Pick up the STAEDTLER Noris digital pencil and it looks and feels like the real, graphite-filled thing. Start using it with the Wacom One and a natural media experience comes to life. Suddenly you’re writing, sketching and drawing with that true pencil-on-paper feel. How can a digital device like this offer so much control, comfort and freedom? What’s behind this wonderful technology and how does it all work?
STAEDTLER, based in Nuremberg, Germany, has been making drawing and writing instruments since 1835. Pencils have always been their specialty and the Noris is certainly inspired by the company’s graphite pencils which people around the world having been using for decades. STAEDTLER teamed with Wacom, the digital pen technology expert, to help merge tradition and innovation into a single product by incorporating Wacom’s patented Electro-Magnetic Resonance (EMR) technology into the Noris. When used with the compatible, newly-released Wacom One display, STAEDTLER’s Noris digital emulates the feel of traditional media. “I learned to draw using STAEDTLER 2B and HB pencils,” says Jason Chatfield, renowned cartoonist and President of the National Cartoonists Society. “Using the Noris gives me an odd sense of familiarity; a nostalgia for when I was still figuring out how to draw.”
Compatible tablets with Wacom’s digitizer technology provide power to the pencil through magnetic resonant coupling and no batteries or cords are required. As a result, the Noris digital never needs charging, unlike other digital pens. There are also virtually no consumables inside the pencil that will run down and need replacing, creating a long and virtually maintenance-free lifespan. Pencil tips can be replaced if needed. In addition, the pencil and digitizer communicate other vital information, such as pressure-sensitivity, tip orientation and on-screen location.
“As someone who learned to draw traditionally and still works in a hybrid of digital and traditional, I’m a staunch advocate for any tech that honors the traditions of a craft without eschewing them altogether. The STAEDTLER Noris does this,” continues Chatfield, who has been using the Wacom One pen display in his spare time for up-and-coming cartoonists.
This short video clip shows Jason drawing with the Noris digital pencil. “I learned to draw using pencils and thin pens, so there is absolutely no alteration in my style when using this. I’m impressed by the amount of technology placed into such a light pencil.”
If you’re ready to try the STAEDTLER Noris digital, grab a Wacom One and start drawing.
Jason Chatfield creates Australia’s favorite comic strip, Ginger Meggs, and is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and other publications. Jason also serves as President of the National Cartoonists Society.
