Digital art for 9 year old
April 29, 2017 4:59 AM Subscribe
Hi - my nine year old daughter has autism and her motor skills are not great. However she has been producing some beautiful art recently, particularly on her teacher's iPad. So I would like to look into digital art for her. Can anyone recommend some hardware/software that would be appropriate? Ideally something very easy with lots of flexibility. Thanks!
My experience is exclusively on the iPad, although I've heard good things about drawing on the Microsoft Surface, too. For the iPad, I think Tayasui Sketches might be your simple-yet-versatile best bet. The tools look their real-life equivalents, the interface is pretty intuitive, and there are Pro features that you can pay a little bit for if the free version seems promising but limited. Sketches works with most styluses (stylii?), but is also fun to use with just your finger.
posted by D.Billy at 6:42 AM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by D.Billy at 6:42 AM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Depending on your budget something like a factory refurbished Surface could work very well for this. There are a bunch of different applications for art that interact with the included stylus that also let you draw directly with fingers or use other styluses that have been modified to help your kid hold them more steadily. One such app is Sketchable which I believe is free? Unlike an iPad you can use the built in kickstand to hold a Surface up at an angle and it will actually stay there, and since it doesn't run a mobile OS you can get down into things to set up accessability customizations for her, and you should be able to turn off internet browsing and set up parental blocks if you're concerned about that without limiting her access to the suite of tools included in the computer like simple word processing, camera, and all those other useful things.
If she wants to display her work you might get a digital photo frame so you don't need to mess with printers, which can get crazy pricey. Most are really straightforward these days since they are often aimed at grandparents, and also since they are often aimed at grandparents you can usually find some gently used for sale locally.
For styluses with the right grip for your kid's particular needs there's a whole world out there of choices. There are conductive caps you can put on a regular pencil to make them work with a touch screen, or flexible tube-like styluses, or squishy grips, or fat ones that hold like a permanent marker, and there's even a big three sided crayon looking one. Probably your kid's teacher will have some good suggestions in this arena.
posted by Mizu at 6:43 AM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
If she wants to display her work you might get a digital photo frame so you don't need to mess with printers, which can get crazy pricey. Most are really straightforward these days since they are often aimed at grandparents, and also since they are often aimed at grandparents you can usually find some gently used for sale locally.
For styluses with the right grip for your kid's particular needs there's a whole world out there of choices. There are conductive caps you can put on a regular pencil to make them work with a touch screen, or flexible tube-like styluses, or squishy grips, or fat ones that hold like a permanent marker, and there's even a big three sided crayon looking one. Probably your kid's teacher will have some good suggestions in this arena.
posted by Mizu at 6:43 AM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My students, who are 6 and 7, LOVE using the HTML-based Sketchpad on the computer, and it works on other devices as well. It's pretty simple and she can download her art. If you already have a tablet, this would work really well with a stylus... I'd probably start her off with one of the basic ones, like these.
For a more accurate but possibly more difficult stylus experience, there's this style, which really lets you see exactly where your line is going, but the disc might be harder to manage.
There are also thicker ones that might be easier to hold, if that's a concern. I have this one, but there are cheaper ones, too.
For a more naturalistic art experience, Photoshop Sketch is actually really good, it's available on iOS and Android. It actually simulates paper and brush and paint viscosity, etc. Paper, mentioned above, is a similar concept. Photoshop is totally free unless you want to buy cloud storage, which is $1.99.
If you're looking for more of a PC/MAC solution, I got my stepdaughter a drawing tablet that connects to a computer, and she loves it. The ones worth getting are not so cheap, but it pays not to cheap out on this. This is more complicated to set up, but once it's set up it pretty much just works. You do need software to use it with; she uses GIMP, which is really not user friendly, but that tablet comes with Artrage Lite, which looks pretty good.
Good luck!
posted by Huck500 at 6:49 AM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
For a more accurate but possibly more difficult stylus experience, there's this style, which really lets you see exactly where your line is going, but the disc might be harder to manage.
There are also thicker ones that might be easier to hold, if that's a concern. I have this one, but there are cheaper ones, too.
For a more naturalistic art experience, Photoshop Sketch is actually really good, it's available on iOS and Android. It actually simulates paper and brush and paint viscosity, etc. Paper, mentioned above, is a similar concept. Photoshop is totally free unless you want to buy cloud storage, which is $1.99.
If you're looking for more of a PC/MAC solution, I got my stepdaughter a drawing tablet that connects to a computer, and she loves it. The ones worth getting are not so cheap, but it pays not to cheap out on this. This is more complicated to set up, but once it's set up it pretty much just works. You do need software to use it with; she uses GIMP, which is really not user friendly, but that tablet comes with Artrage Lite, which looks pretty good.
Good luck!
posted by Huck500 at 6:49 AM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I can verify that Artrage is an awesome program, that has a ton of 'pro' features (like 3D rendered brushstrokes for impasto effects and different transparency/blend modes for marker work) but also a ton of 'fun' stuff like stickers and an interface that's customizable, logical, easy to use, and gets out of the way when you dont need it(mac/pc)
For the same level of 'great interface, lots of features' on mobile, try sketchbook pro. (Android/ios/mac/pc) there's a free version to try and the full version is only like 5$
For hardware, I don't know if 'not great' motor skills includes smaller devices or not, but an early model galaxy note (my note 2 is still running (relatively) strong) can be had used for ~100$ and is pocket sized and has a pressure sensitive stylus.
Oh yeah, btw, 'pressure sensitive' stylus is definitely(!) a big plus as it lets you control brush width for more natural strokes...but that is usually a premium ($) feature (which is why I suggested an earlier Note model, despite it's smaller (5.5") size)
posted by sexyrobot at 9:42 AM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
For the same level of 'great interface, lots of features' on mobile, try sketchbook pro. (Android/ios/mac/pc) there's a free version to try and the full version is only like 5$
For hardware, I don't know if 'not great' motor skills includes smaller devices or not, but an early model galaxy note (my note 2 is still running (relatively) strong) can be had used for ~100$ and is pocket sized and has a pressure sensitive stylus.
Oh yeah, btw, 'pressure sensitive' stylus is definitely(!) a big plus as it lets you control brush width for more natural strokes...but that is usually a premium ($) feature (which is why I suggested an earlier Note model, despite it's smaller (5.5") size)
posted by sexyrobot at 9:42 AM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hi! I have very poor motor skills (and fwiw also quite probably autism, according to my psychiatrist - I'm currently waiting for a full neuropsych assessment). I really, really like drawing on my iPad pro with the Apple Pencil - for me, drawing with my finger alone gets difficult after a while because I can't 'see' where my finger's going, although it's good to have the option. If you have the money to spend on one, it's so worth it.
I really like Photoshop Sketch, but just a warning - it makes it very easy to delete an entire folder of drawings by mistake and I now keep multiple copies of all my sketchbooks. I think it's a good starter program, though. When it comes to richer applications, I've tried both Tsayui Sketches and ArtRage and they're good, but also frustrating because there are things you just can't do in them. I suggest that when she's ready, you just go all in and get her Procreate - it's an insanely good app and lots of fun to play around in. There are lots of videos you can watch online of people using the app, and it makes it easy to replay the process of your own drawing. From your other questions, it sounds like she can really focus for ages on something that interests her, so it makes sense to get a program which will reward this. It also allows for a lot of erasing and layers and undo actions which, believe me, you need if sometimes your hand doesn't do the thing. The other thing that can help is going into brush settings and turning the smoothing way up.
I hope she gets a lot of satisfaction out of her new hobby!
posted by Acheman at 1:19 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I really like Photoshop Sketch, but just a warning - it makes it very easy to delete an entire folder of drawings by mistake and I now keep multiple copies of all my sketchbooks. I think it's a good starter program, though. When it comes to richer applications, I've tried both Tsayui Sketches and ArtRage and they're good, but also frustrating because there are things you just can't do in them. I suggest that when she's ready, you just go all in and get her Procreate - it's an insanely good app and lots of fun to play around in. There are lots of videos you can watch online of people using the app, and it makes it easy to replay the process of your own drawing. From your other questions, it sounds like she can really focus for ages on something that interests her, so it makes sense to get a program which will reward this. It also allows for a lot of erasing and layers and undo actions which, believe me, you need if sometimes your hand doesn't do the thing. The other thing that can help is going into brush settings and turning the smoothing way up.
I hope she gets a lot of satisfaction out of her new hobby!
posted by Acheman at 1:19 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
We use Adobe Sketch and Paper (we being me and my nine year old; she does a lot of comics, I do a lot of garden/landscape design.)
The nice thing about Sketch is you can do layers -- so draw a building. That's a layer. Decide to add a monster on a layer on top of that. Change your mind and decide you want a bear instead of a monster. Delete the monster and add a bear instead, but you keep the building. You can even draw on images of your own house, for example, or draw a hat on your dog.
It's really cool and everything Adobe has always been a minefield of wtf to me but this is super intuitive and my daughter loves it. She also does pen and ink and paint and so on but for digital stuff both of those are great.
We both wound up using Sketch more than Paper, but they're both good and easy to start yet fun to explore and discover.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 1:30 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
The nice thing about Sketch is you can do layers -- so draw a building. That's a layer. Decide to add a monster on a layer on top of that. Change your mind and decide you want a bear instead of a monster. Delete the monster and add a bear instead, but you keep the building. You can even draw on images of your own house, for example, or draw a hat on your dog.
It's really cool and everything Adobe has always been a minefield of wtf to me but this is super intuitive and my daughter loves it. She also does pen and ink and paint and so on but for digital stuff both of those are great.
We both wound up using Sketch more than Paper, but they're both good and easy to start yet fun to explore and discover.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 1:30 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thankyou for your answers! I should have said, we just have Android so anything on googleplay or PC would be good. Could I use a stylus with an existing tablet then? We have a Lenovo tablet that she generally uses.
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 1:39 PM on April 29, 2017
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 1:39 PM on April 29, 2017
Tayasui Sketches and Adobe Photoshop Sketch are both available for Android in the Google Play store. Paper and Procreate are not.
Apart from the Apple Pencil, (which is iPad-Pro-only,) most of the styluses that people have mentioned here will work on an Android tablet — although many of them are optimized for Apple and will only work with Android as a basic “dumb” stylus, without any Bluetooth-based palm rejection and pressure sensitivity features. This article gives a decent overview of some styluses that might work well for you.
posted by D.Billy at 6:53 AM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Apart from the Apple Pencil, (which is iPad-Pro-only,) most of the styluses that people have mentioned here will work on an Android tablet — although many of them are optimized for Apple and will only work with Android as a basic “dumb” stylus, without any Bluetooth-based palm rejection and pressure sensitivity features. This article gives a decent overview of some styluses that might work well for you.
posted by D.Billy at 6:53 AM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
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