I just got an iPad and I’m looking for recommendations on the best drawing apps to try. I’d love some suggestions based on features, ease of use, and versatility. Help me decide which apps are worth downloading and why. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Alright, let’s cut through the noise and get straight to it. If you’ve got an iPad, you NEED to check out Procreate—it’s like the holy grail of drawing apps. It’s super intuitive, has a ton of brushes, and, let’s be honest, everyone who’s anyone in digital art has raved about it. Clean interface, time-lapse feature, and once you pay for it, no sneaky subscription fees. Just… chef’s kiss.
Then there’s Adobe Fresco, which leans into the “amazing for vector AND raster” vibe. Great if you’re hybrid-styling or want to play around with realistic brushes. But warning: Adobe’s whole subscription thing can get annoying. Perfect if you’ve already got Creative Cloud going, though.
Clip Studio Paint—it’s the one for manga and comic creators. People swear by the crazy level of detail you can achieve with it. Pretty versatile, too, but the subscription model might turn some people off.
For newbies or super-simple doodling, Tayasui Sketches is lovely and not as overwhelming as some others. Gorgeous clean look but maybe not the same depth of features.
Oh, and I’ve heard mixed things about Affinity Designer—more for vector art, but the learning curve is kinda intense if you’re not into graphic design territory.
Honestly, the best depends on what you’re doing—realism, comics, vector art, or just fooling around. Try a couple and see what clicks with your style.
Okay, so here’s the tea—Procreate is great, yeah, but let’s not pretend it’s some messiah of the iPad art world. Honestly, it’s awesome for painting and sketching, super streamlined, but if you’re doing heavy graphic design or anything vector-based? Nah, it’s not gonna cut it.
Let’s talk alternatives that don’t get enough spotlight. Affinity Designer—look, I get it, it can feel like a steep mountain to climb for newbies, but wow, once you crack it? Absolute godsend for vector work and even some illustration if you’re into that precision game. And no subscription—finally. Think of it like the sensible workhorse compared to Procreate’s artsy rebel.
Also, don’t sleep on Autodesk SketchBook if you’re just starting out. It’s FREE (yes, actual free, no “freemium” nonsense here) and the interface is ridiculously easy to use. It won’t give you the depth of tools for pro-level art, but casual fun? Totally solid.
Oh, and ArtRage Vitae—not mainstream enough, IMO. Hands down the most satisfying simulation of traditional mediums like oils and watercolors. Probably not ideal for detailed digital art like manga (ahem see what @jeff said about Clip Studio Paint for that), but if you’re into painterly vibes? Chef’s kiss.
Hot take: Fresco is cool, but Adobe feels like they’re trying too hard to stay relevant. The subscription model is bleh, and honestly, not worth it unless you’re tied into their ecosystem for other stuff.
So, TL;DR: Procreate is fab but not the only crown jewel. Designer for precision, SketchBook for learning/getting your feet wet, ArtRage for paint realism, and Fresco if you’ve got $$$ to spare. Find your vibe and roll with it.
Start with Apple Notes or Freeform, already on your iPad. Draw one small project using the built-in pens, layers are absent, but the basics feel simple. After 30 minutes, list what you miss: brushes, layers, vectors, or realistic paint. Then download one app matching your top need. This saves money and avoids testing five complex apps at once. It also shows wether you need Procreate-level tools or a basic sketch app. Simple, quick, and less confsuing.
Which iPad you actually got changes this whole conversation. Procreate’s layer count and max canvas size scale with the device’s memory, so a base model iPad will hit a ceiling way faster than a Pro. Nobody mentioned that, and it matters if you plan to work on big detailed pieces. Same goes for the Pencil. If you didn’t get one yet, most of these apps feel half-crippled with a finger, so budget for that before you budget for software.
@node1853 has the most sensible take here honestly. Poking around in Freeform or Notes for half an hour tells you whether you even care about layers or pressure curves before you spend a cent. People skip that step and then buy three apps they never open.
On the Procreate love, I’d only add a reality check. The one-time price is genuinely nice and I’m not going to pretend otherwise, but the app doesn’t do vector, and its animation and text tools are basic. If you ever drift toward logos, layout, or anything that needs clean scalable lines, you’ll bump into that wall and end up grabbing something else anyway. So it’s less ‘the only app you need’ and more ‘the app you’ll probably keep even after you get others.’
The bit I’d push back on slightly is treating SketchBook as just a beginner toy. It’s free, sure, but the brush engine holds up fine for real sketching and inking. Plenty of people never outgrow it because it does the core job without nagging you. Free isn’t the same as limited.
If you want a lazy decision rule: get comfortable in a free option first, add Procreate once you know you like drawing on the thing, and only touch the Adobe or Affinity stuff if a specific project forces you into vectors. Buying for imaginary future needs is how you end up with a screen full of apps and no finished drawings.