Skip to main content

Etch-A-Snap camera puts a modern spin on one of your favorite childhood toys

Etch-A-Snap — A Raspberry Pi powered Etch-A-Sketch Camera

Imagine a Raspberry Pi Zero camera, 3D printed parts, some computer code and a serious dose of childhood nostalgia concocted together and you have the Etch-A-Snap, a camera that swaps out the usual LCD screen with an Etch A Sketch. Designed by Martin Fitzpatrick, the digital camera sketches real-life scenes using the two dials of the longstanding childhood toy that’s notoriously difficult to draw with.

Recommended Videos

The probably practically useless but nonetheless cool camera was designed from a Raspberry Pi Zero camera, part of the Raspberry Pi family of tools designed to teach code. Of course, the back of the device is an Etch A Sketch. Two stepping motors control the toy’s horizontal and vertical drawing dials and the entire rig sits inside a custom 3D-printed case.

But how are pixels translated into a drawing made with a series of connected lines? The Etch-A-Snap is programmed first to reduce the image to 240 by 144 pixels since the tiny drawing toy at the back doesn’t need all that data. Of course, the Etch A Sketch doesn’t need color either, so the image is further downgraded to black and white (not grayscale, but an image with only black and only white).

The built-in computer chip then translates what’s left into plotter printer data, an old-school type of printer that created line drawings. Using that line drawing, the Etch-A-Snap then controls the Etch A Sketch knobs to recreate the same line drawing.

Fitzpatrick says the image takes between 15 minutes and an hour to “develop” the image, depending on just how many elaborate lines are needed to recreate the photograph. Much of that time is spent computing to translate the image, and the camera tends to perform the slowest right after the image is snapped.

While made using a toy invented in the 1950s, the unique camera still has a few advanced surprises. A light on the front of the camera will warn users if the Etch-A-sketch needs to be erased via a quick shake. 

While the practical applications are limited, that doesn’t stop the Etch-A-Snap from drawing people and scenes better than you can using two knobs and a continuous line — not to mention the cool factor. Fitzpatrick shared detailed instructions and files for the tech-savvy that want to build their own.

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Phone cameras are so good, they’ve finally replaced my camera for work
Close up of the camera on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro.

For almost two decades, I’ve carried more than twenty pounds of electronics in my backpack for the slightest chance of needing to capture content for my professional life. My backpack usually contained my MacBook, a full-frame camera with a big lens, a tripod, and an assortment of video and audio gear that I always deemed essential.

As it turns out, over the past two years, many of these items were rendered obsolete, as many companies launched new products that were quickly able to replace technology that I previously considered irreplaceable.

Read more
This is what happens ‘when you get two uber-geeks in space at the same time’
NASA's Don Pettit on the space station.



During NASA’s first-ever Twitch livestream from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, current station inhabitant Don Pettit and recent returnee Matthew Dominick talked about what it’s like to live and work in a satellite 250 miles up.

Read more
The GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is $100 off, but not for long
A person holding the GoPro HERO13 Creator Edition in front of the ocean.

Outdoor enthusiasts who want to buy a new action camera should go for the brand that popularized the product and look for GoPro deals. Best Buy has an offer that's going to be hard to refuse, as it features the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition. From its original price of $600, it's down to just $500 as part of the retailer's Presidents' Day Sale. There are still a few days remaining before the $100 discount ends on February 17, but we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out before then.

Why you should buy the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition
The star of the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is the GoPro Hero 13 Black, which is the latest version of the brand's popular line of action cameras. It's capable of recording video at up to 5.3K resolution, and you can grab photos of up to 24.7MP from your footage using the GoPro Quick app. The GoPro Hero 13 Black can also take videos that are slowed down by 13 times the normal speed, and it can last more than 5 hours on a single charge. The front and rear LCD screens will let you frame your shots perfectly, and the built-in buttons enable easy controls for lengthy sessions.

Read more