Digital Media Exploration: Drawpile

 

Drawpile is a free Open Source Software (OSS) found online and developed by Calle Laakkonen in 2014 It can be used for grades Kindergarten and up. It is a collaborative drawing program where multiple illustrators can draw on the same canvas simultaneously. It creates Raster images, not Vector, so if blown up to a larger size the image will be bitmapped and not smooth. Drawpile is like a marker board and is great for brainstorming design ideas. For parents with younger students, YOU should set up the collaborative session and be aware of who your child is working with online. It is made for Mac, Windows and Linux. I downloaded it to my MacBook Pro from here: 

https://drawpile.net/download/#OSX

I mentioned in my video that you could probably get Drawpile for your tablet, but you cannot. It is only for laptops and desktop computers. Also, when installing on a Mac, right click the first time you open it so you get the window that says "Open". Otherwise it will say it can't open because it is not an Apple developed program.

Here is a web resource for learning how to work with Drawpile for beginners by Aaron Rutten, Computer Illustrator:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrKP89xbZX0

This program reminds me of the MacPaint program that was developed for the Apple Macintosh computers in the late 80s. Although it is based on older technology and there are more sophisticated drawing programs out there for a price, I found this app to be pretty fun and easy to use. 

The strengths of this program are that one can collaborate with others and work at the same time on designs and illustrations. It has nice color palettes and the tool windows are neatly organized on the right side of the screen where you can toggle between windows. There are also handy forward and backward buttons to easily correct any mistakes you make while you are drawing.

For limitations, on my MacBook Pro I was not able to utilize the pressure sensitivity on the brushes to get more variation in my line quality as the you tube video demonstrated. There were other settings such as "Multiply", "Dodge", "Subtract" like Photoshop has for layers that really didn't change anything when I used it. I think if using a computer like Rutten used and being able to draw on the monitor, it may make a difference in brush capability. But I was able to work fine without a digital stylus.

I would feel comfortable teaching this program to any grade, however it took me awhile to learn how the brushes worked with all of the settings in the Freehand tool window.

There are no health or safety concerns, with the exception of what I stated before: be aware of who your child is interacting with online.

My Demo of Drawpile

Here is a video of me working in Drawpile.

My Final Piece in Drawpile

(based on Pablo Picasso's "Peace Flowers")

Drawpile's Interface

Tool Windows

Tool Bar

Drawpile Drawing Samples from Rutten's Video

Collaborative Drawing

Playing  Around with Brushes, Erasers and Colors

Fun with Lines

Aaron Rutten Drawing on His Monitor with a Digital Stylus in Drawpile

I hope you enjoyed this demo! I think for a free program for kids to learn how to draw on a computer, Drawpile is a good one for beginners. I have not tried collaborating with it, but I did not find any negative reviews about it's collaborating abilities. 

Give it a try, and have fun!