Released by Ohio Art in 1986, the Etch A Sketch Animator adapted the company’s classic drawing toy into an electronic animation device. Marketed with the slogan, “Bring drawings to life and life to your drawings,” the toy allowed children to create frame-by-frame animations on a 30-by-40-pixel dot-matrix screen.
The Animator was housed in a light gray casing and operated on four AA batteries. Two blue knobs controlled a flashing cursor on the screen, while eight red buttons provided additional functions: On/Move, Animate, Save, Draw, Next, Reverse, Recall, and Erase.
Using a combination of knob movements and button presses, users created individual frames that could be played back in sequence to produce simple animations. Up to 12 frames could be displayed at one time, while the unit’s memory supported animation sequences of up to 96 frames. A built-in speaker provided sound effects during drawing and playback.
Ohio Art included sample animation projects to demonstrate the toy’s capabilities, including The Walking Robot, The Nosy Spider, and The Breakdancing Skeleton.
The company later expanded the concept with the Etch A Sketch Animator 2000, which increased image storage capacity and introduced plug-in cartridges.
IN THE BOX
A complete set included the Etch A Sketch Animator unit. Operating instructions and a guide featuring sample animation projects were included in the box.
COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS
The Etch A Sketch Animator can be found on the secondary market in varying condition. Collectors should look for working examples with responsive controls, a functioning display and speaker, clean battery compartments, and the original instruction booklet.
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