Kiri Østergaard Leonard with the book: Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon

 
ISBN-10: 0761169253
List price: $ 10.95
Currently available on Amazon for about $ 6.10

Small Book – Big Effect 

Steal like an Artist is a small book with a big effect. The concept is simple: steal ideas! – something most of us generally cringe at but Austin Kleon’s humourous and clever explanations quickly makes you realize that is how ideas are born into life. The book is 160 short formatted pages, it only takes about an hour to get through and it is a creative process changer.

Since reading the book myself, I have taken much of the advice to heart and my creative process has been considerably less frustrating and much more productive. Austin explains concepts such as “Nothing is Original” and “Garbage in, garbage out”. All ideas we are familiar with but tend to forget.

He also suggests that as an artist you should create your own “family tree” of inspirations. You may not get to choose who you are in family with, but you certainly can choose who gets to influence your creative work.

Don’t wait

One of the most important points that Austin champions is “Don’t wait until you know who you are to make things”. He says:

I find this to be an extremely important point. So often have I come across wonderfully creative people who get next to nothing done. Reasons such as “writer’s block” or “creative block” gets thrown around when, perhaps, the real reason is fear of failure; fear that this wonderful idea inside their mind, is not going to be a success when carried out.

I do understand this fear, I have had it myself many times but in the last year or so I have learned that there is only one way to get things done; as Nike says “Just do it!” An idea kept inside your head that is never even attempted brought to life, is an idea wasted.

This is but a few of the concepts the book works with, I highly recommend acquiring it. It’s a great and inspiring read and definitely worth the cost.

Austin Kleon – Author behind Steal like an artist

The Author

Ohio born Austin Kleon is the author of two best selling books; Steal like an Artist and Newspaper Blackout. He is a champion of creativity in the digital age and often gives speeches to companies such Google and Pixar. He currently lives with his wife Meghan and his dog Milo in Austin, Texas.

Lastly a TED speech Austin Kleon gave on this book and the trailer for it:

Links:
Austin Kleon’s Official Website on Steal like an Artist
Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon on Amazon

Wicked Fairytale

Wacom Inkling Review

After waiting for the Wacom Inkling pen for quite a long time, I was very much excited to finally get my hands on this coveted device. I must say that I am a big fan of Wacom products as I’ve got accustomed to the quality and performance of their graphic tablets (I am currently using a Wacom Intuos 4 drawing tablet and I am satisfied with what it can offer for facilitating my life as an artist).

When I first learned about Wacom Inkling from their ad I thought this device would definitely improve the quality and productivity of my work, so I was glad to pay extra to get the Inkling device as soon as possible. I was sure that Wacom Inkling was exactly what I wanted and needed for my job as an artist.

Watch this video on YouTube.

The Wacom Inkling ad which has grabbed my attention and nudged to buy the device

From the first grasp on the Inkling pen, I felt the outstanding quality and the style peculiar to Wacom. I’ve got accustomed to this quality over the years of working with traditional drawing tablets from Wacom.

But it came the time to proceed with the test of my newly purchased Wacom Inkling pen. Having made a few simple line drawings, I felt that the pen grip is rather comfortable to use, though somewhat thick in comparison with a conventional ballpoint pen. However, from working with the Wacom Intuos 4 pen which looks similar to Inkling’s, I did not feel much discomfort. The case material is pleasant to touch and the pen is easy to hold and control in the hand. I should mention the high quality of the pen tip which does not stain the paper and allows controlling the line thickness at a certain level of drawing skills.

However, after I had checked the results of my first drawings rendered by my Wacom Inkling, I was somewhat disappointed. What I saw on the computer was very different from what I had drawn on paper. Lines positions were shifted a few millimeters relative to each other which was enough for the drawing to look inaccurate; some lines were missing at all. After more thorough reviewing of the recommendations on setting up and proper operation of the pen, I found no improvements.

As a test, I made a more complicated drawing on an A4 sheet of paper with a lot of strokes using my favorite drawing style. The result was not reassuring to me.

A more complecated sketch I created to test my Wacom Inkling

As can be seen from images below a lot of lines rendered by Wacom Inkling are off and the final drawing is far from being accurate. Here are images showing how the drawing looks like when exported into Adobe Illustrator.

The original sketch compared to the Wacom Inkling rendering

Maybe I’m doing something wrong and someone could suggest me how I can remedy the situation with Wacom Inkling being so inaccurate.

As you can see a lot of lines are off as a result of Wacom Inkling rendering

Watch this video on YouTube.

All that being said, I can summarize by warning people who want to use Wacom Inkling for something more that creating quick and rough sketches to be edited and processed on the computer. The tool is not suitable for completed artworks or drawings which style requires accurate lines. Nothing but sketches for now… A great advantage of the device is its portability and small size. Also it should be mentioned that Wacom Inkling allows creating vector images directly from hand drawings “on the fly”. The ability to draw in layers helps avoid mistakes or at least allows making easier corrections with graphic editing software.

Sure, Wacom Inkling will find many fans among digital artists, graphic designers etc. However this device proved to be a disappointed for me as it seemed to be useless for my drawing style. I remain committed to my traditional Wacom tablet (which is great) and a scanner. I want to thank you the Wacom company though for their hard work in making my dreams come true, albeit this time they did not meet my expectations I still believe that Wacom will improve the Inkling technology soon to make the digital pen more precise and suitable for more complicated drawings rather than raw sketches.

Having wasted $ 300 for a Wacom Inkling and being ansolutely disappointed with its performance I am still a big fan of what Wacom is doing in the domain of digital arts tools as I do not know if there is a better brand which can offer something better than Wacom can.

Igor Lukyanov – Graphic Artist | Illustrator | Portraitist

More Details on the Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pen (MDP123)

Overall Rating (based on customer reviews): 2.9 out of 5 stars

The specs of ‘Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pen (MDP123)’ are:

• Manufacturer: Wacom
• Product Dimensions: 8.4×6.5×2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.9 pounds

Here are some REAL customer reviews:

“How Accurate? Watch the Video to See!”

Customer Video Review Length:: 9:43 MinsLike others, I've been waiting for this product for months while at the same time wondering how accurate it would be. Mine arrived last night and I was almost afraid to try it because I didn't want to be…Read more

“Wacom’s new toy”

The Wacom Inkling arrived today so I did some quick tests. Lots of good things to say in terms of the accuracy of the capture. The pen even works as a mouse on the screen when it's plugged in, just like a Wacom tablet (that was pretty cool).A…Read more

“Simply Heart Breaking”

I am writing this as a warning to consumers: do NOT buy the Wacom Inkling.I received this product in the mail yesterday, and returned it today.The verdict is simply heart breaking…I had been extremely excited with the hype…Read more

=> Get Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pen (MDP123) at the best price available today.

Some Wacom Tablets For Sale

[phpbay]Wacom Tablet, 7, “”, “”[/phpbay]

Wacom Inkling