Back in the mid-90s I shared an art studio with my old roommate Justin. They were some of my most creative and optimistic years - our art tables across the room facing each other. Anime playing, music blasting, and ideas thrown back and forth on crumpled up pieces of paper.

I now live three time zones away from those days. I miss them. However, while I was sleeping, Skype upgraded their streaming cam technology and now you can easily video chat with anyone else who has an account.

So Justin and I set up our webcams and propped them on shelves so we can see each other working in our studios. We kept the connection active for the last three hours: drawing, pontificating, bullshitting, and drawing.

Every once in a while, "dude, check out this sketch!"

It was great for tossing ideas back and forth, and sharing techniques. And it was insanely easy. I've heard of a few artists here who have related to visiting each other's studios and getting energized in that creative atmosphere.

This kind of socially connecting technology is only going to improve; it's tremendously exciting. Webcomics has allowed us to immediately share our work with a massive audiance. And now Skype has allowed us to share our studios with other artists.

If you use Skype and want to say "hi," my account is, of course, "Fabricari."