We Reviewed Dozens Of The Best Arts, Crafts & Creativity Apps for Kids So You Don’t Have To. Here Are Our Top Picks.
A pencil. A paintbrush. Some stickers. We found a variety of projects to dive into by the weekend. Our children have so many opportunities to stretch their imagination and artistic talent with these apps!
From painting fish that come to life to making their own giggle-inducing videos, there’s a plethora of creative outlets below. They can even try their hand at illustration and storytelling.
If you’ve got an artistic kiddo on your hands, lean into it and help them grow those skills. Thankfully, we live in a day and age with even more resources to help us do so.
Have them editing original photos. Have them designing a classroom that they’d actually want to spend a day in. Or allow them some time to connect with other likeminded children and swap DIY ideas!
Top Arts & Crafts Apps
Artie’s Magic Pencil
Price: $2.99 on iOS
Learn how to draw basic shapes with the help of Artie and his pencil. Within this adventure, children will start stretching their artistic abilities from an early age. This interactive app teaches children how to combine basic, familiar shapes to create representations of everything in the world around them.
The app is designed for children from ages 2 to 6.
Art of Glow
Price: Free on iOS
This digital version of the old Lite Brite toy will fascinate your child. Neon pictures, fireworks designs, twinkling stars, and more are all possible. It’s bright and fun and will bring out the artist in nearly anyone.
The app is completely free to download and play. It features animated particles that will bring pictures to life! You really need to see this one to believe it.
Coloring Book for Me
Price: Free trial, with subscription options from $4.99 to $39.99
iOS App Store / Google Play Store
This coloring book app allows users to create their very own, unique mandalas to color. It’s relaxing and fun! Users can also “color” pictures with their own photos to create unique works of art or import their photos in line-drawing format to make their own coloring picture outlines.
The app is free to download and try. It offers a range of subscription options from $4.99 to $39.99.
Top Creativity Apps
PicMonkey Photo + Video Design
Price: Free with in-app purchases
iOS App Store / Google Play Store
Picmonkey is free and will have your tweens editing and jazzing up photos in no time. Filters and all the latest effects are inside this easy-to-use app. There are options for creative cropping, expanding and stretching, stickers, and many other effects.
The app is free to download and offers subscription options from $12.99 per month to $119.99 annually. These allow for more storage, desktop access, and other additional features.
Create Storytime
Price: $2.99 with in-app purchases
Allow your children to spend some time creating their very own stories with the Create Storytime app. Along with words, you can add beautiful images to help the plot come to life! The app allows young authors to bring their stories to life. There is a library of images included as well.
The app costs $2.99 to download. It offers five additional image sets to take stories in new directions, too. Each one costs ninety-nine cents.
Weebly by Square
Price: Free with in-app purchases
iOS App Store / Google Play Store
Over 40 million people around the world have already created a website using Weebly. With Weebly Mobile you can create a website, blog or store directly from your iPhone or iPad. For youngsters who want to create and share, this is the perfect way to use an intuitive drag-and-drop builder designed specifically for touchscreen with beautiful themes and tools to really allow children to express themselves.
The app is free to download and offers various in-app purchase options ranging from $6.99 to $149.99 for professional subscriptions, domain registrations, and various other services.
Melody Jams
Price: $2.99
Kids can create their own songs and then choose instrument-playing characters to jam along. There are loads of creative possibilities with this outstanding app. Set the kids free to explore because it’s completely safe for young players.
The app costs $2.99 and features some outstanding animations and sounds. Kids will have a blast creating and recreating songs. There are loads of surprises to uncover, as well.
Night Zookeeper Drawing Torch
Price: Free
This unique combination story-telling and artwork app will pull kids into a world where they are the zookeepers, in charge of caring for a multitude of animals and protecting them from monsters that try to attack the zoo. The app includes 22 unique interactive missions that rely on your artist’s creative touch to solve.
The app includes 2 chapters, 10 great colors, and many unlockable tools that will enhance the artwork. It’s free to download and play, and will be sure to keep your kids entertained for hours.
Crafts and More Crafts
Labo Paper Fish
Price: $1.99
This app will tickle kids’ fancies as they make 16 different types of sea creatures from digital paper. Once the fish are made, kids can play five different games with them, such as underwater photography and seabed maze. It’s not a real world craft app, but it sure is close!
The app is highly rated on the App Store, and is intended for children 4 to 7 years old.
Paper Craft Ideas
Price: Free
You’ll salivate after this set of craft instructions when you take a look at it. It’s got tons of ideas, and they are simple! There is even a selection of crafts appropriate for toddlers, which can be hard to find. There are seasonal crafts, decorative crafts, and crafts suitable for homemade gifts. You’ll want to snap this one up right away.
The app is free to download. There are no in-app purchases, but there are advertisements. The materials needed are all things most people have around the house, and the crafts even use some recyclables, so you can teach the kids about repurposing while you are at it.
Coloring Game ColorMinis KIDS
Price: Free with in-app purchases
iOS App Store / Google Play Store
Creative kids of all ages will love coloring in the 2D and 3D artwork in this app! There are hundreds of figures to color with loads of pigments and tools to choose from to make them uniquely your own. More 3D figures are available as in-app purchases. The experience is likened to coloring on a sculpture!
The app allows users to combine colors and provides a wealth of finishes that will tickle every artist’s fancy, like wooden, acrylic, glitter, gloss, and more. A premium membership allows you to access creations across all platforms, too. In-app purchases start at $1.69 and range upward, providing access to additional coloring pieces.
DIY Crafts for Kids
Price: Free with in-app purchases
This monster craft app is loaded with ideas that will keep your children crafting year ’round. There are numerous holiday and seasonal projects, recycling crafts, popsicle stick projects, clay crafts, and more. You’ll also find costume design ideas, household decorations, DIY toys and activities—and the list goes on and on.
Kids will enjoy origami crafts and even DIY slime! This app is completely free to download, and does have optional in-app purchases ranging from $1.49 to $34.99.
Origami Easy Creator
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Origami Easy Creator offers a wealth of easy-to-follow origami instructional videos. Anyone can become an origami expert with this kind of help! It’s a fascinating hobby, with countless possibilities for creativity. Best of all, it takes next to no investment in materials or supplies!
The app has over a hundred sets of directions available as in-app purchase for $1.99. There are also animations, diagrams, and instructions for your projects.
Minecraft Papercraft Studio
Price: $4.99 with in-app purchases
Got a Minecraft addict at your house? Welcome to the official Minecraft crafting app. Instructions to make the Steve and Alex characters, as well as mobs, blocks, items, and other characters are included with the app. You can print directly from the app, or email to yourself and print from your computer.
Kids will be able to bring the world of Minecraft alive in the real world with these fabulous 3D models. The app offers additional packs of items as in-app purchases for ninety-nine cents or $1.99.