many of the art lessons are quite sophisticated. This Turn your product is also fabulous for adults interested in learning more about art techniques.

DS into a portable While the art instructor, named Vince, can be quite amusing, this is a serious instructional package. If you have younger children who are interested in art studio learning about art, don't choose this title; pick up Let's Draw, a nifty DS game from Majesco that combines art instruction with mini-games for kids as young as 4. Posted 3d ago Art Academy offers you two ways to explore art — you can take 10 art lessons with instructor Vince, or you can create art on your own by using the tools and supplies found in the Free Paint section. If you are using a DSi, you can also take photographs of your surroundings and use them as your models.

The 10 art lessons are the best part of Art Academy. They previously appeared as two DSiware titles (Art Academy: First Semester and Art Academy: Second Semester ).

Each lesson focuses on drawing something specific. The early lessons have you learning to draw things like an apple or a lime. As the lessons progress, you move into more complicated subjects like a wave in the ocean or a beautiful landscape. There are also mini-lessons that further your knowledge of a specific type of art.

Instructor Vince not only explains art techniques and terminology, but he also demonstrates in a stroke-by-stroke manner.

Vince teaches fundamentals — how to use an

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'Art Academy' is a portable art studio. Art instructor Vince shows you how each step of the lesson combines to create the final masterpiece.

If you have a child who has an interest in art but hasn't had much art education, Art Academy is something you will want to pick up. While it plays on the Nintendo DS or DSi, it really isn't a ; rather it's a portable art studio with a knowledgeable and droll art instructor.

Art Academy is best explored by children ages 8 and older because you must be able to read, and underdrawing before you start your painting, how Publisher: Nintendo to use brushstrokes to create different effects, how to create shading and shadows using cross- Price: $19.99 hatching and other techniques and how to use both cool and warm colors. He takes difficult concepts Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids and makes them easy to understand. For some, magazine. Contact her at [email protected]. seeing how light hits an object and creates a shadow can be difficult, but Vince makes it seem easy.

Lessons are presented in stages. At the end of your lesson, Vince shows you graphically how each stage built on top of the others to create the final product. For example, when learning to paint an apple tree, you learn to draw the trunk first, then add bunches of leaves, and finally dab in the tree branches and the apples.

The brush and pencil strokes are uncannily realistic. As you start to swipe your paintbrush across the on-screen canvas, the paint appears intense. But as your stroke continues, the amount of paint wanes. When you lift the stylus off the screen, it's the equivalent of dipping your paintbrush back into the paint. It works brilliantly. Likewise, when using a pencil, the more you go over a stroke, the darker the graphite becomes.

Art Academy also introduces children to great artists and some of their works, and it comes with 80 inspirational images to copy.

As you finish each lesson, you have the option of saving your masterpiece to the in-game Gallery. You can even choose to present your masterpiece in a variety of custom frames.

Art Academy is a wonderful way to teach art. The instruction is quite detailed, which means that this Advertisement is not a program for kids with a short attention span.

Our only minor complaint is that the lessons unlock sequentially, which doesn't allow you to decide which of the 10 lessons you would like to explore. But each is full of helpful information, so they are worth working through.

Score: 4 stars (out of 4)

Rating: E for Everyone

Best for ages: 8 and up

Platform: Nintendo DS, DSi