Want to learn how to draw in the anime style, or create your own manga? Well, thanks to a young Coquitlam resident, there's an app for that.
Paige Rohrick, a Heritage Woods secondary grad now in her first year at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, has just released PaigeeWorld, a follow-up to the popular PaigeeDraw app she released a few years ago.
Like the earlier tool, PaigeeWorld gives iPhone and iPad users a way to learn to draw in the popular manga (Japanese comics) style. But Rohrick's latest app also draws on the power of social media by turning the one-way teaching tool into an interactive "manga playground."
"A lot of people have been uploading a lot of their own drawings," Rohrick said. "People are posting a lot, there's lots of commenting and liking and 'favouriting' so it's everything we wanted them to do."
The app features hundreds of step-by-step drawing tutorials, which Rohrick created by hand-drawing each step, scanning it into her computer and describing each of the steps and necessary materials.
Since some of the tutorials contain up to 50 steps, the app was a labour-intensive one.
Community members who log in to PaigeeWorld can also upload their own tutorials.
The app is free to download but tutorials must be accessed by earning points, often by completing tasks or by "liking" and "sharing" it with friends on social media platforms. Points can also be purchased, something Rohrick said may one day offer an income that could help pay for her fine arts education.
"It's kind of just for fun, something to do on the side," Rohrick said of her entrepreneurial app business. "It's nice to make tutorials that people will look up and try to learn to draw from; I like helping people out.
"But I don't think it's a full-time career. I plan on being a fashion designer but I'm studying art because it's my biggest passion."
Another Coquitlam resident has also created an app, using his old stomping grounds as the main art at the start of the game.
Called "Settle This," the all-ages strategy game is a take on the traditional rock-paper-scissors contest where players can try to become the best in the world, or challenge friends to settle disputes, hence the game's name.
Players start out against a background that might look familiar to Eagle Ridge elementary students - the all-weather field.
"Since that's where I got my start I figured it would be great to have the characters start there as well," said Colin Sullivan, who attended Eagle Ridge from kindergarten to Grade 6, from 1989 to 1996.
Sullivan took a photo of the field, added some chalk and a puddle and digitized it to create the game's backdrop.
The game app was released about a month ago and has been doing well, Sullivan said. It can be downloaded for $1.99 but he's offering it for free from Nov. 2 to 12.
