Smart Sketchpad: Using Machine Learning To Provide Contextually Relevant Examples To Artists

Sketching is a way for artists to generate ideas quickly, explore alternatives with less risk, and encourage discussions. How might computational tools amplify the abilities of artists? This paper introduces Smart Sketchpad, a digital sketchpad that uses machine learning to identify what is being sketched. The sketchpad then shows example images, color pallets, and subject information. The goal of Smart Sketchpad is to increase an artist's ability to get ideas down with higher fidelity by making it easier to reference and include existing example works. Our study compares traditional sketching on a phone to Smart Sketchpad. We found that introducing examples during the sketching process leads to higher satisfaction of the sketch by the artist and an external expert.