Using Digital Art Apps on Your Phone: Best Apps for Beginners Ever doodled on a napkin during your lunch break, wishing that you could make that squiggly body of work into something ‘digital’? Or maybe you’ve scrolled through Instagram, seen incredible pieces of digital artwork, and thought, “I want to do that!”? The good thing is you don’t have to have those fancy tablets or computers. To do wonderful things in digital art, all you need is a mighty-phone and the right app. So, let’s jump into the world of digital art apps that are perfect for beginners—and yes, we promise, it’s not as intimidating as it sounds!
1. Procreate Pocket: The Pocket-Sized Powerhouse If you’ve ever heard of Procreate, the incredibly popular app for iPads, then prepare yourself for its little sister: Procreate Pocket. This app brings all the ‘magic’ of Procreate to your phone, meaning you can draw anywhere-on your couch, in a coffee shop, or while waiting in line at the grocery store-we all do it. – Why it’s amazing for newbies: Simple, intuitive, and incredibly powerful. It provides all that tons of brushes and color palettes and layers to access, without feeling swamped by too many complex features. – What you’ll love: The smooth, responsive brush engine is like butter on toast. Seriously, it’s satisfying to use. And you can work in high resolution, so your art won’t look like it was done on a pixelated calculator. Pro Tip: Get to know Procreate’s pressure sensitivity! It’s like the app is reading your mind—or at least your finger pressure.
2. Adobe Fresco: Your Favorite Digital Sketchbook
Adobe Fresco is the best application if you want to dabble in digital painting without feeling overwhelmed. It is a sketchbook in your pocket, plugged in with tools that even professionals swear by. You don’t have to be a Photoshop expert to make it work; Adobe Fresco makes drawing feel like a natural extension of your hands.
- Why it is good for beginners: The interface is super clean and easy to navigate. Also, the app helps you explore vector and raster brushes-a switch for free when necessary. Not judging!
- What you will love: The live brushes are just amazing-they work like watercolors and oils. You know those techniques you always wish you could do, but never learned because it was going to get messy? Now you can do it all online without the mess.
Pro Tip: If you’re a paper-drawing addict, use the “paper texture” option to give your piece that traditional feel.
3. Ibis Paint X: The Application with All The Features
Ibis Paint X is just the right thing for budget-friendly, feature-rich applications. This application is almost like the Swiss army knife of digital art-it can do almost everything, making it a wonderful app for beginners who want to grow as artists.
- Why it is fantastic for beginners: There are huge amounts of brushes and toolkits and tutorials available in Ibis Paint X, which is a very good start point for people. It also allows recording of the drawing method. This feature is also really fantastic if you want to show it off at some point to your friends, or just want to see how your art comes together in fast forward.
- What you’ll love about it: The app will allow you to create hyper-realistic images with great detail and adjust things like pressure.
Sketchbook: Simple, Straightforward, and Fun
The Autodesk Sketchbook is the app for those who like to keep things simple but make same awesome and stunning art with it. If you are just starting out, try something that is easy to pick up but has a number of great features.
- Why it is Great for Beginners: Sketchbook has a user-friendly interface where you can easily access the tools without feeling overwhelmed. Be it a casual doodle or something more refined, a tremendous ease is felt in the usage.
- What you will Love with it: At full power, smooth brush engine with a nice set of brushes, a responsive interface. And totally on us, which is always a good thing in our book.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget the symmetry tools! You’ll feel like a pro instantly when making perfect, symmetric designs with no effort at all.
ArtFlow: For Those Who Love Layers (and Layers, and Layers)
ArtFlow may be the new best friend you’ve been searching for, especially if you love drawing detailed pictures with lots of multi-layered backgrounds. This app gives you everything you need to produce art at a professional level but has its possible built right into your phone.
- Why it is great for beginners: From the ground up, ArtFlow would provide the really simple and no-hassle interface, but it will speak much more to a greater depth as you improve. It comes with layer features for blending modes, and it sports tons and tons of brushes; just perfect for someone who is on that trying-to-get-serious-about-it-but-wants-to-ease-into-it type of mode.
- What you will Love: The Layer Features are terrific for building detailed, complex artwork without an accompanying headache. Pressure sensitivity is just another touch that adds realism to your art.