Comments on: Museum of Forgotten Art Supply

By: Wally Littman

Wally Littman — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:31:24 +0000

Never knew this site existed. I have Zipatone by the carload. Also
Press type and loads of mechanical pens. Don't know what to do with them. I'd welcome suggestions

By: Ilyn

Ilyn — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:44:03 +0000

They are not yet forgotten. They are great collection nonetheless.

By: ArtBob

ArtBob — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:41:55 +0000

Yep, I remember the day of drafting by hand in the 80's. There was quite a sense of accomplishment with it, but the artistic expression was slow. CAD and photo shop seam to have done away with the old school style, but there's a quality to the old way that just can't be matched with a computer.

By: Vim

Vim — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:13:35 +0000

I still have stuff like these I use them along with my graphic tablet. Fun

By: Any Type Of Art Supplies

Any Type Of Art Supplies — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:20:43 +0000

A wide variety of products that cater to all price ranges, ages, and styles of art.

By: Finding Art Supplies

Finding Art Supplies — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:21:44 +0000

Finding art supplies that are the exact fit for every artist can be a tall order, but at Trekell we are committed to the quality of our products and have been offering our customers the very best in fine art supplies and art brushes for decades.

By: Gellner

Gellner — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:12:11 +0000

Lol behold the internet! Where ancient people used ancient devices called the "computer" to access now-obsolete "information"!

By: Peter Kelly

Peter Kelly — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:43:24 +0000

Here is a set of French curves on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-French-Curve-Set-of-8-Drafting-Drawing-Curves_ W0QQitemZ160259457761QQihZ006QQcategoryZ11784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem
They are not mine, I just saw them and thought someone might be interested.

By: Gaby

Gaby — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:06:38 +0000

I had a class where we weren't allowed to use a computer to so various projects and it was one of the best experiences ever. It makes you really appreciate a well done job and it sparked my interest on typography

By: pagalina

pagalina — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:43:16 +0000

oh sweet coloraid sheet. I don't miss those things at all. I just remember screwing up. drawing letterforms by hand taught me a fine appreciation of letterforms but sweet jesus, that was torture. Let's add, the aforementioned coloraid, guache, and amberlith to the list. bleck. nostalgia is nice but I'll take my imac any old day!

By: artbot

artbot — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:22:58 +0000

Beside the fact that a lot of these tools are still in regular use, many of them have become indispensable to digital artists using the Wacom Cintiq tablets. A standard tablet doesn't let you maintain a consistent orientation of the pen tool on the work, but the Cintiq does, which lets you to use rulers and curves right on the screen. Very nifty, and the reason I bought one. As an aside, I was an ID major in the mid 80s (ACCD), and we had to make our own set of ship's curves in the shop. Ship's curves are kind of like French curves, but larger and straighter, and were traditionally used for drawing the section curves on ship blueprints. Making one's own drawing tools is a sweet memory I'm afraid few students get to experience today. @Kyle - that's awesome they start you on traditional tools. I was a draftsman, then and industrial designer for years while using only traditional tools. I LOVED Rapidographs and did much of my early personal artworks with them. Sure, there were disadvantages to those "ancient" tools sometimes, but the deep understanding you gain from using these will forever serve you better than any "here's what button to press" sort of "education". >>>end of rambling post....

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:19:53 +0000

I'm currently a sophomore architect student and we still use a lot of these tools for the first two years. Its hand drafting until junior year.

Those Rapidographs are fun stuff. Don't mess up

By: Skipweasel

Skipweasel — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:17:49 +0000

I bought my ten year old son a set of French Curves earlier this year - he wanted them for drawing sinuous dragons.

By: Dan Smith

Dan Smith — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:56:53 +0000

French curves, still used. Neatorama gettin' a lotta flack fer this.

By: Polx

Polx — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:55:20 +0000

God there's a blast from the past.

French Curves.

Well that's what we uised to call them.

But as has been stated, a lot of that stuff is still in use...I look to my left and see ISOGRAPHS and Rapidographs of mine some which were new whn my Dad bought them in the early 50's and they still work fine.

I have two full sets of Isographs, one that has only ever known white ink.

But i now use the computer so much than when I find my slef makign a mistake with a pen I keep mutterign "undo".

By: Prophet

Prophet — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:20:16 +0000

I wouldn´t say they are forgotten.

By: Adam Stanhope

Adam Stanhope — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:23:33 +0000

My father was a classically trained graphic artist (RISD '65) and ran a commercial art studio in Boston for more than 20 years. In his world, if you wanted a different font you either had to pick it out of a book and pay a company to "set" the type for you - or you had to draw the font yourself. Tools like those above were the regular playthings of my youth.

By: ted

ted — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:20:27 +0000

Ah the old French curves. Much racier than our staid English curves.

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:10:58 +0000

I sew, and I use french curves all the time when drafting or altering patterns. Of course, the one I usually use is 2 feet long, but the smaller ones are invaluable for creating curved darts and other interesting details.

By: DeLuxe

DeLuxe — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:56:12 +0000

Just try and draw shapes like that in Illustrator...
Oh, and why are old photographs so much sharper than our 8+ Megapixel modern snaps?

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:49:40 +0000

I'm 30 years old - a relative newbie in the illustration/design field and I still use a lot of these tools along with the computer.

By: Carl

Carl — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:23:40 +0000

Seriously we use pantone swatch books all the time! And there's still room for burnishers and whatnot in our office. Neat collection nonetheless.

By: MoonCake

MoonCake — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:13:35 +0000

i have inherited all of my mom's art supplies and i totally have those. they were great for arts & crafts when i was growing up, and definitely helped with my creativity today!

By: davedonelson

davedonelson — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:50:09 +0000

For real ancient artifacts, consider the architect's rule and slide rule. Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds

By: SenorMysterioso

SenorMysterioso — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:19:03 +0000

At least half of this stuff is still used pretty regularly