The SuperNote lets me draw with black, dark gray (0x9d), gray (0xc9), or white. I wanted to make it easy to recolor them, since a little splash of colour makes sketches more fun and also makes them easier to pick out from thumbnails. Here's the Python script I wrote:

Download recolor.py

#!/usr/bin/python3
# Recolor PNGs
#
# (c) 2022 Sacha Chua (sacha@sachachua.com) - MIT License
#
# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
# obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files
# (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
# including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
# publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
# and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
# subject to the following conditions:

# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
# included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
# EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
# MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
# NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
# BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN
# ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
# CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
# SOFTWARE.

import numpy as np
import os
import csv
import argparse
from PIL import Image

DARK_GRAY = 0x9d
GRAY = 0xc9
HEADER_GRAY = 0xca
WHITE = 0xfe

color_dict = {}

def color_to_tuple(color_dict, s):
    if s in color_dict:
        s = color_dict[s]
    s = s.lstrip('#')
    if (s == '.'):
        return (None, None, None)
    elif (len(s) == 2):
        return (int(s, 16), int(s, 16), int(s, 16))
    else:
        return tuple(int(s[i:i + 2], 16) for i in (0, 2, 4))

def load_color_dict(filename):
    dict = {}
    with open(os.path.expanduser(filename), newline='') as csvfile:
        reader = csv.reader(csvfile, delimiter=',', quotechar='"')
        for row in reader:
            dict[row[0]] = row[1]
    return dict

def remove_grid(input):
    if isinstance(input, str):
        im = Image.open(input).convert('RGB')
    else:
        im = input
    data = np.array(im)
    freq = get_colors_by_freq(input)
    print(freq)
    return Image.fromarray(data)

def map_colors(input, color_map):
    if isinstance(input, str):
        im = Image.open(input).convert('RGB')
    else:
        im = input
    data = np.array(im)
    red, green, blue = data[:, :, 0], data[:, :, 1], data[:, :, 2]
    for from_c, to_c in color_map.items():
        from_r, from_g, from_b = color_to_tuple(color_dict, from_c)
        to_r, to_g, to_b = color_to_tuple(color_dict, to_c)
        mask = (red == from_r) & (green == from_g) & (blue == from_b)
        data[:, :, :3][mask] = [to_r, to_g, to_b]
    return Image.fromarray(data)

def set_colors_by_freq(input, color_list):
    if isinstance(input, str):
        im = Image.open(input).convert('RGB')
    else:
        im = input
    data = np.array(im)
    red, green, blue = data[:, :, 0], data[:, :, 1], data[:, :, 2]
    sorted_colors = get_colors_by_freq(input)
    freq = iter(color_list.split(','))
    for i, f in enumerate(freq):
        if f != '.':
            to_r, to_g, to_b = color_to_tuple(color_dict, f)
            by_freq = sorted_colors[i][1]
            if isinstance(by_freq, np.uint8):
                mask = (red == by_freq) & (green == by_freq) & (blue == by_freq)
            else:
                mask = (red == by_freq[0]) & (green == by_freq[1]) & (blue == by_freq[2])
            data[:, :, :3][mask] = [to_r, to_b, to_g]
    return Image.fromarray(data)

def color_string_to_map(s):
    color_map = {}
    colors = iter(args.colors.split(','))
    for from_c in colors:
        to_c = next(colors)
        color_map[from_c] = to_c
    return color_map

def get_colors_by_freq(input):
    if isinstance(input, str):
        im = Image.open(input).convert('RGB')
    else:
        im = input
    colors = im.getcolors(im.size[0] * im.size[1])
    return sorted(colors, key=lambda x: x[0], reverse=True)


def print_colors(input):
    sorted_colors = get_colors_by_freq(input)
    for x in sorted_colors:
        if x[0] > 10:
            if isinstance(x[1], np.uint8):
                print('%02x %d' % (x[1], x[0]))
            else:
                print(''.join(['%02x' % c for c in x[1]]) + ' %d' % x[0])


def process_file(input):
    print(input)
    if args.preview:
        output = None
    else:
        output = args.output if args.output else input
        if os.path.isdir(output):
            output = os.path.join(output, os.path.basename(input))
    im = Image.open(input).convert('RGB')
    if args.colors:
        im = map_colors(im, color_string_to_map(args.colors))
    elif args.freq:
        im = set_colors_by_freq(im, args.freq)
    else:
        print_colors(im)
        exit(0)
    if args.preview:
        im.thumbnail((700, 700))
        im.show()
    elif output:
        im.save(output)


if __name__ == '__main__':
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description='Recolor a PNG.',
        formatter_class=argparse.RawTextHelpFormatter,
        epilog="If neither --colors nor --freq are specified, "
        + "display the most frequent colours in the image.")
    parser.add_argument('--colors', help="""Comma-separated list of RGB hex values in the form of old,new,old,new
    Examples:
    9d,ffaaaa,c9,ffd2d2 - reddish
    c9,ffea96 - yellow highlighter
    c9,d2d2ff - light blue
    """)
    parser.add_argument('--freq', help="Color replacements in order of descending frequency (ex: .,ffea96). .: use original color")
    parser.add_argument('--csv', help="CSV of color names to use in the form of colorname,hex")
    parser.add_argument('--preview', help="Preview only", action='store_const', const=True)
    parser.add_argument('input', nargs="+", help="Input file")
    parser.add_argument('--output', help="Output file. If not specified, overwrite input file.")

    args = parser.parse_args()
    color_dict = load_color_dict(args.csv) if args.csv else {}
    for input in args.input:
        process_file(os.path.join(os.getcwd(), input))

I don't think in hex colours, so I added a way to refer to colours by names. I converted this list of Copic CSS colours to a CSV by copying the text, pasting it into a file, and doing a little replacement. It's not complete, but I can copy selected colours from this longer list. I can also add my own. The CSV looks a little like this:

lightgreen,cfe8d3
lightyellow,f6f396
lightblue,b3e3f1
y02,f6f396
w2,ddddd5
b02,b3e3f1
...

It doesn't do any fuzzing or clustering of similar colours, so it won't work well on antialiased images. For the simple sketches I make with the SuperNote, though, it seems to work well enough.

I can preview my changes with something like ./recolor.py ~/sketches/"2022-08-02-01 Playing with my drawing workflow #supernote #drawing #workflow #sketching #kaizen.png" --csv colors.csv --freq .,lightyellow --preview , and then I can take the --preview flag off to overwrite the PNG.

Here's what the output looks like:

I've had my SuperNote A5X for a month now, and I really like it.

I put my visual book notes and visual library notes into a Dropbox shared folder so that you can check them out if you have a Supernote. If you don't have a Supernote, you can find my visual book notes at sketches.sachachua.com. Enjoy!

W- was happy with his SuperNote A5X, so I ordered one for myself on July 18. The company was still doing pre-orders because of the lockdowns in China, but it shipped out on July 20 and arrived on July 25, which was pretty fast.

I noticed that the org-epub export makes verse blocks look double-spaced on the SuperNote, probably because <br> tags are getting extra spacing. I couldn't figure out how to fix it with CSS, so I've been hacking around it by exporting it as a different class without the <br> tags and just using { white-space: pre }. I also ended up redoing the templates I made in Inkscape, since the gray I used was too light to see on the SuperNote.

It was very tempting to dive into the rabbithole of interesting layouts on /r/supernote and various journaling resources, but I still don't have much time, so there's no point in getting all fancy about to-do lists or trackers at the moment. I wanted to focus on just a couple of things: untangling my thoughts and sketching. Sketchnoting books would be a nice bonus (and I actually managed to do one on paper during a recent playdate), but that can also wait until I have more focused time.

I've had the A5X for five days and I really like it. Writing with the Lamy pen feels like less work than writing with a pencil or regular pen. It's smooth but not rubbery. I've still been drawing in landscape form because that feels a little handier for reviewing on my tablet or writing about on my blog, but I should probably experiment with portrait form at some point.

So far, I've:

sketched out my thoughts

I used to use folded-over 8x14" to sketch out two thoughts, but scanning them was a bit of a pain. Sometimes I used the backs of our writing practice sheets in order to reduce paper waste, but then scanning wasn't always as clean. I really like using the SuperNote to sketch out thoughts like this one. It's neat, and I can get the note into my archive pretty easily.

sketched stuff from life

This is easier if I take a quick reference picture on my phone. I could probably even figure out some kind of workflow for making that available as a template for tracing.

received many kiddo drawings

A- loves being able to use the eraser and lasso to modify her drawings. Novelty's probably another key attraction, too. She's made quite a few drawings for me, even experimenting with drawing faces from the side like the way she's been seeing me practice doing.

received many kiddo requests

A- likes to ask me to draw things. She enjoys tracing over them in another layer. More drawing practice for both of us!

used it to help A- practise coding, etc.

A- wanted to do some coding puzzles with her favourite characters. I enjoyed being able to quickly sketch it up, drawing large versions and then scaling down as needed.

played a game of chess

I drew chess pieces just to see if I could, and we ended up using those to play chess. I should share these and maybe add other games as well.

referred to EPUBs and PDFs

I put our favourite songs and poems on it. I've also started using org-chef to keep a cookbook.

doodled sketch elements

boxes, borders, little icons, people… Probably should organize these and share them too.

I've figured out how to publish sketches by using my phone to rotate them and sync them with my online sketches. Now I'm playing around with my writing workflow to see if I can easily post them to my blog. At some point, I think I'll experiment with using my phone to record and automatically transcribe some commentary, which I can pull into the blog post via some other Emacs Lisp code I've written. Whee!

A- wants to be with me almost all the time. This can be challenging.

A multiple-choice question is easier than a fill-in-the-blank one, especially when it comes to "What do we do now?" A- seems less grumpy throughout the day when she can go from one activity to another of her choosing. I like letting her take the lead. I also like not having to come up with stuff. During bedtime, I sketched this menu:

A- wants to learn cursive, probably because it's extra-fancy and the sort of thing Elizabeth Bennet would have done. There's some support for teaching cursive in kindergarten, so it's not totally crazy. It's a good opportunity for me to improve my lettering skills, too. She usually likes it when we do the same thing at the same time, so working on letters together is a good way to nudge her to practise fine motor skills. We did a brush lettering worksheet for "Aa" from Amy Latta Creations. This one is my worksheet.

I've got lots to learn about controlling a brush pen. Doing lots of drills will probably help me get my up-strokes to be as thin as the samples.

A- often asks me to connect my letters. I think I'll make our own worksheets so that she can connect letters too.

At bedtime, I drew in my sketchbook while she read independently. When she noticed what I was doing, she said she liked the 3D letters and encouraged me to do more. She pointed to blank spaces on the page and suggested things to add.

Not that different compared to my lettering experiments from 2013:

But hey, I'm learning stuff!

A- loves being read to. She picks up new words and ideas from the books we read, requests both favourites and new books again and again, and can identify objects in photographs and drawings. I borrowed a few children's books from the library in case reading about upcoming changes or challenges helps her understand. The books were okay, but didn't quite fit the words we use or the way we like to handle things. So this week, I decided to make my own books for A-, especially since there are few books that cover things like microphthalmia.

The first book I made was about night weaning, since we might have to do that in preparation for dental surgery under anaesthesia. I sketched it using ZoomNotes on my iPad, exported the SVG, tinkered with it in Inkscape, exported PNGs, combined the PNGs with ImageMagick, and created a 12-page PDF with 7″x8.5″ pages. That let me print the book out on legal-size paper (8.5″x14″), 2 pages per sheet, duplex printing set to flip on the short side, using this page order:
12, 1, 2, 11, 10, 3, 4, 9, 8, 5, 6, 7. I folded each sheet in half. Instead of hand-sewing the binding, I just taped the pages together. And just like that, I had a book that I could page through properly: “No More Nursing, Time to Sleep.”

I read the new book to A-. She asked me to reread it several times. She pointed to the book and said, “A-!” She pointed to the stick figure for me and said, “Mama!” Success!

The next thing I wanted to try was printing in colour. We recently replaced our printer with an HP M277dw colour laser printer that could print duplex, so I was looking forward to giving that a try. I wanted to make a book about the conformer in A-‘s little eye. This time, I drew the pages of the book using layers in Medibang Paint. I drew on the bus home from Riverdale Farm, working around a sleeping A- snuggled in my carrier. I exported each layer as a PNG, used ImageMagick to convert pairs of pages into what I needed to print (page order: 8, 1, 2, 7, 6, 3, 4, 5), combined those into a PDF. I couldn't figure out how to get the HP app to properly scale the document and print in duplex, but printing from Linux worked fine. I quickly had another book in my hands: “My Conformer.”

She's starting to echo phrases from the to books, and it's been only a few days. Wow!

I'm working on a third book now. Time for something fun: “Let's Make a Smoothie,” since she enjoys making and drinking them. She already knows all the words, so this is more about enjoyment. This time, I'm going to make a workflow that lets me draw on two-page spreads. I don't have any wide drawings planned yet, but it could be handy for later. I made an Inkscape template to help me keep margins in mind. I learned how to use Medibang Paint's folders to organize all the layers, and I'm getting the hang of digitally tracing and painting the photos I took.

I'm looking forward to making even more books and refining my workflow along the way. Here are a few things I want to try:

• Flat colour
• Painting
• Programmatically adding text
• Printing photos
• Two-page drawing
• Parametric templates
• Smaller format by cutting
• Programmatically adding photos
• Heavier-weight paper
• Board book replacement
• Printing at Staples or similar
• Print-on-demand book
• Handstitching
• Binding with a cover
• Smaller format by folding and gluing
• Mobile workflow
• Vector drawing

And a few quick ideas for possible next books:

• Potty Time
• Brushing Teeth
• Feelings
• When I Feel Nervous
• When I Feel Sad
• Going to Sleep at the Dentist
• My Life
• My Day
• Going Out
• At Home
• I Can…
• I Can Draw
• Waiting
• Try Again
• Dressing Up
• Alimango sa Dagat
• Leron Leron Sinta