Go-Go Gadget! Useful Art Tools

Like the retro cartoon character Inspector Gadget, are you fond of doodads and gizmos, gadgets, and handy tools that make creating your art easier? Do you have a collection of tools of the trade and are you continually seeking new and improved ways to create your pieces? We admit we love and have probably as many tools as the iconic Inspector himself.

As artists and creators, we think we all love our art gadgets, most especially when it comes to gadgets that make plein air painting more accessible than ever. If you're a beginner artist or new to the term, plein air painting means leaving the four walls of our studios or home behind us and painting, drawing, and creating outside, sometimes capturing the landscapes and world around us. The practice is centuries old and was made into an art form thanks to French Impressionist painters.

However, carrying everything you need for plein air painting can be quite challenging without the fantastic art gadgets that have been created to make this a less difficult experience. When it comes to our favorite gadgets, one of the products we love the most are tools that help us find the perfect view.

That got us thinking: why don't we test a few of the most popular art gadgets for their usefulness? So, we gathered our top plein air painting tools and rated them on a scale numbered 1 through 10 to represent the number of uses and usefulness of each tool. Here's what we thought about each!

Guerilla Painter Composition Finder

At the very top of our gadget list is the one product we absolutely fell in love with and placed highest on our gadget scale is the Guerilla Painter Composition Finder. While we liked all the rest below, as they all were helpful, the Guerilla Painter is the one gadget that topped the rest by providing almost everything in one easy-to-carry, lightweight tool and is an astounding $4.69.

The Guerilla painter comes with an adjustable viewfinder using the rule of thirds and provides marks to help you plot your scene using the grid method. Next, it has an excellent value scale that, while small, is still present and valuable for comparison. Along with the value scale, it also comes with a visual chart of color compliments that can help you neutralize and tone your color mixes and schemes.

Flip the Guerilla Painter over, and on the back, you'll find a standard ruler, a metric ruler, and an explanation of the Golden Section and the Fibonacci Spiral; as a bonus, you can use the composition finder as a perfect thumbnail creator by tracing around it.

7/10 - We gave the Guerilla Painter Composition Finder a whopping 7 out of 10.

QuicKomp Tool

Measuring 6-34" by 8", the QuicKomp tool is made of durable plastic with both gridlines, clear plastic, and a thick colored frame. Each aspect creates a composition tool that allows you to plot your subject matter onto paper. The QuicKomp device comes with handy ticks along the sign for easy paper alignment and will enable you to mark your paper to create a 4" x 5" area to sketch out your composition using the grid method. At roughly $10, this is an affordable and lightweight composition tool easy to carry with you.

3/10 - Given this handy tool has three great uses, we rated it 3 out of 10.

Don Rankin's Magic Value and View Finder

This next gadget will have the same benefits as these other tools. However, Don Rankin's Magic Value and View Finder is made from thick cardboard that has been precision die cut. Don Rankin's device features a complete value scale with open holes within the value scale for easy comparison. This art gadget also comes with a typical open viewfinder window for framing the ideal scene for drawing or painting. In addition to the viewfinder, it also comes with a red neutralizing panel that can be used alone or placed on the tool for further ease of value finding. By far, when it comes to budget-friendly, value tools, we found Don Rankin's Magic Value and viewfinder one of the best affordable tools yet.

4/10 - It's a great addition to Plein air painting, and we gave it a 4 out of 10.

Zoomfinder

Any tool that can help you find the perfect view or scene to create when painting outside on location is good. The Zoomfinder is a unique gadget with its own U.S. patent. While the Zoomfinder appears highly technical at first glance, it's really just two sliding panels that are used to reduce or increase the size of either a rectangle or square format for finding a view.

Along with making it an excellent Plein air painting tool, the Zoomfinder can also be used with photos to zoom in on the subject. The Zoomfinder can also be used to trace perfect thumbnail formats directly onto the paper. The Zoomfinder is a bit more expensive, ranging around $12.

2/10 - Since its offers fewer functions, we rate this one at about 2 out of 10.

ViewCatcher

Compared to all other Plein air gadgets, the ViewCatcher is the simplest. This tool is created from heavy plastic, is a square with a sliding window, and offers just a viewfinder for creating your composition. You can make different rectangles or squares, and there is a tiny hole to help narrow down values.

1/10 - We feel this one is still just a basic viewfinder and thus rate it only a 1 out of 10.

So, on the GoGo Gadget Scale of Usefulness, the Guerilla Painter Composition Finder scores the highest! But it really is all about finding productive ways to do whatever makes art fun for you. Whether you are painting, or drawing, or creating, it comes down to reducing the work to increase the play! With all of these great gadgets, you should be able to find more time for painting!