Basics for New iPad Learners: Introducing iWork Drawing Tools

Every summer, we welcome incoming new learners to our Apple Distinguished School 1:1 iPad program with a series of fun activities that are designed to familiarize them with their new iPad and the apps we use during the school year.

This activity combines a basic introduction to the drawing tools in the iWork apps (Keynote, Numbers, and Pages) with a crowd-pleasing task using resources from Apple that asks learners to draw themselves as a Peanuts character.

Below, I'm sharing an adapted version of the project guide we give to students to guide them as they work independently during the summer.

---

Part 1: What is iWork?

iWork is made up of three apps: Keynote, Numbers, and Pages. At first, they appear to be a presentation program, a spreadsheet, and a word processor—however, they are SO MUCH more! In addition to their core functions, these apps are powerful tools that can be used to create animations, design and publish multimedia books, collaboratively brainstorm on the world's largest whiteboard, and more!

Drawing in Pages

To get familiar with drawing in iWork, we are going to use Pages and an Apple Pencil. Pages presents itself as a word processing and page layout app, but it is also a great tool for drawing.

Open Pages, create a new document, and tap your Apple Pencil on the iPad screen. You should be greeted with the tool panel shown below.   

Watch the video below for a walkthrough of the drawing tools in Pages. If you can, watch on a second screen and follow along on your own iPad, or, watch the video first and try drawing yourself after.  

Go deeper!

• 🌐 Apple: Draw, annotate, and use Scribble in Pages
• 🌐 Pages User Guide for iPad: Add and edit drawings in Pages on iPad

Part 2: Draw Yourself as a Peanuts Character

Apple has brought Snoopy and the Peanuts gang back to TV, and now in the video below, storyboard artist Krista Porter (from The Snoopy Show) will teach you how to draw in Peanuts’ cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's style. Along the way, you will also learn tips and tricks about your iPad and Apple Pencil.

Watch the video below to learn about what makes a Peanuts character unique. Then, use Pages and your newly developed Pages drawing skills to draw yourself as a Peanuts character.

For extra inspiration, check out this drawing references guide (attached) that will help you perfect your Peanuts character details.

Attachments

drawlikepeanuts-2.pdf

Download  (4.2 MB)