There are loads of great ipad apps for pre-schoolers to have fun with but it's a bit harder to find enjoyable apps to keep tweens and teens entertained. Kids Learn To Draw On The iPad sounded like it would fit the bill perfectly so we were keen to give it a test run.
The app is a very clever idea. It gives kids a great introduction to the basics of sketching, showing you how to break complex drawings down to basic shapes, then building on these simple forms to create a highly detailed and very impressive drawing.
The tutorial gives step-by-step instructions which you can follow, either tracing over the blue outline (which you can then delete, although in the 5 minutes I played on it, I couldn't actually work out how to do this !) or using old fashioned pen and paper next to the ipad to create a real picture that you can put in pride of place on the wall.
The sketch that Sophie tried out was for a cute puppy. It's quite fiddly but I think this is a real case of practice makes perfect and the more you try it out, the better your drawings will look.
I was impressed by the method but it turns out, this is a guide to drawing that has existed (obviously in a different format !) for decades. The app creators explain : "For close to a century, artists of every age and skill level have turned
to Walter Foster for the best instruction. The Kids! Learn to Draw iPad
app brings that same great art instruction to the youngest
generation. More than 90 years ago, Mr. Walter Foster began creating “how to” art
books and proved that anyone can learn to be an artist. Since then,
Walter Foster’s world-class art instruction has helped millions of kids
and adults learn to draw and paint! Their instructional volumes,
guidebooks, and art kits have trained artists of all ages and skill
levels in pencil drawing, pastel, watercolor, oil, acrylic, color
mixing, cartooning, head drawing, figure drawing, landscape painting,
and much more!"
The app's biggest downfall is that you only get the absolute basics. You get two tutorials and beyond that, you need to buy each extra lesson separately. There's a lot of choice - pets, wild animals, cars & trucks, planes & choppers, reptiles, dinosaurs, horses, sea creatures, even Garfield and his friends - but you'll have to shell out 69p per extra lesson, or £2.49 for the Garfield add on. 69p isn't a huge amount but it will soon mount up, if you want to build up a sensible library of things to draw. The good news is, if you want to give it a test run, it's currently free but this is a temporary offer, to celebrate the release of the ipad3 so get in quick before it's too late !
star rating : 3/5
RRP : currently free, in app purchases 69p per extra lesson
for more information : http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/kids!-learn-to-draw-by-walter/id477388213?mt=8
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Oooh this looks perfect for my son
ReplyDeleteHmmm, when I first started reading this I thought perfect, but the add ons, do make it expensive.
ReplyDeleteI haven't got an iPad and wouldn't know from which side to approach it, but it amazes me how quickly our children learn to operate it! I observed my friend's 2 year old playing on it- it is great! I will let them know about this free app.
ReplyDelete