SimmTrace™ The fun Begins

The software will be available for download within a week. For now this document, and the videos, give a good introduction. I look foreward to comments!

SimmTrace™ is here…

 

We are very happy to announce that SimmTrace™ is now available.

This document describes briefly what SimmTrace™ is. For more understanding of this innovative product, please watch this video.

 

This document also describes the unique way we hope it will be produced and marketed

 

SimmTrace™ is a device which helps anybody to draw well. It uses a webcam and software to display on a computer screen a live video of your drawing or painting surface. It utilizes software to control the transparency of the video image, thus you can see your hand and pencil overlaid on a reference photograph on the computer screen. This makes it a simple matter to produce an accurate drawing.

 

A new way for a new age.

 

A new way to market that is. We will be making SimmTrace™ to sell, but also, we hope that many others will want to use the device and make their own. To this end we have decided NOT to apply for patent, but instead just want to keep the name, SimmTrace™ under our control as a trademark. Not every body will want to make their own, but there is likely to be a lot of people who want to use one.

 

If you want to make one for yourself, the software is available free here.

 

Selling SimmTrace™

 

If you are good at making them, and want to start a small business selling SimmTrace™ to others, you can do that too! You can make a profit from this. However, as I have said, I will keep ownership of the name. It’s about maintaining quality and working together to create a brand new way of bringing a product to market. To use the name SimmTrace™ you will need to be an approved maker. That is a simple matter of applying to us for permission, and submitting evidence of the quality of your product. Then to be maintained on the approved makers list, I ask for 5% of the sale price of each unit you sell, but only after you have sold it! Also don’t worry about legalities, there is no contract; let’s trust each other.

 

Some people will say we are crazy to market an innovative new product in this way, but we believe a community of trust can be formed between us decent ordinary folk who want to make it work.

Makers and Users.

So, in our community there will probably be two types of people, the makers and the users. Of course you can be both!

 

The power and responsibility of Users.

 

Users do have the ultimate power! They decide whose product to buy. However I hope that users will support the intent of this project. If you can, as a user, please buy from an approved maker in your own country. At the time of writing this, February 2009, the world’s economic situation is worsening. Job losses are announced daily. It is my hope that some of the makers will be people affected, who are able to earn some extra income from this.

 

 

The responsibility of Makers.

 

Makers who are on the approved makers list must maintain a good quality of product and customer support. I will help in this, as it is in my interest also. In my experience, being treated fairly and in a way you would want to be treated yourself is the simple key to a great user experience.

 

The responsibility of RoyTheArtist

 

That’s me, Roy Simmons, the inventor of  SimmTrace™. I see my responsibility as maintaining the good name of SimmTrace™. Also I will do my utmost to promote the product by blogs and video tutorials on my websites. I will also maintain the approved makers list, and respond to all enquiries and comments as promptly as possible.

 

So that is how I hope this will develop, of course at the time of writing this I don’t know if it will work! Whatever happens, I will still be using SimmTrace™ in my own artistic endeavors; because it is great fun, and it works!!

 

Roy Simmons,    (March 2009)