Imagine life without art. We would be living a life without emotions, a life without beauty, and a life without humanity. Sounds bland, right? Back then, art exists in the forms of stone carvings and paintings on papyrus. Today, art is accessible almost everywhere and in various forms. Thanks to technology, various drawing apps even allow you to draw and produce art in just a matter of minutes even without paint and a canvas.
So, if you’re wondering what available drawing apps you can download to maximize your creativity, you’re in the right place. Here is our curated list of the best drawing apps you can access on your iOS or Android device.
What Makes a Good Drawing App?
Truth be told: nothing can ever replace a pencil and a sketchpad or a paintbrush and a canvas. These are the primary mediums that make art unique and worthwhile. But what happens when you’re confined in a place without access to these tools? You can utilize drawing apps.
Now arises the dilemma: what makes a good drawing app? There are hundreds of drawing apps over the internet, but not all of them deserve our look. Plus, it’s always a good idea to keep your options wide. You never know when you need these drawing and sketching alternatives like Procreate, Adobe, and such. To help you out, here are some things you should keep in mind when selecting which drawing app you should install on your mobile device:
Wide Range of Tools
You do not want an app that limits you on what you can do with your art. Therefore, choose something that offers a plethora of toolboxes to enhance your skills further. From brushes, filters, layers, to rulers and canvas customization, among others, having a variety of utilities enhances your art on a personal and more profound level.
Streamlined Interface and Workflow
Another thing you must keep in mind is the fluidity of workflow and interface. Find drawing apps that support multitouch features, as well as higher zoom in and out capacity to see fine details. Always check reviews to make sure the app doesn’t experience lags during your creative experience.
Reasonable Price
Nobody likes a drawing app that costs more than half of your savings, right?
15 Best Drawing Apps for iOS & Android
The internet is a vast space of information. You can find almost anything in just a few clicks. Such greatness, however, imposes a challenge for people looking for the best of the best under different themes since one may have to scour and try each for verification. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed about this, don’t worry, we’re here to help you. Our list is hand-picked to ensure the quality we bring to you. So what are you waiting for? Read on!
1. Procreate
Availability: iOS
Price: $9.99
Procreate is an award-winning drawing app optimized for creative minds using iPad and iPhone devices. It features responsive and comprehensive drawing tools geared towards artists of all types and levels of expertise. Professional artists have also patronized the app. In fact, Procreate has been used to create posters for famous Hollywood shows such as Stranger Things, Logan, and Blade Runner.
There is no shortage of toolboxes with Procreate. You can pour your heart out on your work by using over a hundred customizable brushes, and a wide range of colors, layers, as well as GPU-accelerated filters with multitouch features to boost your art even more. Not to mention, Procreate supports ultra-high-definition 4K canvases to magnify your creativity into a higher level.
When it comes to workflow and interface, Procreate remains to be at the top among all drawing apps for the iOS ecosystem. You can zoom in and out, and rotate your canvas without encountering any lags at all. Also, importing and exporting Adobe Photo PSD files are possible within the app.
If you’re an artist on the go, you can download the Procreate Pocket app for your iPhone. While it may have limited features than the original Procreate for iPad, it also works well since it covers the basics for your artwork. Learn more about the Procreate app review here.
2. Autodesk SketchBook
Availability: Android & iOS
Price: Free; $85/year for Enterprise License
If you want a free drawing app with robust tools and features, Autodesk SketchBook is a good option. It’s one of the most influential drawing apps for Android and iOS, given the components and the “free” tag.
It comes with an array of painting and drawing tools such as customizable pencils, brushes, and markers. There’s also a screenshot tool that allows other people to view and add notes to your artwork for review. If you wish to create flipbooks or animations, SketchBook has got you covered. Simply click on File > New FlipBook then choose any of the options to enter Animation mode.
SketchBook also has a Scan Sketch feature, which lets you capture a sketch using your device’s camera, and it automatically makes the background of the paper transparent. This way, you only have your drawing to deal with.
Apart from Android and iOS, the app is also available on Mac and PC.
Download on iOS
Download on Android
3. Adobe Photoshop Sketch
Availability: Android & iOS
Price: Free; $2/month for additional 20 GB storage
Adobe Photoshop Sketch ranks among the best drawing apps for many reasons. It’s a powerful sketch app that gives you the freedom to express your creative thoughts in digital art.
With a myriad of drawing tools and customizable toolbar, this app can turn your concepts into incredible and realistic artwork and designs. You can make use of tools that imitate an ink pen, marker, as well as a graphite pencil. If you’re fond of using a stylus while drawing, Photoshop Sketch can work well with you since it supports Bluetooth styluses such as Pencil, Adobe Ink, and those from Wacom and Adonit.
What makes it more convenient is the ability to be in sync with Adobe Creative Cloud. Import and export any file to and from your Creative Cloud account for easy drawing no matter where you go.
Download on iOS
Download on Android
4. Affinity Designer
Availability: iOS
Price: $10
If you’re looking for a low-cost alternative to Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer should sit at the top of your list. It has almost the same features and functions as the Adobe Illustrator. However, Affinity Designer wins the competition for having a newbie-friendly interface and workflow.
The app is a vector graphics editor developed by Serif Europe, and it can create and edit pixel layers without any fuss. Some of its core functions include vector-pen and shape-drawing tools, access to custom vector and raster brushes, text style management, and more. It also supports a wide range of color models, including the recently added update of PANTONE color swatches.
Affinity Designer is also available on Windows and Mac.
5. Astropad Studio
Availability: iOS
Price: 30-day free trial; $12/month
Another excellent drawing app for creative artists is the Astropad Studio. While it might be more expensive compared to the others on this list, the app is worth the hype for all the good reasons.
Astropad Studio has uncompromised image quality to give you a complete drawing experience. It’s GPU-accelerated and also runs in 60 FPS for a more responsive and fluid art session.
Don’t worry; the hefty price isn’t all about empty promises. The app comes with WiFi or USB connectivity so you can connect your progress from your iPad to your Mac. There’s also keyboard support, Magic Gestures, to create your gesture shortcuts with touch-pencil combinations, and unlimited upgrades.
In terms of the interface, Astropad Studio boasts a dark and straightforward UI. The sidebar on the left contains more options compared to the standard Astropad app. It also touts a faster performance without crashes.
6. Adobe Illustrator Draw
Availability: Android & iOS
Price: Free; $2/month additional 20 GB storage
Adobe Illustrator Draw is a vector graphics editor that lets you create vector drawings while on the go. Similar to Photoshop Sketch, the app is easy to use and straightforward, and it boasts a plethora of tools you cannot find from other drawing apps on the internet.
The app has full layer support with x64 zooming capability to magnify all the minute details. You can also find tools, much like its desktop counterpart. Some of those are pen and pencil tools, selection tools, and paintbrush tools. The best part? All of them have customization features.
Download on iOS
Download on Android
7. Ibis Paint X
Availability: Android & iOS
Price: Free; $8 for Remove Adds add-on; $3 for Prime membership
Entering our list of the best drawing apps for Android and iOS is Ibis Paint X. It’s one of the most-loved paint and drawing app on Google Play Store and Apple App Store since it offers dozens of useful features for seasoned and beginner artists.
The app comes with 335 customization brushes, 64 filters, 46 screen tones, 27 blending modes, and over 1,000 fonts. Apart from this, there are also exclusive features optimized for Manga creators.
Although Ibis Paint X is a free-to-use app, availing an in-app purchase removes all the ads for a seamless drawing experience. You can also subscribe to the Prime membership if you wish to unlock extra fonts, materials, and features.
Download on iOS
Download on Android
8. ArtRage
Availability: Android & iOS
Price: $5
If you’re looking for a drawing app that produces realistic artworks, check out ArtRage. With competitive drawing tools and a user-friendly interface, the app stands as a viable option for children and professional artists.
Provided with a multitude of traditional drawing tools and features, ArtRage is optimized to make you feel you’re painting with the real thing. It brings you a digital art studio with great tools to delight your surging creativity with realistic outputs. Its tools include oil paint, spray paint, pencil, and acrylics, to name a few. Plus, you can also choose from varying thicknesses and textures of media and canvas.
One of the best parts of ArtRage is the realistic colors blending option, including a standard digital RGB blending. This means you can deeply personalize drawings the way you see it.
As for the interface and workflow, ArtRage is an easy-to-use application. Even someone who is not familiar with the app can swiftly grasp the gamut of it. It also has built-in quick reference and essential help files, including multitouch support for canvas and object manipulation.
Download on iOS
Download on Android
9. Pixelmator
Availability: iOS
Price: $5
Pixelmator is a simplified drawing app for the iOS and macOS ecosystem. It combines the power of an image editing app and digital painting tools to produce exceptional digital artwork with bells and whistles.
The app supports image editing up to 100 megapixels in size. You can beautify your photos with numerous color corrections and presets, including the renowned Repair tool.
As for digital painting, Pixelmator comes with over a hundred customizable brushes, with paint and layers effects. Plus, it supports Bluetooth stylus devices such as the Apple Pencil.
10. ArtFlow
Availability: Android
Price: Free; $5 for the Pro version
One of the most flexible drawing apps on Android is the Artflow Studio. It’s packed with built-in tools and incredible features that let you feed on your creativity — no matter where you are.
It boasts a clean and intuitive interface that appeals to all sorts of artists — experienced or starters. ArtFlow’s free version comes with nine personalized brushes, six-level undo, color picker, and asymmetry tool. The app also supports a two-layer drawing experience.
Upgrading to the Pro version entitles you to the app’s expansive collection of brushes, history and stylus pressure support, custom palettes, GPU-accelerated paint engine, and a 16-layer creation.
11. Tayasui Sketches
Availability: iOS
Price: Free; $6 for the Pro version
The internet is brimming with universal drawing apps, making it hard to search for the best one. Tayasui Sketches, however, is an app that can compete in the best drawing apps league.
It touts versatile and realistic tools to aid artists in making their concepts into reality. Some of its features include wet watercolor brushes, brush editor, color eyedropper, and layers. It also has pressure stylus support, encompassing Apple, Wacom, and Adonit styluses.
If you’re painting on the go, you have the option to sync your work to the Cloud.
The app is free to download on the Apple App Store. Some of the features are only available for in-app purchases.
12. MediBang Paint
Availability: Android & iOS
Price: Free; $8 for Remove Ads option
If you’ve been utilizing Google paint for the past years, today is the right time for an upgrade. Try MediBang Paint, for instance. Loaded with brushes, fonts, pre-made templates, and other useful resources, the app remains to be one of the manga and comic artists’ favorite paint apps on Android and iOS.
MediBang Paint is a Japanese drawing app with manga and comic art styles. It comes with solid artistic tools such as comic panels, screen tones, layers, rulers, and a lot more. What separates it from the other drawing apps on this list is its multi-platform support. That means you can start your sketch using your mobile device then sync it with your computer for finishing touches.
The app is free to download on the Play Store and App Store. However, the free version showcases ads from time to time. Purchasing the Remove Ads option will eliminate these interludes.
The app is also available on Windows and macOS.
Download on iOS
Download on Android
13. Concepts
Availability: Android & iOS
Price: Free to use; in-app purchases for premium features
As the name implies, Concepts is one of the outstanding drawing apps that help you transform your firsthand concepts into a thriving masterpiece with the use of advanced and innovative digital tools.
The app employs organic pens, pencils, and brushes that respond to pressure, tilt, and velocity. These are also highly customizable if you wish to tweak your art according to your pace. Also, you have access to vector drawing engine, infinite canvas, personalized tool wheel, and built-in digital drawing tools and filters to give you an unmatched drawing experience.
In terms of performance and workflow, Concepts is one of the top drawing apps with fluid drawing experience. It’s optimized for peak performances of 120-Hz displays and ultra-low latency style akin to Apple Pencil and Surface Pen.
Concepts if free to download and use on Android and iOS devices. However, your access is only limited to basic tools. If you wish to avail of premium features, you need to purchase them.
Download on iOS
Download on Android
14. Comic Draw
Availability: iOS
Price: Free trial; $10 for the full app
If illustrating comics is your cup of tea, check out Comic Draw. It’s filled with practical tools attuned to creating single-panel cartoons on your mobile devices. From cartoon and comic templates, customized brushes, comic fonts, color pallets, and more, you can freely express your visuals without limit.
You can also pair your Comic Draw app with the company’s Comic Life software for Windows and Mac for a seamless and integrated drawing experience.
15. Graphic
Availability: iOS
Price: $3
Be bold with your creativity using the Graphic app. Much like any competitive drawing app on this list, Graphic is capable of delivering top-notch tools and services to artists.
It allows you to construct designs quickly and easily using professional drawing tools such as brush and pencil, layer styles, blend modes, canvas customization, and a lot more. Also, you can sync the app on your Graphic software for Mac or iPad.
Feel free to import and export designs to and from Photoshop as well. Not to mention, Graphic supports multi-threaded drawing to ensure smooth drawing experience among users.
Should You Invest in a Pro Version?
The answer is simple. If you make art for a living, investing in a pro version of a free drawing app is something you should consider. Pro versions usually have an extensive collection of utilities and features that can help with your projects.
