When they aren’t creating original works, be it in the digital or paint sphere, many artists out there explore their passion further through a variety of applications that can be downloaded in seconds. These apps tend to vary, with some products offering a simple creativity aspect with brushes to use and art pieces to create, while others help with idea generation, organization, and even marketing.

Housed on smartphone devices and tablets, these useful tools can also provide fun and entertainment. For example, alongside exploring other entertaining offerings such as DraftKings roulette games like First Person Lightning Roulette and tucking into mobile classics like Candy Crush Saga, artists everywhere can create images that provide comical value and sample apps that offer manga art styles and illustration features. Essentially, for artists, there is an extensive selection of options here, all of which bring something unique to the table.

Whether you have an iPad or an Android phone, below we highlight some tried and tested apps the art community seems to rate highly.

ibis Paint X

With over 450 million downloads at the time of writing, ibis Paint X is an app with a large community of passionate artists behind it. This versatile drawing app has a range of must-try features for artists, including over 47000 brushes and over 80 filters. Also possessing a range of other inclusions, such as a vector tool, an amazing animation feature, and clipping mask options, ibis Paint X is excellent.

Krita

Popular on PC and Android, Krita is used by professionals all around the world. Where this top app really shines is through its various art tools, with this free open source painting program offering users with all the aids they need. From multiple brush types and animation tools, to extensive vector libraries and fresh plugins to try, Krita has it all.



Google Arts & Culture

For artists wanting to keep tabs on the latest stories out there right now, while also learning about cultural institutions and ways of life, Google Arts & Culture is fantastic for ideation. With many artists looking to highlight the planet’s biggest stories through their work, Google Arts & Culture could be a great resource given the content on there. You can also wonder around a gallery virtually and browse top museums, all in an app with loads to offer.

Clip Studio Paint



An app many modern-day artists endorse, Clip Studio Paint is a product where drawing and painting is on offer. Coming with a free 30-day trial, you’ll need an annual or monthly subscription to actually save or export the work you create, but it’s potentially worth doing should the trial period work for you. With numerous tools to use and some stunning art styles to execute through a slick application, Clip Studio Paint appeals to a lot of artists.

Sketchbook

A simple app that does exactly what you’d expect it to do given its name, Sketchbook offers a simple interface where artists can sketch out ideas, complete any professional work, and see where their creativity takes them. An award-winning application where you can also paint, it’s popular among artists and illustrators right now.

MediBang Paint

If you’re partial to Japanese manga art styles, then you’ll adore MediBang Paint. This wonderful application enables users to work in pencil, ink, paint, and more, all while attempting to create Japanese-style masterpieces of their own. With easy-to-use master settings on offer and a variety of other clever tools, MediBang Paint is well worth downloading, especially for artists with an interest in manga and comic creation.

Special mention must also go to Affinity Designer, Canva Draw, and Adobe Fresco.