No need for paper to draw if you have a smartphone or tablet. All you need is a drawing app and you can create works however you want. Here is our selection of the best applications for drawing on Android or iOS.
Many artists are now abandoning paper for their sketches, preferring a smartphone or tablet. If we can obviously cite the iPad Pro, which has become the reference tool for many professional designers, there are also other interesting models, such as the Galaxy Tab range from Samsung, or any device coupled with a stylus like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra — even if the precision may be lower.
Here is a selection of the best drawing applications on Android and iOS.
Procreate: the obvious on iOS
How not to start this selection with the most renowned application in the field? If we had to choose just one, it would of course be Procreate, unfortunately exclusive to iOS.
It allows you to create drawings on huge surfaces (up to 16,000 x 4000 pixels), offers a huge number of brushes and brushes, a layer system as complete as that of Photoshop, as well as a very popular system called ColorDrop allowing you to color a drawing very quickly.
Procreate also allows you to create animated GIFs or even create a time-lapse video of the process of creating a drawing.
The only downside: the application is paid and no demo version is offered. It remains a safe bet!
Procreate
Adobe Photoshop: the benchmark for iPad
For users familiar with Adobe products for PDF editing, video editing, vector drawing and even Photoshop, the famous image processing tool, know that an online and iPad version is available. Free for Creative Cloud subscription holders, it can be tested for 30 days if necessary.
You will be able to take advantage of the Apple Pencil to draw freehand and resume their lines with ease and above all, they will have all the essential tools to retouch, apply painting effects, use layers, masks, hundreds of brushes to personalize, change color settings, apply localized effects and many more.
In addition to benefiting from all of Adobe’s expertise, you will also be able to synchronize their work on all their devices, benefit from new products every month, and discover advice within the large connected community.
Adobe Photoshop
PENUP: ideal for learning to draw
More focused on 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. Developed by Samsung, this application for Android and Windows 10/11 (for touchscreen media) offers coloring tools, to learn not to exceed for the youngest, but also freehand drawing tools, with layer system , color palette and many brush styles.
In addition, a module called Live Drawing guides users step by step in learning and mastering drawing with very simple and clear explanatory videos.
And for those who have not yet found the technique, PenUp includes a functionality for importing an image to trace it and draw on it, notably managing its opacity.
Autodesk Sketchbook: free and feature-rich
The publisher Autodesk, another behemoth in the creative software sector, offers Sketchbook in a mobile version for Android and iOS. This application is one of the most complete on mobile, with numerous 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 spending a single penny.
It offers a wide range of brushes, pencils and markers to personalize, the possibility of importing an image, tools for integrating text or even a system for creating a time lapse.
Preconfigured color palettes can also advise the designer on harmonious and complementary color combinations.
Autodesk SketchBook
Ibis Paint X: for drawing manga
Available for free on iOS and Android, Ibis Paint X also offers many features. Furthermore, it is possible to extend them further by going premium, either as a single payment or as a monthly payment. This allows access to a very large number of brushes, fonts, etc.
Just like Procreate, Ibis Paint X also creates a time-lapse video retracing the creative process of your drawing.
Finally, the application has its own YouTube channel with numerous tutorials for learning to draw, mainly in the manga style.
MediBang Paint: to get started in comics
In the same style, MediBang Paint, available for free on iPad and Android, is not perfect, but can be a good way to take a first step in the world of comics.
Designed to be functional on the small screen of our smartphones, the application displays an intuitive interface and a multitude of resources, including comic book fonts, effects for onomatopoeia, etc. In addition, a tool makes it easy to separate the sheet into different boxes.
As an added bonus, MediBang offers resources other than fonts and brushes, such as backgrounds or vehicles for example.
Infinite Painter: a very complete challenger
Because there are not only Procreate, Adobe and Sketchbook on the market of mobile drawing applications, Infinite Painter positions itself as a formidable challenger.
It includes no less than 160 brush presets for a natural outline, the possibility of creating your own brushes and saving them, or even defining the texture of the virtual paper so as to adapt the interaction with the selected brush style.
Like its competitors, it supports the layer system and blending modes, offers guides for your lines and makes clipping easier. It also has filters to transform a photo into a sketch or painting and give a completely different look to your drawing.
Clip Studio Paint: a reference for professionals
For those who already have a mastery of drawing and digital painting software, but who really want to specialize in the illustration and creation of comics, manga or webtoons, it is without hesitation to go to Clip Studio Paint. you have to turn around.
To be tested for 30 days before upgrading to a paid subscription, which can also provide up to six months free.
Difficult to list all the features of the software, there are so many, but here are the ones that seemed most important to us: more than 50,000 pens and brushes to personalize, 160,000 materials, 3D models, textures to use, templates for comics, a line stabilizer and guides for lines, your shading and movements, an AI to colorize drawings, animation tools…
Of course, these apps won’t do all the work on their own. To achieve an interesting result, you will need to practice, and why not use applications that will help you learn to draw.
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