Everyone should download Colors, and also learn to draw

by JC Fletcher { Nov 28th 2007 at 7:40PM }

Still on the fence about homebrew? This demonstration of what is possible with the homebrew drawing program Colors! will boot you off the fence and send you shopping for an R4. All you need to create gorgeous watercolor-looking portraits like this one is homebrew capability, the Colors! program, and to be Joe Quinones. Which, unfortunately, you aren't. Unless you are, in which case you've already seen these.

In addition to this portrait, he painted a lovely Princess Leia portrait that we think would be quite an achievement even if it hadn't been made with a DS. It proves that Star Wars fan works don't necessarily have to be embarrassing for everyone involved or watching.

[Thanks, Jason!]

Tags: colors, drawing, paint, princess-leia

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ZeroNumber @ Nov 28th 2007 8:00PM

I've heard that the R4 has some pretty weak-sauce homebrew capabilities, but I ordered one anyway. Another, homebrew-friendly chip would be the M3 or something.

RupeeClock @ Nov 28th 2007 8:59PM

On the contrary, recent developments have made homebrew work a lot better on the R4.
The only thing is that it has to be newer homebrew, because old homebrew was designed with things like the Max Media Launched in mind, things like Fat Access are greatly hindered.
Thank god for DLDI patching!

As for Colors, it's a good program but I greatly prefer Phidias, if you ask me, you can make much better things with it because it works with pixels and has a variety to choose from.
Does colors have brush presets or smuding? No it does not!

http://www.sivullinen.fi/nds/projects.php?subaction=showfull&id=1173373766&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2&

Pie Pants @ Nov 28th 2007 9:10PM

The R4's actually got better homebrew capability than most flashcarts on the market these days. Auto DLDI patching means you can just throw the program on your SD card and away you go.

I haven't found anything that won't run on it yet.

Brello @ Nov 28th 2007 8:30PM

I'll stick with the PC for all my freeware needs.

neuralien @ Nov 28th 2007 8:48PM

@1 The R4 and the M3 are essentially the same thing, hardware-wise. The only big difference is that they use different software drivers.

jakfoood @ Nov 29th 2007 12:50AM

No, the only thing different is that they use different stickers.

MrTyzik @ Nov 28th 2007 8:48PM

The R4 and M3 DS Simply are identical cards. I have an M3 and love it though. However, there is the M3 DS Real out now which supports MicroSD HC. I might have to pick that up soon.

Fank @ Nov 28th 2007 9:11PM

If that's Leia, then I'm Luke Starkiller.

Alisha Karabinus @ Nov 28th 2007 11:10PM

*koff*

"In addition to this portrait..."

So, uh... the one here, which would be this portrait, is not Leia.

;)

iofthestorm @ Nov 28th 2007 9:20PM

That's nothing, check out the official gallery:
http://colors.brombra.net/
R4DS is compatible with all moderately recent homebrew, anything new is definitely going to run on it and only stuff that like requires a RAM expansion or something will likely have trouble. Out of the slot-1 homebrew carts, it's probably the most cost effective cart.

ArmiMaan @ Nov 28th 2007 9:22PM

I've been hesitant to get into homebrew because I can't find a retailer that I implicitly trust to order a device from. But, yesterday I noticed that Futureshop (a fairly big retailer here in Canada) has Datel's Games 'n' Music available online. Anyone know anything about the Games 'n' Music, how reliable it is and how well it works with Colors?

Chase @ Nov 29th 2007 1:15AM

I second this inquiry.

RAmen @ Nov 29th 2007 5:40AM

Avoid the Games 'N Music like the plague. A lot of people of had problems with microSD compatibility and with the SD slot breaking.

Amazon has the R4:
http://www.amazon.com/R4/dp/B000Y3U91I/

Chase @ Nov 29th 2007 7:07PM

Thanks, RAmen. ^_^

Kaizoku Risu @ Nov 29th 2007 2:47AM

I've had Colors! for a while now and it is amazing especially for free software! This is definitely a must have for any one into homebrew. :D

Mark A. Hill @ Nov 29th 2007 4:17PM

Wow, this Colors homebrew is awesome. It's super easy, too. Everyone should check it out. I wish I was a better artist so I could use it to its full potential.

threevue.com

Zebulon Pike @ Nov 29th 2007 7:02PM

This is the reason I got my R4, for when I don't feel like carrying a real sketchbook around. Even my friends who don't draw have gone off and downloaded a copy. It's like having a tiny portable Wacom tablet, and when the drawing gets frustrating it also plays games!

The best feature is the playback - it's amazing to look at how some of the best artists painted these pictures, and humbling to look at how many mistakes you made in your own before getting to the final product ;)

For me it's preferable to Phidias because of the challenges of no layers, no smudging or presets. I can do all that in Photoshop - drawing in a more limited program makes you think more about basic art techniques, like how to blend your colours without just reaching for the smudge tool, and how to create the illusion of texture without grabbing a brush.

Kam @ Dec 13th 2007 5:19AM

I've started using this, and I've gotta say, I'm REALLY impressed so far. It takes a lot of getting used to, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.