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Hands-On Impressions Of Nintendo's Art Academy
I've always been a bit of a doodler, so I was more than happy to try my hand at Nintendo's art-instruction title, Art Academy. The title aims to teach novices the fundamentals of sketching, shading, and other art concepts through a series of step-by-step lessons.
Each of the four lessons I took started with a blank page and ended up with something that at least resembled an object. The first of the lessons focused on using pencils, starting with an animated demonstration of how to draw a circle (!!!) and ending with the addition of a stem and a quick shadow. If you didn't know any better, you might think it was an apple or something. Next, I took on color, drawing a basic sunset. The third lesson was a bit more ambitious, starting with a pencil sketch of a tree and then layering color on top to create a nice little landscape. Finally, I tried my hand at a still life, working from a photograph of a pear and trying my best to replicate it. To make it easier, a grid was superimposed over each of the two panes, so I could use each block as a reference point.
As I worked through each step, selecting between pencils and brushes, thickness and color, my tutor Vince offered insight and encouragement. If you've never taken an art class before, his discussions on the basics are probably quite interesting on their own. Even though I was aware of those concepts, the presentation--full of silly cartoons and lots of illustrations--was interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout.
I had a lot of fun with Art Academy overall. The DS touchscreen is perfect for this kind of application, even though the lack of any touch-sensitivity is a drag (paint will peter out when strokes are long enough, but if you want to directly control your flow by using pressure, you're out of luck). If you're interested in visual arts and want to learn more without the commitment of enrolling in a class, Art Academy could at least temporarily tide you over.
Look for it on the DS this October.
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