O, The Oprah Magazine has collaborated with Autodesk to release the SketchBook O App for iPad, an innovative painting and drawing app created specifically for O readers. SketchBook O for iPad is a free app that launches in conjunction with the magazine's February "Creativity" issue.
SketchBook O is at the heart of the magazine's first Creativity Challenge. Writer and filmmaker Miranda July developed five fanciful "prompts" for the issue, designed to spark imagination. All of the exercises are designed to be documented, with the option to send completed works to oprah.com for an opportunity to be shared in a Creativity gallery. For the assignment, "Draw Their Hair," readers are invited to use SketchBook O to create a digital drawing on an iPad. Users can export the drawings to their photo library or send them directly to oprah.com/creativity. The assignment is elegant in its simplicity: think of the people who affected you in the past year, whether they enraged you, made you feel lustful, brought out your tenderness, etc., use the app to draw their hair, and caption the result with the feeling elicited by the person.
"This is a truly innovative way for O, The Oprah Magazine readers to share their creative passion through the iPad," said Samir Hanna, vice president of the Autodesk Consumer Products Group. "Digital painting and drawing is within everyone's reach, and we're excited to help unlock the artistic potential of O Magazine readers."
The SketchBook O App and 'Send it to O' feature will be live for the duration of the Creativity Challenge, from January 12 to March 11, 2011. Individuals can also use the app to create a variety of their own sketches and save them to a personal photo library that will live on beyond the Creativity Challenge, and users may choose to update their app to Autodesk SketchBook Pro Express for iPad after March 11.