Art Academy

Art Academy is an interactive tutorial focused on drawing and painting. On the surface, this might sound pretty bland, but in practice, it works pretty well. The game offers lessons that teach some basic concepts of both drawing and painting, culminating in tutorials in composing larger scale paintings themselves.

The neat thing about this “classroom” is that it offers fundamental information (the differences in pencil weights, lessons about color, and the like) and then allows the player to apply them immediately, offering models and practice at the same time. The stylus is, of course, a useful tool in this regard, and the game does a surprisingly good job in simulating the “feel” of differing media as you change up the tools that you are using (using various the aforementioned differing weights of pencils for example).

If you know a kid who has an interest in art (or a bigger kid who might have missed the chance to take an art class in high school), this toy and toolset is likely to be a big hit, as you get to play around with the media without getting your hands dirty and without the cost of all of those art supplies.