Kindle Fire HD: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

Chapter 11. Creative Corner

THE PUNDITS SEEM TO AGREE: the Fire’s main job is to serve as vending machine for Amazon’s digital merchandise. And plenty of people will, no doubt, step up and start buying. Between movies and music and ebooks and TV, the Fire’s tap-and-shop allure is compelling. And yet…in every class there’s that kid who can’t stop drawing. And in conference rooms worldwide, while meetings are underway, amateur doodlers work at their art. Add in the singers and songwriters and it’s clear: Artists will use the tools at hand to make what they love. Is the Fire the best canvas for all these endeavors? Probably not. But its appeal as a handy, surprisingly powerful multimedia playpen is starting to come into focus. This chapter rounds up a few of the most promising tools that creative types will want to check out.

Painting and Drawing

Quick: What do you get when you put a touchscreen in front of someone who likes to draw, sketch, or paint? Someone who will figure out a way to get this new kind of sketchbook to work—no matter what the pundits say. Some of the tools in this realm are basic, some are already seriously powerful. All are guaranteed to lead to some really fun results.

• Text Picture (Ascii Art) (free). This one won’t win any prize for encouraging originality—it’s essentially a collection of alpha- and numeric-character drawings that you can grab and use. But for free, ...