Very, very cool. It "feels" great to use it - the lines look smooth and satisfying to draw. I can see this being a lot of fun to use for random doodling. The simplicity is also great - it does exactly what it needs to, and no more.
Only one problem: I have zero artistic talent or ability. I've often wanted to start practicing drawing, but it was never THAT high a priority, and I never put in the effort to get a pad, pencils, start carrying them around with me, etc. An app like this can make it close to zero effort to get started and to doodle something every day.
Now there's still the problem of guidance or knowing where to start. Give me something like daily challenges or tutorials - can range from something as simple as "here's a picture of a cat, draw it" to more advanced animated tutorials - and I could see myself getting hooked. I would not mind paying for "content" or for a monthly subscription under this model.
Having recently taught myself to draw (somewhat) I know where you're coming from. From a design perspective this is a super challenging problem though.
I actually spent a while trying to come up with an introduction to the app that would do a drawing tutorial of sorts. (Along the lines of http://www.drawastickman.com/episode1) - but the line between the app telling you what to do and guiding you is very thin, especially in content creation software. In the end I decided that it was best to try and build motivation and a personal connection through more subdued means, and that that method would be "truer" and deeper as well.
This is the same reasoning behind not having sample artwork within the program, not even as a tutorial. I didn't want people to open it up and see anything that they had not chosen to create.
I don't know what the proper solution to what you're asking would be - I want it to exist in theory, but I can't convince myself that it would be good in practice.
Yeah, I understand what you mean - the devil is in the details.
There are two possible kinds of guidance, I think. One would be actual tutorials - draw a circle, the circle becomes the head, etc. - with the goal of teaching technique and building up skill.
The second would be aimed more at motivation and inspiration - getting people to draw something every day, no matter what their technique is or how good they are. Maybe it's a "Seinfeld calendar"-like nudge to draw every day, maybe it's a "daily challenge" or "idea of the day" for various skill levels.
Easy to say, of course, but much tougher to get it right in practice, especially with the level of simplicity and elegance you have right now. Maybe it's a completely separate app, but I think there's a lot of potential there if someone can get it right.
Only one problem: I have zero artistic talent or ability. I've often wanted to start practicing drawing, but it was never THAT high a priority, and I never put in the effort to get a pad, pencils, start carrying them around with me, etc. An app like this can make it close to zero effort to get started and to doodle something every day.
Now there's still the problem of guidance or knowing where to start. Give me something like daily challenges or tutorials - can range from something as simple as "here's a picture of a cat, draw it" to more advanced animated tutorials - and I could see myself getting hooked. I would not mind paying for "content" or for a monthly subscription under this model.