The best drawing apps on Android and iOS

Formerly Idraw, Graphic is a full vector design program for Mac, iPhone or iPad. The program has all the features of its most popular competitors and allows the creation of everything, from portraits to technical layout and CAO style drawings.

47 Best drawing applications and artistic applications in 2023 (free and paid)

Here is an overview of the best drawing and art applications to create superb digital works of art on mobile and computer.

Artists and illustrators have a new super -tool in their arsenal – Drawing Apps. Creatives keen on technology pass from paper to digital and take advantage of the advantages offered by drawing applications and artistic applications: powerful drawing tools, special effects, possibility of creating vectors or raster images, and even 3D models. There are a ton of drawing applications, art applications, paint applications and sketch applications available now for creatives, each with its own USP. Some excel in vector drawings, others in graphic illustrations. There are applications dedicated to manipulation of images, imitation hand drawing and 3D modeling. Although several applications are only available in paid versions, many free drawing applications are also available. If you are looking for drawing applications on Google, a long list of good drawing applications with their popular functionalities and links to websites appears. We have drawn up a list of 47 Best free and paid drawing applications For 2023 to express your ideas in the form of digital art.

Here are our best choices for the best drawing applications and artistic applications:

1. Adobe Photoshop
2. Adobe Photoshop sketch
3. Adobe Illustrator
4. Adobe Illustrator Draw
5. Autodesk sketch book
6. Astropad Studio
7. Affinity designer

If you are looking for a drawing application that combines the ease and simplicity of the drawing on your mobile device with the power of Adobe Photoshop, see Photoshop sketch. Combined with your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, Photoshop sketch allows you to refine the images created on your tablet later on your computer.

BENEFITS	Inconveniences
Export to 2x for the retina display is super easy	Nested symbols can confuse users
Excellent user interface without bloating illustrator	Plugins updates and tedious police search
The design of the overview can be seen instantly on the mobile	It does not work well with complex SVGs
Quickly create wired shapes easily	Being designed only for Mac is extremely limiting.

Adobe Illustrator

Just as Photoshop is the standard drawing application for iPad, PC and macOS for raster, Illustrator images is the essential digital art application for vector art. Illustrator is used to creating everything, basic graphic design tasks such as logos with elaborate and magnificent landscapes and portraits. With a little practice, you can transform almost anything into a vector in Illustrator.

BENEFITS	Inconveniences
Best connectivity with other Adobe products	It is still slow to load and execute
Mastering typography and personalized design	Certain features of the node tool are difficult to use
Good for vector drawings with color variation	The management of “art planks” is a bit clumsy
It can recover your files even if they are not saved	Lack of advanced graphic design tutorials

Adobe Illustrator Draw

Similar to Photoshop sketch, but for vector drawing, Illustrator Draw, an excellent drawing application for iPad, allows you to easily create vector drawings during your trips. You can then save them on your Creative Cloud account and refine them later in the full program. Photoshop sketch and illustrator draw are both downloadable for free, but if you want to export the images for a later edition, you will need a Creative Cloud subscription.

BENEFITS	Inconveniences
Easily create illustrations and graphics	The features are limited to drawing tools and masks
Intuitive interface and requires less learning time	Weaker application compared to Illustrator
Exact efforts to different formats effortlessly.

Autodesk sketch book

Sketchbook of Autodesk is one of the most robust raster drawing applications you can find. Compared to Photoshop, Sketch is a platform specially designed for artists traveling. It is not intended for publishing photos or other tasks, so the program focuses only on what you need to easily draw on your tablet. The program is available for Macs, PCs, iOS and Android devices. Unlike many drawing applications that stick to proprietary or generic formats, Sketchbook can export in Photoshop PSD format with intact layers. The best part? Autodesk has now published the full drawing application for free. There are a lot of completely alternative to Photoshop here are the best.

BENEFITS	Inconveniences
Facilitates digital artistic creation for students	Limited number of diapers and can be quite tedious
Single subscription and access to all devices	The mobile application is not compatible with the desktop version
Large pencil options, pens, airbrush to sketch	Lasso and selection tools can improve
The software is open to everyone and is free to use	Certain features such as the perspective take longer to load

Madness

A complete vector editor for Mac, Windows and Linux. Create the vector art or use integrated graphics to create original scenes from predefined elements. A perfect tool for those working with visuals for social media, content marketing, advertisements, etc. The application is 100 % free. Integrated graphics are free for a link.

Mega Creator

An online graphic application that allows everyone to create impressive visuals without any particular skills or expensive design software. Use models or create your own illustrations from prefabricated elements (including 3D !)). Or quickly create personalized photos that look like real. The application gallery contains thousands of photos cut out of people, objects and various animals. Place them on the canvas, combine them with an appropriate background and your photo is ready from. Working in Mega Creator is like playing a graphic lego.

Sketchpad

Sketchpad is a free drawing application, to create superb digital works of art, adapted to all ages. You can easily share your work online and export it in different formats such as JPEG, PNG, SVG and PDF. Sketchpad is available for download on PC and Mac.

Astropad Studio

Zen Brush is a simple ink brush application for mobile devices. A free drawing application is super inexpensive and fun to use, but it’s quite limited. However, ink and paper are also limiting, but that has not prevented artists from doing incredible works of art with them for a thousand years.

PixelMator Pro

PixelMator Pro is a Mac OS application that combines many features and functions of the best editing applications in a single tidy application. Pixelmator offers many of the best features for drawing and standard best photo retouching applications functions of other publishers. It also has a “layout” mode for publishing and graphic design work. Their iOS application for mobile is more a photo editor than an artistic application.

Assembly

Those in the world of graphics know that there is much more in the creation of digital art beyond hand sketch. Illustrator and other vector programs use forms to “assemble” conceptions, and that is the idea beyond the ASSELY application. By simplifying this process, the application allows users to easily and quickly create logos and design elements. Assembly is made for iOS devices.

Chart

Formerly Idraw, Graphic is a full vector design program for Mac, iPhone or iPad. The program has all the features of its most popular competitors and allows the creation of everything, from portraits to technical layout and CAO style drawings.

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Inkwell

Inkist is a super basic drawing application available for Mac computers and iOS devices. The mobile app is currently free. It is not flashy, but it has all the good features to bring out your work of art.

Artstudio

LuckyClan’s Artstudio is a full raster art application for iPad or iPhone. It offers several sizes of canvas, layers with masks, more than 400 brushes, an unlimited number of cancellations/recovery and even more than 40 filters.

Pixaki

Pixaki de Riceer has a somewhat limited audience, but if you like Pixel Art, you will love it. Export your creations to GIFs and other simple animation training courses. The program can open and record in all popular formats, including Photoshop, PNG and Zip archives. Start with a sketch or a photo, and soon you will tip it in a retro style like in 1990. Here is the list of some best animation software on the market.

Infinite painter

Available on Google Play for Android tablets, Painter is a friendly drawing application that you will love. Organized workflows facilitate navigation on the screen and reduce the size of the workspace. Powerful tools such as 3D rendering and more than 80 brushes make it one of the best complete 3D drawing applications for Android devices.

Arteage

If you are looking for superb drawing applications that can work on almost all computers or tablets, you must consult Artration. Artration is available in several versions, including their free drawing applications called Artration Lite for Windows and Mac computers. This program and a loyal user audience, with many fantastic tutorials and inspiration available to other artists.

Concepts

The Concepts application is an interesting program for professional designers who work on Apple, Windows and Google devices. He uses a vector drawing application to store ideas. It looks a lot like a pocket book which has become completely digital. From stirring to “the exploration of happy accidents”, as society says, including the rendering of captivating color illustrations and their sharing with the integrated presentation mode, concepts covers your creative brain.

Comic drawing

If you like to draw comics, Comic Draw is worth the detour. The application is custom -made to create unique panel cartoons on your mobile device. You can associate it with the Comic Life application of the company computer company on Windows or Mac. Gather your frames in a comic strip full with this digital art application.

Paper by wetransfer

If you are looking for a scratching and sketch book application to bring your ideas together and give your creativity free rein, you will love this application. One of the best free drawing applications we know is super simple and yet powerful. With a simple tool of tools and a blank page, let your creativity in Paper be free.

Tayasui Sketches

Available for mac desktop computers, iOS and Android mobile devices, Tayasui sketches application is one of the artists favorites for many reasons. The user interface and the application functions are among the most fluid on the list. The sleek aspect of the sketch space is unbeatable. Color mixture and gradient tools, as well as the most realistic patterns and brushes you can find, complete this fantastic application. Few free drawing applications offer so many interesting features. If you really like what you see inside sketches, an improved pro version is available with even more brushes and tools. The community is an excellent source of advice and examples.

Sketch club

As its name suggests, one of the best parts of Sketch Club is the club. First rule of the Sketch Club: Everyone talks about the Sketch Club. By combining social media inside the application, you can share your creations and comment on others. Who does not like to browse an art gallery on his tablet ? The community offers daily thematic challenges and many star artists whose works you can browse to inspire you. The Sketch Club application is available for Apple iOS in the App Store.

Artistic flow

If your Android tablet does not feel love with all these Ipad applications in progress, do not lose courage. Artflow is a beautiful drawing application for Android which offers a clean user interface and many professional features such as personalized layers and brushes. This is the perfect drawing and painting application to create the painting of your dreams.

Art set 4

The Art Set application for iPad offers tools that look very much like those of real life. Art set 4 is the redesigned and improved set version with more advanced tools for digital paint. This painting program now also has a 3D paint function as well as a workspace that adjusts according to your needs. Although it is a free drawing application for iPad, the pro version offers a ton of essential features such as the definition of the size of the canvas of any resolution, automatic backup, layers and 150 more brushes than the free version.

iPassels

This application also offers pastel tools that give the feeling of real pastels. You can also mix colors on the application using your fingers. iPassels is a free drawing application that is particularly useful when you want to improve your skills when you are in the first stages of your learning. This iPad Pro drawing application has features such as layers, support for Apple pencil, great precision thanks to “floating comma” precision “. The mixture of pastels can also be done without too much effort in this art drawing application. A unique feature of this easy drawing application is that you can display the images in the form of tiles next to each other; This feature is called the transparent pattern editing mode. You don’t have an iPad ? Don’t worry, iPassels is also a drawing application for iPhone.

Redux brushes

Brushes Redux is an application of free open source paint that is used both on iPad and iPhone and work synchronizes between the two. The other features of this iOS application are the possibility of registering automatically, canceling and restoring an unlimited number, to add layers, among other things. This digital drawing application is fast and easy to use with the paint engine based on OpenGL and offers a 64 -bit paint. On their version 3.2 of the application, they now provide experimental support for the Apple pencil and have launched the iTunes file sharing option.

Clip Studio Paint Ex

If you are looking for an iPad drawing application that has dedicated tools to create manga and comics, this could be the perfect application for you. Not only that, but you can also illustrate, drawing and painting on this art application. To obtain a free six -month subscription, a user must register for the ex of the application version. This online drawing application is specially designed for professionals because it has a different export option such as a film or animated GIFs, it supports the apple pencil and the Wacom bamboo sketch. You can also draw animated illustrations in this drawing application for iPad.

you do

A award -winning application, Umake is an iPad Pro drawing application for 3D design. His website says Umake is the first 3D design application created for iPad. This 3D modeling and design application gives the functionality of desktop software on iPad. An excellent tool for those who learn 3D modeling and the possibility of doing it on iPad opens the door to more creative work on the move. They also provide video tutorials on different subjects so that it is easier to learn to use the application and create the desired results. Some of their best features are 3D tools to draw and push, augmented reality features and the creation of complex surfaces, making it one of the best drawing applications for iPad Pro. They offer a 14 -day test, then you can subscribe monthly, quarterly or annually according to your needs.

Paper color (sketch book of painting of painting, painting of painting)

This Android drawing application is suitable for those who want to learn drawing or painting. He has a functionality called a card background that helps a user define a photo as translucent and draw on it. This Android paint application is very similar to someone tracing on paper and drawing on the original. This free application is suitable for more amateurs and has additional features on the pro version which can be done via integrated purchases.

Ibis Paint is one of the best drawing applications for Android. It has unique features such as recording your drawing in the form of video and SNS features where you can see and learn videos created by other users. Other features such as GL technology with fast opening, 142 brushes, 37 filters and 700 fonts make it an obvious choice for people looking for an Android drawing application with many advantages. Apart from that, there are distinct features for artists who wish to create manga. To obtain more features such as fewer ads, fonts and additional materials, a gradation card filter, etc., You must buy via integrated purchases.

Dotpict

The free dotpict drawing app is available on Android, iPhone and iPad. This drawing application is only designed to create Pixel Art. Certain features of the Dotpict application are different sharing and export options, the zoom of the canvas to see the fine details and the display of the grids, among others.

Rough

As its name suggests, Roughanimator is used to create animations. The Roughanimator drawing application allows you to create Image Image animations hand -drawn on several types of devices such as Android, iOS and desktop computers. This animation application offers essential features such as unlimited layers, onion peel, audio and video import, support for Apple pencil and Wacom stylus, and much more, but at a price. What better way to start learning animation on your mobile ?

SONY sketch

Sketch by Sony is a simple Android and iOS drawing application in which brushes and other tools are used to create digital art. The drawing can be made using a finger or a stylus, and the user can create layers in this application. Sony has provided a large community in this application where people can explore other works and present their work too. You can also personalize your flow and collaborate with other artists to create new works. Integrated purchases can access certain additional features.

Pigment

Pigment describes itself as an adult coloring application, but it seems that children will also have a lot of fun with. It is an application to color pages already drawn by professionals and many exclusively by Disney. There are more than 4000 pages to choose and its drawing tools such as pencils, markers and brushes give you the impression of using colors and natural tools. There is an unlimited number of colors to choose from the chromatic wheel, it seems fun, isn’t it ? To obtain features such as premium brushes and the whole library, you must subscribe to the Premium version.

hexagon

Hexagon is free 3D model creation software. He has all the tools that a graphic designer would need. Some of the exceptional features are Daz Studio Bridge, hand-raising modeling brushes, micro-development modeling tools, complete UV mapping modules, etc. In Hexagon, you can see the shadows in real time and the instant ambient occlusion. With this free 3D modeling software, you can create 3D models for high quality game development.

Sculptris

An excellent platform for someone who wants to make a foray into the world of 3D drawing. With sculptris, you can create basic models that can then be refined in other software like Zbrush. 3D software can locally redefine the internal structure of the model with which you work. Sculptris has tools that will give you the impression of working with real clay. You can also paint a texture wrapped on the surface of the mesh with this software. (Please note that sculptris has been updated for the last time in 2011 and may not work in new systems)

Mixer

Blender is free and open source 3D software, which supports modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, composition and movement tracking, video editing, and 2D animation pipeline. Developed by experts from several areas around the world, Blender incorporates a powerful road tracing engine that offers real results. It has advanced sculpture tools and other tools thanks to which you can easily create and transform models. Blender has a flexible interface in which you can adjust the layout, colors, fonts, etc. There are many additional modules created by users who can be used by anyone using the software.

Zbrush

Zbrush is one of the best digital sculpture software. With customizable brushes, you can create shapes, textures and paint virtual clay. The advanced tools offered by ZBRUSH are the same as the tools used by designers and artists around the world. The software has a non -photorealistic rendering (NPR), which allows you to see the work in a whole new way. You can convert the 3D illustration to 2D drawing and transfer the carved illustration in a comic strip. Thanks to ZBRUSH, you can add bunk textures, draw contours and apply various effects from integrated presets.

Krita

Krita is an open source painting program, designed by artists to provide affordable artistic tools. This free paint application can be used to create conceptual art, texture and cache, illustrations and comics. Krita, designed for both amateurs and professionals, offers an intuitive interface. This interface can be personalized according to your workflow. Krita’s dynamic brush tool can be used to create drag and mass and you can smooth and stabilize your brush shots. There are more than nine different brushes engines, such as the color of colored stains, the shape engine, etc., Thanks to which you can customize your brushes according to your specific needs.

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Aseprit

Aseprite is a program with which you can create 2D animations. Thanks to this program, you can also create sprites, pixel art, retro style graphics and everything related to the 8 -bit and 16 -bit era. Aseptrite can operate on Windows, Mac and Ubuntu. The program can organize layers, create personalized animations and brushes. The work can be recorded in GIF, PNG and JSON format.

Ouistiti Hexels 3

Hexels is a program of painting, animation and design based on a grid. With Hexels, you can create complex conceptions and breathtaking drawings. With the combination of digital art tools and a geometric grid, through which you can paint in free form with the precision of vector art. Powerful software for a pixel artist who can follow colors and gradients with the palette. The canvas can be transformed into animation and a sprite sheet can also be exported easily. This program can be used on Windows and Mac devices.

Elements to take into account when choosing a drawing application:

Platform issues

If you are seriously planning to get into digital drawing, carefully think about your equipment choices. Ideally, you will want to test the exact configuration of the tablet and the computer with the stylus of your choice. In short, some are more glitch than others, and creating art requires more finesse than some cannot offer them.

If possible, consider a tablet with a stylus made by the same manufacturer, for example, the Apple iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil. This perfectly guarantees the two pairs for the most fluid drawing experience possible.

Also look for pressure sensitivity. Different stylics manage the task differently. The return provided with pressure sensitivity adds additional realism that makes the drawing on your tablet as close as you can imagine a pencil and analog paper.

As with all applications, be sure to check the operating system used by applying your choice. The most popular platforms are Windows, MacOS, Apple iOS and Android, and unfortunately, very few applications work on all.

Raster VS Drawing Applications Vector

In the digital world, there are two types of images that you can draw. Raster images, like JPG or PNG photographs, are drawn pixel by pixel. If you enlarge or enlarge the image, it will become more and more blurred if it exceeds the size in pixels of the image. Consider this as a drawing on paper and you are limited by the size of your paper. You cannot extend the size of the paper as you cannot extend the pixels. Drawing a raster image is as simple and reasonably intuitive, according to the application.

Vector drawings solve this problem but unfortunately, add much more complexity. Vector images, such as AI or EPS formats, are the global standard in the printing industry. These images are more like IT programs than photographs. In vector drawing applications, you create many routes (lines or shapes) that make up your image. It requires a little more practice. Some vector applications make the process super simple, but professional programs with all bells and whistles take a little time to get used to it.

3D programs

No discussion on online drawing applications would be complete without a word on three -dimensional drawing applications. If you are looking to create 3D modeling, 3D printing ideas or if you are looking for this feeling of another world that is everywhere, you will want to make sure to choose the best drawing application capable of producing 3D images also. And do not feel excluded if you get your drawing applications for free, some of them also include 3D rendering !
Here is most useful 3D printing ideas that you can take inspiration.

Conclusion

Now that you have an idea of ​​the number of free drawing applications, including choosing, you may feel a little taken aback. But remember, the most fun game to find the best canvas for your choice project is the adventure by trying them all ! In your opinion, what is the best drawing application ?

Notice of non-responsibility: The images presented are only for illustration purposes and may not be an exact representation of the final product. All images are the property of their respective owners.

The best drawing apps on Android and iOS

No more paper to draw if you have a smartphone or tablet. All you need is a drawing application and you can create works as you see fit. Here is our selection, with alternatives to Procreate on Android.

Samsung // source drawing application: Charli_com_au via Unsplash

Many artists are now abandoning paper for their sketches, preferring a smartphone or tablet to them. If we can obviously quote the iPad Pro, which has become the reference tool for many professional designers, there are also other interesting models, such as the Galaxy Note range on Android, the Galaxy Tab, or N ‘ No device coupled with a stylus like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – even if the accuracy may be less.

Here is a selection of the best drawing apps on Android and iOS.

Procreate: the evidence on iOS

How not to start this selection with the most famous application in this area ? If it should only be remembered, it would obviously be procreative, unfortunately exclusive to iOS.

It makes it possible to create drawings on very large areas (up to 16,000 x 4000 pixels), offers a very large number of brushes and brushes, a system of layers as complete as that of Photoshop, as well as a very system appreciated called colordrop to very quickly color a drawing.

Procreate also allows you to create animated GIFs or even create an accelerated video of the process of creating a drawing.

Only downside: the application is paid and divided in half according to the desired format:

Adobe Photoshop sketch: the safe bet

Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Premiere Pro … You have certainly heard the name of one of these software, or even you have already used one so Adobe has become a reference over the years on PC, both for retouching photo only for video editing. And of course, the San José company has not missed the turn of the mobile by offering several of its programs on our smartphones and tablets.

If you are looking for a free drawing application, you can turn to Adobe Photoshop Sketch, available on Android and iOS. Very simple to handle, it will allow you to easily make sketches or drawings, always with many brushes and an advanced layer system.

For those who are already used to working with Adobe’s tools, you will not be disoriented and will also find – optional – Adobe Stock to look for images within a database, or Creative Cloud to have access to all your remote resources.

Adobe Photoshop sketch

This application is no longer available

More focused sharing creations, but no less interesting when it comes to learning to draw, Penup is an application entirely dedicated to the use of the stylus.

To learn about this application, we can go through various channels. Drawing or free coloring, but also drawing based on photographs, or via Challenges.

Adobe Illustrator Draw: the same vector

Illustrator Draw takes up the same principle as Photoshop sketch, but with vectorized drawings. Concretely, this means that you can zoom in and enlarge your drawings as much as necessary.

Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer: the IOS Alternative Effective

Against the quasi-monopoly of Adobe and its new programs with subscription, Affinity has risen by offering alternatives available with a unique purchase. So we find Affinity Photo, competitor of Photoshop and Affinity Designer, competitor of Illustrator. In addition to the PC version, an iPad version of these two software is also available.

Management of the 120 Hz screen, compatibility with Adobe files, sensitive to stylus pressure, compatible with iCloud or even library of brushes to download … Affinity clearly does not lack arguments to be asserted for lovers of drawings. However, count 21.99 euros per application.

Autodesk Sketchbook

Autodesk editor, another mastodon in the creation software sector, offers Sketchbook in mobile version. This application is one of the most complete on mobile, with many brushes and pencils as well as a number of tools to manage perspective or symmetry for example. Very complete and free the application is a reference for those looking for a drawing application without paying the slightest penny.

Ibis paint x: to draw manga

Available for free on iOS and Android, Ibis Paint X also offers many features. In addition, it is possible to extend them more by switching to premium, either single payment or monthly payment. This allows access to a very large number of brushes, writing policies, etc. Like Procreate, Ibis Paint X is also responsible for creating an accelerated video retracing the creative process of your drawing.

Finally, the application has its own YouTube channel with many tutorials to learn to draw, mainly in manga style.

Medibang Paint: to start in comics

In the same style, Medibang Paint, available for free on iPad and Android, is not perfect, but maybe a good way to take a first step in the world of comics. Thought to be functional on the small screen of our smartphones, the application displays an intuitive interface and many resources, up to comics, effects for onomatopoeia, etc. In addition, a tool easily separates the sheet into different boxes.

Little more, Medibang offers resources other than fonts and brushes, such as backgrounds or vehicles for example.

Of course, these applications will not do all the work on their own. To achieve an interesting result, you will have to train, and why not use applications that will help you learn to draw.

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