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Business & Tech

Apps for Drawing

Find your creative spark.

Blue and yellow and red. That’s where it all begins. There’s something about the trees, flowers and grass greening up for the season that calls to me to pick up a crayon, pencil or marker and attempt to create their likeness.

Technology has moved forward from the box of eight Crayola crayons that delighted us in pre–school to offering apps for our SmartPhones and Tablets.  Three that span the basics to a social network are: Crayons 4 Kids, Drawing Pad and Draw Something.

Crayons 4 Kids (copyright by stuartjmoore 2012)

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This app for Apple devices is simplicity itself. It’s just right for the basics. Seven colors are available. You can draw, erase, and clear the screen. If your masterpiece is too appealing to erase, you can save it to your photo library. There you can view or print it. Without ads or integration with Facebook or Twitter, Crayons 4 Kids is a good choice for any age.

Drawing Pad (copyright by Darren Murtha Design 2010)

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Sometimes seven colors just aren’t enough. Then a “mobile art studio” such as Drawing Pad is a good choice. Available for Apple and Android, this app offers an expansive array of crayons, pencils, markers, chalk, brushes, stickers and backgrounds. Just watching the three minute intro video sparked many ideas to nurture creativity. You can save your masterpieces in your Drawing Pad Album, send them via email or share on Facebook or Twitter. Other options are to import your own photographs as backgrounds to use and to save your creation as a desktop. Nice for all ages with more features (and hence more complexity) than Crayons 4 Kids.

Draw Something (copyright by OMGPOP Inc. 2012)

The emphasis with this app is on the social. It’s a guessing game more than creating desktop or refrigerator-worthy drawings. How does it work? You receive a word and draw your representation OR you guess the word from your friend’s drawing. Aren’t interested in the word Draw Something prompts you to create? Tap on the bomb image and receive a new one. You play with your friends or random other people. Hints and coins round out the experience. There are free versions for the Apple and Android, as well as paid.  The free version is limited in features and the number of words available to you. It also has ads to contend with, but it’s a great option to help you decide before you put down money for the paid version. Not for the young ones, but great fun for older teens and above.

That’s a spin through a few drawing apps, which may bring out the Monet or Picasso in you. Let’s not spend too much time with those SmartPhones and Tablets, however. Mother Nature beckons us to go outside and soak in the real thing. What other apps or technologies help you blend drawing and the natural world?

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