Get Started Ideas for Creative Play – using the Phone

Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time…
Bill Gates

When there is nothing going on we pick up our smart phone and check what’s happening somewhere else. Through the many apps that constantly connects us to news flashes, friend updates, new e-mail messages, and incoming text messages we always have something to distract ourselves with. I hate when I notice how I use my phone to distract myself from working, moving forward or dealing with difficult situations. Mindfulness is the only thing that I know of that can help me notice this behavior and move away from it. But Mindfulness on the smart phone is really hard, so there’s an app for that too!

I don’t think that the phone is all bad, not as bad as many would like to make it. It’s a wonderful tool for connection, finding inspiration, love and sharing updates and photos with friends close and far – and it’s also a great tool for creativity!

The always accessible camera is awesome for play and documentation as I’ve written about before, and instagram is the best thing ever after sliced bread. But there are some other fun stuff that you can play with too. I’ve been trying out a few ideas and I’m gonna share some ideas today, just to give you an idea of what’s possible if you haven’t started playing yet.

For example, doodeling is always fun, even on a small screen – and with your finger.

The drawings turns out rather rudimentary, but it’s fun to play with the structure of the different pens. The above drawings is kid friendly and called Doodle.ly. The July greeing below is made with an app that looks a bit more grown up and is called Sketches. Playing around costs nothing, but if you want to add layers, more colors and pens you’ll have to pay up. But as most apps it’s cheap if you find you’ll use it a few times.

This next idea is my favorite, and it’s about layering different images into one final, altered version of reality. You work with a combination of app images. I imported a doodled flower (also made in Sketches) and then a photo of me, myself and I, Hanna. Those two were imported into a fun app that is called Layers, where you can vignette (mask) part of any image, then combine that one with different. Layering is always interesting, in clothes, mixed media art – and with digital images too.

I love this idea for self portrait play!

Here is another example of a selfie times two, combined with a rose photo:

Another super fun way to be creative is to create photo collages (I love four square photos in a square most) using the app FrameMagic. I love finding the right photos to combine and compliment each other as a new whole. With that app I also create images with quotes (like this one) or the greetings I sometimes share on my facebook page Studio iHanna.

So next time you find yourself with the phone in hand, ready to play Candy Crush or something equally silly, start doodeling instead! Just search your app store for these or similar apps for painting, layering or altering photos. The important thing is not to know how to use them, but to be willing to give them a try and experiment with the settings.

Happy July! And Appy’ play time kids!