10 Best drawing apps for Android Tablets

The best drawing apps for Android tablets make it possible to use your Android tablet or Phone for digital art. It is possible to get both paid and free options from the Google Play Store.

However, you will notice that most of the available options are not the best for professional drawing. For this reason, we have researched and tested many of them and come up with a list of the top 8 that you can consider. This guide covers both Free and Paid options.

We have also prepared the best iPad for Procreate for Apple users. It is not a must to view and directly draw on your tablet.If you only want drawing apps for iPads, check our blog for the iPad guide.

You can connect your Pen display or Pen tablet to your Phone or computer then draw or view on it. This is not limited to simple tablets only. 
Even Pen Computer tablets like the Apple iPad Pro can still connect to a computer. From our research, we found Krita to be the best free open source option while Infinite Painter was  our pick for the best Procreate alternative.

The best drawing apps for Android tablets

1. Krita: Best Overall
2. Sketchbook: Best for Professional Artists
3. Infinite Painter: The best Android alternative for Procreate
4. ArtFlow: Best Free Option
5. MediBang: Best forComics
6. Concepts – Best for Precision Sketching
7. Ibis Paint: the best for cartoons
8. Drawing Desk – Best Cartoon Alternatives
9. DotPict—Best for Pixel Art
10. Adobe Illustrator – Industry Standard

Krita: Best Overall

1. 100-plus different brushes
2. Custom text tools
3. Custom vector tools
4. Brush stabilizer available
5. 9 customized brush engines

Krita is another free and popular digital art application. It is renowned for its many features and open-source nature. Originally designed for computers, it has been fully ported to Android, offering tablet users access to its comprehensive toolset. 

Connecting a keyboard is recommended to optimize its functionality, especially on tablets. This setup allows users to efficiently activate and switch between tools using keyboard shortcuts rather than relying solely on touch gestures, mirroring the desktop experience.

Krita on Android retains all the features artists love, including powerful brush engines, support for various file types like PSD, and animation tools for creating intricate animations. 

The app also boasts unlimited undo capabilities, crucial for iterative creative processes. For users with devices like the S Pen, Krita supports gestures, further enhancing usability.

However, on smaller screens, the interface can feel cramped, and accidental marks from hand touches remain a minor inconvenience. 

Overall, Krita’s adaptation to Android and ChromeOS extends its accessibility, providing artists with a versatile tool for digital art creation on the go.

Sketchbook: Best For Professional Artists

1. Easy-to-use Interface
2. Many bespoke brush options
3. Symmetrical Interface
4. Allows stylus support

Sketchbook features a simple-to-use interface. It is easy to navigate with a minimal design approach. It is one of the oldest free drawing applications available.

It was first developed by Autodesk but can now be found independently. For many years, it has been popular with beginners and professionals alike.

This is mostly because of several reasons, such as the many layers that come in large sizes. You will have 10 layers at 6000 x 4500 pixels, which is perfect.

You will have a choice between many brush options and good pressure sensitivity, which will help you create many different strokes and styles for free.

You will be able to create many different art styles thanks to the many tools for symmetry and complementary color pickers. 

If you like recording your art creation process, you will have an easy-to-find and use time-lapse feature that is great for creators and tutors. Unfortunately, you will be limited to 72 DPI resolution, while many designs need to be 300 DPI for clear print quality.

Infinite Painter: The Best Android alternative for Procreate

1. 100-plus customizable brushes
2. Large working canvas area
3. Many perspective tools
4. Flip mode available
5. Timelapse recording allowed
6. Prompt color update in real-time
7. Many blend modes
8. Gesture controls enabled

The Procreate drawing application is a good professional drawing application. Unfortunately, it is not compatible with Android and only works with iOS. If you are looking for the best Procreate alternative, the Infinite Painter is my best recommendation.

The Infinite Painter application is loved by both pros and beginners alike because it is flexible and works with tablets, phones, or Chromebooks. It provides a great experience for users thanks to a clean, highly customizable user interface.

Additionally, you can create your own brush or choose from over 200 brush options available for purchase. Some brush specs include charcoal texture, airbrush, and pencils.

The Infinite Painter is easily compatible with Photoshop thanks to similar features like the Lasso fill tool and touch sensitivity with gesture shortcuts. Timelapse recording is enabled to allow easy screen recording as you draw. Unfortunately, there is no free version, only a seven-day free trial upgradable to a $9.99 subscription.

Overall, this is a good deal on a high-end application with perfect specs and a user-friendly interface. It is the closest you can get to Procreate.

ArtFlow: best Free Option

1. Up to 80 paintbrush options
2. Smudge and fill available
3. Eraser tool available
4. Allows stylus support

ArtFlow is a standout drawing app for Android tablets, especially praised for its user-friendly approach that caters well to beginners and hobbyists without overwhelming them with a cluttered interface. 

Despite its simplicity, ArtFlow doesn’t compromise on essential tools that more advanced users appreciate. It features time-lapse recording capabilities, which are great for documenting your creative process, along with support for multiple layers and layer blend modes for intricate designs.

The app’s interface is uncluttered and straightforward, making it easy to navigate and ideal for creative workflows on tablets.

ArtFlow supports a decent maximum canvas size at 300 DPI, accommodating detailed artworks with up to 13 layers at 6000x4500px resolution.

It includes useful features like keyboard shortcuts and the ability to flip the interface layout for left- or right-handed users. 

While the free version has limitations such as a restricted layer count and basic touch gestures, the Pro version can be unlocked with a one-time payment of $6 or by temporarily activating it through watching ads.

Overall, ArtFlow is a solid choice for Android tablet users seeking a versatile and intuitive drawing app that balances simplicity with powerful functionality.

MediBang Paint

1. Up to 180 brush options
2. 1000 screen tones
3. Time-lapse recording allowed
4. Tutorials available for free

Media Bang Paint is a popular free drawing app, especially favored by new comic artists for its comprehensive features and accessibility. 

Similar to Clip Studio Paint, it boasts a large asset library that users can readily access, enhancing creative options. One of its standout features is the ability to back up work to the cloud, enabling seamless access across devices, including computers. 

The mobile version of MediBang differs slightly from its desktop counterpart but remains packed with tools and optimized for smaller screens. 

Despite lacking keyboard support, it compensates with intuitive touch gestures like double-tap to undo, making it user-friendly on mobile devices. 

Artists benefit from specific tools tailored for comic creation, such as comic panels and layout tools, along with reliable pressure sensitivity for precise control over brush strokes. The app supports high-resolution canvases at 300 DPI, ideal for professional-level artwork and printing needs.

Time-lapse capture adds another dimension by allowing artists to record their creative process, offering insights into their workflow. Customizable display shortcuts further enhance efficiency, though new users may need to adjust settings initially for optimal pressure sensitivity.

Overall, MediBang Paint stands as a versatile choice for digital comic creation, offering accessibility, a wealth of creative resources, and robust features across mobile and desktop platforms.

Ibis Paint: best Android drawing app for cartoons

1. Up to 15000 brush and material options
2. More than 1000 pre-installed fonts
3. Up to 80 filters and 46 screentone options
4. 27 blend modes
5. Screen recording tools

The Ibis Paint by Ibis Inc. features the highest number of brush and material options, with up to 15000 options to choose from. Thanks to its powerful features, Ibis Paint is a powerful software giving desktop drawing apps a run for their money.

We found it to be the best Android drawing app for cartoons. It features 15000 brush and material options, more than 1000 pre-installed fonts, up to 80 filters and 46 screentone options, 27 blend modes, and screen recording tools.

You can either choose the $10 Ibis application or the free ad-supported Ibis X option. Both prices are very fair for such a powerful powerhouse.

In-app ads can be annoying and intrusive. You can get rid of them by upgrading to the $10 package. On upgrade, all ads disappear, and you also get 20GB of cloud storage, extra tools, extra canvas papers, materials, and fonts.

Drawing Desk – Best Cartoon Alternatives

1. Detailed tutorials
2. 15 brushes and pen tools
3. Simple Layers Mode
4. AI tools Available
5. Automatic background remover

If you are looking for an applictaion for creating cartoons and comic characters, the Drawing Desk is the best option. It comes with many tutorials preloaded to help you get started.

Despite seeming simplistic, it still has some professioal features included such as 15 brushes and pen tools options and a simple to use layer style mode. You will also have AI tools available to enhance your work flow.

The Drawing Desk allows for simple strokes, shading and coloring for drawings for both professionals and beginners.

DotPic- Best for Pixel Art

1. Inbuilt Application Social Space
2. Pixel Art Studio
3. iOS and Android capability
4. Animation tools available
5. Social Space makes color palette sharing and interaction possible.

DotPict is a dedicated application for creating pixel art. It allows you to add and remove pixels from art, zoom in or out, change color, autosave, and edit pixel art to help you develop cool designs. You can either use your color palettes or import custom ones from different users.

Art sharing and connecting with other publishers is made possible by the application’s social space that allows users to connect and share their latest work. The social space has a wide range of options like event hosting, art sharing, and many more.

The application is highly versatile and features compatibility with both Android and iOS systems. Like other applications, it has a simple and easy-to-use interface for both pros and beginners. Unfortunately, DotPict is limited to pixel art creation and is not a full Android art studio.

Concepts

1. Infinite canvas
2. Vector-based drawing
3. Exploding color wheel
4. Copic color palettes
5. Image import (gallery/browser)
6. Cross-platform sync
7. Flexible layer system
8. Pressure and tilt sensitivity
9. Custom brushes and tools
10. Free version available
11. Essentials Pack – $15
12. Individual features – $2 each
13. Full subscription – $5/month or $30/year
14. 7-day free trial

Concepts stands out as a premier drawing app for Android tablets, especially for its innovative approach to creating on an infinite canvas.

This feature makes it ideal for brainstorming and organizing ideas across a single page, akin to digital mind mapping merged with the flexibility of a sketchbook. 

Users can seamlessly import images from their gallery or browser, facilitating the creative integration of visual references into sketches and notes. 

Concepts excels with its full Copic color palettes and a unique exploding color wheel, tailored to designers’ needs. Its vector drawing capabilities ensure precise and scalable artwork creation directly on Android devices.

The app supports cross-platform synchronization through a subscription model, offering flexibility with various purchase options to suit different user needs.

While the free version has limitations such as a restricted layer count and lack of layer blending modes, unlocking the full feature set costs $5 per month or $30 per year, including a 7-day free trial.

Additionally, users can opt for the Essentials pack for $15 or make individual one-off purchases for specific features at $2 each.

Overall, Concepts is highly recommended for Android tablet users seeking a versatile and intuitive drawing app that promotes creativity and design flexibility on a digital canvas.

Adobe Illustrator – Industry Standard

Adobe Illustrator is the best for graphic designers. It is my favourite of all the above mentioned. If you want to learn more about it, check out our tutorials page. We have explained what Illustrator is, how you can use it and how to get it in another post.

What to Look for in an Android Drawing Application

When choosing a drawing app for Android, your skill level, budget, drawing style, and preference are all important considerations. If you prefer a free application with all drawing tools, Krita is our top pick. It works with desktops and Android tablets but not phones.

If you are a beginner, we recommend Sketchbook. It is not only easy to understand for beginners but also packs advanced specifications for professionals and mid-level artists.

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