Best Painting Apps & Digital Art Programs (2023)
The best drawing apps and digital software offers all the creative freedom of pads, pencils, pens, and brushes in a single program. To get more news about
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The best graphic design software opens up a canvas of possibilities for artists and illustrators of all experience levels. A way to bring ideas to life and share work seamlessly with clients, friends and the rest of the world. And the very best software for digital art caters to all - capturing every stroke, whether you're illustrating comics or working in watercolors.
Across Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad, we've tested the best drawing apps and digital art software. As part of our process, we've looked at each art app's tool set, online collaboration tools and the best cloud storage options. We’ve also covered software for beginners and professionals.
1. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe has been the king of creative software for decades, and its Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud) software is a favourite of artists and designers around the world. It offers creative types a wealth of cloud-based tools for creating and enhancing photos, illustrations and 3D visuals.
This software isn't just one of the best photo editors around. If you're a professional designer, you can use it to create packaging, banners, websites, logos and icons. Not only can you come up with your own creations, but you can also use intuitive templates if you're more of a beginner or working to a tight deadline.
2. Corel Painter
Corel offers a range of creative software packages, one of which is a drawing application called Painter. Aimed at designers, artists and students, this cross-platform application provides you with 'thick paint' that you can apply to your digital canvas, then scrape around or blend to create some very realistic looking masterpieces.
There's a wide range of brushes to choose from, with the ability to create custom brushes and palettes - or import them. Painter is a downloadable application available for both Windows and Mac. It's also compatible with third-party software such as Photoshop and drawing tablets from companies such as Wacom.
3. Adobe Fresco
Adobe Fresco is a drawing tool for iPads, Microsoft Surface Pros and Creative Cloud Desktop for Windows. You can download a version for free, but if you want to use all the features, you'll need a subscription. It's worth noting that if you're already a subscriber to the Adobe Design Mobile Bundle plan, the Adobe Photoshop Single App plan or the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan, you already have access to the full version of Fresco.
Fresco is a very satisfying app to use. It has a lot of powerful features and a great selection of brushes, divided into three categories: Pixel Brushes, like those found in Photoshop, and Vector Brushes, like those found in Illustrator. But the star of the show are the Live Brushes, which allow you to recreate the effects of actually painting with watercolours or oils.
4. Rebelle
Created by artist Peter Blaskovic, Rebelle is another highly versatile drawing and painting application. Described as "unique painting software", it's designed to simulate the real painting experience for creatives working with watercolours, acrylics, wet and dry media.
Blaskovic created the app as part of his experimental drawing projects and wanted an easy-to-use program to access natural painting tools on the go. The app uses realistic colour mixing, wet diffusion and drying techniques, and offers a variety of watercolours, acrylics, inks and pastels.
5. Artweaver
Artweaver is one of the oldest painting tools around. The digital art application offers a diverse set of predefined brushes and pens that can be used to create amazing works of art.
Not only does Artweaver offer an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it suitable for beginners, but it also boasts an impressively configurable brush system. Not only can you choose from a variety of pre-defined brushes, but you can also customise them to suit your needs.
6. ArtRage
ArtRage is an art program primarily for Windows and Mac, but also has app versions for iOS and Android. All versions are available as a one-off purchase, with the mobile app being particularly affordable.
It has a good range of painting features such as pencils, pens and oil paint brushes, as well as digital editing features such as layers, transform, filters and custom brushes. Like Rebelle, it simulates real-world painting, with brushes that respond to the texture of the canvas.
