Bruce Dias 
Outdoor painting in picturesque spots, sketching in a cozy café… All those paints, easels, and brushes are wonderful, but not always practical. That’s why many people now prefer working on tablets or smartphones. It’s not just professional illustrators and artists doing this for creating the graphics for games at www.woocasino.com/en-CA/games/live-casino or new sophisticated graphic novels — anyone who loves to draw can give it a try. And you don’t need expensive gadgets for it — great apps can work perfectly on basic devices.
PaperDraw: Paint Draw Sketchbook
This app doesn’t offer tutorials, but you likely won’t need them — the interface is simple and intuitive. For free, you get 10 brushes, an eraser, text insertion, a ruler, and basic image editing tools.
Although it doesn’t have a “wow” factor, the app handles its core function just fine. Users love its simplicity — it’s perfect for when you want to draw without navigating dozens of features.
By the way, if you take an IRS Academy video course, the skills you gain can be applied not only on real paper but also in this app.
ibis Paint X
ibis Paint X allows you to create not only static images but also animations. The app offers nearly 47,000 brushes, over 2,100 fonts, 84 filters, stroke recording, and layer support.
Its user-friendly interface makes it easy for even beginners to get started. If you encounter challenges, there’s a tutorial to guide you. Plus, if you own a stylus-enabled smartphone, like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, creating masterpieces becomes even simpler. Finished artwork can be saved in PNG, JPG, or PSD formats.
ArtRage Vintage Mobile Painting
This app is both richly atmospheric and highly functional. It allows you to create not just drawings but also detailed portraits and landscapes. You’ll find a brief guide, after which you can dive into oil painting and sketching using brushes, palette knives, rollers, and paint tubes.
You can mix colors, choose textured canvases, and use tools for graphic work, such as ink pens, markers, pencils, and airbrushes. Layer effects let you achieve realistic highlights, shadows, and 3D effects. Finished pieces can be saved in JPG or PNG formats and further edited in the desktop version of ArtRage.
Sketchar
Sketchar is an Android drawing app with a focus on learning. After downloading, it asks about your skill level, dominant hand, and preferred sketch themes to customize your experience. You can then follow daily step-by-step lessons, even using augmented reality to draw on actual paper. Over time, you’ll learn to sketch animals, plants, portraits, and even anime characters.
Infinite Painter
Upon installation, you’ll get a quick, straightforward tutorial to start drawing right away. With over 160 brush presets (which you can organize into custom sets), the app also offers professional tools: fill, erasers, geometric shapes, texture templates, symmetry tools, color filters, and more. Artwork can be saved in JPEG, PNG, PSD, or ZIP formats.
SketchBook
Autodesk SketchBook is ideal for both drawing and technical sketching. Using a stylus feels as smooth as drawing on real paper. Advanced artists will appreciate its layer editor with blending options, featuring 16 modes (e.g., Multiply, Screen, or Overlay), pressure sensitivity, proportional transformation, and symmetry tools.
For completed pieces, there’s a built-in gallery, albums, and Dropbox integration. Most tools are free, but the premium version includes unique features like brush import, layer grouping, PDF export, and enhanced coloring tools.
Tayasui Sketches
This app includes layers, a brush editor, an eyedropper tool, layer export, and backup options. There are 20 tools for drawing: pen, marker, brush, oil pastel, acrylic brush, spray, text, eraser, smudge, watercolor brushes, carving tool, and more. The app’s interface adapts to the selected mode, minimizing distractions and enhancing creativity.
Krita
Krita is a 2D graphics program tailored for illustrators, artists, and concept designers. Developers have been refining it for over a decade.
Professionals will appreciate its vector tools for working with curves, smooth color gradients, object manipulation, and freehand drawing. It also features an extensive selection of brushes and filters.
Krita supports 2D animation, offering frame-by-frame layering, export options for GIF and MP4 formats, and animation tutorials. It includes a “Colorize Mask” tool for quickly coloring line art, mirror and symmetry drawing modes, and a Multibrush tool for creating fractal patterns. The digital color blending feature allows for complex palettes, perfect for realistic painting. Additionally, perspective rulers and guides make precise work easier.
