When I was a child I have spent a lot of time playing with "Etch a Sketch", a classical game where you can draw sketches on a plastic board turning two wheels.

Recently I realized that not only it can be reproduced in colors with an Arduino on a VGA monitor, but that I already have all the necessary hardware. All I need are few lines of code!

The hardware is indeed the same of my first Instructables: VGA Pong with Arduino Uno.

The only needed components are two potenziometers, two buttons, few resistors and a DSUB15 (VGA) connector. As usual, no supporting IC or special shields!

You can see it running on this video.

I used Arduino IDE 1.6.4. and the VGAx library done by Sandro Maffiodo aka Smaffer and publish on GitHub here. This library allows to use four color with a resolution of 120 x 60 pixels. One button is to clear the screen, the second to choose the color. One wheel moves the cursor horizontally and the other vertically. Sound is available too.

Step 1: How to Build Your Own "Etch a Sketch" With Arduino

First download "Etch a Sketch" code at the bottom of this page and copy it in a directory with the same name. Then download the VGAx libraries written by Smaffer and published on github. Copy them in the Arduino software subfolder named "libraries".
Once you have the code uploaded an an Arduino Uno (I have Rev. 3) without errors, you can start to build your own console. You need:

an Arduino Uno Rev. 3
a DSUB15 Connector, i.e. a VGA female connector or a VGA cable to be cut.
four resistors: 2 x 68 Ohm and 2 x 470 Ohm
two 10 kOhm linear potentiometers (similar values are fine too)
two buttons
other two resistors (from 1 to 2 kOhm are fine)
some piece of cable + breadboard or a strip board
facoltative: a piezo speaker

The schematic is reported at the beginning of this Instructable, together with an overview of the finished consolle and and a very artistic example sketch. The speaker must be connected to analog pin A0.

I placed the Arduino board with the VGA connector in a wood box, which holds also the first player potentiometer and button, while the second potenziometer and button are in a separate box, since this setup was intended for a two players game.

Of course I suggest to place both potenziometers and buttons in the same box, if you want to reproduce this specific toy.

Please, if you do it, do not be shy, put a picture in the comments below.

As usual, Enjoy!