Today I’m checking out an interesting gadget. It is a little robot that can draw, and it can supposedly teach you to draw as well. On top of that, I have a couple of related items that are all about drawing and artwork. In this review I put the smart drawing robot to the test, then I try some rainbow colored pencils, and finally I look at a pencil grip corrector that is meant to help kids hold a pencil properly.
Where to Purchase
Smart Drawing Robot Overview
Let me start with the star of the show, the smart drawing robot. I paid $56.99 on Amazon while it was on sale. The regular price is usually somewhere between $80 and $100. At the time I ordered it, it had a five star rating among about 32 reviews, so it was not a huge sample size, but the feedback was mostly positive.
In the box I found:
- The drawing robot itself, which looks a bit like a little minion
- 12 markers
- Five drawing pens or brush style pens for the arm
- A reusable drawing pad
- Two different decks of cards
- Magnetic arms that snap onto the robot
- A USB-C charging cable
- Instructions and a “friendly reminder” card
The idea is pretty simple. The robot is an educational toy that acts as an interactive drawing machine. It is supposed to help kids complete drawings on their own, boost confidence, and improve fine motor skills. The listing says it can be used independently by kids aged 3 to 8, or together with a parent. It includes 150 cards, 12 markers, five drawing pens, a drawing board, and the USB-C cable. In other words, everything you need is in the box.
According to reviews, people liked that it was entertaining, educational, and easy to set up and use. Several people said it exceeded their expectations. There were not many critical reviews, which always makes me a little skeptical, so I went through all the comments and videos before I got started.
Setup and First Drawing
I charged the robot, read the instructions, and watched some of the Amazon videos first. The arms attach with magnets and snap into place easily. Once the arms are on, there is a power button on the front.
When I powered it up for the first time, the robot introduced itself with a short speech. The manual claimed it would say something like “I am little Malayang, the best at drawing, kid. Nice to meet you. Come and learn to draw with me.” What it actually said was a little different and not as clear, but I got the idea.
You can use the included drawing pad or your own paper. I used regular paper. To install one of the drawing pens, you slide it into the opening in the arm until it almost touches the paper. The robot reads drawing cards using a small camera in one of its “eyes.” There is also a card slot on the front, but the manual says to hold the card up to the eye at point blank range, so I focused on that.
The first card on the stack was a strawberry, so I started there. I held the strawberry card in front of the camera, it recognized it and repeated “Strawberry,” then gave me the option to draw or repeat it. I pressed the button, and the drawing began.
Right away, I was impressed. The robot started drawing the outline and details of the strawberry while playing background music. The music is not really my taste and got annoying fast, but fortunately there is a way to turn the sound down. Once I lowered the volume, it was fun just to watch the robot work. It handled the outline and the seeds and produced a pretty accurate drawing of the strawberry on the card.
They claim you get everything you need in the box, including markers to color the drawings in, and that part is true. When the strawberry was finished, I had a nice line drawing that I could color while the robot moved on to another card.
More Drawings: Mantis and Egg
The robot comes with a stack of about 150 cards that cover all kinds of subjects. Animals, objects, holidays, and more. As a fan of praying mantises, I went looking for the mantis card next.
I scanned the mantis card, turned off the music again, and let it draw. While it worked on the mantis, I started coloring in the strawberry. The robot drew the mantis cleanly and accurately, and both drawings fit on the same sheet of paper without any problem.
I did notice one small annoyance. If you turn the audio off, you lose all audible cues. That includes the little sound it makes when it scans a card or powers down. So if the audio is off, you have no idea if it has scanned the card correctly or even if the robot is still on. To get feedback, you pretty much have to turn the audio back up.
Next I tried an egg card, which felt appropriate since I have done a lot of egg product reviews over the years. I attempted to use the front card slot this time instead of holding the card to the camera, but that did not seem to work. I eventually went back to scanning the card by holding it up to the eye again.
The egg drawing was pretty simple and a bit underwhelming, but it matched what they show. Once again, the robot drew the outline cleanly. I kept coloring as it worked, so the robot was drawing while I was filling in my previous outlines.
Trying Different Pens
The instructions say you can use any pen that has a diameter under 10 millimeters. That opens the door to using your own pens instead of the included markers, which is a nice idea. I tried putting a ballpoint pen into the arm to see what would happen.
I managed to fit the ballpoint pen in there without the cap, but when I scanned a new card and started a drawing, nothing appeared on the paper. The robot was moving the arm, but it was not pressing hard enough for the ballpoint ink to transfer. So while it technically could hold the pen, it did not apply enough pressure to draw with it.
Another side effect of turning the sound off is that you also do not hear the voice cues when it reads the card name. That makes it harder to tell if it actually recognized the card you are holding up. Again, you almost have to leave some volume on to know what is going on.
Sunflower and Teaching Mode
Next I tried a sunflower card. The robot announced “Sunflower” in a very tired sounding voice, started the music again, and began drawing. Once it finished, the sunflower line drawing looked good, and I continued coloring my strawberry and other drawings around it.
I decided to see if the teaching aspect actually worked. The robot claims it can teach kids to draw by letting them follow along with its strokes. To test that, I picked a frog card.
On the back of the frog card, there is a step by step visual showing the drawing process. Eyes, body, legs, and so on. I scanned the frog card, then let the robot use its marker while I used a Sharpie to make a larger version of the same drawing. The plan was to copy every stroke the robot made in real time.
In practice, it did not follow the exact order shown on the card back, which threw me off a little bit. It also jumped back and forth between legs in a way that felt strange. The ever present background music did not help, but I powered through it and tried to mimic the strokes as best I could.
When we were both finished, I compared the two frogs. The robot’s drawing looked like the card art, although there was an extra line behind the eyes that does not appear on the card. My version was not going to win any awards, but it was probably better than what I would have drawn on my own.
Even with the quirks, I can see how a kid could learn some basic drawing skills by following along. At the very least, it would keep them occupied for a long time. It feels like the kind of thing that would be a solid Christmas or birthday gift for a child who likes art.
Rainbow Pencils Overview
Once I had a handful of line drawings, it was time to color them in. Maybe you do not want to use the basic markers that come with the robot. That is where the next item comes in. Rainbow pencils.
I bought a pack of rainbow pencils on Amazon for $6.99. They had a 4.7 star rating among over 1,500 reviews and carried the Amazon’s Choice label.
The product description claims:
- You get 12 rainbow pencils.
- Each stroke reveals a “symphony of captivating colors.”
- Each pencil has three hues built into the lead.
- The pencils are made from ebony wood and are approximately 2B in hardness.
- They are meant to spur creativity and come in gift box packaging.
People who liked them said they enjoyed the low price, the variety of colors, and the way the colors blend. One person described the feel as “creamy like butter,” which is an interesting way to describe a pencil. Those who did not like them said they broke easily or were hard to sharpen.
Testing the Rainbow Pencils
Out of the box, the pencils looked nice and felt fairly sturdy. The tips were all multicolored, and each one had a slightly different pattern of colors.
I started by scribbling on a blank page to see what kind of effect they produced. Without twisting the pencil, I was seeing different colors appear in a single stroke, including green, red, and blue. It definitely produced a rainbow effect and looked very “Eastery” in some cases.
Next I tried them on my strawberry drawing. I grabbed what looked like the reddest pencil in the pack, but the color that appeared on paper leaned more toward orange and mixed colors. That is just how these pencils work. You do not have a lot of control over which color you get at any given moment, and it depends on the angle and how the lead is rotated.
There was not a lot of green represented in the set, so coloring stems and leaves took some creativity. I ended up embracing the rainbow look rather than trying to be realistic. The pencils produced some interesting gradients and multicolored fills, especially when I pressed harder.
I used one pencil to draw a big “F” and then tried to recreate a rough version of my F2 logo. When I pressed lightly, the colors were softer. When I pressed down firmly, the colors became much more vibrant.
To see the full range, I made small swatches with each of the 12 pencils. Some had subtle variation, and others shifted drastically from one color to another. Overall, the color output was bright and fun.
Sharpening and Durability
Some reviewers said the pencils broke easily or were difficult to sharpen. The only sharpener I had on hand was my electric robot sharpener. I fed a somewhat dull rainbow pencil into it and it sharpened the pencil to a very fine point. Almost too sharp. I did not experience any breakage, at least not during my testing.
As always with Amazon products, your mileage may vary. I can only say that mine sharpened and held up just fine.
Rainbow Pencil Verdict
I think these rainbow pencils do what they claim. They are not ideal if you want realistic, highly controlled coloring, because you cannot fully decide which color is going to come out at any given moment. On the other hand, if you just want to noodle around and create fun, multicolored effects, they are actually pretty cool.
The colors can be quite vibrant if you press hard, and I like the way the lighter hues blend together into soft gradients. For kids, casual doodling, or stylized drawings like my frog, they are a lot of fun.
Pencil Grip Corrector Overview
The last item in this little art bundle is a pencil grip corrector. This is aimed at younger artists who may not even know how to hold a pencil properly yet.
I bought a pack of two grip correctors on Temu for $1.73. Mine came in pink and blue, presumably for boy and girl, although either color can obviously be used by anyone.
The grip is marketed as a handwriting practice aid that helps train a proper pencil grip. It uses openings and loops to guide all five fingers into place. The design teaches the “dynamic tripod” grip, which is the traditional three finger grip that most teachers recommend.
They also claim it works with most standard pencils and pens.
Trying the Grip Corrector
This product is clearly designed for children, which means my adult hand is not the perfect test case. Even so, I wanted to see how it worked.
To use it, you slide the pencil or pen through the central opening, then position your thumb, index finger, and middle finger into the designated slots. The other two fingers are supposed to rest in a lower opening. On my hand, the main three finger section felt snug but usable, while the lower section for the ring and little finger felt cramped. For kids with smaller hands, it would likely be more comfortable.
I started by writing with the proper tripod grip using the corrector in place. I wrote “tripod grip” a few times, then took the grip off and wrote with my normal quadripod grip, which uses four fingers. I have been using that grip my whole life, so it feels natural to me.
The interesting thing is that my handwriting did not get worse when I used the tripod grip with the corrector. It felt a bit odd at first because I am not used to it, but the writing itself was about the same quality.
I tried a few more phrases, including “Frank Burns eats worms” from an old M*A*S*H episode, both with and without the corrector. Again, the tripod grip did not hurt my handwriting, it just felt unfamiliar.
From that, I think if a child was just starting out, using the grip corrector might actually help them develop a proper grip from the beginning. For someone like me who has written the same way for decades, it is more of a curiosity than a lifestyle change.
Compatibility With Pens and Pencils
The grip worked fine with a standard number two pencil. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for some pens, especially thicker ones, and I had to twist or “screw” them through the opening. Once they were in place, the grip held them firmly.
That leads to my main concern. If you expect a child to set this up on their own, they might struggle to get the pen or pencil into the grip. In a classroom or at home, a parent or teacher would probably need to help with that part.
Once installed, though, it does what it claims. It positions the fingers in the tripod grip and keeps them there.
Final Thoughts
Putting all three of these products together, here is where I landed.
Smart Drawing Robot
- I am a fan of the robot artist. It is supposed to be for ages 3 to 8, but I enjoyed watching it draw and trying to copy it myself.
- The drawings look clean and professional for a toy in this price range.
- The teaching aspect works reasonably well, even if the drawing order does not always match the step diagrams on the cards.
- The biggest drawback is the audio system. When you turn the sound off, you lose all feedback, so you do not know if it scanned or powered down.
Rainbow Pencils
- The rainbow pencils are fun for casual drawing and coloring.
- They produce interesting multicolored strokes without much effort.
- They are not ideal for precise, realistic coloring, since you cannot fully control which color will appear.
- Mine sharpened well and did not break, although some reviewers had different experiences.
Pencil Grip Corrector
- The grip corrector is very situational.
- It seems like a useful tool if you want a child to learn the traditional tripod grip from the beginning.
- It is a tight fit for adult hands, which makes sense because it is designed for kids.
- Getting pens and pencils into the grip takes some effort, so adults will probably need to help with that part.
Overall, I really liked the robot artist, and I think a lot of kids would get a kick out of it. The rainbow pencils are a fun bonus item for creative coloring, and the grip corrector could be helpful in the right situation. If you have tried a drawing robot like this or any of these items, let me know what you think in the comments below. I appreciate you reading, and I will see you next time.
Video Review