Digital Art Software Colors Live Gets A Physical Release On Switch

I'm no artist, but this is pretty cool for the people who are.

I got this for my 6 year old son. I tried it out beforehand and decided the interface was too complicated for him to use, so I haven't shown it to him. Maybe in a year or two he would be able to use it.

the pen it comes with might be very good for Splatoon and Animal Crossing

But can I get a stylus and the digital version?

That's.. huh.. honestly kind of tempting.

I'm still waiting for my pen from the kickstarter. It's been an unfortunate time for overseas shipping to my country it would seem. I'm still hoping it gets here eventually, but I'm kind of not counting on it.

This looks awesome. I'm definitely keen. And where is Art Academy at?

@CodyMKW : It's a pressure sensing pen, so I would say not.

Nintendo's official stylus (available on its own and with Brain Training, and Super Mario Maker 2 at launch) works great. I've been using the official stylus with Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle as well, which would not have been anywhere near as enjoyable without it.

Yeah I put my order in a week ago when the physical version was announced. My daughter will love this.

@Not_Soos It might work (dunno) but a regular stylus would lack that special feature of pressure-sensitivity, which their stylus achieves via a connection through the headphone jack.

@Silly_G Same for Nintendo's stylus of course, it doesn't connect to the headphone jack either.

Hmmm color me intrigued.

This can get a normal release, yet we have to contend with endless limited physical printings of so many highly desirable and popular titles. It's infuriating.

(Nothing against Colours Live, I'm sure it's good. Nice to see unique titles like this get a regular release)

A lot of "color" related posts today.

I'm not clear - is this 'code in a box' physical, or proper physical?

There are many other things I'd rather spend $50 on than this.

The tech that goes into the pen is really cool and deserves a story on its own. Instead of simply being pressure sensitive, it sends different audio signals into the mic jack of the Switch depending on the pressure applied. It's a creatively brilliant work around. I wish I could draw because I'd pick this up just to mess around with the pen, but considering stick stiggly looks better than anything I could draw I'll unfortunately have to pass.

... Or will I?

... Probably?

It makes the most sense until you see the price tho.. you’ll get alot more from a tablet that has applications with more advanced tools and a larger interface

I completely missed the bit about the stylus needing to be plugged in to the headphone jack. How bizarre and brilliant.

@gcunit : I don't see why it wouldn't be a proper physical release (otherwise it would have "Game Card Not Included!" disclaimers all over the packaging).

I loved messing around with Colours on 3DS. But mostly just because of the 3D effect. This might be cool for illustrators but without a gimmick, it's not something I can justify.

@CodyMKW the stylus will work with any game that uses the touch screen, and works on any device with a capacitive touch screen.
pressure sensitivity is only supported in colors!live on the switch, and a small number of android and iphone apps.
if you're using it without pressure sensitivity you do not need to plug in the cable.

@Not_Soos if you buy through store.colorslive.com you get digital with stylus, if you buy it through the eshop you get digital without stylus.

@gcunit the version sold through various retailers will be a switch game box with cartridge and with the stylus attached in a bubble.
a "digital" bundle on store.colorslive.com gets you a digital code through e-mail, and the stylus in a fancy cardboard box.

@alwaysasn the "gimmicks" of this version are the included stylus(which also works in some android and iphone apps with pressure sensitivity, as it doubles as a regular sonarpen!) and the quest mode that lets you take on a drawing challenge every day and get a private score based on feedback from other users.

The little Wii homebrew that could. Seriously, it's a pretty cool journey the dev of these games has gone down.

@thedicemaster

Hrmm. Still, a no-go for me and my poor arthritic fingers. But I can see how that could be fun for someone who likes to draw!

I backed this because I used to enjoy the original homebrew version of Colors on on my DSphat and DSlite quite a bit!

The sonar pen doesn't fully capture the neat feel of the pressure sensitivity, as it was built in to the screens of the first two DS models, but it's a LOT better than having no sensitivity at all. :v

@Eel You should contact their support - https://www.colorslive.com/contact. Perhaps they could help you out.

@Pod and you know this how? did you get one already?

@SyFyTy
Yes, I backed the project on Kickstarter and received the software with the Sonarpen last year.

@minamiyama Thanks I did, they were very nice about it, and decided to send me another one! They'll be using a safer shipment method, so it should most definitely get here. Can't wait to try out the pen.

You can also purchase the physical version in the UK (looks like it releases on 24/09) despite NintendoLife only giving US sites and prices for whatever reason.

❗I might get this JUST for the SonarPen🖋 alone...

I've had this for quite a while now as I was a backer. Overall it's good: the nub on the sonarpen is a bit unusual and I personally preferred the 3DS version because the resistive touch screen made drawing feel better (so not the devs fault), but it's nice to draw on a bigger, HD screen with Switch.

I want to get this game and then watch “the joy of painting” episodes and try to paint along with Bob. I’ve heard this is somewhat possible with some of the brushes used in the game. I really hope it is.

@Perryg92 @Pod Hi guys, I have a question for you. Based on the tools/brush types and the way painting works, I’m curious to know if you can duplicate the Bob Ross “wet on wet” style of painting? I’d like to try and do some of his episodes of Joy of Paintint with the game if it is.

I remember the 3DS version of this, which let you create layers to give your image some 3D depth.

@AG_Awesome I personally would say maybe no, but with the blending/transparency tools available on Colors I guess you could try to emulate the look. But the real thing with real paints would be better to duplicate Bob Ross.
I found someone's done a landscape drawing with Colors:
https://www.colorslive.com/details/4638250
Is that the kind of thing you'd like to draw?
Maybe good to check out the colors site overall to get a vibe of the art you can create.
This is the kinda stuff I have drawn (on 3DS) but alot of the features are the same if not more options on Switch.
https://www.colorslive.com/details/4466876

$50!? That is a massive ripoff wtf

i'll have it next friday. i'm so happy for this

@NikHogan with 50$ you have the sonarpen included. i think that it's a very good price

@AG_Awesome
Unfortunately, the materials simulation is not that extensive in this software.
You won't be doing any wet-on-wet, and even getting a brush to feel like a pencil or a piece of charcoal isn't very intuitive. In that regard, it's much more similar to Photoshop, than it is to say, Art Academy.

@BananaMetallurgica i got a pack of 6 similar stylus pens for my tablet (which is also capacitive, and works on switch) just for $10. I doubt the game is worth $40 when higher quality art software like autodesk sketchbook is free, without ads, and software like procreate is $10, and has more options. this is a ripoff, plain and simple.

@NikHogan sonarpen is better that apple pen and for only 35-40$. sonarpen + colors live 50$ is so cheap. if you are good with your stylus and not interested in sonarpen, you can buy colors live fron eshop for 30$. you can't criticize the price if you are not interested in sonarpen. and this is colors live.... with a lot of lessons, test and missions, not a draw application

@NikHogan no way you got a smart stylus 6-pack for $10.

the sonarpen is a smart stylus with extra button and pressure sensitivity.

a sonarpen is $25-$35, a wacom smart stylus is $45.

So confirm that I can buy this digitally and they will ship the pen to me? How long does that usually take?

@BananaMetallurgica i wasnt talking about apple pen. i use android tablets. so i dont have procreate, but i do have autodesk sketchbook.

@Qwertyninty i think the pen will arrive in a week or 2 if you order just the pen or a bundle with the pen on colorslive.com
the eshop version does not include the pen.

most retailers can do same or next day delivery if you buy the physical version with stylus.

@NikHogan thats mainly for the sonar pens being around $35, since it allows pen pressure on devices that usually wouldnt have it

@AG_Awesome The New Art Academy on the 3ds was much better for that translation of Bob Ross-style work. along with [a] well-thought-out lesson plan.
Besides the resistive style screen, there was a button (Dpad option) in the 3ds colors live that allowed pressure sense changing between firm and soft.