# Pogo Sketch & Inklet for MacBook + do-it-yourself tools



## fellfromtree (May 18, 2005)

*Pogo Sketch with Inklet on the MacBook trackpad, plus user made Tools- a review and rough guide.*

I was looking for reviews of the Pogo Sketch & Inklet from TenOneDesign Ten One Design Products. As usual, most reviews just copy the company info, and seem more concerned with writing notes rather than drawing/sketching. 
I ordered a Pogo Sketch and bought the Inklet software. I'll refrain from rehashing that which is ubiquitous on the web, so if you want to know what Inklet is, or what a Pogo Sketch is… google, the hundreds of results will all tell you the same thing. you can download a free trial, it is annoying to use as the reviews note.

My unscientific and unprofessional review is strictly regarding the Pogo Sketch and Inklet software on a 2.26 unibody MacBook, for drawing and sketching, as experienced by someone who uses traditional media, and does not like switching/configuring digital tools and palettes, creating layers, adjusting opacity and brush sizes etc. I have a Wacom Bamboo tablet which I use sporadically, but since it isn't plugged in and ready to go, I am more likely to default to the old fashioned pencil and paper. I was hoping the Pogo + Inklet would make for quicker setup and use with no wires or add on devices, and no pastel dust/ brush/paint/paper cleanup.

I am using ArtRage 2.5 ArtRage Home as my drawing program, however, there are many compatible alternatives (I tried it in Photoshop Elements 6 as well). You can download an ArtRage 2.5 trial for free, and version 3 of ArtRage is now out.

Further, I was interested in different stylus possibilities, just as I use different pencils, brushes and drawing implements when working on paper. Inspired by this video post on BoingBoing, I experimented with making my own drawing implements.

DIY iPad stylus - Boing Boing

The Pogo Sketch is 4.5 " long, 1/4" diameter aluminum tube with a soft round foam tip and hard plastic pocket clip on the other end. My pocket clip lasted about 10 minutes before I snapped it off, as I am the type to play with pocket clips on pens. There is very little play allowed with the Pogo clip because it is a hard plastic. I don't lament the loss, as I can't recall one drawing implement I have that has a pocket clip. To do over, I would buy the Stylus rather than the Sketch for $3 extra.

At first I thought the Pogo was a little too light in weight, but after making my own sketch tools, I would now say the Pogo is nicely weighted and balanced for its size. The length is convenient for storing in pocket or laptop bag, but for drawing, I find it too short most time, and too thin as compared to familiar pencils and pens.

I say 'too short most times' because, in drawing, I use a multitude of tools of assorted dimensions for different tasks. Regular paint brushes typically have 6-12" handles. Drawing pencils are approx 7", and pigment pens are approx 5 1/4". Pastels are usually only a few inches long at first, and quickly end up being chunks the size of chocolate chips.

The conductive foam tip of the pogo is soft, and I often compress it down to the barrel while trying to darken line strokes. There is a lack of feeling in the foam that makes it difficult to judge pressure without the visual cues. The tip is very uniform and consistent all the way around, giving predictable results during use (as compared to some of my experimental tools) and the foam bounces back into shape after abuse. 

I find with the short and thin aspect of the Pogo and its low friction on the trackpad, I have a very hard time drawing fluid lines- and straight lines… forget it. Inklet does give a little sound cue to let you know when mark making is activated by your touch, which I find very useful (although you can turn the sound clue off it you find it annoying).

Inklet is easy enough to use, but does present me with one more step to activate/deactivate if I have to change colour/tool/palette/settings etc. As previously mentioned, I do not like configuration interruptions.
I have Inklet set to be always on, on my Menu Bar.

*Invent Your Own Drawing Tools:*

As long as you can create the capacitive touch, you can make your own tools.
I mail ordered the Pogo Sketch for $15. (Inklet was another $25).
I made my own Sketch tool for about $2.75. Of course I spent more than $2.75 because I bought in bulk. I have enough supplies to make 4-5 handles, and dozens of tips.

*CHEAP & EASY:*
12" 9/32 aluminum tube from hobby store, $1.50 (You can buy longer tubing or thicker/thinner from a hobby store or even a lumber store. If you go to the Home Despot, the tubing is directly across from the bins of screws/hardware. You can experiment on the spot. That's how I found 'screw sets'- never heard of them before this).
Piece of plastic from a blister package- free with purchase of contents.
Piece of capacitive foam (3/8" x 2")

I bought my foam by mail order, 2 sheets about 4" square, 1/4 inch thick. Shipping was more than the foam. Around $6-8 total. I've made 6-10 tips, a few wasted dud attempts and prototypes, and I've used approx 1/2 of one sheet so far. If you don't have a piece lying around in an electronics box, you could probably scrounge some from any electronics/computer fixit shop, don't pay more than $2 for a chunk.

I cut the aluminum tube in half with an exacto saw blade and sanded the rough edge on a scrap of sandpaper. I cut a piece of blister packaging plastic (stiff but flexi and thin ) smaller than the foam width, narrow enough to fit in the tube and long enough to extend into the tube. I bent a piece of foam over the plastic and inserted into the tube. Set a pair of Vice Grips to close down to about 3/16", crimp the end, trapping the plastic/foam just like a brush ferrule. Simple. I cut a 1/4" dowel 2" longer than the tube, chiselled one end slightly, rounded the exposed end and jambed it down the tube. This gave my brush a bit of weight, and gave me a wooden end that felt a little more like familiar brushes. I can also pull the dowel out in a telescopic manner to lengthen the handle, as long as I keep some finger contact with the aluminum.

My first attempt was just foam, with no inner support (plastic or screw). It was too soft and floppy. To have a tip that extends out from the handle in any way, you need some kind if support inside the foam.

*MORE INVOLVED BUT STILL EASY AND CHEAP:* 
I crazy glued a screw set into the end of the tube (#8-32 fits perfectly in the 9/32 aluminum tube). I used #8 nylon screws, cutting off the heads, and wrapping/tying foam onto the screw shaft. You can leave the screw head on, but you will end up with a giant bulb tip, about the size of a grape, so I cut the head off. Screw the tip into the tube. You need to have the foam contacting the aluminum to maintain the circuit, so screw it in tight, the foam compresses against the end of the tube. I used a nylon screw or plastic blister pack for inner support because it won't scratch my trackpad if I break through the foam.

The foam is very easy to shape with your fingers. You can trim it into form with scissors. I used kitchen shears and embroidery scissors for fine detailed trimming. The foam cuts easily and cleanly. 

READYMADES:
The main ingredients for a trackpad stylus are capacitive foam, and a body that maintains the circuit (could be a metal body, a wire that contacts the hand, whatever).

I bought an LED Flashlight, aluminum, pen style, complete with 2 AAA batteries for $9. I popped out the LED, dropped a screw set in place, drop of crazy glue on the screw set, and it was ready to accept my nylon screw in tips. The penlight body is fat like a magic marker, has a pocket clip and clicker end to play with, and I can put anything inside the tube (or nothing) to give different weight feelings. 

For $5, I bought a diamond face sharpening set at Princess Auto. It consists of an aluminum tube body with an exacto type opening on the end, and a sharpening rod of some use (?) that goes into the body. I threw the rod in a drawer for future (?) use, and stuffed foam into the opening to make a tip. Easy. For a bonus, I used the plastic from the blister packaging the sharpener came in and made an inner support for a stiffer tip. (This is the blue tool in the pictures). Also has a pocket clip. 

There are a number of aluminum and metal body ballpoint pens that will work. They are weightier and nicely balanced, butyou do need a big enough opening on the end to get the foam into/sticking out of. Just eject the refill, stuff some foam in the tip, and you're stylusing.

ArtRage 2.5:
I don't know about other drawing/painting programs, but ArtRage allows for pressure sensitive drawing. With the Pogo, and particularly with my custom made tools, I can get realistic feeling and touch, realistic results with the combination of Inklet and ArtRage, especially for pencil on paper comparison. My tools have enough friction feeling and sound quality on the trackpad to emulate pencil on paper. Although my tips look huge in comparison to the Pogo Sketch (and theta are), my tips are more realistic feeling as compared to traditional drawing tools. I originally thought I would make pinpoint tips like a Wacom pen, but in reality, size doesn't really matter. If you draw or paint, you probably have dozens of brushes and pencils, and you use one or two all the time, some never, and what you paid for each is irrelevant. Sometimes the cheapest, most irritatingly poor quality brush is the one you like best.

With my tools, I can sketch realistically, with hand motions and hand angles I would normally use on paper. That means shading or crosshatching with my pencil at a 10-30 degree angle to the surface, or holding the brush way out at the tip of the handle and reaching for the surface- you can't do that with the Pogo. I can hold the tube right at the end and lightly feather touch the trackpad as I might with a pencil on paper, or grab it with my fist and mash it against the trackpad. 

WHAT OTHER GAGS ARE THERE?
As soon as I get my hands on some copper or aluminum tape, I will be attempting to convert some wood handled brushes into eBrushes.

If you have invented an eBrush or ePencil, post it, success or failure. I'd be interested to see what else can be done. Questions? I'll see what I can answer.

*AND NOW THE PICS:*
These are all out of order, but mix and match to description.


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

pretty cool!

i'd be interested in seeing the different range of marks each specific tool makes.


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## bob99 (Aug 16, 2007)

Interesting DIY guide. I mentioned in another thread that I bought a pogo stylus for my iPad and found it to be a useless POS. I've used it on the trackpad of my MacBook Pro, and found it to be equally junky, offering no fine detail for drawing.

If you draw at all, especially for a living, you should get a Cintiq. Vastly superior to the Intuos / Bamboo tablets. The 12" is fairly portable, and the 21" offers a lot of screen real-estate. Pressure sensitive, to simulate many different brushes accurately. They're worth it.

12"
Wacom Technology - Cintiq 12WX

21"
Wacom Technology - Cintiq 21UX

Fellfromtree, can you please post a few of your sketches done on the trackpad? I'd be curious to see the level of accuracy you were able to achieve.

Bob


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## fellfromtree (May 18, 2005)

Well most of my mark making experimentation typically results in telephone pad doodles that I end up overworking to death, but as I suspected, having made a variety of tools, I have settled on a go-to, second choice, third choice, etc- exactly as I do with real media tools.

The individual tools do not make different marks. The mark making is dependant on the settings of Inklet/Artrage (in my case). So a fine tip or a big plush tip are going to make the same line, but the difference is in the hand feel and perception. If I'm drawing very fine faint lines, I want to feel the tip of a sharp 2H pencil on the paper, rather than feeling a soft cushy marker tip.

The Pogo Sketch remains a reliable predictable tool, but still too soft in the tip and too short for my liking. With pressure sensitive ability, I can't really feel the tip on the trackpad the same way I can with some of my harder tips (due to the nylon screw inside). The Pogo will be more useful as a colourfield tool, where I would use a wider/softer brush or a big pastel stick in real media to fill in colour. 
I find I reach for the two simplest tools the most. The crimped end tool and the blue tool.

Drawing on the trackpad with my homemade tools is somewhat similar in feel to drawing with micro pigment pens on Mylar film or Yupo synthetic paper- you don't get the drag/friction you get from paper, and you don't get the same sensitivity feedback. The Pogo Sketch I would liken to drawing with a medium Sharpie on Mylar/Yupo.

I don't find the size of the trackpad much of an issue, but certainly trying to move my Macbook around on my lap to change approach angles is a little challenging. It is also always a challenge to get the tool placed in the right spot, but I have that with a Wacom pen as well.

Here are two doodles as examples. These are just doodles (the one is not a perspective object of any sort, it is just a line-following-line doodle. The most important part for me is the upper left background and the lower right foreground curve bit, in terms of line detail possibilities. The rectangle doodle is working more towards typical themes I apply to real media. 
The straight diagonal across the rectangle doodle is the result of a palm read, which Inklet is supposed to guard against.
These doodles use the same digital media tools in ArtRage as I would use drawing on paper- pencil, pastel, brush, crayon, eraser.
I don't know if it is hand motion on such a small surface, or the trackpad glass, but I find it very difficult to draw a straight diagonal line- they are always wavy.

The third pic is a paper drawing (pastel, ink, pencil, charcoal) more typical of where I want to get to with digital drawing, although I am more concerned with line as artifact recently. This drawing is actually the same size as the MacBook trackpad, so it is a good comparison for where I am aiming.

Nobody out there drawing on their Mac trackpad?


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

Nice stuff. Thanks for sharing.


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