I was talking to another grandpa (grandpas have a Secret Society replete with handshake and avatar) who told me about a program his grandkids love.
It’s called Tux Paint. It isn’t the only program out there, nor are the age recommendations cast in stone. Qaquarelle (last changed in 10/2010, Windows, Linux) is another,
and gpaint (Linux) and Drawing for Children are other, and older - not changed since 2009. There are even more which can be further explored from here:
http://alternativeto.net/software/tux-paint/
MS Paint is another program to consider, although I’d say it’s more for the upper range of the ages mentioned.
So, on to Tux Paint. It has quite a few features which can be viewed here: http://tuxpaint.org/features/ include some nice effects when selecting various tools, and there is
a help Wizard (the Linux penguin, Tuxie) which appears on the screen ready to … help. The “readme” file is a good explanation of the features, and “Color Stamps” are a free,
available separately on the download page. There are shapes, different sized brushes and some fun effects.
Initially there’s a config but the size of the art is fixed at 800x600:
Well, had to try it out for you, right? ….
And no, I’m not submitting it to Moderation. As for Pro’s and Cons… It’s simple and fun. CS5 it isn’t… but it’s free, so enjoy some fun, quality time with the children and grandchildren...
Support:
- Windows: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
- Mac OS X: Requires Mac OS X, version 10.3.9 or later
- Linux: (No special OS requirements)
Download: http://tuxpaint.org/download/