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Spirograph sets
Spirograph sets
I often get requests via email or social media to share the info as to which set I use to create my many and varied spirograph artworks: and to be honest, I keep copy and pasting the same info, so why not just do the same here? Hello! Welcome to my blog about which spirograph tools I use. I don't use Spirograph (the brand) exclusively, and there are a bunch of options out there for you to try, from budget friendly to crazy vintage options. Let's get into it.
So, although the brand Spirograph is not TECHNICALLY the original (many different hypographs have been found throughout history) it is the most famous and the most commercially available: in fact it's so popular that there are knockoff versions of it. You can avoid these by looking for the 'tm' symbol next to the brand name.
Pros and cons: As I say above, the Original Spirograph is commercially available pretty much anywhere: toy shops stock it and Amazon I'm sure has a warehouse full. It's a solid, unshakable brand, and great for beginners/ younger artists. That being said, although a few cool kits have come out (such as the mandala kit) the actual product itself hasn't really changed. Each new version of the Spirograph comes with the same number of cogs/ same sized wheels as the last one, with a little change to the paper provided: for example now it's neon or glitter based. This isn't a bad thing, but for me who occasionally gets sent kits it's just a bit boring and also means I have loads of duplicate sets. Again though, it is a children's toy, and it will always hold a special place in my heart as the kit that started it all.
Planarc have been incredibly generous and sent me a few kits over the years: you can find their latest work on Kickstarter. I love these sets as they are VERY bougie and a really luxurious alternative. Again, however, each new kit seems to be very similar to the last. Not a bad thing, and as they're different to any of my other kits, it's great to have some new exciting shapes involved, but after a while you've run out. BUT their plastic versions are particularly pretty and they keep coming out with bigger and bigger versions and as they're a fairly new company I think some grace needs to be given!
The cyclex is, I will admit, one of my favourites. Admittedly it has all the same issues of the original Spirograph in that it hasn't really changed since it came out, and only one other little one was released a few years ago, but the shapes that it creates are just so beautiful I can't get tired of them. Plus add to that the shapes within the actual toy are very easily recognisable and therefore less likely to cause frustration when you're hoping to make a specific one.
I made friends with a man called Dave on the internet, and he even wrote a blog about the piece I commissioned from him! He made some incredible custom pieces for me that I really love because they're different shapes - the only downside is is that because they're made from wood (plasterboard specifically) the material soaks in any ink from felt tips if you use them, and the wood is prone to bending and also splintering a little. I remedied this by just adding a little layer of varnish. It doesn't look like Dave does a huge amount of work on the spirograph side anymore, but he may be open to custom work or keep an eye on his etsy.
Wild Gears seems to be the gears of choice for the hardcore trochoid fans on reddit and tiktok and I do love the variation of all the different shapes that it comes with: it's made from clear plastic and by a small business in Canada which is awesome: but this does mean it's darned expensive. A standard kit is about £60 plus shipping from Canada makes for a VERY pricey present. Plus, although they're great, the small ones which I was most interested in are rather prone to breaking. Again though, a very good make and lovely to support a small biz.
Now here is a super budget friendly version: the inspiral app! With a free option this can literally cost you nothing, but I upgraded to the pro version (a one time payment) because I use it all the time and it comes with more, far cooler, shapes. You can export the final images as PNGs (so they're transparent) and make as many spirals as you want. As with most apps though, this wonderful thing we call technology does take the magic out of creating a little bit, so I'll never go FULLY digital - but it also works very well for printing out different sizes of the shape you want!
My favourite part about this kit is the customisable aspect of it - you can make many shapes, the only limit is how many kits you can get! I'll admit I've bought a fair few from Vinted and Ebay and I'm currently working on a BIIIIIIIIIG project so we shall see how that pans out, but it really is an excellent kit. Now, downsides are because it was made in the 70s it is rather brittle so prone to breaking, and it's not available to buy except second hand any more. Other than that, it's spot on!
So, those are my tools! I hope you enjoyed the blog and please do follow me to see what I'm doing with Spirograph!
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