Lesson from Leonardo

Lesson from Leonardo

In five years, the Art Academy series, developed by Headstrong Games, has already reached its third main episode (yes, there are also spin-offs); it's not that it was a resounding commercial success - the best-selling chapter remains the first for Nintendo DS, with about two and a half million copies - but the quality of the work, combined with the likely low cost of production, has meant that Nintendo (here as a producer) continued to invest in it. This despite the fact that the game is part of that "Touch Generation" daughter of the Wii / DS era now left behind, a line of products that had - and have, in this case - very little fun. It is only out of habit that we can define Art Academy "videogame": it is, much more than the half-brother Wii Music, a software to learn how to draw and paint, taking advantage of the control granted by the Nintendo touch screen. In this, in the purposes and in the setting, the work has not changed at all: yet it has been gradually improving, taking into account the criticisms and opinions of users. All the main shortcomings of the previous episodes have in fact been patched up, if not resolved; we will deepen the subject shortly, while clarifying that both in the intentions and in the realization, it is always an introduction software to painting, certainly not a tool for professionals.



Art Academy is great introductory painting software, and this one for Wii U is the best

Everyone in class

Art Academy: Home Studio is made up of about thirty lessons - plus the free drawing modality - which are sometimes divided into various types and topics. There are the basic ones and, immediately accessible, the advanced ones; the time required to complete the latter varies enormously from player to player, so much so that it is impossible to provide a reliable estimate. The minimum duration is about an hour, the rest depends on your degree of ability, speed and perfectionism. From this edition there are also some specific teachings for certain materials, such as charcoal, so as to further vary the experience; a lesson is not equivalent to a topic, for each topic there is in fact a main test and other optional ones.



Lesson from Leonardo

In this aspect perhaps lies the only playful legacy of the software: apart from the basic / advanced dichotomy, to unlock each lesson you must first complete the previous one (which represents only a personal challenge, since the CPU does not judge the work). An approach to protect beginners, so that they cannot venture too far from the start. From a notional point of view, Art Academy has always been a work of value, but this time the guys from Headstrong Games have outdone themselves: in the previous chapters the major defects of the lessons were the superficiality reserved for the initial drawing phase, and above all in the drastic jumps from one step to another of the processing, which originated "holes" that were difficult to manage by inexperienced users. On Wii U they have brilliantly remedied both problems: in the initial construction of the figure, for the first time (and finally), we reason by identifying simple geometric shapes, we talk about masses, volumes and plasticity, but above all we teach, to as much as possible, to observe as a draftsman. With regard to the various passages, however, at the cost of giving up a little rhythm, there is a slavish accompaniment by the user (the explanations can still be skipped, if deemed useless). This does not mean that once you have completed all the lessons, if you do not already know how to do it, you will be able to paint; for sure, however, you will know various materials, from oil colors to pastels, you will know more or less how they behave and most likely you will have several more tools to understand a painting. You will know how and why certain shades are combined, why it is not recommended to use black, what is chromatic gray; your gaze, in general, will be more competent. And you will arrive at these results by creating images that, if not exceptional, will still have their own dignity ... regardless of your talent.



sharing

Another shortcoming of the previous Art Academies, probably the main one, was the lack of importance granted to the sharing of works, confined in fact to one's own console. Given the resolution, the images could not (and cannot) be printed; however, more could and should have been done in this area even before the arrival of Miiverse. Having clarified this, Miiverse certainly helps: circulating your drawings is now easy and quick, same thing for comments, advice and so on.

Lesson from Leonardo

Even if you do not want to access the Nintendo "social network" - to save time - it is possible to admire the works of other users on the virtual bulletin board, accessible from the main menu of the game. A functional system of tags has been added (still life, animals, etc.), in order to facilitate the search. Furthermore, in Art Academy: Home Studio it is possible to record - and upload to Youtube - the entire painting process, also selecting the speed of execution of the movie. It is useless to specify how interested it is to review one's own traits accumulate, as well as observe those of others. In addition to admiring the evolution of a well-made (digital, clear) painting, it is intriguing to notice the movements of the brush, so as to understand the intensity and direction of the stroke. Right here, alas, lies the only, insurmountable limit of Art Academy: Home Studio, or the accuracy of the control system. For the basic use that the "game" requires it is adequate, but it is impossible to improve and reach high levels of precision through the Wii U touch screen; for the same reason, also in this edition, it is a useless product from a professional point of view. Not that it needs to change, don't get us wrong; however a greater sensitivity would help at any level, even in a simple simulation perspective. A lack caused by the hardware, certainly not by the skill of the developers, who on the contrary have proved to be worthy of praise in every aspect, giving life to the best Art Academy published so far.



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8.0

Readers (5)

8.6

Your vote

The Art Academy series, deserving of attention since its inception on the Nintendo DS, comes to Wii U as best it could not. Every important defect of the previous editions has been solved - first of all the online sharing of creations, but also some ingenuity in the setting of the lessons - and now the only real limits of the work are the limits of the gamepad touch screen, which is not certainly the best tool for painting. Having clarified this point, we reiterate that it is an excellent introductory software to painting. Even from a theoretical point of view, which is not at all obvious.

PRO

  • As usual, great lessons ...
  • ... also take care of the drawing, this time
  • Sharing of images and videos
AGAINST
  • The touch screen is not very sensitive
  • Not very interesting for professionals
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