Saturday, July 05, 2008

Did you have a SpiroGraph as a child?


Fabulous interactive on-line SpiroGraph from David Little.

I had a SpiroGraph set and used to play with it for hours but was often disappointed in the quality of my workmanship - too often a little circle would jump and my pen would skid or the biro would blob... so I've been delighted to play with this one. Its got lots of possibilities that a real world set didn't have too. The only thing you can't do directly in it is superimpose curves on top of each other, which was something I used to do using different colours.

Here are a few unusual curves:



Click on any to see larger.

There are other SpiroGraph sites on the web: gallery of multicoloured SpiroGraphs and another gallery.

Have you found any interactive versions of favourite toys on the web?

10 comments:

andrea said...

I, too, loved spirograph and also got frustrated at the technical limitations. But I refuse to visit this link, lest I get sucked in for HOURS. :)

Caroline said...

Andrea - that's very wise of you - I have spent hours playing with it today...

Anonymous said...

YES I DID!!!!! I loved my spirograph more than any toy! I once found a plug-in for photoshop but have lost it...

GreenishLady said...

I wanted it so badly, but didn't get it, despite hints and outright pleading, so I finally got a set for myself when I was well into adulthood. And then I discovered it takes such concentration to avoid those slips of the pen, and the blobs. But no, I won't be visiting the site, at least until I'm home again.

(Coming to you tonight from Salinas, CA)

Dru Marland said...

Bloomin' thing crashed when I tried it.

But I like the tactile aspect of the original, even if disaster was only a slip of the pen away. I also like rigging up bits of string and pegs and rulers and pens to create shapes, because it's slightly ridiculous and fun. ...and sometimes necessary.

Caroline said...

Anonymous - Do you have any of your old spriograph drawings? I can't find any trace of mine.

Greenishlady - I'm glad you made your own childhood dream come true... and I hope you are having fun in California!

Dru - maybe I've worn it out... the only bit that didn't work well when I played with it was the Random button... that was less than good... partly because it sometimes picks white to draw with on white...

Anonymous said...

Like Greenish Lady, I wanted one, but never received it. Though I did play with my cousin's whenever I could, when visiting.
I did buy one for my children - and played with it as often as they'd allow :)

As much as I enjoy spirographs - I'm more than a little hesitant to try it on-line, as I already waste too much time with on-line jigsaw puzzles...not sure how long I can resist the temptation though, now that I know about it!

Anonymous said...

Errr no. I drew on butcher's paper because did so many of them that they would have disintegrated with time even if thrown out. My kids could possibly have some of their designs still ;)

Caroline said...

Tink - I've now wasted lots of time playin with jigsaws on line too - thank you!

Anonymous - did you not play with it when your children did?

Anonymous said...

Yes I did. Heehee!!