Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Outstanding painting software can make anyone an artist.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone
What's It About?
ART ACADEMY: LESSONS FOR EVERYONE is the follow-up to Art Academy, a hit DS art instruction experience. Referring to these pieces of software as "games" doesn't really make sense; they're more like interactive painting and drawing tutorials. Kids' only objective is to follow the directions of a helpful instructor who provides guidance and demonstrations in the creation of realistic still-life renderings of everyday objects like fruits, flowers, fabric, pitchers, and people. He provides a wealth of information regarding techniques as well as little factoids about the history of art and famous artists from years past. Kids can save and mount their works for display in a virtual 3D gallery, then share them with friends.
Is It Any Good?
Interactive art instruction on a mobile device has rarely been so helpful, informative, or engaging. With nearly 20 lessons -- many of which will take ambitious artists an hour or more to complete -- it's almost like taking a real course in painting and drawing. The reward comes when, after working through most of the lessons and freely playing about on your own canvas, you put on your own art show and wander around the gallery from room to room admiring framed works that you created from scratch.
Just remember that while the techniques Art Academy espouses can be transferred to the real world, tasks like blending and color mixing can be a lot trickier when working with real materials. That said, you'll still learn a lot, create some great looking digital art, and have plenty of fun in the process.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about art appreciation. What kind of art appeals to you? Do you prefer photo-realistic renderings, or more abstract creations? Do you think one's artistic ability should affect their interest in art?
Families can also discuss the process of creation. How does the act of creating a work of art make you feel? Are you a perfectionist? How do you know when you're finished?
Game Details
- Platform : Nintendo 3DS
- Subjects : Arts : drawing , painting
- Skills : Creativity : imagination , making new creations , producing new content
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Nintendo
- Release date : October 7, 2012
- Genre : Art
- Topics : Arts
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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