A couple weeks ago I wrote about my desire for a sketching app that you could open and start sketching in w/o any thought toward a specific context. Read it here. I’m continuing to flesh out my idea to see if it has any legs. I’m a software user and not a software developer, so read accordingly. (The mock-ups are fake and solely for presentation purposes. See notes at the end for details.)
Digital Sketchbook
I love keeping a sketchbook. I generally have a moleskine in my back pocket and a Zebra ball-point on hand at all times. Whenever the mood strikes I start scratching ideas down. Now— what if every time I wanted to sketch something I had to stop, reference the inside cover of my sketchbook, scan an elaborate table of contents and decide which section to file my drawing (that I haven’t even started) in? This sounds ridiculous, but its more or less what is asked of you by all image-making apps- even the simple ones. They demand you name and place the file somewhere on your hard drive before they will save your progress at all. They force you to think contextually, which may not be conducive to you doing your most creative work. I know it isn’t for me a lot of the time.
I want the digital sketching process to be as easy as pulling a sketchbook out of my pocket, doodling, then putting it back in my pocket without further thought. Also, it should allow your mind to stay fluid and loose as you begin your idea, but give you the power to organize and enhance your ideas as you see fit down the road.
My Dream Sketching App would have 2 MODES: Painting & Thumbnail Library; plus it would be a Springboard to other apps
Painting Mode
The first thing you should see when you launch the app is a blank canvas. You’ve opened it with the intent to draw something, so thats what it should offer you the ability to do right off the bat. There is a sketching/painting app already out there called Scribbles, and I really like it. The philosophy behind this app is to encourage intuitive drawing on an infinite canvas that is (up to a certain point I imagine) scalable to whatever size you want. This is almost exactly what I want in the painting mode feature-wise.
Scribbles forces you to save your file to a folder on your hard drive just like any other app, so in that regard its not what Im looking for. My ideal app would automatically save your file at regular intervals in the background and store it in the thumbnail library (see next section) as you are drawing. You could also save at any other time with a keyboard/menu command. Naming your drawing would be optional, but it would at least auto-stamp the drawing with the time and date it was started.
Thumbnail Library
Similar to how you can quickly flip through the pages of a paper sketchbook, I want this app to have a mode you can switch to that shows you all of the sketches you have created (and that were auto-saved for you) in thumbnail form. In this mode, you can name/rename drawings, tag them, and create folders in the sidebar to organize them in if you want. All the usual controls would be at your disposal – sort by tag, date, name – thumbnail sizing options – delete drawings – double click to open and edit etc. Overall it would be a very simple interface.
Springboard
This app would be good for hobbyists who want to mess around with doodling for fun, but those of us who make a living creating digital images would need to be able to easily take our sketches to a more professional state. My idea: a keyboard shortcut/button that sends the currently selected sketch to any compatible power app. (See the large icon in the bottom right with the arrow) You would get a HUD or something with a list of your installed image-editing apps, make your choice, then select a size/resolution and the Dream App™ sends it right over. You could set a default for this so that it could be a one-click or one-keystroke command too.
Notes
For extra clarity, I am NOT making this app nor do I plan to. The idea is here and free for the taking- I just want to use this app! If you are a developer and want to talk about credit for the idea or about working together on this etc, contact me.
Things I borrowed for my mock-ups: Icons from Yojimbo and Agua Leopard Folders | The Thumbnail Library is heavily inspired by LittleSnapper | The Paint Mode is basically Scribbles with a few extra icons.