Artistic PCB Design for Terrified Beginners

You will learn how to design a circuit board (PCB) that looks like a piece of art. Pictured is a board in the shape of a cat. The cat’s eyes light up with LEDs. You can bring your own photo or drawing and turn it into a PCB. No prior knowledge in electronics is necessary. This workshop is for everybody!

FEE: 100 HKD to cover venue rental and tutor (payable on the day)

NOTE: Kids are welcome, but need to be supervised by a parent or guardian.

DETAILS BY KLIMENT, THE TUTOR:

This is “Artistic PCB Design for Terrified Beginners.” I'll show you how to go from graphical art (drawing, sketch, photo) to a PCB layout that looks somewhat like it. It's meant for people who are on one side of the art/electronics divide and would like a bridge to the other one. We will start with a drawing and a schematic, and end up with a set of files that can be sent to a PCB factory for manufacture. The schematic will be a simple Shitty Add-On (SAO) compatible with various event badges you may have. No prior knowledge is needed.

Prerequisites:

1. Working installation of: Kicad 5.1.7, Krita, Inkscape

2. A picture, photo, or drawing you want to turn into a PCB (optional, you can also use the materials I use in my examples)

The workshop will start with a video introduction (about 1 hour) and then we'll spend about two hours making boards – you will each make a board design, and I will help you when you get stuck. In the end, you will have a board you can send to a PCB manufacturer for production.

About me: I'm Kliment. I've been teaching people to not be afraid of surface mount electronics prototyping for several years at various events in Europe in workshops titled “Surface Mount Electronics Assembly for Terrified Beginners.” I do electronics design and prototyping for a living. I do electronics design and prototyping for fun. I like cats.