Mini Monet: Creative Studio and Art Club
© 2013 Sprite Kids
Combining a set of solid drawing tools with structured tutorials on such things as symmetry, plus the ability to share projects within a private viewing gallery, this responsive social drawing experience does a lot for $1.99. The art studio includes something we always look for: a blank screen option, accompanied by a standard set of brushes, markers, pencils, and a variety of colors and patterns, plus 20 stamps and 40 stickers as well as 120 coloring pages. The parent features are where this app shines. You can turn on/off sound effects, coloring page texture, or choose to confine strokes to closed areas. You can also limit access to the social options (called The Art Club) if you're not comfortable with your child sharing work within the walled garden of strangers. It is easy to save work to your iPad's local image gallery. The app rewards finished projects with coins which can be used to get bonus content in the Art Store. All money is pretend, there are no in-app purchases that we could see. Minor weaknesses include a cluttered first menu, plus one might question the use of an extrinsic reward system, paired with such an intrinsic activity, like drawing. Just remember you can turn this feature off in the parent settings.
$1.99, iPad
Teaches: art, creativity, art history
CTR Rating: 88%