The developer reached out to me about this app, suggesting it as one that Sal might enjoy – and he was right. The developer was kind to provide a promo code for us to try it out and provide a review. Sal’s been wanting to learn how to draw. He’s been interested in some of the step by step books, but this format on the iPad offers a lot more in easy backtracking, color selection, corrections, and more. The problem we ended up having with some of the step by step books was that Sal would make a mistake, then get quite frustrated when he couldn’t completely erase the previous markings. We tried coaching him to draw with a lighter hand but inevitably he’d make a marking that was to heavy and the frustration would mount.
We introduced Sal to this app yesterday. We don’t really do much in terms of guidance, just let him navigate and see what he can figure out. Since he was a fan of the Drawing Pad app, he had some clues on what to look for in his tool sets. Each drawing takes you through step by step with a visual and an explanation underneath. Some of the instructions let the budding artist figure out the steps needed by just guiding them to notice what areas have been erased. I think even for a non-reader it would be pretty easy for a kid to follow along. Sal took to this app like a duck to water, surprising me how picky he’d get when he was modifying the colors. It was his first introduction to a full color spectrum of choices.
The controls were not always intuitive to pick up in how to get in and exit, but after a few tries Sal was humming along on his drawings. He has some struggles with getting things proportional, so it’d be cool if they had the grid view for the example as well as the drawing area. Also, Sal was a bit disappointed that the drawing area did not go all the way to the margins as it seemed it should. I didn’t see Sal try out the zoom features, but this is also a great way to get those small details in on the drawing, maybe I’ll show him tonight.
First thing this morning, Sal wanted to draw on this app, continuing his excitement from last night. He’s been eager to try new drawings and I have a feeling we’ll be buying add ons for additional lessons once he’s completed these. Thanks Doug for the recommendation – the 1-2-3 Draw app has been a winner in this household.
Cost: $3.99
Thank you for sharing this with us! I’m a fan of family-friendly apps that help my kids, and me as well. By the way, if it’s alright, I’d like to recommend one of my current favorite apps, Intuition. Tagged as mom’s personal assistant, it’s a task management app that has many features designed to help us moms. It’s really easy to use and it looks cute, too. Plus, it’s free! You can check it out on http://www.iconapps.com/product.htm