SAN RAFAEL, Calif. & NEW YORK, Jan 12, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

O, The Oprah Magazine has collaborated with Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) to release the SketchBook O App for iPad, an innovative painting and drawing app created specifically for O readers. Based on one of Oprah Winfrey's favorite apps, SketchBook O for iPad is a free app that launches in conjunction with the magazine's February "Creativity" issue.

SketchBook O is at the heart of the magazine's first Creativity Challenge. Writer and filmmaker Miranda July developed five fanciful "prompts" for the issue, designed to spark imagination. All of the exercises are designed to be documented, with the option to send completed works to oprah.com for an opportunity to be shared in a Creativity gallery. For the assignment, "Draw Their Hair," readers are invited to use SketchBook O to create a digital drawing on an iPad. Users can export the drawings to their photo library or send them directly to oprah.com/creativity. The assignment is elegant in its simplicity: think of the people who affected you in the past year, whether they enraged you, made you feel lustful, brought out your tenderness, etc., use the app to draw their hair, and caption the result with the feeling elicited by the person.

"This is a truly innovative way for O, The Oprah Magazine readers to share their creative passion through the iPad," said Samir Hanna, vice president of the Autodesk Consumer Products Group. "Digital painting and drawing is within everyone's reach, and we're excited to help unlock the artistic potential of O Magazine readers."

"SketchBook's easy-to-use apps make everyone feel like Leonardo DaVinci - all it takes is a little imagination and the right inspiration," said Michelle Shih, O's director of digital editions and lifestyle. "We worked with Autodesk to develop SketchBook O and launched the Creativity Challenge to encourage our readers to tap into their inner artists. The results are sure to be unique and evocative."

The SketchBook O App and 'Send it to O' feature will be live for the duration of the Creativity Challenge, from January 12 to March 11, 2011. Individuals can also use the app to create a variety of their own sketches and save them to a personal photo library that will live on beyond the Creativity Challenge, and users may choose to update their app to Autodesk SketchBook Pro Express for iPad after March 11. The SketchBook O app is free, although free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies download of the software.

SketchBook O is available from the App store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

About O, The Oprah Magazine

O, The Oprah Magazine (www.oprah.com) encourages confident, intelligent women to reach for their dreams, express their individual style and make choices, guided by the values of one of the most charismatic women in the world, O Editorial Director Oprah Winfrey. With an emphasis on personal growth, the magazine inspires, addressing every aspect of a woman's life--the material, the intellectual and the emotional -- and deeply connects with more than 15 million readers every month (MRI, Spring 2010). O, The Oprah Magazine, which also publishes a South African edition, is a co-venture between Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com), and Harpo Print, LLC. Hearst Magazines is one of the nation's largest diversified communications companies with interests in magazines, newspapers, digital media, business media and television. As one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, Hearst Magazines publishes nearly 200 editions around the world, including 14 U.S. titles and 20 magazines in the United Kingdom, published through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited. Hearst Magazines is a leading publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S. in terms of total circulation (ABC, Dec. 2009) and reaches 73 million adults (MRI, Spring 2010).

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries -- including the last 15 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD and SketchBook are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2011 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: Autodesk, Inc.

Autodesk, Inc.
Alexandra Carlin, 212-649-2573
acarlin@hearst.com
or
Clay Helm, 415-547-2425
clay.helm@autodesk.com