There was some interest in my robot intern, so I’ve put together a brief video explaining him. InternBot was inspired by projects like Hektor, AS220 Labs’ Drawbot and Make: Magazine’s Drawing Robot. The hardware consists of a whiteboard & marker, binder clips, fishing line, two stepper motors, an Arduino with Adafruit’s MotorShield, and a computer running Processing. The software was adapted from other open-source projects.

Like any intern, I’ve been giving InternBot the most menial, mundane tasks. But I’ve decided to put his time, if not his talent, up for your exploitation entertainment.

If you have an assignment you’d like to shirk on InternBot, email him at internbot@jamesprovost.com or tweet me with the hashtag #internbot.

Some one-step how-to spot illustrations done for Canadian Family magazine’s Summer 2010 issue; How to eat the whole lobster, How to whistle with a blade of grass, How to make a jumpsie rope and How to raise an astronomer. Thanks to AD Colleen Nicholson who made this project a summer breeze.

When I started browsing for the best approach to learning guitar, the first page of every book, the first image on every site, the first video in every tutorial, was always an image like this:

Whether it takes the form of a drawing or marked-up photograph, this image is the standard starting point for learning to play guitar. Ignoring all other elements, the title and the image of the hand alone clearly communicate “to do this, do this.” To play the G chord, place fingers 1, 2 and 3 on strings A, E and e, in positions (frets) 2, 3 and 3, respectively.

The chord chart to the left abstracts this fingering map, representing the fingers, strings and frets in a simpler, more condensed form. It’s understood that these two images represent the same thing,”to do this, do this,” but without the fingering map the chord chart would mean nothing to the uninitiated.

The tablature (or “tabs”) on the right further abstract and condense the concept. We are presented with a column of our six strings with numbers representing the position (or frets) our fingers need to be in. The specific finger we use for each string/fret is taken for granted and omitted.

Whatever form it takes, this image is a technical illustration. It decrypts esoteric, specialized knowledge into general knowledge that any person could interpret and employ. With one image, I went from looking at a bunch of lines and numbers to music.

Make Magazine Vol 20.

Way back in 2005, Mister Jalopy proposed an Owner’s Bill of Rights, a maker’s memorandum requesting repairability for the products around us. It became a manifesto for the maker community, a modus operandi for open sourcers and forward-thinking manufacturers.

I’m not the most capable maker – maybe only a tinkerer. But if something breaks I jump at the chance to take it apart, see how it works and try my best to repair it (what’s the worst that can happen?). If the repair is a success, I’ve saved the world from having to produce another widget.

Repairability equals sustainability. That’s what I like about this manifesto. And that’s why I’ve illustrated it.

Update: The illustrated Maker’s Bill of Rights appears in volume 20, the current issue of Make: Magazine. In stores now!

Maker Faire was a blast! Lots of amazing things to see and do. I saw some great presentations, inventions, projects and kits and even did some tinkering of my own. When I got back, I was inspired to do a DIY spot illustration series to capture the energy and creativity of everything I saw.

Hope to meet a lot of people, learn a thing or two, and get my hands dirty!