''Colors!'' is a series of

digital painting Digital painting is either a physical painting made with the use of digital electronics and spray paint robotics within the digital art fine art context or pictorial art imagery made with pixels on a computer screen that mimics artworks from th ...

applications for

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the con ...

s and

mobile device A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. ...

s. Originally created as a homebrew application for

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

(as ''Colors!''), which was since legitimately distributed on

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, and Android, the project eventually evolved into an officially licensed application for

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

(as ''Colors! 3D'') and

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

(as ''Colors Live'').

History

''Colors!''

''Colors!'' was originally released in June 2007 as a simple homebrew painting application for the

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

DS. It was developed by Jens Andersson, a programmer and designer on sabbatical from the games industry who wanted to experiment with the potential of the new handheld platform. Shortly after, Rafał Piasek created an online gallery where users could upload paintings made with the program. ''Colors!'' quickly became one of the best-known homebrew applications on the Nintendo DS, and in September 2008, it was also released for the

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

and

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a po ...

. As of August 2010, it had been downloaded almost half a million times. It was voted the most popular homebrew application on the Nintendo DS by readers of the R4 for DS blog. Development of ''Colors!'' DS homebrew officially ended in December 2010 although the official gallery still accepted submissions from DS users until 2020 when Colors! Gallery was discontinued.

''Colors! 3D''

''Colors! 3D'' is a successor to the application ''Colors!'' for the

. It was released as an officially licensed application for the

Nintendo eShop The is a digital distribution service for the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2, and formerly available via the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo eShop served ...

in North America on April 5, 2012, and in the

PAL region Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25& ...

on April 19, 2012. It was later released in Japan on August 21, 2013, published by

Arc System Works , commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including ''Guilty Gear ...

. ''Colors! 3D'' allows users to draw on five layers, each on their own

stereoscopic 3D Stereoscopy, also called stereoscopics or stereo imaging, is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...

plane. Drawing is done on the bottom screen, while the top screen displays the painting in 3D. While drawing, players can use the various controls on the Nintendo 3DS to change layers, zoom and pan, and alter the pressure of their brush. Pressing the L button allows users to access a menu to change brush type, size, and opacity, modify the layers, use the camera to provide references, and more. When the user finishes their painting, they can export it to the SD card for viewing in the Nintendo 3DS Camera application. Users can also upload their finished creations to an online gallery, viewed on the 3DS or the official website. Gallery features include hashtags and the ability to follow artists and post comments. Each painting also features a replay feature that allows viewers to see how it was drawn. The application also features local multiplayer, allowing several people to work cooperatively on a painting. In April 2024, the developers of ''Colors! 3D'' collaborated with the Pretendo Network project to officially add support for the application, meaning Colors! 3D will continue to operate as normal when using Pretendo Network.

Reception

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

gave the application a score of 9.0 and an Editor's Choice award, praising its simple interface and tutorials.

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

gave the app a 9.0, calling it "a simple and incredibly fun tool with an amazing community of artists proudly displaying their beautiful and funny 3D images." Nintendo Life gave the app a 9/10, stating, "Though lacking in any structured play, ''Colors! 3D''’s robust free drawing system and unique ability to let anyone create their own three-dimensional artwork more than make up for this."

''Colors Live''

successor called ''Colors Live'' (stylised as ''Colors L!ve'') was released in 2020 after being funded via a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign. It features a pressure-sensitive pen called the Colors SonarPen and a new game mode called Colors Quest. This new adventure has a unique way of handling game progression. Colors Quest has a daily system for progressing through its levels to keep with the theme of slowly improving one's art skills over time. Players are given one drawing task daily, with a specific theme and certain stipulations that must be fulfilled.

References

External links

* {{Homebrew Android (operating system) software Digital art Graphics software IOS software Nintendo 3DS eShop games Nintendo DS games Nintendo Network games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Vita games Raster graphics editors Video games developed in Sweden