Art creation is one of the most important ways for students to express themselves and is a part of a balanced play diet. Children can be creative in many different ways, either through free play, social or imaginative play, and even with digital tools. To get the most out of the time your child spends on a mobile device, we have put together a list of apps for your future artist. 

For the Child Who Loves Art History: DailyArt

Daily Art is an app that is designed to introduce the user to one new piece of art a day from a collection of 1300 works. Each day a new piece of art along with its creator and some history behind the work is posted. The user can read about the work, add it to their favorites, or even share it with another person via email or text. Users can also do a search of a particular artist, read about art museums and their locations, and even do a random search for paintings if they just want to be inspired by some great art. This app is perfect for learning something new while also sparking creativity. 

Daily Art is free to use but requires a full-version purchase to access all features. It is currently available on iOS and Android. 

For the Child Who Loves to Sketch: Flow by Moleskine 

Flow is an app for free-hand sketching by the Moleskine company. The user can choose from a wide range of tools and colors to create their own pieces of artwork. The app can be used to create free hand sketches, patterns, or highly accurate technical drawings. Users can even add photos from their mobile device or a background like grid paper and draw on top of them. If you want to work on a piece with your child, use the collaborate function to both gain access to the artwork.

Flow by Moleskine is free to use but to unlock certain features you will need to purchase the app. It is currently available on iOS. 

For the Child Who Just Wants to Color: Coloring Book for Me 

For younger children who like art or for kids who just want to focus on coloring pre-made images, coloring book apps like Coloring Book for Me are a great way to let them engage with their creative side. Users can choose from a wide variety of coloring book pages and then use multiple color wheels to fill in all the blank spaces. They can zoom in and out of the picture for greater accuracy by using their fingers to pinch the screen. We recommend using a stylus for a better coloring experience. When your child is done creating their work of art, they can take pictures of it using the screenshot function or even place it in the real world by using the app’s AR function. 

Coloring Book for Me is free but purchases are required to use the whole app. It is currently available on iOS and Android. 

What apps or games have helped your child express their creative side? Let us know in the comments below!