Games review: Art Academy: Learn Painting and Drawing Techniques with Step-by-Step Training

£29.99

Format DS

Publisher Nintendo

While Apple’s handheld devices have cornered the market in digital sketching (David Hockney’s a big fan), bravo to Nintendo for not giving in to the march of the iPhone. Art Academy offers the same background as a how-to book would, but with the huge advantage of letting you hone your skills without mess or misery. DSi owners can even take photos and use them as source material with a handy grid reference (that’s not cheating, it’s teaching) and the only pity is that it’s hard to show off a masterpiece on the tiny DS screen.