Top Class Posters

Review – Art Academy (Nintendo DS)

Nintendo’s DS handheld has been the home for more than 1.000 titles, since its inception back in 2004. While the majority of available games will do little more than improve your hand-eye coordination, an exclusive few – e.g. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training – has tried to apply the DS to our betterment and not just idling time away.

With the launch of the DSi, Nintendo started to provide games through digital downloads, amongst them the painting school program ‘Art Academy’. Developer Headstrong Games creative offering is now available as a full blown cartridge, bundling the two ‘semesters’ that previous were released on the DSiWare service as separate titles.

Tutor me up

Art Academy is subtitled ‘Learn painting and drawing techniques with step-by-step training’, which precisely captures what the game is all about. The main feature is a portable art course, that’ll take you through basic knowledge that budding artists should find useful. Under the gentle guidance of master painter ‘Vince’ you’ll be treated to ‘classes’ ranging from basic pencil techniques to advanced methods and ideas such as multi-layering and the colour wheel.

While the title never will be enough to create the next Bacon or Monet, the game delivers a thoughtful and considerate curriculum. Lessons are presented with clarity and easy understandable guidelines, and you’ll be taught skills like shadowing, colour mixing, under drawing, wet versus dry paint and grids.

Studies range from still life pictures of citrus fruits to mini lessons on how to create the impression of water movement. Several areas – for instance light and shadow – are covered in detail, with examples drawn from the works of famous painters like Albrecht Dürer or Paul Cézanne.

Short cut to Louvre?

The DS’ touch screen works surprisingly well as a painter’s canvas, and a handy zoom function gives you that extra bit of precision when working on tricky sections. Drawing tools are kept to a minimum, but what made the cut are taught in depth.

Working you way through the course will take you a while, but when you’ve completed all ten main chapters, there’s precious little to keep you occupied. Acquired skills can be applied in the free paint area, where a number of included reference pictures can be used as inspiration – lucky DSi owners can use the handheld’s camera to extend their library.

Menus and icons are simple and close to self explanatory; after initial guidance younger family members should be able to express them selves at least with confidence, if not style. A soothing ambient soundtrack underpins your brushstrokes, and a few sound effects – e.g. scraping noises from pencils – add depth to the experience.

Artistic aspirations warranted

Art Academy enters the precious short list of edutainment titles on Nintendo’s handheld with all flags flying. Parents seeking to add a bit of variety to their kids’ DS library, teaching them a ting or two in the process, should consider Art Academy as a serious contender for their next purchase.

Verdict: Get it! (Verdict list: ‘Get it!’, ‘Rent’ or ‘Never mind’)

For in-game screenshots and more handheld game reviews, news and articles visit: Burning Thumbs.

About the Author

Tommy A. is a veteran gamesjourno with several years of work for numerous commercial websites, covering industry news, reviews, previews and various articles. More from the handheld video game scene at Burning Thumbs.

My Works from “Art Academy: First Semester” for Nintendo DSi

Let’s Draw! $18.40 Features include: •Once you’ve mastered your drawing skills in “Learn to Draw” mode, it’s time to unleash the creativity. Draw whatever you like. Once completed, each picture is stored in the Album for you to view later.•Because Nintendo DS is a portable game machine, kids can enjoy drawing at any time, anywhere without the need for paper and crayons.•Once a drawing is completed, to…

Art Academy $19.99 Draw, Paint, Create Step-by-step lessons for everyone! Learn to create art on the DS. Art Academy is a fun, interactive training program that teaches real-world painting and drawing techniques, much as you would learn in an art class. Lessons take you from basic sketching techniques with pencils to painting with brushes, color mixing and water dilution?all with a realistic feel and producing reali…

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II $7.00 The Star Wars Saga continues with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II the highly anticipated sequel to the fastest-selling Star Wars game ever created which has sold more than seven million copies worldwide. In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed the world was introduced to Darth Vader s now fugitive apprentice Starkiller the unlikely hero who would ignite the flames of rebellion in a galaxy so desperate…

Academy of Champions (Nintendo DS) $29.99 Academy of Champions DS…