Designing Drawing Apps for Children: Artistic and Technological Factors

Children start scribbling by two years of age and then they gradually learn to draw and paint on drawing sheets using crayons and watercolor. Nowadays, children also start interacting with smartphones at about two years of age and many of them like using drawing apps. We studied how children use drawing apps and how drawings made by them on drawing sheets and using apps differ. We observed 150 children aged between two and twelve years draw using the two mediums. We found that the two- and three-year-old children preferred apps to have a simpler interface, scribbling with glowing colors and listening to background music synchronized with their finger movement. The four- to six-year-old children could draw simple shapes with multiple colors and use the “eraser” feature of the apps. The seven- and eight-year-old children could draw sceneries with “brushes” of different thickness, use the “flood fill” and “undo” features, and open saved drawings. The nine- and ten-year-old children could also use the “redo” and “zoom” features, but complained about the small size of the “canvas”. The eleven- and twelve-year-old children could use “erasers” of different widths. We recommend developing different drawing apps according to the artistic and technical skills of children of different age groups, and believe that such apps can help in nurturing creativity in children.