Making Whiteboards: Now You Can Too!
I’ve been working hard to get this ready for release, and I am thrilled to announce, my YoVille drawing program, AutoDraw, is available for download!
Here it is in action:
As I have said before, the process of putting an image onto a whiteboard has two distinct parts: First, to transform an image into a set of pen strokes, and second, to apply those pen strokes to a whiteboard. The first part requires mathematical image processing, and the second part requires programming the mouse to move and click.
The way the system is organized, the website lightningjamie.com does the first part, transforming the image into pen strokes, while the AutoDraw executable does the second part, clicking and moving. AutoDraw simply downloads the pen strokes from lightningjamie.com and moves the mouse as instructed.
For the user, it means that you can get a simulated preview of what it will look like after it’s been drawn.
The “tethered” architecture also means that there is a much smaller chance of the program being hacked, and illicit porn factories appearing and ruining it for everyone.
Zynga could probably shut this down pretty easily if they wanted, but I am guessing they won’t, because this automation is benign, and I might even say beneficial to their business. But if it’s used to scam a lot of people, or if it’s used for porn, then it may attract Zynga’s attention and that will be the end of it.
My hope is that the system I’ve built can reduce scams, because people can inexpensively make whiteboards for themselves, instead of taking a gamble with a dealer. That’s part of the reason for expiring keys. If keys can be used to make infinitely many copies of an image, then they are too valuable, and only the serious art dealers will want them. An expiring key can be priced much lower.
So what are you waiting for? Go download it and try it out!
Whiteboard Art | Lightning Jamie | 
June 14, 2010 5:31 am
28 Comments
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By bernadette, June 15, 2010 @ 6:22 am
hi there
i am really interested in this process ..i have been on yoville now for nearly a year and love it !! i would love to be able to do this art on my whiteboards ..i downloaded your program but it said error starting program ..so couldn’t try it ..i even went into an empty room ..still wont work ..i know florin on yoville ..do you know him ?? he is part of elfano ? talk soon …ber
By Lightning Jamie, June 15, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
I have heard a few reports of people having trouble with this. Which browser are you using? The different browsers and the different versions of windows makes it hard to test all combinations. I want to fix it but in the mean time you could try a different browser as a workaround.
By bernadette, June 16, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
i am using internet explorer 8 ..i think …lol ..thanks
By amber, June 16, 2010 @ 7:18 pm
hey, nice tool. i made 2 elvis ones but how can i use a different pic? thanks
By Lightning Jamie, June 16, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
You can make a custom pic by uploading your pic and getting a key for it.
By bernadette, June 17, 2010 @ 3:57 am
hi again ..yay i got it to work !! how do i do a custom pic ..do i email it to you ??? cant wait to hear from you
By kat, June 17, 2010 @ 3:49 pm
It worked really well for me, except i picked one darker image and my whiteboard came out completely blank. Not sure if that was because of the pic I chose or if it was something I might have done.
By anonymous, June 17, 2010 @ 4:15 pm
This works well, but sometimes the loading thing gets stuck on my thing and i dont quite understand how to do a custom pic only the elvis one. How do i get a “key” for my pics? Please help. xx
By angel, June 17, 2010 @ 6:04 pm
It worked great but i messed up the first one i did to graining lookiing and has lines on pic.
Is there away to fix it or just erase but then the key is gone right jamie u are the bomb and beyond measures of intelligents. Could i get afew more vouchers plz if not i understand but this is so much fun when u sit home all day and no one to talk to buy yovillians lol thank you very much
By Lightning Jamie, June 17, 2010 @ 8:58 pm
Bronze keys can actually be used twice, in case it messes up. And if you stop it before halfway, it won’t use up an attempt. So you might be able to try again.
By bernadette, June 18, 2010 @ 7:30 am
can you email me a bronze plz so i can try it ..thanks ..best wishes ber
By Trey, June 18, 2010 @ 11:54 pm
hey jamie umm how do i do more images not demo how do i do my own it would help out alot thanks
By omar, June 19, 2010 @ 2:12 pm
plzz i need codes
By bob, June 20, 2010 @ 12:15 am
i downloaded it but i dont get how to work it to do a custom pic
By carlos, June 21, 2010 @ 3:51 pm
amigo sabes que e descargado elprograma y me salio todo perfector pero quiero saber como colocar nuevas imagenes cuando voy al paso 4 me dice q tengo que compras uans cosa con dolares eso lo tengo que comprar par aobtener los digitos o expliquenme
By carlos, June 21, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
no mira lo que quiero saber ya tengoel programa ya descargue la imagen esa de elvis preslei y me sali o perfecta lo que quiero saber como obtengo los digitos para otras imagenes lso digitos los tengo que comprar o se pueden obtener gratis porfa responde
By Lightning Jamie, June 22, 2010 @ 3:50 am
Right now I’m not offering keys or vouchers for free, and Elvis is the only free demo picture. Keys for custom images must be purchased. Soon I will have a catalog of pictures to choose from but these will not be free either.
By bernadette, June 22, 2010 @ 11:17 am
can i have a free voucher plz ?
By Michael, June 23, 2010 @ 12:04 am
Can I make a photo on the wb I edited
By brittany, June 24, 2010 @ 12:41 pm
if i save a picture from the internet and save it to my pictures can i get the wb to draw it?
By Lightning Jamie, June 25, 2010 @ 6:38 pm
Yes, you have to upload your picture from your computer to this website and pay a small fee for it.
By De'Troy, June 26, 2010 @ 1:35 am
I’m happy but mad.My friend had me pay to get this.Then when i get itmy f2 key is different from theirs.I have a newier dell model.My computer’s f2 turn off or on my internet.Can you please help me.
By Lightning Jamie, June 26, 2010 @ 4:12 am
You can also press Alt-Shift-2 to begin drawing. Sorry it’s not in the documentation just yet.
By Ronaldo7, June 26, 2010 @ 4:55 pm
Hi Do You have Any Other keys Or How Do You get Keys To You Do A Diff Pic Instaed Of Elvis
By Lightning Jamie, June 27, 2010 @ 9:13 am
You may upload a picture to make a custom whiteboard for a fee. In the near future there will also be a catalog of images to choose from. This will also cost money.
By SLCx3 BlK DiAmOnD, June 29, 2010 @ 1:29 pm
hey jamie i saw u mentioned elfano.com…… i have used to in the past but i triedit a second time and it said i had to pay a fee of $10 for unlimited pics from there website. Do u know if its a scam??? plz write back ty
By Lightning Jamie, June 29, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
I know the folks behind elfano.com and I know it is not a scam. It’s safe to buy the full library of pics for $10. I know it asks for a ‘donation’ rather than making a purchase but that’s just because he has to send out the licenses manually.
By Alex, July 27, 2010 @ 11:11 am
i think you should make a catalog or make it where we could pick our own pictures please :)lol i want a kid cudi one