Think you can’t draw well? ShadowDraw will teach you how
THE MAIN THING that prevents us from being global art superstars is, well, our complete lack of drawing skill! ShadowDraw promises to help with that. If, like us, you’ve always wanted to draw but haven’t been taught how, or if you just don’t feel very confident, it’s a great way to bring out your inner Degas or Dürer.
The app is designed for absolute beginners, and it takes you step by step through the process of turning an idea into an artwork. Rather than tell you how to draw something, it shows you; you’ll see the pen or brush strokes of an artist on your iPad’s screen, and you learn how to draw by copying the artist’s own moves. Get it right and you’ll move on to the next bit; get it wrong and you’ll be gently guided towards the correct positioning.
WHAT IT’S WORTH
ShadowDraw is a free app, but monthly/ yearly memberships, as well as individual add–on packs for particular kinds of drawings, are also available. A guide to drawing kittens, for example, is $1.99; it’s also $1.99 for a guide to illustrating really angry cats, and you’ll pay the same price for a guide to drawing many artists’ least favorite body part: hands.
If you’d rather pay a flat subscription, ShadowDraw is $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year. It supports Family Sharing so you can share the full library — up to 1,000 guides — with up to five other family members. We’d say the subscription option will work out more economic in the long run. The app is really easy to get started with, so let’s do just that…
HOW TO Improve your drawing skills on iPad
The front page of ShadowDraw is organized into sections, with free lessons at the top and paid–for courses below. While there are lots of courses for more experienced artists, we’re going to start with the basics via Learn The Basics here.
As you can see, there are lots of introductory lessons here. Let’s go with the simplest one, which will show us how to draw as well as teach us how to use ShadowDraw’s key features. Tap on Star
