# A TikTok-famous Etch A Sketch clone built from electronics

Overtinker built a device modeled on the Etch A Sketch, meant to make you more creative instead of less. The source shows only a short video and a caption.

- Category: Hardware (build)
- Made by: [Overtinker](https://www.tiktok.com/@im_overtinker) on TikTok
- Original: https://www.tiktok.com/@im_overtinker/video/7703736302923025694
- On Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/a-tiktok-famous-etch-a-sketch-clone-built-from-electronics

## Can I build this?

- Difficulty: Intermediate
- AI-buildability: 3/5 (Code for a drawing toy is easy for AI tools, but the physical controls and enclosure need hands-on electronics work.)
- Time: A weekend
- Cost: $30–60
- Tools: soldering iron, 3D printer

Estimates based on the original write-up. How the AI-buildability score works: https://afterware.xyz/ai-buildability

## Starter prompt

```
Based on "A TikTok-famous Etch A Sketch clone built from electronics" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/a-tiktok-famous-etch-a-sketch-clone-built-from-electronics

Write firmware for an ESP32-S3 with a small color LCD and two rotary encoders. Turning the left encoder moves a pen horizontally and the right one vertically, drawing a continuous line on the screen. Add a button that clears the canvas, and keep the last drawing in memory.
```

## Story

Overtinker built a drawing device modeled after the Etch A Sketch, pitched as a gadget that makes you more creative instead of less. The maker says the project took a long time and that they learned a lot along the way.

The video is the only source material, so the electronics, controls and display aren't documented here. If you want to try a similar build, the Etch A Sketch concept is the core: two rotary controls drive a pen on a screen, and a shake clears the canvas.

Tags: etch a sketch, drawing toy, electronics, handmade

AI assistants can search all Afterware builds through the MCP server at https://afterware.xyz/mcp (setup: https://afterware.xyz/agents).