68 Best Painting Apps and Softwares

1

Adobe Photoshop

This one needs no introduction. Ah, the good old Adobe Photoshop. Existing since time unknown, Adobe Photoshop is the go-to app for many to draw, edit, and create. For many years, Adobe has held its throne as the leader for providing illustration and painting services to not only PCs but tablets and phablets too. Professional graphic designers and artists often prefer using Photoshop for its ease and array of services. Not just professionals, but for beginners and people who want to create simple drawings or paintings, Photoshop is the go-to application.

#Graphic Design Software #Image Editing #Digital Drawing And Painting 2 user reviews

2

Adobe Fresco

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Image Editing

3

Artflow Studio

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software 1 social mentions

4

Adobe Sketch

Why Adobe Sketch? – Adobe Sketch is filled with brushes and the tools in this software overlap with those of Adobe Draw, helping you to switch between these two apps seamlessly, just like in Adobe’s desktop programs.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software

5

Rbcafe Zen

The sequel to Zen, Zen Brush 2 is an app for iOS that has carried on the legacy of its predecessor with allowing its users to get the same feel of the fluent painting but muses that with traditional Japanese calligraphy brushes. Zen Brush 2 comes with a newer drawing engine, providing a much smoother experience with newer features.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Image Editing

6

Paint.NET

Why Paint.net? – If you want to relax and doodle, Paint.net has it all, with all the paintbrushes you’ll need, and if you want to get more serious, Paint.net also has the massive editing power and features to help you do so.

#Graphic Design Software #Image Editing #Digital Drawing And Painting

7

Affinity Photo

The 2017 Apple App of the Year award winner, Affinity Photo is an app designed for iOS, mirroring the same structure and features of its desktop version. Completely optimized for iOS 11 and more, Affinity Photo provides a desktop experience with rich features and visuals, allowing users even to create their very own brushes and switching on dynamics, giving complete control over every aspect of the drawing.

#Graphic Design Software #Digital Drawing And Painting #Photos & Graphics 32 social mentions

8

Artrage

If you’re a hardcore painter who loves to experiment with brushes and painting styles, ArtRage is perfect for you. ArtRage is an app that overflows with features and a variety of presets for canvas and papers, also hosting a variety of colors, crayons, brushes, pastels, and more. ArtRage provides very realistic paint on a digital platform, and you can apply paint and smear it around with ease, creating your own masterpiece.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools

9

Pixelmator

#Art Tools #Illustrations #Image Editing

10

Zen Brush

The sequel to Zen, Zen Brush 2 is an app for iOS that has carried on the legacy of its predecessor with allowing its users to get the same feel of the fluent painting but muses that with traditional Japanese calligraphy brushes. Zen Brush 2 comes with a newer drawing engine, providing a much smoother experience with newer features.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software

11

Sketchable

Why Sketchable? – Think of it in this way: if you use the stylus, you can choose the kind of lines you draw, based on the pressure sensitivity. Now, isn’t that cool? Also, Sketchable can be your journal where you can doodle or pin down notes. There are in-app purchases for added features but this app is free on the Microsoft Store.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Image Editing

Why Inkist? – Inkist is a highly-potent painting app that was built mainly for sketching but is also suitable for any other drawing task. It offers a very simple UI, that is easy to pick up in the first few attempts, has a large array of brushes to choose from, which are customizable by the way, a number of blend modes, and several other advanced tools to help you sketch your heart out. The best part about Inkist, is the fact that it is free to download, which is quite surprising, given the fact that it houses several advanced features which are usually found in premium (paid) sketching apps.

13

Sony Sketch

Why Sony Sketch? – The unique feature of Sketch is the fact that it provides various PNG sticker images that you can incorporate into your drawing to give them a quirkier and more creative look. Also, Sketch also consists of beautiful background textures, layering capabilities, and so on.

#Photos & Graphics #Tool #Digital Drawing And Painting

14

Dotpict

Are you bored with the same old free painting apps and software and want to try out something new? DotPict is right here to save your day from boredom! DotPict is a drawing app that is strange, to say the least, but is interesting and almost like a game. It is an 8-bit drawing application, and all you have to do is move your finger or stylus to create 8-bit shapes.

#Photos & Graphics #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools

15

Corel Painter

Why Corel Painter? – Apart from the array of brushes, custom brushes, and palettes, Corel Painter also supports third-party apps and hardware that makes it highly-preferred amongst people who like multi-tasking.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Image Editing

16

Rebelle

Why Rebelle 3? – Rebelle 3 is an extremely easy-to-use application where you can access various tools on the go. What makes Rebelle 3 a must-have for many is loads of customization options and wonderful features like tilting the canvas.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools

17

Autodesk SketchBook

Why Autodesk Sketchbook? – Autodesk Sketchbook comes with a beautiful minimal UI, including 140 pre-designed paintbrushes, which you can tweak as well! Another unique feature of this app is its ability to add infinite amount of layers, allowing you to get as creative as you can.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools 1 social mentions

Why Brushes Redux? – Brushes Redux has a plethora of brushes and all the features you’d want, but the best part is that they are some of the most responsive brushes, thanks to this app’s powerful engine, an open-GL engine. Due to this engine, the brushes are easy to use, and you can control almost all the aspects of it, simultaneously controlling how the strokes will appear, according to your taste.

#Photos & Graphics #Tool #Digital Drawing And Painting

19

Artweaver

Why Artweaver 6? – Artweaver comes with some brilliant features that help it stand out amongst the veterans of the digital painting apps world. It boasts of a highly-configurable brush system as well as allowing users to work with their colleagues on the same document. Pretty impressive, right?

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Image Editing

20

GIMP

This app will come as a fresh breath of air for Linux users. There is very few best painting apps out there that are designed for Linux, and GIMP is one of them, probably the best one amongst the lot. Though GIMP is not at par with the many powerful apps designed for Windows as well as Mac OS, it still stands as the best painting software designed strictly for Linux users. All creative professionals who work on Linux devices have a copy of GIMP very often.

#Photo Editing #Graphic Design Software #Digital Drawing And Painting 59 social mentions

21

Infinite Painter

Yes, there are several painting apps available for Android, but few match the capabilities and results that are provided by Infinite Painter. Dubbed as the best painting app for Android, Infinite Painter is perfect if you want real results and outstanding pieces of art. It has almost all the tools you will need, and its smooth UI and visual appearance is just amazing to the eyes.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software

22

Marmoset Hexels 2

#3D #Game Development #Digital Drawing And Painting 4 social mentions

23

Clip Studio Paint

Why Clip Studio Paint Pro? – Clip Studio Paint Pro has all the essentials you’ll require, but on top of that, it also has a vast 3-D model as well as referencing support, that’ll allow you to import and convert images, and 3-D models as well, into lines that you can use in your drawings!

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Image Editing

Why Inkist? – Inkist is a highly-potent painting app that was built mainly for sketching but is also suitable for any other drawing task. It offers a very simple UI, that is easy to pick up in the first few attempts, has a large array of brushes to choose from, which are customizable by the way, a number of blend modes, and several other advanced tools to help you sketch your heart out. The best part about Inkist, is the fact that it is free to download, which is quite surprising, given the fact that it houses several advanced features which are usually found in premium (paid) sketching apps.

25

Paint 3D

Why Microsoft Paint 3D? – The very first reason to use this app is the fact that most of us already familiar with how Microsoft Paintworks, and what makes things more interesting, are the 3D features this app inhibits now. You can create 3D objects, cartoons, doodle in 3D, using various stickers, etc. Paint 3D also has cool features like Time Machine, where you can replay and watch your creation blossom in real-time.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #3D #Illustration

26

Krita

Krita is mainly a big-time success story for all the right reasons, and many professionals often end up using Krita for most of their creative work. Launched as a Kickstarter that claimed a lot of success, Krita is a painting app that offers high-quality software, that is not only professional but is also filled with a bunch of features that make it one of the best all-around apps on the market, even today.

#Concept Art #Art Tools #Illustrations 296 social mentions

27

Fresh Paint

Kids, this one is for you! Microsoft Fresh Paint is an exciting painting app introduced by Microsoft, aiming mostly towards children. Let’s face it, we’re living in a generation where kids are often moving ahead of us, and painting on a PC is a great way for them to explore their artistic side as well as give wings to their creativity. Microsoft designed Fresh Paint for this purpose, and though this is aimed mostly at a younger demographic, people of all ages can try it out for just simple painting and drawing purposes.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software

28

MyPaint

MyPaint is the software designed by artist Martin Renold, as a way to help users take matters into their own hands when it comes to digital painting and sketching. MyPaint is a open-sourcece software that many professional artists ustoto create excellent pieces of art. Mainly designed for graphic tablets, MyPaint can be used in PCs and other touchscreen devices as well. MyPaint has the background as a Linux app and thus works a little differently, but nevertheless, is very efficient.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Image Editing #Graphic Design Software 6 social mentions

29

FireAlpaca

If cutting right to the chase without any confusion or flashy visuals is your cup of tea, then FireAlpaca is something you shouly try, for painting or drawing on your PC. Preferred by many artists, FireAlpaca is a painting app with a very simple UI without too many visual elements, thus putting your focus on the ultimate goal: painting. If you want an app that has many of the premium features but your goal is to just draw or sketch, FireAlpaca is the one for you.

#Graphic Design Software #Digital Drawing And Painting #Image Editing 21 social mentions

30

MediBang Paint Pro

Why MediBang Paint Pro? – MediBang Paint Pro has an exceptionally brilliant brush workflow and a number of cloud tools, making it not only compatible with many devices, but also a much preferred app when it comes to users who prefer cross-platform working.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software 2 social mentions

31

Tayasui Sketches

Tayasui Sketches is an app built to mainly please your eyes, and thus pays a lot of attention to details and other visual elements. While many don’t pay attention to app UI, there are people who often prefer an app over the others based on how much visually aesthetic it is. Tayasui Sketches left no stone unturned in this, ticking every box when it comes to beauty. It is one of the very few painting apps out there that provide a very realistic feel of drawing on a canvas, which was the sole aim of the developer. Be it simply doodling or taking hours to create a mesmerizing piece of art, Tayasui is built to enable you to truly bring out your inner painter.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software

32

ibis Paint X

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software 10 social mentions

33

Inkscape

Why Inkscape? – Inkscape in open-source software, which means that there’s an extensive community that can help you in any problem, and Inkscape also has all the tools a digital artist will ever need.

#Graphic Design Software #Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools 481 social mentions

34

Vectr

Why VECTR? – VECTR is mainly preferred because it has built-in lessons about various topics like paths, filters, gradients, etc., making things easier for the novices. VECTR is mainly used to design typographic logos, business cards, posters, etc.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Vector Graphic Editor 24 social mentions

35

getLeonardo.com

Leonardo is another drawing app which is still in its beta phase but is quite promising when it comes to features and usage. It is mainly built for tablets but can be used in mobile phones as well. Leonardo boasts of an amazing brush engine as well as several power-packed features that make it worth a try.

#Graphic Design Software #Digital Drawing And Painting #Image Editing

Why Inkist? – Inkist is a highly-potent painting app that was built mainly for sketching but is also suitable for any other drawing task. It offers a very simple UI, that is easy to pick up in the first few attempts, has a large array of brushes to choose from, which are customizable by the way, a number of blend modes, and several other advanced tools to help you sketch your heart out. The best part about Inkist, is the fact that it is free to download, which is quite surprising, given the fact that it houses several advanced features which are usually found in premium (paid) sketching apps.

37

Blender

Blender is quite the unique app amongst the various freeware available out there, and it is highly-preferred by many professionals, specially adding 3D effects to various images while working on graphic tablets. Blender was developed by Blender Foundation and for all graphic tablet users, this is probably one of the best drawing apps and is mainly used for the many features it offers.

#3D #Game Development #Game Engine 137 social mentions

38

Mudbox

Why Mudbox? – Mudbox is packed with features for incorporating 3D effects to drawings, like painting directly onto 3D models, texture baking, retopology tools, and a professional digital sculpting toolset.

#3D #Digital Drawing And Painting #3D Modeling

39

PaintTool SAI

#Image Editing #Art Tools #Concept Art 3 social mentions

40

Mischief

Mischief is yet another digital drawing app that is beloved by many, thanks to its many features, especially the digital brushes that help in creating visually stunning pieces of art. Mischief is used by many professionals who work mainly on drawing human figures, as the digital brushes are perfect for the job.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools

41

Painter

An OpenGL based painting app, SpeedyPainter is a wonderful app that offers a lot of features, despite its lightweight feel, which kind of justifies its name. Offering all the necessary tools and features required by digital painters, SpeedyPainter is mainly preferred because of it supporting Wacom digitizers. Simply put, through this, SpeedyPainter gives you the ability to vary the opacity or brush stroke size, depending on the stylus or pen pressure. Pretty cool, right?

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Image Editing #Art Tools

42

Black Ink

For all you advanced users out there, who want to stretch the possibilities of using painting apps and software, Black Ink is a must try. “Advanced Digital Painting”, as the app’s tagline reads, Black Ink is a powerful app that has loads of new features and focus on breaking the norms of digital painting to give you a newer experience.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software

43

iPastels

iPastels is a great app that is like a breath of fresh air from the quintessential painting apps and software out there. It focuses on coloring with pastel colors, which I guess we all loved as kids, and has a number of color and pastel options to choose from.

#Photos & Graphics #Tool #Digital Drawing And Painting

44

Procreate

Why Procreate? – Procreate is loaded with powerful features like an ultra-responsive stylus control, sharp color palettes, and highly-customizable brushes. Along with all this, Procreate also can import fonts for typography, and also has its own dedicated Instagram page where you can keep up with all that’s going on, out and about, in Procreate.

#Art Tools #Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software

45

ArtStudio

ArtStudio Lite claims to be the most comprehensive painting app that is available in the App Store, and that’s not just a whimsical claim. ArtStudio is the perfect app for users, especially those, who likes to draw and paint on the go, on their iPads and iPhones. Hosting a variety of tools and features like smudge, heal, paint fill, dodge/burn, ArtStudio Lite is a powerhouse.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Photos & Graphics #Graphic Design Software

46

Assembly

Why Assembly? – Assembly is a great for professionals who are looking to enhance the brand identity of a company, as this app can help them to come up with beautiful and impactful logos, with ease. Assembly has a building-block approach and houses all the necessary tools to construct icons and logos of any shape and size as your mind imagines.

#HR Tools #Employee Engagement #Employee Rewards And Recognition 1 user reviews

47

Autodesk Graphic

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools 1 social mentions

48

Art Set 4

Why Art Set? – Art Set offers a budget-friendly option for users who are on the go, and with a lightweight internal, this app is easy to use and all features are extremely responsive. This app is best for people who are down to paint without going through complex extra features, just to sketch or draw.

#Photos & Graphics #Tool #Digital Drawing And Painting

49

Concepts

Why Concepts? – Concepts is a great tool for people who want to communicate with clients and show them ideas and concepts through drawings and sketches. Concepts offers several precision features and vector art that can help in this.

#Photos & Graphics #Tool #Prototyping 33 social mentions

Why Inkist? – Inkist is a highly-potent painting app that was built mainly for sketching but is also suitable for any other drawing task. It offers a very simple UI, that is easy to pick up in the first few attempts, has a large array of brushes to choose from, which are customizable by the way, a number of blend modes, and several other advanced tools to help you sketch your heart out. The best part about Inkist, is the fact that it is free to download, which is quite surprising, given the fact that it houses several advanced features which are usually found in premium (paid) sketching apps.

Why Inkist? – Inkist is a highly-potent painting app that was built mainly for sketching but is also suitable for any other drawing task. It offers a very simple UI, that is easy to pick up in the first few attempts, has a large array of brushes to choose from, which are customizable by the way, a number of blend modes, and several other advanced tools to help you sketch your heart out. The best part about Inkist, is the fact that it is free to download, which is quite surprising, given the fact that it houses several advanced features which are usually found in premium (paid) sketching apps.

52

Pixaki

Pixaki is a pixel drawing app that was developed by Rizer and is extensively used in almost everything, from computer games to retro art. Pixel art is not something we’re unfamiliar with, because we have seen it in several cartoon movies, and especially cartoon games in our PCs. Pixaki almost converts an iPad into a pixel art studio, and comes with a bunch of features.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools

53

Aseprite

Why Aseprite? – Aseprite has some exceptional features that help it stand out, like Pixel Perfect, where the problem of rounded edges is solved while working with pixels, and Ghosting of Frames, through which high quality sprite sheets can be created.

#Art Tools #Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software 1 social mentions

54

ZBrush

ZBrush is probably the perfect digital art application for all the serious 3D artists out there. Unrivalled in performance and features, ZBrush has now become the norm when it comes to the app used for professional quality animations that we see in cinemas and TVs. While ZBrush does not come anywhere near to being cheap, it does justify its price-tag with the fact that it provides unmatched performance and is probably the most efficient 3D drawing app out there.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Illustration #3D 11 social mentions

55

Hexagon

Why Hexagon? – Hexagon is a great app that is affordable and also helps budding 3D modelers with tasks like game developments, creating 2.5D or 3D art, and all the basic features for 3D modeling: setting up UV maps, creating primitives, 3D painting tools, and much more. It’s a great way of not punching a hole through your wallet and making 3D art.

#3D #Architecture #Vector Graphic Editor

56

YouiDraw

Why YouiDraw? – YouiDraw Online is a great initiative by YouiDraw where you don’t even have to download anything at all! All you have to do is visit the website and an online painting app opens up with all the tools and options for you to draw with.

#Graphic Design Software #Designers #Vector Graphic Editor

57

Inspire Pro

Why Inspire Pro? – Inspire Pro offers over 140 brushes to choose from, a color palette where you can choose whatever color you can imagine, and various other customizable tools like pencils, markers, pastels, and whatnot. If you’re using Apple Pencil, your applied pressure will instantly create a reaction in the opacity of the brush stroke. Amazing, right?

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Art Tools #Graphic Design Software

58

Sketch Club

Why Sketch Club? – Sketch Club has 44 digital brushes to offer, and even more in the form of customized ones. Along with this, it also offers several tools including vector tools, procedural tools, pixel art, and has a clean UI that is filled with customizable settings but do not clutter the main look of the app, keeping the experience buttery smooth. Another USP of this app is its dedicated online community where you can not only share your work but also take part in challenges and fun competitions as well.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools

Why Inkist? – Inkist is a highly-potent painting app that was built mainly for sketching but is also suitable for any other drawing task. It offers a very simple UI, that is easy to pick up in the first few attempts, has a large array of brushes to choose from, which are customizable by the way, a number of blend modes, and several other advanced tools to help you sketch your heart out. The best part about Inkist, is the fact that it is free to download, which is quite surprising, given the fact that it houses several advanced features which are usually found in premium (paid) sketching apps.

60

Graphiter

Why Graphiter? – When it comes to graphite sketches, not all apps offer the essentials, but unlike them, Graphiter has almost anything you’ll need. From Blend tool, Erasers, to Graphite pencil of all sorts, it has it all, along with a simple UI that is a treat to the eyes.

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Image Editing

61

TwistedBrush Pro Studio

#Art Tools #Digital Drawing And Painting #Illustrations

62

SpeedyPainter

An OpenGL based painting app, SpeedyPainter is a wonderful app that offers a lot of features, despite its lightweight feel, which kind of justifies its name. Offering all the necessary tools and features required by digital painters, SpeedyPainter is mainly preferred because of it supporting Wacom digitizers. Simply put, through this, SpeedyPainter gives you the ability to vary the opacity or brush stroke size, depending on the stylus or pen pressure. Pretty cool, right?

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Image Editing

63

Pencil2D

Pencil2D is yet another great app available for all artists and especially graphic designers, to create beautiful hand-drawn 2D animations with ease. For people who are inclined towards traditional drawing, the good old pencil and paper, Pencil2D is one of the best drawing apps out there. Pencil2D is an open-source application, which has a simple UI and is very lightweight, thus proving to be a great option for beginners as well.

#Art Tools #Animation #2D Animation

64

Pixia

Digital painting is a serious business, especially tasks like raster painting and graphics editing, that require a specific set of tools and powerful engines for comfortable operating. There are very few apps out there that check all these boxes, and Pixia is one of them, which focus mainly on raster painters and graphic editors, but is well-suited for everything that comes under digital painting. Pixia is mainly preferred by the professionals as it comes bloatware-free, which means you get a distraction-free environment to work in.

#Graphic Design Software #Digital Drawing And Painting #Image Editing

65

kdanmobile.com Animation Desk

Why Animation Desk? – Animation Desk is a highly-comprehensive animation software, and the best part is the fact that it’s been optimized for mobile devices as well. This means, you can continue working no matter where you are. Animation Desk comes with several high-quality paint brushes to select from, blending features, importing of videos, as well as Kdan’s own Creative App series, to increase the flow of your creative juices. Animation Desk is a power-packed app and comes with an easy learning curve, something that you won’t come across every day.

#Animation #Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software

Why Inkist? – Inkist is a highly-potent painting app that was built mainly for sketching but is also suitable for any other drawing task. It offers a very simple UI, that is easy to pick up in the first few attempts, has a large array of brushes to choose from, which are customizable by the way, a number of blend modes, and several other advanced tools to help you sketch your heart out. The best part about Inkist, is the fact that it is free to download, which is quite surprising, given the fact that it houses several advanced features which are usually found in premium (paid) sketching apps.

67

Paper by FiftyThree App

#Digital Drawing And Painting #Graphic Design Software #Art Tools