Crayola Light-up Tracing Pad Review: A Gift that Sparks Creativity
We like
The package comes with all necessary materials for creating an art piece
The paper does not slide because the board has “lockable” frame
Affordable price
Simple to use
We don’t like
No batteries included in the package
How it works
One of the naturally likable activity that the majority of the kids love and enjoy doing is drawing. Even from the youngest age kids love using coloring pens for the coloring storybooks, chalk for street art and drawing on the sidewalk and when they get older drawing on the computer. Overall, drawing is an activity that has many benefits besides being fun and enjoyable activity, for the development of kids. The younger kids develop the fine motor skills just by holding a pen and trying to sketch some lines, as well as the hand-eye coordination which is equally important. Older kids can definitely work on and improve the level of concentration when drawing because they tend to pay attention to details in order to transfer what they see on paper and certainly drawing has always been a nice exercise for expressing feelings and emotions.
There are many tools on the market that can motivate and help the little artists to become even better and enhance their artistic skills and abilities. Crayola is definitely a brand name that is reputable when it comes to arts and crafts supplies and tools and this time the company came up with a great toy that will make kids excited when it comes to drawing. The product that we are reviewing today is not an ordinary tool for drawing but it is a tablet-like pad for drawing that is lit-up for tracing and drawing and as such much adored on the market. If you are interested to see what is the buzz around this particular product check out our latest review on Crayola Light-up Tracing pad and read what makes this product a great gift for the little artists aged 5 and above.
Product description
The Crayola Light-up Tracing Pad is practically a kind of board that can be used for coloring and tracing. This product comes in a cardboard box that has a convenient handle for carrying. The box features the logo of Crayola as well as the contents inside. Although the box is made of cardboard still it can be used again for storing the pad when you need to go somewhere and you want to take the pad with you or you just want to put it away before kids start using it again. The box can also serve as a shadow box for better tracing. When you open the box, besides the pad, the package contains 10 blank sheets and 10 sheets of special paper for tracing, which have different images on them, 1 pencil for drawing and tracing and 12 Crayola colored pencils for coloring of the drawings and images and instructions. The board does not need assembling since it comes in a single piece. The board is framed with LED- lights from all four sides equally distributed and these work with the help of 3 AA batteries that do not come in the package so you have to purchase them additionally. The batteries are placed on the back of the board and you will need a small screwdriver to open and close the battery compartment. The frame is non-slip which is extremely convenient for holding of a sheet of paper. The product comes in 12x1.5x11 inches dimensions and it weighs around 2 pounds.
Who is it for?
If you have a little artist at home this light-up tracing pad would definitely be a big hit. Although officially the manufacturer recommends this toy for kids older than 6, many users certify that this pad can be used by younger kids who are fans of drawing and by much older members of the family who love drawing or designing. The tracing sheets are encouragement for the little artists and motivate kids who start drawing to try out different new ideas based on the concept of customizing. This product is actually used by many grown-ups for fashion designing, sewing and quilting patterns and many other arts and crafts projects and in general as a replacement for a lightbox that compared to this product is usually pricier. Although the frame of the board comes in two different colors, any of it will suit the needs of the little artists and thus it represents a great gender-neutral toy because both genders equally enjoy expressing their creativity with this art kit.
How does it work?
This package includes everything you need to create your art piece. The tracing pad, pencils and pens for coloring and of course paper are quite sufficient for many creations. In order to start, you will need to turn on the LED lights for the board. As said if the natural light or the room lights affect the lighting on the board you can use the cardboard box for shadow or if possible turn on the lights. After the board light is on, simply you have to place the trace sheet first on the board and then on the top of it just put the blank paper. The pack contains 10 tracing papers with more than 100 images on it that the child can choose from and many more images that you can download for your child free of charge from the Crayola web page. In addition kids can trace also images from coloring books and different illustrations but it is important to note that the papers should be one-sided illustrations. The paper stays in the “lockable” frame of the board and once all is set kids can start tracing and drawing. The board surface for tracing and drawing is around A4 paper size. Later, they can also use the traceable images to customize their creations. The Crayola coloring pens are short and ideal for coloring but once you are out of supply, for example you do not have any tracing paper you can use just a simple paper for printing and your own coloring pens. The process of putting the papers and tracing is really simple and it is easily done by kids.
Design
The pad has a design that resembles a tablet and it is extremely sleek and slim. It comes in two different colors blue and pink. The frame of the board actually consists of four LED lights that are nicely incorporated on each of the four edges of the frame and the designers have also paid attention to detail regarding the battery compartment which is in silver color and resembles a handle for holding of the board. It is a really nice designer touch. The size of the board is great because you can use A4 paper size for drawing and tracing. The pad is a lightweight product, easily portable, extremely thin but pretty sturdy made of quality plastic which makes the product durable. The light comes from the four LED lights and the light is distributed evenly around the pad so the pad is bright and nicely lit which makes it easy for tracing. The product’s dimensions make this product great for easy storing and carrying so you can just put it in a bag and it would make a great tool for entertainment of the child on long trips and holiday journeys. The LED lights give the pad a nice glow in the dark and the drawing in the dark room on a pad that has a glow is extremely appealing to the kids that find this exciting and enjoyable.
Quality
The light-up pad is made of durable and sturdy plastic and there are very few complaints regarding the materials that this product is made of. Crayola is a brand name that is reputable on the market of arts and crafts supplies and this product does not stay behind the other similar ones or related ones created by Crayola. The additional tools that come with the set, meaning the pens for coloring are short and bring the drawings into life. They are of outstanding quality and can be used for quite some time. The product is operated on batteries and the customers whose kids or grandkids use this product frequently claim that the operation of the pad is long-lasting so you do not have to worry that you will have to replace batteries every second day. The product is commonly used by kids and users claim that this product can really keep the kids busy for a longer time which is great since it is a product that really develops kids’ creativity and kids use their imagination to create a product that is a combination of traceable templates, customized stencils and kids’ own ideas.
Creativity and Entertainment
This light-up tracing pad can be used for practicing hand lettering, writing letters and even for the younger users for practicing some handwriting for developing fine motor skills. As a starter set, kids can use the templates for tracing that are included in the pack. These are great because one particular template can actually be used multiple times since it can be customized in various ways as the tracing sheets contain many accessories that correspond to the main images. Usually, there are people in different situations on some of the sheets and the other at least two sheets contain hair accessories or clothing items or related items that can customize the main image.
The templates, of course, are just a start and motivate kids to do so much more in different arts and crafts projects. Kids can choose their own favorite images and scenes they like online and you can easily download and print these and kids can later use them for tracing, customizing and younger kids than the recommended age can participate and be engaged in the process of coloring.
The templates, of course, are just a start and motivate kids to do so much more in different arts and crafts projects. Kids can choose their own favorite images and scenes they like online and you can easily download and print these and kids can later use them for tracing, customizing and younger kids than the recommended age can participate and be engaged in the process of coloring.
Value
This toy can be purchased for an affordable price from a price range of about 20-30 dollars. For this price you get complete art kit for kids to draw and create and although it operates on batteries customers claim that they really last long and on the plus side is that the batteries AA are not that expensive and can be bought almost everywhere. The value also increases because this toy is claimed to be used frequently and on daily basis usually by more than one person in the family and it is definitely easily portable product. In addition you are not obliged to use special tracing paper because this product works equally well with the ordinary printing paper and this is good for the budget. So all in all it is a product that is really worth the price.
Bottom line
The Crayola Light-up tracing pad is a great product and a gift for kids older than 6 years who are keen on drawing and designing. This is a product that is used and recommended by many adults who work in the arts and crafts field as an inexpensive but great replacement of light boxes designed for more professional artists.The art set contains all the required supplies that one young artist may need -pen for drawing, pencils for coloring, tracing papers with images on them and papers for drawing and of course the board that is lit by LED lights. The cardboard box that this product comes in, can also be used as a shadow box when there is too much light, since in this case it would be harder to see and trace the images. Kids love to spend time on drawing and tracing different images and drawings and will surely appreciate this as a gift. It is a gender-neutral toy that can be used in the family by all members. It is super portable product that can be carried everywhere and it is extremely beneficial for enhancing kids creativity and imagination that they can express on the pad. The templates are also super cool because they encourage kids who might not be that good in drawing to trace along the lines of the images and settings and practice their artistic skills.
