Whirl World - Drawing app with a "twist"

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Whirl World - Drawing app with a "twist"

(23 posts) (7 voices)

Started 4 months ago by enbr
Latest reply from enbr

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enbr
Moderator

Hi everybody,
I wanted to announce that my new drawing app, Whirl World, will be released tomorrow. I wouldn't have completed it without the generous support of the community. From small questions to beta testing, this forum has been an invaluable resource. I also wanted to share again a blog post about resources used in making Whirl World. That can be found here.
Thanks,
Brian

App: Whirl World
Price: FREE
Release Date: 1/11/2012
Link: http://bit.ly/wSlCOB

Description:
Whirl Whirl is a fun and addicting drawing app with a "twist."
Spin colorful squares onto your canvas to create a masterpiece!

Experiment with settings to create awesome drawings:
- Change brush size
- Draw with pictures from your camera
- Change spin amount
- Try infinite mode
- Pick your color palette
Share your drawings in the gallery and on Facebook and Twitter
Look at other's drawings in the gallery

You don't need to be an artist to draw with Whirl World!

Features:
• An array of different settings
• iOS 5 and Retina display ready
• Deep Twitter and Facebook integration
• Designed to work on all iOS 5 devices

Posted 4 months ago #
Bart
Member

Congrats with finishing your app!

I just downloaded it, but it seems that the buttons at the top of the screen (home,brush,x,settings) don't work. Anyone with the same problem?
The drawing works fine though, and looks very nice

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Uh oh, thanks for the warning. It worked fine when I submitted it. I'll check right away.

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

I just checked and the problem is not happening for me. What are your device specs? (device, version, jailbroken)

Posted 4 months ago #
Bart
Member

It's an iPhone 4S version 5.0.1 (not jailbroken)

The button on the bottom ("follow on twitter") does work for me btw

Edit: I also just noticed that the buttons do work when in landscape mode (nice touch with the rotating buttons by the way )

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Thanks. Can you send a video of the problem possibly? And to anyone else who downloads it. Let me know if you encounter the same issue.

Posted 4 months ago #
Bart
Member

Ok, here is a video

The video is rotated 90 degrees, so in the beginning of the clip it looks like landscape mode, but it is actually portrait. And the other way around for the end of the clip.

http://www.2shared.com/file/zaNYeU0G/enbr.html

Posted 4 months ago #
Shilo
Master Sparrow

I just downloaded it. The app has jumped leaps and bounds since last time I tested it! I am impressed, my favorite feature is how you have the color selection and picking. The only suggestion I have is a edit button in the color selection navigation bar to allow the user to delete the colors. I know it's not needed since the user can hold a touch on a color to activate the delete option, but it's not as obvious. Another suggestion I would have, if i knew it wasnt impossible, is to hide the black edges when the view controller rotates. I really wish I knew a way to do that. Again, awesome job!!

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad you both are enjoying it. Sorry for the bug Bart. I found that it is caused by my ad view. Mixing Sparrow and UIKit, especially when partial views and touches are involved, is a real hassle. I am submitting a urgent fix to Apple now, along with iOS 5 based improvements, such as @autorelease.
Thanks for your patience,
Brian

Posted 4 months ago #
Bart
Member

You found the bug, nice
Kinda weird that it only shows itself on certain devices :s

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

It came up on my brother's iPod touch too. I would have noticed it if I hadn't thought I was above having ads.

Posted 4 months ago #
Jugibur
Moderator

Hey Brian,
I wanted install your app but iOS 5 is presumed (have still iOS 4 for testing purposes).
But may I ask, why haven't you set the deployment target to version 4, so that you can reach more older or not updated devices.

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Hi Jugibur,
Sorry about it being iOS 5 only. I presumed that most people wouldn't have a problem with that. I haven't set the deployment target to 4.x for a couple reasons. First of all, I am using many features specific to iOS 5, such as easy Twitter dialogs and the new UIAlertView textfield methods. Also, I ran into an issue with my existing code. I coded my gallery feature using an iOS 5 device, but not using any iOS 5 specific features. For whatever reason, it doesn't work well at all on iOS 4. Basically the whole interface just tweaks out. For these reasons, I have decided to support iOS 5 on at this point. If I can find away to get around these issues, I will consider iOS 4. Hopefully you can find away to try it out.
Thanks for your input,
Brian

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Version 1.0.1 is out. It fixes your bug Bart and also enables the Disable Ads In-App Purchase.

Posted 4 months ago #
Bart
Member

Great! It works now

I did notice one other thing though: after updating I now get a pop up saying that
I am running an older version and that I need to update. It also says
your version: 1.0.1
New version: 1.0

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Thanks for the heads up. I forgot to change versions.php on my server. It is fixed now.

Posted 4 months ago #
Daniel
Primary Feather

Congratulations, Brian! Awesome, this is the first drawing app I'm aware of that has been created with Sparrow -- and the first drawing app I've ever seen that supports animated brush strokes!! Very cool, Brian! =)

Posted 4 months ago #
humble
Moderator

Really cool application enbr. All the best to you. And Daniel I think you are wrong. You are forgetting the amazing isosketch. I can not remember now who made it though...

ERik

[edit] It was pixelrevision. [/edit]

Posted 4 months ago #
Daniel
Primary Feather

Ah, humble, you're right! I totally forgot that -- IsoSketch is another awesome painting app. =)

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Hi again,
I just wanted to give everyone an update on how Whirl World is doing. It has been downloaded over 300 times so far, which I'm pleased with. The amount of money I've made off of it is less impressive. :p A couple of people have bought the Disable Ads package for $0.99, and I have made a couple bucks off of ads. I am hoping this improves as more people get it. I am also considering adding another ad network to fill requests when iAd doesn't. Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Brian

Posted 4 months ago #
Daniel
Primary Feather

I'm sorry to hear that Whirl World does not run that well in the store ... I guess it's difficult to have users appreciate what it does from the screenshots and the description alone. It's a tough thing to sell, I guess! One thing that might help a little could be creating better sample images for the App Store.

I know the comparison is a little far-fetched, but when you look at "Pixelmator", it showcases beautiful images that tell the user: "if you buy it, you will be able to create stunning art like that" -- which is nonsense, of course, but it feels that way to users.

Posted 4 months ago #
Daniel
Primary Feather

I'm sorry to hear that Whirl World does not run that well in the store ... I guess it's difficult to have users appreciate what it does from the screenshots and the description alone. It's a tough thing to sell, I guess! One thing that might help a little could be creating better sample images for the App Store.

I know the comparison is a little far-fetched, but when you look at "Pixelmator", it showcases beautiful images that tell the user: "if you buy it, you will be able to create stunning art like that" -- which is nonsense, of course, but it feels that way to users.

Posted 4 months ago #
ahnt
Moderator

How do you make advertisement for your app?

Cheers Arend

Posted 4 months ago #
enbr
Moderator

Daniel, great idea about showcasing some of the best art that can be made with it in the screenshots. I have very cool art I have been given permission to use that was made with Whirl World. I will put those in the screenshots today. Also, I plan to make a website that's just a gallery of the cool stuff that can be created.
ahnt, I really have no idea. I would look into this more if I had money to spend on ads.

Posted 4 months ago #

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