The Spiral Draw Book Klutz :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Very nice.

2005-09-06
This is a fun little book that kept me entertained at work while waiting for phone calls. I must have used every piece of scrap paper in a five-desk radius! It could be tricky to use, sometimes, since the pressure must be just right and the angle you're drawing at correct. But that was onle 1% of the doodles, and usualyl I wasn't paying attention. Otherwise I posted them to my walls and left htem on other people's desks.

I wish normal Spirographs had different shapes like this one does. Of if this one came with different wheels and Spirograph-styled holes. Ah, well, it's an imperfect world, but it's a perfect toy!

Draw beautiful spirographs

2003-05-07
What is a Spirograph?

A Spirograph is a curve formed by rolling a circle inside or outside of another circle. The pen is placed at any point on the rolling circle. If the radius of fixed circle is R, the radius of moving circle is r, and the offset of the pen point in the moving circle is O, then the equation of the resulting curve is defined by:

x = (R+r)*cos(t) - (r+O)*cos(((R+r)/r)*t)
y = (R+r)*sin(t) - (r+O)*sin(((R+r)/r)*t)

For examples of spirographs and how they are affected by R, r, and O check out the website: wordsmith.org/~anu/java/spirograph.html. Using the Java applet at the site, you can vary your spirographs by changing R, r, and O.

"The Spiral Draw Book" is accompanied by a fixed circle template called a 'frame,' and four moving circle templates called 'wheels' that have many offset points (holes within the wheel), so you can draw many different sizes of spirographs. The frame and the wheels are made of sturdy, translucent plastic in shades of blue, green, purple, and yellow. Three stubby gel pens are also included that supposedly change color as you draw.

The book itself is spiral-bound with heavy-duty glossy pages on which the artist is encourage to complete printed drawings with spirographs. For instance, there's a flower pot with stems and leaves that can be finished by drawing spirograph flowers.

Directions for use are clear and well-illustrated. The only tricky part (for me) was applying enough pressure to the frame so that it stayed in one place, but not so much pressure that the wheel stopped moving.

This book also contains intstructions for making stationery, jewelry, bead curtains, and soak art.

Just know your audience... 2008-05-20
This toy is a winner in the hands of the right person. I wouldn't give it to a four-year-old, or one who is challenged in the manual-dexterity department. It does require patience, and the desire to experiment to find the right touch.

However, for a tween to adult, this is a great toy.

Would you expect anything less from Klutz?

Great Artistic Tool for Adults 2008-05-10
Not just for children. I am an artist and use the Klutz product to design mandala-like images. The possibilities are endless and you can superimpose the designs on one another with different colors and shapes.
When you work with children you need to teach them to hold down the template holder securely and put it on a flat surface, otherwise it can be frustrating. Like anything else worth doing, it requires some effort and thought. While probably not for the very young child, what better way to help children develop their creativity and life skills!

Great! 2007-05-14
To the author, nothing is wrong! Nothing is a mistake! If you didn't complete a spiral, you can create something better and unique! Full of great ideas!!!

worthless junk 2006-03-28
I bought this for my children hoping to share with them the magic I had with my spirograph as a child. I am very sad that it turned out to be a huge waste of time and money. It is so poorly designed that my children (ages 6 and 7) just can't use it. I was sure they just needed to get the hang of it so I spent about an hour one night doing it by myself and I got about 5 designs out of it before I gave up. To make it work you have to put a lot of pressure on the entire frame to keep it from moving and even then the disk kept slipping out from under it and messing up the design. Not to mention the fact that the constant pressure was hard for me to keep up so I don't know how a child is supposed to do it. I guess I will just have to find a real spirograph set from the 70's.

spiral notebook 2006-01-30
I am making designs on cards with this. It is fun and different.