The Crayola ColorStudio HD – iMarker and iPad App for Kids

By: Greg
From: http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/
Images: http://www.griffintechnology.com/

Griffin have produced a very original looking product, with their custom-built digital stylus and Crayola ColorStudio HD.  This new digital play experience is made especially for the Apple iPad, and is aimed squarely at young kids who either have an iPad of their own or parents kind enough to share theirs.

Crayola ColorStudio HD is a combination of the Crayola iMarker and the ColorStudio HD App.  The iMarker is a specially made digital stylus that can act like a marker, a crayon, a pen, or a paintbrush, allowing kids to paint, draw, and color in a variety of ways.

The application can distinguish between pen and finger input, and automatically changes the way it works depending on the input method.  Along with the multiple drawing features, the Crayola ColorStudio HD also combines with animations, music, sound effects, and visual special effects.

The application that comes with the stylus is aimed at young kids, with a large built-in library of art that comes in a number of themed environments.  Some of the themes include undersea, jungle, and playtime activities, with various activities available in each setting.  Some examples of the kids of activities on offer include Musical Dot 2 Dot, Color By Numbers, and many other immersive games.

Completed drawings and artworks can be saved in many ways once they have been completed, with printing, email, and Facebook posting all available directly from the app.  Apple iOS 4.2 or later is required to run Crayola ColorStudio HD, as – of course – is access to an Apple iPad device.

The Crayola ColorStudio HD looks like a fun way for young kids to spend some time, and may become an absolute lifesaver for many parents on long car journeys or plane trips.  There is no release date or price announced just yet.
 

Crayon Sculpture Artist – Herb Williams

Herb Williams was born in Montgomery in 1973, and then received a BFA in sculpture from Birmingham-Southern College. In 1998, he started his unique creation, that is, creating original sculptures out of individual crayons that may require as many as hundreds of thousands. He received The Joan Mitchell Foundation Museum Purchase Grant in 2004 and the Next Star Artist Award in 2008.

Herb Williams is one of the only individuals in the world with an account with Crayola. His works have got highly laudation by numerous news papers and museums, and have reached many countries as America, China, England, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Croatia, and Japan. Are you curious about how great his works are? Let’s have a look at them together.



Click here to see the rest of this artist gallery

Crayola packaging through the years.

Here's an interesting retrospective of Crayola's packaging through the years at top. The bottom photo features the recent limited-edition set of three boxes with the original graphics of each era of the brand's history. The one on the far right most resembles what I remember from grade school! Ah nostalgia.

I just added a lot more photos of older packaging that you can see after the jump. Which Crayola box is from your childhood?

Above: 1903 Crayola

Above: 1930 Crayola

Above: 1935 Crayola box

Above: 1948 Crayola box

Above: And on year later, in 1949, the redesigned again.

Above: 1950's Crayolas

Above: 1964 Crayola box

Above: 1975 Crayola box

Above: "Antique" Crayola box, not sure of the year.


Above: These were simply labeled "Old" 64-count boxes. They most resemble what I remember from 1986-ish.