Video games have so many genres that fit every gamer’s needs. In the modern era of gaming, so many people think of gaming as online combat or having high stakes, but not every video game has to be so intense. Most importantly, gaming should always be fun. Many even use gaming as a way to unwind after a hard day of studying or work.

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Creating art is the perfect way for many people to relax or express themselves. Not everyone who wants to create digital art has access to expensive drawing tablets or a stylus, so the next best thing is to use what you already have. Drawing or painting games are accessible and add the bonus of gamer interaction or sharing your art with your friends. Here are our favorite games that allow you to draw or paint.

10 Mario Artist: Paint Studio

Nintendo Mario Artist cover art drawing Japanese video game

In 1999, Nintendo released Mario Artist: Paint Studio as essentially a sequel to Mario Paint. Mario Artist: Paint Studio is one game of a three-part Mario Artist series. These games were released in Japan only, but fans from all over still enjoy them. They’re so simple anyone can understand how to play them.

Mario Artist: Paint Studio is best known for having various Nintendo character images in the game which can be used as stamps and inserted into a drawing. People are still playing this game today. They often use this feature to make memes using Mario characters or various Pokemon and share them online.

9 Draw Something

Draw Something title screen and Lion King drawing

Mobile games are great for interacting with gamers from almost anywhere in a quick and easy way. Draw Something launched in 2012 and is still played today because it’s a fun and casual game for anyone who wants to try drawing, even if they’re not an expert artist.

In Draw Something, players are given a prompt for a word or phrase. They must draw their prompt on their mobile phone, then submit the drawing to the second player. The second player then guesses what the drawing is, draws their own prompt for the first player, and the cycle continues.

8 Drawn To Life

Drawn To Life Hero Creator Drawn To Life: Two Realms Gameplay

Many gamers probably have nostalgic memories of their Nintendo DS and fondly remember our favorite childhood Nintendo DS games. We used to use the stylus to draw in Pictochat and send drawings to our friends. Drawn To Life is a game encouraging creativity using the unique tablet and stylus function on the Nintendo DS.

In Drawn To Life, players first draw their hero. Throughout the gameplay, various elements in the game like weapons and vehicles are also drawn by the player. The very personalized playing experience in Drawn To Life gained it enough popularity for two sequels. Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter came out in 2009 just two years after its initial release. Then after a decade, Drawn To Life: Two Realms was released in 2020

7 uDraw Studio

uDraw Studio drawing tablet and stylus

In 2010, Nintendo released uDraw Studio for the Wii. Later, the game series gained enough attention to have a sequel on the Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. uDraw Studio is a standard easy-to-use drawing program with various paintbrush sizes or effects to be added to drawings.

The game got the attention of audiences by selling a drawing tablet with every copy of the game. Digital art in the modern era is booming now more than ever. We wonder if any of these popular digital artists started their creative careers with simple doodles in uDraw Studio.

6 Art Academy

Art Academy Nintendo DS cover art and painter character Vince

Drawing and painting games are great for those who already have artistic hobbies, but they can be intimidating to those that may not know how to draw yet. Art Academy is a great game for beginner artists that educates the player while still being fun.

The lessons mode in Art Academy is for those who want to be educated on drawing. A character named Vince gives these lessons. Players must complete a level before being able to progress. More advanced artists still have the option to choose free paint mode, which is a standard drawing program. Here players have freedom for any artistic expression.

5 Colors Live

Nintendo Switch Colors Live styracosaurus drawing

In September 2021, Nintendo launched Colors Live for artists who own a Nintendo Switch to enjoy. The Nintendo Switch is used as a drawing tablet and drawings are made using a stylus. The game functions like a more advanced drawing program and has features like pressure sensitivity. This means that artists can create light sketches as a first layer, then add crisp line art on top of them later.

Colors Live comes with a competitive mode online. You can share drawings with other players or complete challenges. Competitive mode can keep artists motivated to draw regularly and practice to improve their skills.

4 WarioWare D.I.Y.

WarioWare D.I.Y. character art Nintendo Wario

Fans of the WarioWare series were thrilled to get a new addition to the series in September of 2021. If you love challenging and funny minigames, you’ll love the minigames WarioWare has to offer. Over a decade ago, the last WarioWare game still kept its same minigame gameplay, but with a twist.

WarioWare D.I.Y. was released in 2010 for the Nintendo Wii as an addition to the original WarioWare game for the Nintendo DS. Players were encouraged to be creative by drawing and building their own minigame stages. They could interact with other gamers from anywhere and share their unique ideas for various levels and games.

3 Jackbox

Jackbox party game tee K.O. and Drawful drawings

Jackbox is the perfect game series to play with your friends. As long as you have a friend group with the same sense of humor or taste in memes as you, you’ll never get bored. Jackbox offers many types of game modes, but many players agree that the drawing games are their favorites.

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There are many drawing games to try with Jackbox. In the Jackbox party pack, players can play Drawful which is like a game of charades. Champ’d Up in Jackbox 7 puts two different players drawings in competition with one another. Tee K.O. in Jackbox 3 allows players to match their drawings with words and phrases to create hilarious t-shirts.

2 Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Chicory A Colorful Tale protagonist painting colors on a monochrome landscape

Indie game fans will love Chicory: A Colorful Tale. Currently, it can be bought on Playstation 4, Playstation 5, or Steam. In this 2D adventure game, you play as a dog character in a mostly black and white world. The art style feels like a blank coloring book, and it’s your job to color everything around you.

The game has many cute animal characters you’ll bump into and interact with. The art you draw will help solve puzzles and progress the storyline. Not only does Chicory: A Colorful Tale encourage creativity through art, but it also has an interesting story and characters to keep your interest.

1 Mario Paint

Nintendo Mario Paint cover art and music maker

Mario Paint is one of the oldest drawing programs, and it is still loved decades later. Its simple but effective format makes it so that gamers of any age can enjoy it. Mario Paint came out decades ago in 1992, so it did not have the digital art technology of today. Gamers had to draw using a mouse, but no one seemed to mind.

Mario Paint combined the fun of drawing with Nintendo’s classic mascot, Mario. Not only could you spend hours drawing, but one of the fans’ favorite features was the music making section. Players could use sound clips from the Mario series and place them together to make their own music.

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