Art and Creative Design—Right on the Screen

With the ATARI Light Pen, you draw directly on the TV or monitor screen. Nothing provides quicker results, greater access to Atari graphics capabilities, or more of a sense of immediacy when interacting with an ATARI Home Computer There are no program commands to remember, because there are no commands. You only have to use a few keys on the computer keyboard, but if you want, you can also type words—in any color—into your picture.

You simply touch symbols on four sliding control cards with the light pen to zoom in for detailed work, edit single dots, stretch lines, rectangles and circles, and even sketch freehand. You can use any of 128 colors with three kinds of mirroring. You can enhance your work with any of more than 2,000 patterns, and then save it to cassette or diskette.

Users of all ages can easily adapt the ATARI Light Pen and AtariGraphics cartridge to suit their imagination and interests. Children can play with the computer for hours with this durable, safe medium. Their enthusiasm can be directed into instructive channels both at home and at school; for example, toddlers can learn the basic shapes of objects and increase their eye-hand coordination.

Powerful features give advanced users sufficient creative control to produce significant art. Practical applications include creating striking 3D-like bar charts and pie diagrams, and doing serious graphic design. Engineers might use the light pen to develop block/flow diagrams, theatrical set designers to create scenery, landscapers to plot the layout of a garden... the possibilities are virtually limitless.

In the next few pages, you’ll learn how easy it is to set up and start your work or play. If you wish, experiment on your own with the light pen as you follow along.