What kind of parent are you if you don’t plunk down $80 for one of these OSMO things right now? I just got one. Amazon reviewers gave it an impressive 4.8/5 stars and it comes with 4 apps. The latest, Masterpiece for iPad [free, App Store] lets kids learn to draw by a type of tracing using the iPad camera illustrated in the excellent Sandwich video above.
After the kids are done you can send it all over the place or print it out. There is a nice video capture feature as well that replays the drawing which looks like it will pump up your kids for the next drawing.
The OSMO game system has three other games at present: Words, Newton and Tangram
It looks pretty cool but I’ll see if I can corral my 6 year old into a review.
Press release follows:
Kids Tech Device Osmo Launches Masterpiece for iPad
A Groundbreaking New Drawing Experience That Will Bring Out The Artist In Everyone
PALO ALTO, Calif. – (March 12, 2015)— Osmo, the breakout kids hardware tech device that was named one of the best inventions of 2014 by Time Magazine, today announces its next experience, Masterpiece. With this launch, the company is revolutionizing the way we learn and think about the most fundamental form of art, drawing. It’s something you have to see to believe: http://youtu.be/0upQlA6K5YI
To purchase Osmo and create your very own Masterpiece, visit:playosmo.com
How it works:
With Masterpiece and iPad’s cameras users snap a photo of anything or anyone and use Osmo’s award winning Reflective AI technology to help guide them as they draw line-by-line to recreate the image as a hand-drawn picture. A major evolutionary upgrade to the long history of drawing tools, such as Leonardo Da Vinci’s grid method, Masterpiece assists you as you learn to draw better, helping you recreate what you are actually seeing in front of you, nurturing your spatial intelligence and building confidence in your instincts over time. Once you’ve finished your drawing you can frame it, stick it on the fridge or save it digitally to share with friends and family.
“The first form of human expression was drawing — we drew pictures before words. Drawing is an essential skill that we use every day throughout our entire lives, from the scribbles that make our parents smile to the blueprints that define our world,” said Pramod Sharma, CEO and Co-founder of Osmo. “Picasso once said: ‘Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.’ With Osmo we want to provide kids with tools to let them express their creativity and build confidence that scales with their aspirations.”
Masterpiece launches with these incredible features:
Infinite Library – Photos can be captured via iPad’s cameras or pulled from an internet search, making Masterpiece a modern drawing (or coloring) book with infinite number of pages!
AutoLine and AutoShade – Osmo’s Reflective AI automatically analyzes the digital image to suggest best lines and shades to draw.
Composition – You can rotate, zoom and move the digital template to fit your imagination on paper. Masterpiece also allows combinations of multiple objects from real life or online images to make completely new compositions.
Video Capture – Masterpiece makes an amazing time-lapse video of each of your drawings that is a fun and unique movie for you to share with friends and family!
Masterpiece works for all ages. A child can draw their favorite character, a teenager can draw a comic strip, and parents can draw their kids playing. Masterpiece works on any physical surface and with several types of drawing instruments. Pens on newsprint make a great coloring book, crayons on construction paper make unique and original birthday cards, and charcoal on bristol board make a piece of fine art!
Osmo has sold 100K units and is being used in over 2000 public and private schools around the world, fostering creative thinking and social intelligence in the classroom. With Masterpiece, the company is revolutionizing the process of drawing by using digital technology to assist in physical space. The experience highlights the importance of supporting art and creativity in the classroom in an era that too often prioritizes standardized testing rather than giving children the time and skills to express themselves creatively in the classroom.
Osmo was created by young parents out of Stanford, both with backgrounds in engineering. Their previous work experience was at Ubisoft, LucasArts and Google, including the Google Books Project.
To order your Osmo or get more information about the company visit: www.playosmo.com. Anyone who has already purchased Osmo can download Masterpiece for free here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/masterpiece-for-osmo/id947529440?ls=1&mt=8. Osmo is sold online and in select Apple retail stores around the world and is continuing to expand its availability across the globe.
About Osmo
Started in 2013 by Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler, Osmo is a kids tech company built around its proprietary Reflective Artificial Intelligence. It aims to create a new play movement to unleash the boundaries of the screen. With its inaugural product, Osmo expands the playing field and engages creative thinking and social interaction, allowing any object – pen and paper, you name it – to interact with the digital device. Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbwIJMz9PAQ
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Not for me, but it’s still a simple but innovative idea! :-)
Are you serious – your really deciding to accuse people of being a bad parent if they don’t spend $80 on an iPad accessory. I don’t even have kids but that is pretty terrible Seth. You’ve also failed to mention that your getting commission on every one thats sold via clicking on the link. “?tag=thepartim-20”
I read 9to5 mac to keep up to date on the latest apple news, not to be social engineered into spending money and earning you a commission. I think I’ll be un-favouriting 9to5 Mac.
Pretty appalled.
“Affiliate linking: We use affiliate links whenever possible (9to5 sites run software that adds affiliate tags to any outside linking as a revenue generating mechanism – you support 9to5 by using our links to buy products).”
http://9to5mac.com/about
Yes, all of our links are affilaited. Also every site does this because why wouldn’t they?
As for the accusation about being a bad parent, it was a joke. relax guy. To answer your question, no I am not serious. Jeez.
I bought two of these at Christmas via kickstarter. They were a huge hit and even been recommended to my nieces school.
The problem with this is the premise is faulty.
I’m sure the product works as advertised, but the fact is that you cannot “learn to draw,” by “tracing.”
These are two completely different things.
Cannot turn on photos in iPad dettings for masterpiece as there is no photo choice