Pen & Ink: A Watercolor Notebook

Pen & Ink is a detailed watercolor-based app that allows users to create paintings in a virtual notebook. With Pen & Ink, users are provided a variety of paintbrushes, colors, and other tools needed to create works of art. Users are able to choose the different sizes and breadths of the paintbrushes, and the erase tool lets users correct any mistake they may have made. Once their work is completed, users are able to engage advanced options by tapping the “compass” button on the far right of the screen. By tapping it, users can add pages to their notebook, view their notebook, and share their work over email, Twitter, and Facebook. They can also print it, save it to their photo library, send it to another app, or upload it to Dropbox.

Instructional Ideas

1. After studying an artist’s style and work, teachers can show students a piece of the artist’s work. After viewing the work and discussing its attributes, students can attempt to recreate it using this app.
2. After learning about an artistic movement or style, students can use this app to create pieces that embody the characteristics of that movement or style.
3. Teachers can have students read a narrative. After reading it, teachers can have students use this app to illustrate its rising action, climax, or resolution. Teachers can then require students to compose a paragraph explaining how and why their artwork represents the narrative.
4. Teachers can allow students to experiment with this app by creating different works of art. As students become more adept with creating art with this app, teachers can have students post their work to a class website, such as ClassFlow, Edmodo, or Schoology. Teachers can then require classmates to critique the artwork by writing compliments about the work and ideas for improving it.
5. Teachers can have students compare art apps. To do so, teachers can have students create the same piece of art in this app, Tayasui Sketches, and Brushes 3. Afterward, teachers can have students write an argument explaining which app they prefer and why. As part of that writing, teachers can have students incorporate and critique the artwork they created while using the different apps.

Screenshots

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