BP11_20091015_WebTools5_Sketchfu

Alright, so I know my last post concerned a web drawing tool for use for the art classroom. Here I am going to blog about a similar, yet at the same time, very different web drawing tool. I am also going to compare and contrast the two tools a bit.

In my last post, I sang the praises of ArtRage2. While that tool is terrific, I found another free online drawing tool that may trump AR2 in some ways.

Sketchfu is an online web tool and service where you may start a drawing immediately, without even signing up for anything. If you want to "publish" your drawing later, you will want to sign up, but all you have to enter is a sign in name, a valid email address, and a password. What you get in exchange is a really cool drawing tool with a built in movie like feature that plays back exactly what you drew, line for line. (Hopefully I will be able to upload my finished pic to my blog as well as the video portion.)

The process of playing back your video after creating a quick little mini art work is the best part of Sketchfu. Besides the ability to create your own drawings, the service also includes features like Browse drawings, Browse people (and you can create a profile), and "Best of Sketchfu,"where the highest rated drawings are posted. That's another neat thing about Sketchfu. You have the ability to publish your creations to the site right away, which allows other viewers to find your work, comment on it, and even rate it!

Other great features include the ability to name your creations, the ability to link directly to other services like Blogger, Facebook and Myspace, direct RSS feeds, ability to email content, and so much more! You can customize the speed of your drawing play in the drawing window.

And if you like to collaborate, you can even allow others to add to your drawing! (Or turn that feature off if you so desire.)

The actual drawing ability is limited, unless you own a drawing tablet (I do not!), so compared to ArtRage2, the drawing is not as smooth. However, you don't feel limited in Sketchfu like you do in AR2, because there are no "extras" dangled in front of you for the small sum of $25. There are no pay options in Sketchfu, making it an awesome deal for the classroom. (No whining from students....why can't I add glitter, Mrs. Lunsford? Answer....because it costs Twenty-five dollars!)

I could see using Sketchfu as a teaching tool, a collaborative tool, or as a "free draw" tool. The only drawback is that the students might want to sign up for the service. I could get around that by having kids only sign in under one school created name. And no posting without my approval. The kids could use naming conventions such as Title_Name, so I could identify the students work under our school sign in.

I'm really excited about this tool! If you are an art teacher, surely check out Sketchfu.com, it is AWESOME and so very, very much fun!

http://sketchfu.com/drawing/388073-eye-yi-yi-