Inside the Line: Games and Software for Artistic Children

Children of all ages love to draw and color but some of the little ones truly show promise. Some children are born with an innate talent for art and you should nurture it by always providing them with materials and games that stimulate their artistic bent. While until recently the only medium available to them, especially to vey young children was paper-and-crayon in todays high-tech world you can help your child unlock his inner artist through a variety of games and apps designed to foster creativity.

First of all, if you don’t want your child to spend too much time in front of the computer it is worth noting that there are a lot of resources for creative children on-line that you can just print out and hand over. Things like connect-the-dots pictures or match and color games or even paint by numbers pictures of their favorite character, like spongebob, can help a little artist bloom. And if you really want to help them become a better artist you can download any number of drawing guides for children and spend time with them, teaching them the basics of sketching or coloring.

If your child is a bit older and you allow him or her to use the computer or a tablet device there are limitless opportunities for him or her. There is a wealth of drawing software available on computers ranging from basic ones like paint.net to elaborate ‘artsy’ yet easy to use software for recreating the feel of watercolours and the like. Tablets have it even better. Widespread and relatively cheap drawing software abounds on tablet devices and there are even some apps that are targeted at children and that teach them how to draw without needing an adult to guide them through it.  And a touch pen for tablets is very cheap and can even be made for free by a crafty parent from a bag of chips!

If your child is truly showing signs of becoming a young promising artist, you might consider investing in a drawing tablet peripheral for computers. Over the past decade draw tablets have become cheaper and cheaper and can be bought for as little as 50 dollars nowadays. While getting accustomed to computer-based drawing is a bit harder it will do your little one a great service, as the future of art seems to be firmly set in the mixed media field. If you truly think your children have artistic potential than you shouldn’t spare any expense. There is very little that can compare to the feeling of looking at something beautiful that has been made or drawn by your offspring.