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Most art packages for the 8 bit BBC Micro or Electron need extra chips to be plugged into the computer and a mouse to operate them. They usually cost more than £50.

Now Impact has attempted what is almost impossible: To bring out a good art package for the price of a game.

The Art Studio works from the keyboard, so you don't need a mouse. But it helps if you have a standard joystick. You can choose between two modes. In Mode 4 you can draw in two colours with fine detail. In Mode 5 you have four colours but rather less detail.

Nine keys are used to operate the program. These move the drawing cursor, select which of the drawing options is required or change colour. It only takes a few minutes to get used to the keys.

I would not use The Art Studio in the school where I teach - I prefer to fork out for the more expensive mouse-based programs. But for schools with no art programs this software, plus a good operator, can produce first rate pictures.

At home, though, things are different. I have been using it there ever since it first came out because it is so easy to use. And it's so simple to transfer the software and pictures between my BBC Micro and Electron.

My children use the program for fun and sometimes to help with a school project. But I have to admit that it is not my son's favourite software. He much prefers the more powerful computers and art packages he uses at school.

Impact has come close to producing a good quality but cheap art program. However I would have liked to see one or two extra features in it even at this low price, such as a screen dump and a better manual. But if you need an art package this one is well worth considering.

Here's what 13-year-old Simon Frost thinks of The Art Studio

I like the way I can chose between a sharp, two-colour screen or a coarser one using four colours. I also like being able to use a magnifying glass to put detail into my drawings.

I was pleased to find that I can copy parts of my pictures because I like making little cartoons. I also found the rubber and the paint sprayer useful. The control keys are all right, but I wish I had used a joystick.

I found that some of the things it does are rather slow and need patience.

Another thing that is bad about the program is that you can't print out the pictures although you can load and save them.

This program is good for the price. But I much prefer the better ones I use at school.

1. You can draw lines, circles and ellipses, rectangles or triangles. The shapes can be outline or filled and can be of any size.
2. If you want to mess around with fine detail, there's a magnifying glass that you can use to help.
3. Section of the screen can be marked and then copied, wiped out or just moved somewhere else. You can put text in your picture and there's a choice of normal or large sizes, which you can use with or without shadow or outline features.
4. To colour areas, you just pour the colour in - quite difficult shapes can be filled this way.
5. Areas can be shaded by the spray tool. Or you can rub them out using the rubber. The screen colours can be changed. This means that the two or four that you use can be changed from any of the eight steady and eight flashing colours that the micro can display.
6. There's an option that lets this colour be in vertical stripes. But this feature is not very easily explained.
7. When you've spent a long time drawing a picture - or part of one - you can use the SAVE command to store it to either disc or tape. To bring it back there's also a LOAD feature. If things go completely wrong, the CLEAR SCREEN command allows you to start again.
8. One thing I found The Art Studio lacked is the built-in ability to reproduce the screen picture on a printer. If you do want to print your creations, you need to buy a separate screen dump program.