This week I’m reviewing the Anti Coloring Book Collection (referred to as A in this post) and Adult Anti-Coloring Book (referred to as B in this post) apps. These apps are based on the work of Susan Striker, an art educator and author, who wanted to provide an alternative to traditional coloring books. Conventional coloring books encourage children to fill in the pre-printed drawings of adults rather than developing their own images. Her anti-coloring books encourage creative artistic expression by providing a prompt and basic structure in which to develop a unique drawing. For example, rather than creating an outline of an ice cream sundae for a child to color in, an anti-coloring book page might have a picture of an empty dish and a spoon with the prompt “Make your own sundae!” I’ve used the anti-coloring book pages in my practice with children and adults alike.
Intended Use: The app is intended for artistic expression.
Target Audience: Both apps are listed as appropriate for ages four and up. A could be used by children six and up independently (or younger children with support due to the need to read the prompts). There is a listen button to read the prompt aloud, however, this did not work on my device. B could be used by users sixteen and up as some of the prompts are geared towards adults and teens (e.g. If you could get a tattoo, what would it look like? or How do you want to be remembered in your yearbook?).
Usability: The interface is primarily visual and there are minimal text labels. Users are prompted to select an anti-coloring page or a blank canvas, and begin drawing. The tools include thick and thin markers, crayon, chalk, pencil, ink, paint, and an eraser. Users can select from a limited range of colors which, with some tools, can be lightened or darkened. Users draw with their finger in the blank space. They can also draw on/within the lines that are already on the page.
The trash can button allows the user to undo all of their work and start over. A listen button reads the prompt aloud. The print and save functions allow users to download their work to the device for printing or sharing. The read button connects users to links to borrow or purchase a book related to the topic of the anti-coloring page.
Overall, I found the user experience on an iPhone to be frustrating. The space within which to draw is very small and is an odd proportion (very tall and narrow). You cannot pinch to zoom or move around the screen. Because of this, there isn’t much room to draw and part of the anti-coloring prompt gets cut off. This does not appear to be a problem for the iPad version (see demonstration video).
Cost: A is $1.99 and B is $0.99.
Technical Requirements: Available for iOS.
Pro’s:
The app offers a variety of drawing tools and prompts on a mobile device. This allows users to create art on the go or in places where traditional materials might now be practical or allowed.
The app encourages connections to literacy through the Read option.
Con’s:
The eraser tool not only erases your drawing but also the lines and words from the anti-coloring book page. There is no undo function apart from the trash can, however, this undoes everything. While this can encourage users to work around their mistakes and develop problem-solving skills, it can also be a source of frustration.
On my device, I could not save my completed pages to the in-app gallery but I could save them to my phone’s camera roll. I also could not navigate out of the drawing portion of the app back to the main menu (I had to force quit the app and open it again).
On my device, the drawing area is narrow and cuts off part of the prompt.
Some of the anti-coloring book prompts are timeless, however, users might find the look of some of the drawings to be outdated. Further, a few of the terms in the B app need to be updated to reflect current language (e.g. shrink needs to be updated to therapist or psychiatrist).
Is it worth it? I think that the idea behind this app is a good one, however, the execution did not live up to my expectations. There were a number of technical problems which detracted from my enjoyment of the app. As I mentioned earlier, some of the issues on the iPhone might not be problematic on the iPad due to the larger drawing area. If you are planning to use the app on your phone I would probably skip this one and purchase the actual Anti-Coloring book instead. There are a few free printables on her website and the books can be purchased here.