Archive:Tagtool

About

The Tagtool is an open source instrument for drawing and animation in a live performance situation. Its development is coordinated by OMA International. The project aims to explore digital drawing as a means for communication - on stage, on the street and over the internet. It is in use as a visual instrument in theatres, youth centers, at jam sessions with musicians and for performances in public spaces. It serves as a VJ tool, a creative video game for children, and an intuitive tool for creating animation.

The Tagtool is operated collaboratively by an artist drawing the pictures and an animator adding movement to the artwork with a gamepad. The design achieves virtually unlimited artistic complexity with a simple set of controls, which can be mastered even by children.

Hardware

Three different types of the Tagtool have been developed so far:

• Tagtool V2 is the second prototype of the Tagtool, which has an integrated computer.
• Tagtool Suitcase contains the controls for the tagtool and a graphics tablet (used with a separate computer). Find out how to build your own Tagtool Suitcase at Instructables.
• Tagtool Mini is a compact box that contains the Tagtool controls (used with a computer and a graphics tablet).

Software

The software running on the Tagtool is the Nodekit - an open source node-based toolkit for live performance drawing & animating. It is licensed under the GNU GPL 2.0. Development is hosted on Launchpad.

If you want to contribute to the software development in any way, please contact us at the Developer Zone. The latest version (for Windows) and the source code are available for download.

Tutorials

Hardware`

• How to build a Tagtool Mini
• How to build a Tagtool Suitcase

Software

• Nodekit Tutorial: How to program a custom node

Weblinks

Tagtool.org

Developer Zone

OMA international GmbH