Review: uDraw Game Tablet & Studio Instant Artist (360)

I have a lot of respect for good artists. It’s not easy to do what they do, and it takes either preternatural talent, or lots of training to do it. I’m a terrible artist. Even something as simple as a stick figure ends up looking like an attempt at drawing a straight line during an earthquake, tornado, volcanic eruption, and mimicking Dave Gahan in Depeche Mode’s video for Everything Counts (for those of you who don’t get the reference, he dances like a spaz in that video; bad 80’s dancing at its finest). With that in mind, you’d think that I would avoid artistic endeavors, but you’d be wrong. I enjoy drawing, even if I’m awful at it. Thankfully, somehow, magically, the uDraw actually does make me a better artist. Perhaps its the digital medium, and perhaps a Wacom tablet would do the same thing for me, but I find that my drawings look just a little less atrocious than they do with pen & paper.

This is partially because of the ease of use of the uDraw tablet itself. The tablet is well designed to fit easily in most hands, with comfort grips and a great layout. The wireless tablet’s attached stylus has its own mount for storage at the top, and easily reaches and corner of the drawing pad in spite of its shackled nature. With a D-pad and ABXY buttons, the tablet is able to function as a controller for more simple games outside of the uDraw family, as long as they don’t require the tablet’s non-existent left and right triggers. The drawing pad is also pressure sensitive, so the type of line you’re drawing with can be modified simply by adjusting the weight of the stylus on the pad.

The included Studio Instant Artist software is an absolute treat for those who have the interest, but not the talent, for art. With various tutorials and guides covering subjects such as contrast, object placement, color palettes, and more, Studio Instant Artist not only provides a blank canvas for experienced artists, but a wonderful training system for individuals who are an artistic blank canvas. Aside from the training features for amateur and novice artists, the software contains an incredibly variety of colors, tools, and functions for those who are looking to work on a more advanced level.

What the uDraw tablet and the Studio Instant Artist software do, they each do spectacularly well. The tablet lets you draw and navigate, with accurate interaction. It’s fairly easy to know where your penstroke or brushstroke is going to fall on the screen, the pressure sensitive pad allows you to change your line intensity on the fly, and the on-screen result is almost instantaneous. The software makes creating anything from a stick figure to a masterpiece a possibility with its ease of use and great versatility. Is this for you? Well, if you hate drawing, then this is probably not for you. If you enjoy drawing, then yeah, this is really a great purchase. Good artist or not, there’s plenty here for you, if you have the interest.