Color Tap Pixels

What is Color Tap Pixels app?

Color Tap Pixels is a paint-by-numbers colouring app that uses pixel art.   

What is pixel art? Originally pixel art was a necessity demanded by the low power of early computers. These computers could not have many pixels (the dots that form the on-screen image). Nor could these computers show many colours at once.   

Even the weakest modern devices can display enough colours and pixels to make pixel art unnecessary, but the style still prevails. What was once a technology limitation has become an art style loved by many. It suits painting-by-numbers very well as each pixel is a self contained-cell that should hold a single colour. 

That is what Color Tap Pixels does. It shows a grid of squares with numbers in them that correspond to colours. The player then colours in the image they have chosen. 

What we love about Color Tap Pixels.

Many colouring apps are incomplete and nag the users to expand them with in-app purchases. Others are full of ads. These make them less suitable for kids and challenging for schools to use. Color Tap Pixels has neither, which makes it very child friendly. 

Seeing the final, multi-coloured picture emerge from the plain grid is a relaxing process. Kids can choose which images they want to colour, ranging from simple single elements like a seagull to more complex ones like houses and gardens. 

There are also some fun graphical flourishes as kids fill the squares and complete images. They add considerably to the joy of colouring the pictures. 

What skills does it improve?

The developers of Color Tap Pixels did not design it to help with academic subjects, but schools could use it. Colouring in, whether on paper or screen, helps with practising fine motor movements. It is also a soothing exercise for stressed kids. 

Pixel art could be the focus for art lessons, and this app would provide a great introduction. It is interesting to see how the artists depict shadow and light in the images, for example. The techniques could be observed by just looking at pixel art but actively colouring it in makes it easier to notice.

What age is it appropriate for?

Children of any age can use Color Tap Pixels. None of the images contain any inappropriate elements. 

Is Color Tap Pixels easy to use?

It is easy to access the different pictures within the app, as is choosing colours. Images can be zoomed and scrolled using intuitive touch gestures. 

How will students benefit?

Pixel art is an interesting style, and it can really 'click' with some people. They go on to produce impressive artworks that seem to defy the limitations within which they are made. Color Tap Pixels might inspire some kids to look more closely at pixel art and begin to create their own, learning the different techniques as they go. 

How will teachers benefit?

Color Tap Pixels could form the basis of art lessons or even part of coding lessons. It is a very forgiving art style for beginners who can start with simple silhouettes and add details later. Its parallel history with computer gaming makes it a good technique for kids to produce their own game graphics ready to use with whatever coding software schools use with their kids. 

How will parents benefit?

Many people who use mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and calm themselves use colouring-in activities to help them focus. Kids can do the same, and this is an excellent app in which to do it. With no advertisements or nagging for in-app purchases, kids can focus entirely on their pictures. 

What Color Tap Pixels can improve on?

The app does not allow its users to overdraw. If your finger drifts out of the correct boxes, it won't fill the wrong ones. This is a double-edged feature. It does avoid the fiddliness that can come from colouring intricate areas, especially on small screens, but it might be a bit too forgiving.   

Some kids will realise that they can just rub the screen indiscriminately to colour in the image as only the cells for the currently selected colour will be filled. This approach won't encourage the focus that colouring apps are good at achieving. It would be nice to see an option that required users to be precise in their colouring. 

This new option would make children concentrate more, which many teachers would be hoping for from a colouring app. 

The developers have been diligent in fixing a bug identified in this review which shows that it is under active maintenance and likely to be supported and improved in the future.

How much does Color Tap Pixels cost?

Color Tap Pixels is available for a single purchase price. All of its 450 images are available to use in any order. There is no trial app, but this review of Color Tap Pixels and the video available on its app store page should tell you all you need to know before buying the app. 

Is Color Tap Pixels safe to use?

The developers of Color Tap Pixels make it clear that they set out to make an app that kids could use safely. Besides having no advertisements or in-app purchases, the app has no links to social media or requirement to be online. 

Overall rating of the app.

This app is well made and provides an excellent colouring experience. It is refreshing to see an app aimed at children that uses a graphical style different from the usual simplistic cartoony one. The only hesitation you might have with this app is whether you consider it educational.   

If you are interested in a calming app that shows kids a different graphical style, then Color Tap Pixels is for you. This review of Color Tap Pixels is not going to punish it for being what it is. Still, you must keep in mind that colouring, as an activity, is not especially educational for most kids, even if it might have other benefits. We've given this app five stars as it is as good an app for colouring as you could find, but if you want an app to enhance learning, it isn't for you.

You can download Color Tap Pixels on your iOS devices from the Apple App Store.