Etch-A-Sketch Toys

Etch A Sketch Toys

Etch A Sketch toys are a fun game without the need for a digital connection, reams of paper, or pencils that need constant sharpening. Indulge your imagination with this drawing toy that easily and completely erases in seconds for the next creative image to come to life. Etch A Sketch games allow you to draw an infinite number of images to keep up with your creativity.

The 1960 release of the Etch A Sketch introduced it as a mechanical drawing toy with a thick, grey, glass screen inside a plastic red frame with two small white knobs. The knobs are twisted by hand to adjust the metal pointer, or stylus, under the screen in order to create a drawing, or sketch, with the powder contained inside. You then turn the Etch A Sketch upside down and shake it to erase the image and can immediately draw a new sketch on a blank slate.

Inside the Etch A Sketch toy is aluminum powder fully coating the screen in order to draw a sketch. As the knobs are turned, the left one for horizontal movement and the right one for vertical movement, the stylus continues to push the powder away. The displaced powder leaves what appears to be a black or dark grey line on the Etch A Sketch display, but in reality it is just the empty space inside the Etch A Sketch. This effectively creates your sketch as you continue to adjust the knobs for vertical or horizontal movement. When you shake the Etch A Sketch, polystyrene beads help coat and redistribute the aluminum powder over the inside surface of the display.

Lineography is the act of drawing without lifting the medium from the surface. The Etch A Sketch is a lineographic toy; the stylus is able to move horizontally and vertically but not be removed from the underside of the display. The benefit of the Etch A Sketch is that you are able to release your hands from the toy as often as needed with the ability to pick back up exactly where you stopped. This action mimics the motion of drawing with a paintbrush or pencil. Another benefit of the Etch A Sketch is that your hands will remain clean throughout the drawing process.