Learning to Draw is Fun Review

Learning to Draw is Fun is an interesting app that helps kids learn to draw simple objects, later letting them color in their creations. There are 20 objects to choose from and each one is split into 4 simple steps that kids can easily follow, taking recognizable shapes and turning them into things such as a butterfly, house, or flower.

I can’t draw at all. I have a very good eye behind a camera, but my foundation drawing skills has never surpassed that of an early grade schooler, much to my frustration as well as my son's. He was not more that two when he realized that my bears and dogs all look the same, my people are barely past being stick figures and nothing like what he expected after being exposed to beautiful story books. Sadly, he learned at a very early age that his mom is not perfect and can’t do everything well.

This is a fun app that teaches how to draw very simple drawings in four steps, adding shapes until the drawing is complete. My son still does not have the dexterity to draw representationally, but he did have fun coloring in my creations, tapping to choose a color and then using his finger as a paintbrush to fill in the drawings. It is nice that a variety of line sizes are available to control the size of the marks made while coloring, and white is included which can also be used as an eraser, a nice touch. I also like that there are no right answers here, and kids can add their own creative touches to their drawings that are not part of the original image.

It would also be nice if the 20 drawings one can choose were separated by difficulty, as some are great for beginners and use only the most common of shapes like circles, triangles or squares while other drawings are more advanced in nature and difficult for me to make the way I want them too, although they were fine by my son's standards.

I did have moments where I wish I could erase a specific mistake made in my drawing, wishing I could "undo" a line or two, or "go back" one step, but the only option is to erase the whole drawing at once, overkill when I just want to make a few tweeks.

Please note: there is also an option to print one's work but I have tried this as our iPad is not connected in a way to make this possible. An option to email artwork would a nice addition in a future update, making the printing easier. I do appreciate that final drawing are saved in a gallery to color in later that my son can color in on his own.

We have enjoyed this app, and I was glad that I could follow along, although my finished piece did not look nearly as polished as what I was copying. My scale is many times off and I did not find that I was able to draw as accurately with a finger as I would wish, so circles and other shapes don't close the way I would want them to, but my son was very happy to work on this app with me and told me that "you did a very good job" at these drawings, and I did not get looks of confusion and disappointment the way I have in the past when I have drawn on command, which is a step in the right direction.

I would recommend this to all but the most easily frustrated of children, who may not want to compare their finished product to the original. Having said this, I do think that most preschool and grade school kids will enjoy this app.

If interested, also check out this developer's other apps, as there are some great first "wooden" puzzles that my son has really taken to.