday market.


A shawarma restaurant. They put fruits on the top of the meat. One of the guy slices the laham (meat) & other creates saj (similar to kobus bread) from doughs.


Two Indian ladies waiting in front of bakala. India is the second largest population in Kuwait after Egypt.


Cashier guy in a grocery store with some Indonesian stuffs: "One telor asin and two terasi, all 1.2 KD."


A taxi driver having a good time. While driving, pulling his left leg & pulling hairs from his hairy nose. Life is good, eh?


Woman sells Kuwait traditional hand-woven textile, Sadu, in Souk Jumah. Some European tourists bargaining the price.


Waiting in the washing station.

More sketches are coming. Stay tuned.

Check our other sketches & illustrations about Kuwait here.

Leia's Project For Her Birthday

Next week is Leia's 6th birthday. She has an idea: draw 25 pictures of princess (including princesses from Indonesian folklore like Bawang Merah, Timun Mas, Chandra Kirana etc) and give them to her 25 friends in the class.

So far, she already done 16 pictures. Still few pictures to go. Go Leia Go!

DIY Petruk & Bagong Wayang

As family living abroad, we keep connecting our kids with our origin culture. So when they grow up with the multi-nationality society, they will not losing their identity and still have knowledge about Indonesia's culture, language, art & folklore.

In this holiday, we introduce wayang to them. We choose the Punakawan character Petruk & Bagong for the DIY wayang project. We tell the story & tale about Punakawan. They laughing madly when they know one of the character, Semar, uses fart as the weapon. After drawing the character, kids coloring it with their own colors. Purple and pink! :D



Done with coloring, now we put the join for the body & hand. Then snitch the wooden sticks for crochet.



Tah dah! Petruk & Bagong are ready. Now we're creating a stage from cardboard box.



Neo is waiting for the wayang show by his sister. There you go!



We think this Wayang Mahabharata animation is good introduction to wayang for our kids. Done by Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) college student in Surabaya, Indonesia. Take a look!


Wayang Mahabharata (Pilot Episode) - English Subs from Wlabs on Vimeo.

IF Teacher

Sometimes, the toughest job in the world is being a teacher.

Artist: Pinot
Tools: Samsung Galaxy Note with S Note app

The Heroine In TV Serial

Kiera Cameron from Continuum.
(updating..)

IF Bounce

Henry got a big giant rubber ball.
He climbs to the roof.
Plans to jump to the street below,
with that ball.

He will bouncing back, up & down.
So he can travel everywhere,
with his bouncing rubber ball.

Good luck, Henry.

Artist: Pinot
Tools: Samsung Galaxy Note with S Note app

IF Lonely

 

There's a party. Very crowdy. Super noisy. People are happy.

Except Harry. He looks so lonely. Because he just broke up with Sally.

Artist: Pinot.
Tool: Samsung Galaxy Note with S Note app.

Ramadan Sketch

Sketching the Ramadan festivity in Kuwait with Samsung Galaxy Note.
(updating..)

Arabic music in a tent inside shopping center (more)

Free tea & gahwa (coffee) kiosk for iftar

Tamar Hindi juice man offering free tamarind juice to people (more)

Gergean night when kids doing activity similar to trick or treat in Halloween with traditional costume, traditional song and treat candies and sweets. (more)

Free hinna painting for girls (and women)

IF Carry

Atlas, is the world becoming heavier & heavier?
How long can you carry it on your shoulder?

Artist: Pinot.
Tool: Samsung Galaxy Note.