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Etch-A-Sketch Portraits

Immortalize Your Image On a Toy

— December 24, 2008 — Art & Design
Christoph Brown is the Etch-A-Sketch Man and he’s amazing! He makes highly detailed drawings using an Etch-A-Sketch.

You remember the Etch-A-Sketch, don’t you? It’s that red box with something inside that lets you make pictures. But how does it work?

Inside, a pair of rails mounted at right angles, holds a stylus. Knobs on the front are hooked with a cable and pulley system to the rails. When you turn the knobs, the rails move the stylus. The stylus moves along the face. That movement creates a line in a mixture of extremely fine aluminum powder and beads that coat the inside of the face.

If you think this ingenious system is complicated, try drawing with the thing! Few people get past creating the basic crude letter or block shapes. It’s not an easy drawing system to master.

Christoph Brown is an exception. Not only that, he hires out for events. For about $175 he’ll sketch you from a photo, and yes, he can fix the image so it won’t disappear if you happen to shake your masterpiece.

Want to see him in action? He sketches the Simpsons in the video above. And check out the videos on his MySpace page.
Trend Themes
1. Detailed Artwork - The trend of creating highly detailed artwork using unconventional mediums like the Etch-A-Sketch presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the art industry.
2. Unconventional Drawing Tools - The trend of using unconventional drawing tools like the Etch-A-Sketch opens up disruptive innovation opportunities for manufacturers of artistic supplies.
3. Personalized Portraits - The trend of creating personalized portraits using the Etch-A-Sketch provides disruptive innovation opportunities for the custom art and gifting industry.
Industry Implications
1. Art Supplies - The art supplies industry can explore disruptive innovation by developing new products and tools that cater to the demand for unconventional methods like the Etch-A-Sketch.
2. Event Services - The event services industry can capitalize on the popularity of artists like Christoph Brown who offer live Etch-A-Sketch sketching as a unique and interactive form of entertainment.
3. Custom Art and Gifting - The custom art and gifting industry can leverage the demand for personalized portraits created with the Etch-A-Sketch to offer innovative and one-of-a-kind gift options.
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