Hi friend! Follow these steps to build your very own picture. π
Take your time, have fun, and make it your own. You don't have to do them in order!
Your Name & Saving Your Work
1. Type your full name
In the green box at the top of the screen, type your full name and press Enter. This is how the app remembers YOUR scenes. When you come back later, just type the same name and your pictures will be waiting for you! Each kid who uses this app can type their own name to see their own personal album. And don't worry β if a name isn't kind, the app asks you to pick a nicer one.
2. Save your scene
Type a name for your scene in the green box on the left, then tap the green Save button. Your scene is saved under your name so nobody else can see it. You can save as many scenes as you want! Tap Save again after making changes to update the same scene.
3. My Album gallery
Tap the green My Album button on the left to see all your saved pictures. Tap any scene to jump back into it and keep working. Tap the trash icon on a scene to delete it. Tap New to start a fresh blank scene. Only scenes saved under YOUR name show up here.
4. Your work is safe
Everything you add to your scene saves automatically as you go β even if you don't hit Save! If you leave and come back later with the same name, your scene will still be there waiting for you, just the way you left it.
Setting Up Your Scene
5. Pick your place
Tap the Backgrounds tab in the top bar. You'll see ten theme buttons: Forest π², Desert ποΈ, Mountain β°οΈ, River π, Creek π§, Jungle π΄, Beach ποΈ, Swamp π₯, Canyon ποΈ, and Volcano π. Tap any one to drop in a scene. Each tap gives you a brand-new picture, and every scene comes with a wide open clearing in the middle where you can build. The app remembers where you left off for every theme, so you get lots of different pictures. Tap the green Change your scene button to swap in a new scene anytime β your characters and items stay right where they are!
6. Add friends and stuff
Tap Characters, Bugs, Animals, Camp, Fishing, Gadgets, or Plants in the top bar. Each tab shows a grid of pictures on the left β tap any one to drop it onto your scene. Characters include Armie Garmie, Pvt Chimp, Sgt Sniffer, Tank, and Mantulla β each with their own special set of moves. Bugs has dozens of insects with their own bug moves. Animals has deer, foxes, bears, and more. Camp has tents, sleeping bags, and lanterns. Fishing has poles, fish, and tackle. Gadgets has bug bombs and water balloons. Plants has ferns, flowers, and cattails. Add as many as you want!
7. Upload your own picture
In any tab, look for the Upload button. Pick a picture from your device β the app turns it into a black-and-white coloring figure, just like the built-in characters. It even figures out if your picture is a bug or a person, and gives it the right set of moves so you can pose it the same way!
8. Reuse your pictures (My Pictures)
Every picture you upload is remembered for you! Look for the My Pictures row β it shows all the pictures you've uploaded before. Tap any one and it drops straight into your scene as a coloring figure again, ready to pose β no need to upload it twice!
9. Make your own character
Tap the π¦Έ Add your own character button to dream up a brand-new hero! Describe what they look like, and the app draws them as a black-and-white coloring figure that drops right into your scene β with the same move and pose buttons as the other characters.
10. Story Starter
Not sure where to begin? Tap the green Story Starter button at the top! Pick a place, pick up to three heroes, and pick a story spark β the app builds a ready-made page with your heroes on it and an opening story line you can move or change. Then make it your own!
Selecting & Moving Things
11. Tap and drag
Tap any item on your scene to pick it up β a green box appears around it. Now drag it anywhere you want. Tap a different item to switch. Tap an empty spot to put it down. Tapping a character also makes the pose bars pop open at the top of the picture.
12. Make things bigger or smaller
When something is picked, you'll see a green Slide button on its bottom-right corner. Drag that button left or right to shrink or grow your item.
13. Spin things around
When an item is picked, a green circle appears just above it. Drag that circle around to rotate your item freely to any angle you like.
14. Bring to the front or send to the back
When an item is picked, you'll see two violet arrow buttons on its right side. Tap the up arrow to bring it forward (in front of other things), or the down arrow to send it backward (behind other things). Things never go behind the scenery, so you'll always see them.
15. Take something off
Tap the red β in the top-left corner of any item to remove it from your scene.
Making Them Move & Pose
16. The Pose 1 and Pose 2 bars
At the top of the screen there's a row that says Character Poses with two buttons: Pose 1 and Pose 2. Tap a character on your scene and both bars pop open at the top of the picture. You can also tap the Pose 1 or Pose 2 buttons to open or close each bar on its own β they can both be open at the same time!
17. Pose 1 β the moves
The Pose 1 bar has lots of different actions to choose from β wave, sit, jump, point, march, run, dance, crawl, climb, hide, cheer, and more. Every character has its own special set. Tank can charge, guard, ram, and flap. Sgt Sniffer can sniff, sit, search, and howl. Bugs get their own bug moves like crawl, fly, hover, and spread. Tap any button and watch your friend do that move! Each one is drawn fresh just for you.
18. Pose 2 β poses, face, side, and turn
The Pose 2 bar is one row with everything in it. First come a few extra poses, then the face buttons: tap β to make your friend face left, or βΆ to face right. Tap π€ to turn them to a side view, and tap it again to face forward β it keeps whatever pose they're doing. At the end, tap βΊ to spin a little left or β» to spin a little right.
19. Flipping held things
When a character is holding something, that held item gets its own blue flip button in its top-right corner. Tap it to flip the held item side to side.
Holding Things & Adding Words
20. Make a character hold something
When you pick up a bug, camp item, fishing item, or gadget, you'll see a button at the bottom that says π Put on character. Tap it to stick that item onto the nearest character β now it follows them wherever they go! You can also just drag an item right onto a character to attach it. To take it off, tap βοΈ Take off character.
21. Put held things in front or behind
When a character is holding something, the held item gets a blue Front/Back button on its bottom-left corner. Tap it to switch the item between in front of the character or behind them β perfect for hiding something behind their back!
22. Add words
Tap the Text tab in the top bar. You can type your words in the box on the left and tap Add to drop them on your scene, OR just click anywhere on your picture and a little text box pops up right where you clicked! Type your words and press Enter. Your words appear in the middle β drag them wherever you want.
23. Pick a font, size, and color
When the Text tab is open, you'll see 22 fun fonts to choose from β Boom, Lucky, Poster, Bungee, Wave, Lobster, Marker, Pixel, Spooky, and lots more! Pick a size (Small, Medium, Large, or Huge) and a color from the color row. You see a live preview as you pick. If you already placed words, just tap them to change their font, size, or color anytime.
24. Speech balloons
Make your characters talk! When adding or editing text, pick a balloon style: π¬ Speech for a talk bubble, π Thought for a thinking bubble, π₯ Shout for a big boom, or π« None for just plain words. The balloon appears behind your words so it looks like your character is saying them!
Coloring On Screen
25. Open the coloring page
Tap the π¨ Paint tab in the top bar. Your whole scene β background, characters, items, and everything β gets flattened into one big coloring page. Now you can paint right on top of it with all the coloring tools! When you're done painting, tap Done and your colors get layered back onto your live scene so your characters are still movable.
26. Pick your tool
At the top of the coloring page, pick a tool: Paint for a thick brush, Pencil for thin lines, Fill to flood a whole area with one tap, or Eraser to wipe away color and start that spot over.
27. Pick a color and a size
Tap any color from the big color row β there are 24 colors to choose from! Or tap the rainbow circle to pick your very own color. Then pick a brush size β small for tiny details, big for filling in large areas. Now paint by dragging on the picture!
28. Zoom in for tiny details
Tap the + button to zoom in close for small spots, the β button to zoom out, and the percent number in the middle to jump back to normal size.
29. Undo and clear
Made a mistake? Tap Undo to go back one step. Tap Clear to wipe everything and start the picture fresh.
30. Save, print, and finish
When your coloring is done, tap Save to keep the picture on your device, or tap Print to print it on paper. When you've saved or printed, tap Done to go back to your scene β your colors will be layered on top so you can keep building!
31. Clear paint from your scene
After you color and go back to your scene, your paint shows on top. If you want to start over, tap the green Clear paint button at the top to wipe all the paint off your scene.
Saving, Printing & More
32. Download to your computer
Tap the green Download button at the top to save your whole scene as a picture file on your computer or device. It saves everything β the background, all your characters, items, words, and paint β as one image you can keep forever!
33. Print your picture
Tap the Print button at the top to print your whole scene on paper. Then grab your crayons and color it in by hand!
34. Change your scene background
Tap the green Change your scene button at the top of the picture to swap in a brand-new background anytime. Your characters and items stay right where they are β only the background changes!
35. Bug Splicing Machine
Tap the Bug Splicing Machine button at the top to open the mixing lab. Pick two bugs to be the parents β the machine mushes them together into a brand-new bug nobody has ever seen! Tap the button to add your brand-new bug to your scene, and it gets all the same move and pose buttons as the other characters.
36. Share your picture
Tap the Share button at the top to show your picture to friends and family. The app puts your page on a special link β copy it and send it to anyone you like, and they can open your picture in their browser. If you change your mind, tap Stop sharing and the link stops working.
37. Change your language
Tap the lime Language button at the top to switch the whole app to another language β EspaΓ±ol, FranΓ§ais, Deutsch, δΈζ, and lots more! All the buttons, tips, and the tour switch right away. Tap English anytime to switch back.