Monthly Archives: June 2012

Become an Art Expert With iOS Gallery Apps

From European Art HD

From European Art HD

There is little else comparable to seeing fabulous art up close at an art gallery or museum. But, if for some reason that is not possible (living in a small town, no money for admission or travel, etc.), the iPad makes a wonderful alternative. Art gallery apps bring art from around the world to you in a way that is completely personal and totally immersive. Let’s take a look at 4 gallery apps that will rock your art world. As a warning, art apps like these can take up a LOT of space. I’ll let you know just how much space with each app.

Art Collection HD

Art Collection HD

 

Art Collection HD (iPad) & Art Collection (iPhone)

With more than 20,000 pieces of art, Art Collection is one of the best ways to really connect with art that may not be available to the public or would require travel to see. Instead of looking from afar or not being able to look at all, you can interact and explore art through amazing photographs.

Art Collection HD

Zoom into photos for a closer look, watch a slideshow, compare 2 artworks at once (seen in the photo at left), and take a quiz to become a real art expert (seen in photo below). Each artwork has the name of the piece, name of the artist, category, description of the piece, and information on the artist.

Swipe through the entire collection using gestures and search for art by name of either the artist or the work of art. When looking at one piece, you can press shuffle to get a random work of art to look at.

Art Collection HD

Mark works as a favorite so that you can find them again easily. Save them to your device and share them with friends by email and on social networks.

One of my favorite features of Art Collection is that it allows you to edit a work of art using Aviary. Aviary is something you are probably familiar with by look if not by name. It is used by many apps to edit photos and is dead simple to use and fun to boot.

Art Collection HD is currently $3.99 and is 538.6 MB. Art Collection for the iPhone is the same price and 534.2 MB. The reason the app is so large is that everything is available whether you have an Internet connection or not.

Art Expert HD

Art Expert HD

 

Art Expert HD (iPad) & Art Expert (iPhone)

With more than 12,000 works of art, Art Expert brings you paintings and sculpture from many time periods, including Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism. Art Expert is by the same developer as Art Collection but has a different look and feel.

Art Expert HD

Browse the collection using gestures or buttons. Search the collection by artist name (more than 3,000 artists). Slideshow mode is also available. The only thing I don’t like about Art Expert is that you can’t always see the whole work on the screen at once. Often you have to scroll up or down to see the whole piece.

There is an ultra zoom so that you can inspect each piece as close as you want. Just tap the plus sign to add a piece to your favorites. Save individual pieces, share them on Facebook and Twitter, and email them to anyone. You can even copy and paste them into a text message.

I finally found the settings for this app and for Art Collection. They are in the Settings app and not in the app itself, which is common enough but confusing.

Art Expert HD

You can compare works like you can in Art Collection, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it at first. What you have to do is select the from the left first and then the right.

The quiz game that Art Collection has makes a reappearance in Art Expert and is possibly one of the best features of the app. You really could become an art expert by playing this game.

Art Expert HD is $3.99 and is 1728.3 MB. Art Expert for iPhone is also $3.99 and is 1729.2 MB. An Internet connection is required for translations. No Internet connection is needed to view the art.

National Gallery, London HD

National Gallery, London HD

 

National Gallery, London HD (universal)

With 1,635 paintings from the National Gallery in London, this app features some of the best art by the best artists (more than 500 artists) that the gallery has to offer. You can browse art by century, genre, or name. You can also search for art using the name of the artist you are looking for.

National Gallery, London HD

As you browse through a section, you can set up a custom filter so that you only see art by the artists that you choose.

Download individual artworks, download all art in a section, or download all art in the app at once all in HD. You can also send HD artwork individually by email to anyone and post it to Facebook and Twitter.

National Gallery, London HD

Add art to your favorites so that all your favorite works are readily available at any time within the app. Watch a slideshow of all work easily. You can also look at art on your TV if you have the VGA cables needed to mirror your iPad on your TV.

National Gallery currently costs $1.99 and is only 26.1 MB of space. Try National Gallery, London HD Free, as well.

European Art HD

European Art HD

 

European Art HD (universal)

This app is made by the same developer of National Gallery, HD. Other apps offered by the developer of the same nature are Impressionism HD, Landscape Art HD, Louvre Art Gallery, Russian Painting HD, and Soviet Posters HD. Most of the apps have a free version that you can try, too. The developer’s name is Evolution Games LLP.

European Art HD

European Art HD features 865 pieces of art from collections in Europe. It has the exact same features as the National Gallery, London HD app, so I won’t repeat them here.

The collection of European art encompasses classic to modern art from around the world. It is divided up into 18 genres, including Animals, Veduta, Landscape, Pastoral, Parsuna, Still Life, Portrait, Historical, and Battle, to name a few.

Each artwork has information on it about the artist and style of art (oil, watercolor, etc.). Just click on the little “i” for more information.

European Art HD is currently 99 cents and is 188.5 MB.

That’s it for me today. Until later, …

Why People Write & Read Reviews

People write reviews for many different reasons. Some are selfish (such as revenge or spite for not liking the app or product). Others are unselfish (such as truly wanting to help others decide on an app or product).

I have to admit that since I started blogging I do not write nearly as many reviews as I used to. Things that push me to write a review are extremes. Extremely good and extremely bad apps. Another reason I might write a review is if I see an app I like being attacked by reviewers unfairly.

Do you write reviews in the App Store often? And, if so, what type of reviews do you write? If not, why?

I wrote a post on being a well-educated app reviewer before. You can read it here.

Take a look at this infographic and see if you can relate.

Why people write reviews

Become a Bargain Hunter With Pickers HD

Pickers HD

If you enjoy shopping, bargain hunting, and strategy, Pickers HD might just be the game you’re looking for. Another app by MumboJumbo (previous review of another MumboJumbo game here), Pickers allows you to shop and haggle for bargains, explore unique scenes, and sell your finds in your own store.

Pickers HD

Currently on sale for $2.99 (usually $6.99) Pickers takes you around the country to visit run-down farms, antique shops, dumps, abandoned storage units, even a dilapidated bus all in search of the best deals you can find.

Each location has a hidden object scene where you can win an item for free to sell in your store called Rusted Gold. Be sure to look at everything carefully, because the best finds are often hard to spot.

You can have up to 3 of your finds looked at by an expert who will advise you on how to price that item based on its worth. If something just isn’t selling in your store, you can reprice it or send it to auction. But, the auction house does take a percentage of the sale.

You have 30 days to make as much money as you can. You can choose to play in Zen mode, where there is no pressure, or you can choose to compete against others to make the most money. Awards are given for different achievements. And, each day there is a theme of things that you should look for to buy and sell. Some items can be combined with others to make them a full set, but they can be hard to spot.

Pickers HD

You also have to concern yourself with the moods of the shop owners. Offer too little for their treasures and you risk upsetting them and having a harder time making deals in the future. But, offer too much and you risk losing money and getting taken for a fool. Build a reputation and you’ll have an easier time making deals.

In your store, you can have items appraised, restore items that aren’t in perfect order, combine items that go together, price each item, and then open the store to shoppers who will haggle with you over prices.

Pickers is a combination of a hidden object game, resource management, and adventure all rolled into one.

Do you have what it takes to find the best deals and make a fortune selling them? If you think you do, check out Pickers for fun and make a fortune.

That’s it for me today. Until later, …

MumboJumbo Rivals Big Fish Where Games Are Concerned

You know how much I love Big Fish? But, at the end of the day, there has to be more to gaming than even the expansive library of Big Fish games. Enter MumboJumbo. They are a similar ilk of developer to Big Fish. MumboJumbo doesn’t have nearly as many games, but the games they do have are superb!

I’m currently working on finishing off the trilogy of Midnight Mysteries and am playing a game of theirs called Pickers, but today I’m going to talk about Samantha Swift and the Fountains of Fate for the iPad.

Samantha Swift and the Fountains of Fate

Fountains of Fate (currently $4.99) is a hidden object/adventure game similar to many you may have played. I didn’t actually play it for the longest time because the icon kind of looks romance novel-esque, and I didn’t take it seriously. I should have.

Fountains of Fate

Samantha Swift is an archaeologist and adventurer who discovers she is on the trail of Cortez, in search of the Fountain of Youth. To defeat her main nemesis, M’Alice, and save a friend, Samantha must travel around the globe on 6 missions solving puzzles and finding treasures.

The puzzles are intriguing and the object finding is fun. Many of the objects you must find are written as riddles and many require an action before the object appears. Some even require interaction with an inventory item from a previous puzzle. In addition, you are always in search of extra objects in each puzzle to give you hints and unlock an extra game.

Fountains of Fate

Speaking of hints. There are no rechargeable hints in MumboJumbo games. All hints must be earned by finding objects. Skipping puzzles is earned in this way as well. This adds an extra layer of challenge to the games as you are not as apt to abuse the hint system. I didn’t like it at first and ended up loving it because it pushed me to not give up on things I might have given up on in a Big Fish game.

If you really need extra hints or you would like a strategy guide and bonus content, there is an in-app store in all MumboJumbo games where these things can be purchased.

Fountains of Fate is definitely less dark than the Midnight Mysteries games, which I needed after playing that trilogy. I found Fountains of Fate to be a refreshing twist on a genre I have become familiar with. The graphics are awesome and the gameplay is enthralling.

I just have one question for MumboJumbo. When are you going to make more games?

That’s it for me today. Until later, …

Fountains of Fate

Buncee Bits, Buncee Pro Bring Creativity Bounding By

Some recent Buncee Bits by other users

The recently updated Buncee Bits is a 5-star champion when it comes to creative expression for any reason. As you can see from the picture above, Buncee users utilize what Buncee Bits has in fun, unique, and creative ways. Upon opening Buncee Bits, you are taken to this scene where you can view recent Buncee creations by other users.

Buncee Bits

After you fill up on inspiration, switch to the Create view to make your own magic. I don’t know if Buncee took a note from Instagram or vice versa, but everything you create in Buncee Bits is square, as you can see in the photos. The only flaw for me is that the entire app is in portrait mode. If you’re a landscape mode kind of persion, which I am, you have to adjust.

Once you are ready, start with a background of either your own photo or a graphic from the Buncee Bits Gallery. The Gallery is divided up into many categories: Animals, Birthday, Bubbles, Cityscapes, Everyday, Holiday, Meme, Occasions, Photographic, Sports, Stationay, and Textures & Colors. This is really the best part of Buncee Bits. The graphics are outstanding and the choices are plentiful! There are hundreds of backgrounds in the Buncee Bits Gallery.

From there, you add text in many fonts, any color, and any size. You can even draw what you want to say or show yourself. Finally, add a frame to finish it off.

Buncee Bits is a fabulous choice whether you are writing a letter, making a card, or just horsing around. There is definitely a finished feel to the app. Something that says finesse.

For a free, universal app with no ads, Buncee Bits is more than most could wish for.

Buncee Pro

Buncee Pro – Custom eCards and Greeting Cards is a close cousin to Buncee Bits. This iPad only app is currently 99 cents, but it is worth every penny.

Buncee Pro

Buncee Pro features 80 custom backgrounds on which you can compose your collage. There are more than 150 clip art and speech bubble graphics to choose from. Add text, photos (you can edit and filter them, too), and drawings for a very persona touch. Each element can be adjusted for size and angle. Drawings and text can be in any of 20 colors.

Buncee Pro is polished and beautiful, while at the same time it is fun and cute. You can definitely create just about anything you can imagine with the help of Buncee Pro.

That’s it for me today. Until later, …