I live in Luang Prabang, Laos. It's not exactly the third world, but when looking for technology it can feel like it is. I haven't seen a stylus here in years. I used to work at a five-star hotel and that was the only place I could find them, but everyone stole them from me. I'm trying to do digital art, but I just can't do it on Photoshop with my mouse or on the equivalent programs on Linux using my computer. I lost my iPad a few years ago so I can't use the wonderful art program of Procreate either. So I decided to do a DIY project and make my own stylus.
Required Materials:
ballpoint pen 🖊️
tape
scissors ✂️
knife 🔪 (maybe)
super glue (maybe)
aluminum foil
q-tip
I used a brand new pen, but I would suggest using an old one that has run out of ink so you don't make a mess like I did and waste a perfectly good pen.
The q-tip needs to be a little bit damp. You can use your tongue or a little bit of water. I touched the metal part of the pen tip and tested it with my phone and it worked fine.
I used a knife to cut the rubber grip off because I wanted to keep that part of the pen for a good grip. My knife works as a money clip and it is very sharp so whenever I buy a bottle of water and drink it until it's almost finished, I'll cut most of the top off leaving a little bit of water for my dog to drink when we go on walks. No one has ever tried to jump me or steal my money, but if they do, I will take the money and throw it at them and pull out the knife. This ain't Texas. I'm a foreigner living in a different country. I can't hurt anybody in self-defense even if they were a criminal, but they don't know I know that and that I'm actually peaceful.
You can also discard the ink part of the pen completely and superglue the q-tip to the metal part of the pen tip. I didn't do that since I lacked any super glue. It will work this way too because the electricity from your hand will flow from the metal just the same way.
Since this was my first time ever making a stylus I made a few mistakes and a bit of a mess. The biggest mistake I made was using too much tape and not being able to reassemble the pen.
The final step is to wrap the pen in aluminum foil. You can use a little bit or you can use a lot it doesn't matter. You can leave it a little bit exposed to make contact with your fingers or you can cover it completely with tape. It will work both ways.
I hope you enjoyed this DIY stylus project. I dare you to make a better one! If you want to copy this post and its pictures to post it in your own language, you have my permission, but you should take your own pictures anyways because this was easy and only took about five minutes. I'm having fun using it to make some @Splinterlands art on Sketchbook on Android for their weekly contest now. Have a good day and enjoy your new stylus!
