Crayola Magic 3D Coloring Book
Reviewed by Jason Levine
Published by IBM
Age Group: Age 4 to 8
Type: Art & Creativity
Price: UnknownRequires: 486-66 8 MB RAM, 10 M 2x CD-ROM, Windows 95, also on Win 3.1, 640x480x256
Description:
If there's one thing that there is no shortage of in kids' software, it's paint or coloring programs. Paint programs are so ubiquitous it seems like it's a practically a requirement that one be included in each package. Then how does Crayola Magic 3D Coloring Book merit a coveted Golden Bear award? Because this little program is simply the best kids' paint program I've ever encountered. With Crayola Magic 3D both little kids and ham-handed adults like this reviewer can produce startlingly realistic-looking pictures.
Crayola Magic 3D naturally uses a crayon box metaphor for its interface. The well-organized work space gives you a choice of 42 crayon colors (21 regular and 21 glitter). There are also 13 really useful textures and patterns, such as cloudy sky and sand, available. There are two crayon sizes and two eraser sizes available. Handy fill and undo tools are also included, but probably the most original and fun addition to the coloring tool set is a switch that enables kids to choose whether or not they want to be able to color outside the lines!
Crayola Magic 3D also comes with an extensive library of pictures to color. 70 pictures are organized into 7 books on the subjects of Under the Sea, Insects, Dinosaurs, Wild Animals, On the Farm, Flying Machines, and Teddy Bears. Pictures, of course, can be saved or printed out (if you wish, you can print out the uncolored picture for use with real crayons). True to the program's name, each picture contains 3D images, which "magically" seem to spring out of the picture as soon as color is applied.
The program installs easily under Windows 95 from the autoplay menu. It can be uninstalled either from its included routine or from the Windows 95 Control Panel. The documentation is very slim, but the program is so easy to use not much is required. At the time of this writing, no price for the program had been announced. One thing you might want to consider in terms of price, however. If you don't already own a color printer, Crayola Magic 3D Coloring Book might just convince you to buy one!
You can download a PC demo.
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