toyland.gizmodo.com: Graffiti and vandalism might be illegal, but as Banksy has proved, there’s a lot of money to be had in artfully tagging buildings. So instead of steering your kids toward a career path in medicine, Crayola’s updated Air Marker Sprayer might prepare them for a future as a renegade artist.
4 comments:
I remember having an airbrush as a child. You had to pump it every so often to keep the pressure up, but I loved it. Airbrushed art is so soft and gentle. Plus, its hard to find a mix of colors that truly look bad together. It's a great form of art for a kid. Of course, when I got older I became mixed up in spray paint. As a medium, it can be horrifically dangerous. My freshman year of high school, I was working in a poorly ventilated area on some "graffiti" for a show. Needless to say, it resulted in a really bad head ache, and I had to come back the next day to finish. Crayola seems to be the solution to this problem. I doubt it would produce the same results as spray paint (spray paint can be darker and more saturated than the images provided in the article), but it would be possible to exchange the media for some pieces. However, crayola markers are washable. A set couldn't get wet, and there is the possibility that the color could transfer onto costumes/actors in areas with high humidity. I don't think this particular invention will make in into scenic painting anytime soon. The electronic pump would be a definite plus for the industry, though. In conclusion, I might get this for myself for those fun side projects, or for my children, if they ever exist, I just wouldn't work with it in theater.
I remember the days of taking all my Crayola marks into the bathroom so that I could run them under the sink and use them as splatter sticks. I took my Crayola marks very seriously and whenever I got a new pack I wouldn’t use them for quite some time because I just liked the thought of having clean markers. This devise seems quite cool and something that I can see any kid loving. Only thing I find a little funny is the pictures in the article. I realize that some kids are vey talented, but I don’t think your average 8-12 year old (Crayola targeted audience) could do something like that. That being said I still think this add-on is really cool and it only makes me wish that the product designers at Crayola could have dreamt up products like these back when I was shopping at Toys R Us.
This depending on how well it works, actually might be a cool tool to have at your disposal as a scenic designer to create mock ups and paint samples for the shop in order to communicate the design more effectively. I doubt that there is any room for this toy for any other application in theatre, but a safe easy spray brush in the studio is something that is potentially great for certain scenic designers who need to incorporate spray painted scenic elements into their design. As a continuation of that into our realm, I’m sure if one existed in the freshman drafting studio, it would be used for a wide assortment of Susan Tsu projects. It would also likely become broken, as it’s a children’s toy, but still, it might change the way they do projects if they don’t have to go out and buy a can of spray paint or use it in the craft room fume hood. Might be a fun way to develop some air brushing skills too.
This looks great! I have no reason to expect it not to work, as they have had machines that do the same thing for Prismacolor and Copic markers for a long time. Real airbrushing machines are wonderfully fun, but the paint (or makeup, as the case may be) and machines are ridiculously expensive. A small one that I used over the summer cost $400 for just the machine and nozzle, no colors included. As an easy, cheap alternative, this is a great way to go! I'm excited to see how it works.
I think this is a great way to introduce other skills into children's art. I remember as a child the day when I figured out how to cut smooth circles with scissors, and it blew my mind. With this, kids can learn about stenciling, color mixing, opacity and texture while just having fun with a tiny airbrush machine. I would be worried about children spraying eachother with marker, but I've eaten crayola markers and I'm fine...right?
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