While completing work on the full version for Wii U, Nintendo released Art Academy: SketchPad in August 2013 to tide over creative gamers for a short spell. The full Art Academy then missed its 2014 release target, prompting some concerns it had been sidelined; those worries can now be laid to rest with the announcement of Art Academy: Atelier.
It's arriving in Europe on 26th June - the same day as Yoshi's Woolly World in the region - though is yet to have a North American release date; we expect the latter soon. This is the full-fat version of the game, so as a result it'll include a full tool-set and 30 lessons to help beginners learn their craft. It'll also have the usual options of SD card import and exports, displaying work in an internal gallery and, like SketchPad, it'll allow you to share creations on Miiverse.
The key new feature is with YouTube, however, making this the second Nintendo title - after Mario Kart 8 - to include an in-game tool to upload videos. In this case you can upload time-lapse videos of your creations that are either one, two or five minutes long. Considering how popular these videos are on YouTube this seems like a particularly smart move.
It seems this will be available at retail and on the eShop, but will be a 'budget retail' title on the download store at €29.99 / £24.99; those that already own SketchPad on the same Wii U will be able to pick this up on the eShop at a reduced price of €26.00 / £21.40.
Are you excited that Art Academy: Atelier is finally confirmed, and intrigued by the YouTube option? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 43
I can't draw. Kindergarten children probably have better drawing skills than I do. You think this game will be able to teach me something?
Finally! Looking forward to expressing my creative tendencies through the Wii u gamepad
So no need to buy the SketchPad if you'll get this? But I may just get both as well since they'll be 30€ if I buy the SketchPad before the full app.
Q: Are you excited that Art Academy: Atelier is finally confirmed, and intrigued by the YouTube option?
A: I'm not sure now. I was considering getting the Art Academy sketch pad so I could learn how to do some drawings on the Wii U gamepad, and perhaps just help out my drawing skills in general, but upon hearing of another Art Academy game coming out I decided to wait.
Now that I know it's a full game, and at a much larger cost, I'm a little unsure. I was kind of expecting more of an expansion to the Sketchpad, not an upgrade of this size or cost. I mostly want to learn how to draw on the gamepad so I can make some little comics/funny comments on Miiverse, maybe even get some basic drawing skills to help out with my my YouTube channel, nothing quite so serious as to spend £25.
So I'm a little at odds now. Should I just get the Sketchpad, or pay out quite a bit more for this bigger and better version? Do I even need anything more than the Sketchpad for what I want to learn and be able to do through it?
What about those promised features of Art Academy: SketchPad that never arrived? :/
@Hy8ogen I couldn't draw at all, but actually learnt a lot with Art Academy on the 3DS - the lessons in that one are fantastic, and I suspect it'll be similar in this one.
@Souldin I thought the sketchpad does not provide lessons? It's just an App that provides you with a variety of drawing tools to create your drawings. Whereas this full release contains lessons on how to draw? Which is why I never bothered with the sketchpad, since I don't know how to draw AT ALL.
@ThomasBW84 Hope you're right! I really need to learn how to draw so my future children won't look down on me
Another release date confirmed for the "Wii U: Games, games and more games" trailer from last year. The only Wii U games after 1st half of 2015 become Xenoblade X (unknown release date), Mario Maker (September) and Zelda U (2016).
@Hy8ogen Really? Huh, I figured that the Sketchpad had some basic tutorials with it, but if it's simply the drawing utensils then that wouldn't be a good option for me.
I guess if I want to learn how to draw on my Wii U gamepad, and hopefully improve my overall drawing skills, I'd have to get the full game. Still, £25 makes me question a purchase.
It is apparently coming out on the same day as Yoshi's Wooly World, which I'll need to pick up for my brothers birthday, so I'll see how much money I have around then and consider a purchase there and then.
@Tsurii897
But I'll get 2 apps for the price of one.
@Hy8ogen Nintendo promised lessons for Sketchpad. Can't find any screenshot and I'm not at home to take a picture of the gamepad, but I can tell you the option is there.
@Ebisumaru I can back your claim. I remembered them saying that, but they never added it in lol. It was suppose to be a paid DLC iirc.
Yeah, I was also under the impression that SketchPad told you that lessons will arrive later. That's why I bought SketchPad. That's why the option on the start screen is there. They are not getting 26 Euros from me like this :-/
@HarryK I'm not buying either. Very disappointed.
WoW I never expected this would take 2yrs haha, definitely buying the full version.
Finally! What took them so long? A bit pricey for me though. I'll buy it one day down the track.
I would have expected this kind of game as a launch title back in 2012, but to release it in 2015 is too little too late
My daughter has been wanting the lessons for ages; she still uses the Sketchpad regularly. The addition of YouTube sharing is great so she can see how others achieve their results (assuming people share). Discount for having Sketchpad is nice - this and Wooly World are day one for me.
Being able to draw to a high degree of quality and precision like this on the GamePad is something I think Nintendo should have pushed a lot more as a cool unique selling point of the Wii U that you simply cannot do on the competitor's consoles.
I can think of some great ways this particular aspect of the Wii U could have been turned into basically a system selling feature.
Ugh, I really need to improve my nonexistent drawing skills, but I can't afford that much for this. Wouldn't Sketchpad suffice, or doesn't it feature any lessons/tutorials?
@Kaze_Memaryu If it's a full fledged in depth drawing/painting application then that's a pretty decent price for what you are getting to be honest.
@Souldin I got Art Academy for the 3DS and if it's anything like that and you want to learn how to paint then I can't recommend it enough. It uses the stylus so effectively and teaches about how the paints work, how they blend, how the 'masters' had done it, etc etc. Also includes how to sketch, how chalk and watercolours work. On occasions I almost forget I'm just using a stylus. Anyone with an interest in learning how to paint should definitely purchase it.
Might be worth seeing what Atelier actually offers before putting down money though but like I said, if it's anything like the 3DS version it's worth a purchase!
@Kaze_Memaryu
Sketchpad has no lessons.
@tysonfury Yeah, like I said above; this should have been a feature of the Wii U that was pushed far more as something cool and unique than it has been and yeah, it should have been something that was widely available on the system long before now imo.
Nintendo has talked about all the great features of the Wii U and how it wants to promote the unique functionality of the GamePad more but it should have been doing that full-on from day one.
It's just one more area of Wii U where Nintendo dropped the ball imo.
@Kirk I agree and if it has 30 lessens then that's 1 euro per lesson. Bargain!
@Kirk I didn't mean that it'd be too expensive, just that I can't afford this until much later.
@LavaTwilight Damn...
I wonder what took them this long.
But very nice to finally have it.
About time! This has been "coming soon" for two years.
This is a great addition I love the ability to upload some gameplay to my friends through youtube.
Great (and somewhat surprising) news!
Upload your artwork to YouTube. .....then get it taken down by Nintendo!
Finally!!! I'm not waiting for this app, but it's good to see it goes full retail. Definitely gonna buy it, my half-ass drawings need some improvement!
I don't quite understand why the YouTube feature is necessary; most people in the Sketch Pad community upload WIP shots to Miiverse. I guess I'm more confused as to why a painting program lets you upload your artistic progress when Nintendo's popular fighting game doesn't let you upload your favorite replays.
FINALLY. I had asked about this on Miiverse and no one seemed to know anything. Now I just need a NA release date.
Guessing this is not related to the Atelier Iris series on Playstation...
Finally
This is a no brainer purchase for an artistic parent with two creative children. I'm actually worried it won't have enough content or be optimized enough with that price being as low as it is. :/
@Hy8ogen yes it will. I own DS 3DS and pokemon 3DS and I'm a much better drawer now.
not a pro because I don't have much time to sit down and do some of the full lessons they do, but much better. I can accurately draw an image from a reference point really well now thanks to AA. I made my mom 2 cards in the past like that.
Id say maybe 80%? still not good with lines and what not, but thats just me and my shaky hands.
oh and btw I assumed there was gonna be some sort of YT thing or something based off of this http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/5sA2Ee7KMP3Nkguayri57lkqzemT4sJp page on Nintendos website. I found it the other day.
Finished this recently in Sketchpad btw...
http://audiobrainiac.deviantart.com/art/Classic-Sonic-The-Hedgehog-534435181
Finally! You have no idea how long I've waited for this...so I'll tell you. I've waited about a year. Anyway there's still no release date for Zimbabwe yet so I'll have to wait even longer I guess.
Been waiting for this since I bought my Wii U in Nov. 2013.
FWIW, if you have a 3DS you can get 'New Art Academy' on the 3DS from Amazon UK for £5.44 currently (only one left in stock though). I bought it and like it a lot, but haven't put much time into it yet, only on the third lesson.
Will be interesting to see how different Atelier will be from the 3DS version. Though I will buy it anyway as my kids will hopefully be into the idea of the lessons, and I like the idea of the Youtube feature. But of course, the secret to improving your drawing comes down to time, patience, and practice. Not necessarily traits associated with children.
Definitely advise an e-shop purchase for this. Not the sort of game you want to be swapping disks for because you'll end up not bothering and never putting the time into it. That's the issue I have with my 3DS version, but it is so cheap on Amazon that it was worth going physical to make sure I like it.
I think I'll pick this up at retail it'll be good to hang onto for helping my daughter learn drawing when she's older .
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