Category | Price | Seller | Device |
---|---|---|---|
Games | Free | Save The Machine LLC | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
Grid Method:
Borrowing a technique first used in ancient Egypt and mastered by Leonardo Da Vinci, M. C. Escher and Vincent van Gogh, Simile uses a technique called the Grid Method. It divides the painting into a grid and, as a result, changes a challenging painting into a series of smaller, easier paintings. The technique ensures that results are accurate and have proper proportions.
Right Brain Drawing:
A challenge for anyone learning to draw is to turn off the symbolic part of their brain, that part that tries to interpret the world around it. This makes it difficult to draw what is seen and not draw the “meaning” of what is seen. For example, when trying to draw a person most beginners will draw something that resembles a stick figure. Simile only presents one small part of the entire image at a time, hiding the rest. The intent here, is to make it unclear what part of the image you are drawing, which in turn, switches off the brain’s symbolic processing, so it won’t get in the way.
Gamification:
People often do better at a task when it’s made into a game. So why not apply that to painting. Simile scores your painting in real time as you work. By trying to maximize your score you’ll be improving your painting. Simile’s arcade mode, also adds timing to the mix; not only do you have to paint well, you have to do it fast. This challenge is surprisingly fun and results are far better than you might think. I’ve gotten much better the more I’ve played. I bet you will to.
Killer Tools:
Simile has the standard tools, like paintbrushes, a paint bucket, undo, and supports the Apple Pencil (types 1 and 2) on the iPad. It also has a False Color tool which makes it much easier to distinguish between two shades of the same color (with extra options for color blind people). Simile's Grid tool further extends the Grid Method to each tile, and if you’re really stuck, you can turn on outlines which shows you the boundaries of each color. Simile rounds out the tool set with a pipette to help pick the right color.
Advanced Image Processing:
Another challenge for beginning artists is to represent the real world (which has an infinite variety of colors) with a finite set of paint colors. Simile’s advanced image processing simplifies images to keep things looking real, without being too hard.
Multiplayer:
Simile’s masterpiece mode supports up to 100 painters collaborating on one painting. This feature is great for making a grandmother’s day present from her grandkids or for a group of friends that want to complete a painting together. No In-app purchases are required to use this feature, so the sky’s the limit on who you invite to join you. Also, because Simile uses iCloud for collaboration, there is no sign-in needed.
High Quality Prints:
Simile has partnered with Kite.ly to help turn your virtual art into real world art. You can order canvas prints, framed prints, posters, t-shirts, mugs, mangets, and phone cases of your artwork.
Music:
We’ve included background music made exclusively for Simile by Leonty Music. It's designed to subtly change as you touch the screen when painting. We also recommend painting to your favorite songs, books or podcasts.
This is a exceptional App. There are so many boring apps in the App Store these days. It is great to come across an app that not only “Thinks out of the box” but also let’s you feel like you haven’t waisted your time. Congrats to the developer. Thanks from Bob Hyte
A really cool little app. I opened it thinking I'd spend just a couple of minutes checking it out, and found myself enjoying it so much, I worked on three tiles. Love the little rating scale, so there's a sense of whether I'm doing OK as I go, and also the sense of satisfaction as I complete each tile. The collaboration feature is one I haven't tried yet but is such a cool idea! One thing I would suggest is that I got a little frustrated after a couple of tools because I would have liked to see a wider range of brushes. My husband (who also downloaded it!) tells me that's available as an upgrade--I didn't even realize there are upgrades in the app, so a little pop up after a level or two might be a good idea? Thanks for a fun, creative little app that's not a video game!
Nice idea, but they forgot an option to switch the tiles for left handed people. The way it is now, painting is tiresome and no fun at all. Also needs changeable width of brush. Update: Developer responded and new version has left-hand support and variable width. Great support!
Right now I really have enjoyed this app/game. I think it’s highly creative with no other app like it but I don’t like the fact that there are only two free pictures. To get more you have to pay 1.99 a picture or pay 24.99 for all which is quite high. Hopefully in the future there will be more free options so I can continue playing.
This game fakes that it is free. You get one drawing to use for free, then the rest require .99 cents each
I should have known that downloading this “free” app would have some fees, but when they ask you to pay $3 to paint your own pictures, you know you have failed. The app would have been something neat to you around with, but I’m not interested in paying $14 to do all of the work myself. Developers, stop being greedy and do better for your customers. This is just ridicoulous.
Really love the concept, but I wish there was a way to try more photos without paying $3 for the next. The $15 for unlocking all my photos doesn’t seem that terrible, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to drop that much yet. I’d be totally fine if the app even had ads to watch to unlock photos or some other way to try more before paying for all.
Everything is nickeled and dimed to oblivion. Every picture is behind paywall. Good concept but soon to be copied by a better developer who has a realistic payment system. Stay away.