The NibCursor
Dave Gray and a slew of other great minds have been collaborating on an awesome idea for drawing on the iPad without a stylus. (see Dave’s original idea.)
There have already been some awesome takes on gestures, interactions, paper prototypes, and a little bodystorming/physical study. (See NibCursor photos on flickr.)
In another take on the NibCursor I’ve taken the opportunity to address another hand-drawing complaint I’ve had with the iPad. That is, the problem of resting my palm on the surface as I draw or write.
Besides the problem of not seeing the contact point of a stylus or my finger, my biggest complaint is not being able to rest my hand and get very fine control of my drawing. With or without a stylus, if I have to lift my palm above the surface of the iPad I’m forced to use my whole arm to draw and it’s more difficult for me to control than just my fingers.
Anyone who has drawn a lot with pencil or charcoal knows that the part of your hand that gets dirtiest is the side of your palm. This alternate hand placement I’m proposing uses this to our advantage with the NibCursor by utilizing that contact as a third touch point to engage the nib. In addition, by extending the middle, ring, and pinkie fingers we have an opportunity for additional controls and a full, five-finger (actually six) gesture menu. The middle, ring, and pinkie fingers can be used as taps to bring up additional controls or lock the nib in an engaged state if you don’t want to keep the palm resting on the surface.
Try this hand configuration on your iPad and you’ll see what I mean. Let me know what you think!
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