Elevation Lab DraftTable. The first product on our list is the Elevation Lab DraftTable. Apple's Procreate iPad drawing app costs $10 to download, but its suite of art tools and creative features make it well worth the money. The digital illustration app is accessible whether you're a.
Art grants are a total financial lifesaver. We've rounded up 36 of the very best grants for artists, from performing arts grants to grants for female artists.
Making a living as an artist can be challenging at times. How can you get to work on completing your next big sculpture or photography project if you're worried about next month's rent?
Thankfully, there are a lot of organizations that offer art grants and fellowships that support artists in creating their work, and free them up to concentrate on creating. Not sure where to start? We'll help you figure out how to apply, and share some of our favourite artist grants, from grants for emerging artists and performing arts grants to grants for female artists and visual arts grants.
Applying for Art Grants
Grant committees will want to see your work, so make sure that your online art portfolio is in great shape. Use a website builder that offers a variety of chic templates and gives you a free trial, so you can see if the site fits your needs.
They'll also need your artist statement, so ensure that yours is as clear and concise as possible, and up-to-date with all the information about your practice. (Here are some tips on how to write an artist statement.)
Once your portfolio and artist statement are done, you can bone up on how to write better artist grant applications here.
Now that you've got all your materials ready and the art grant application skills under your belt, it's time to get started! Here are 36 of the best grants for artists, and everything you need to know to apply for them.
General Art Grants
These art grants are open to most artists, meaning there are few restrictions on geography, art discipline, or subject matter.
A Blade of Grass Fellowship for Socially Engaged Art
Art discipline: Any
Amount: $20,000
Special notes: Applicants must be 25 or older
A Blade of Grass is an organization that provides resources for talented artists who 'serve as innovative conduits for social change.' Its fellowship program is designed to support artists in creating work that highlights social problems, and focuses on funding projects that challenge unfair power dynamics. Along with the financial support, the fellowship grants artists an expenses-paid two-day orientation retreat in NYC to meet fellow artists as well as the organization's staff and board.
Anything Art Grant
Art discipline: Any
Amount: $1,000
Special notes: $35 entry fee to submit up to three works
Specto Art Space, an art gallery in Virginia, offers this unrestricted art grant to help artists with all the expenses involved with creating great art. It also offers winning artists the option of being included in the gallery's shows and promotional materials.
Awesome Foundation Grants
Art discipline: Any
Amount: $1,000
Special notes: Has 90 chapters that each give out a $1,000 art grant monthly
The Awesome Foundation is an international organization with 90 chapters. Each of the chapters offers a $1,000 art grant every month. The foundation funds all types of art projects as well as initiatives in community development and technology. 'Many Awesome projects are novel or experimental, and evoke surprise and delight,' their website says. 'Awesome sometimes challenges and often inspires.'
Each chapter tends to fund projects that contribute to their own communities, so it's best to apply to a chapter near you. However, there are no restrictions based on location and you can apply to multiple chapters.
Burning Man Global Art Grants
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Up to $10,000
Special notes: Focuses on interactive and community-driven artworks
The Burning Man organization (yes, the one behind the annual festival) offers art grants to help fund projects around the world. It focuses on art projects that are accessible to the public and that encourage the viewers to experience it in other ways than just visually. They love art projects that can be touched, heard, or experienced. These artist grants can range between $500 and $10,000 dollars, but most often they fall between $3,000 and $6,000.
CEC ArtsLink Independent Projects Awards
Art discipline: Performing, design, media, literary and visual arts
Amount: $5,000
Special notes: The artist must be based in another country and plan on traveling to the U.S.
CEC ArtsLink gives art grants to international artists to help them come to the U.S. to collaborate with an American artist or organization. Their criteria for choosing an artist include the artist's plans for sharing the benefits of the experience with artists and institutions in their home country.
Creative Capital Grants
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Up to $50,000 and career development services
Special notes: Focuses on large-scale, long-term projects
Creative Capital is an arts organization that supports artists across the U.S. with funding, counsel, and career development services. It typically awards grants for artists with plans for large or long-term projects. Most of the projects that get funded have a timeline between three to five years.
FCA Grants to Artists
Art discipline: Visual arts, performance art/theater, music/sound, poetry, dance
Amount: $40,000
Special notes: Grants are given to support artists, not specific projects
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts awards several artist grants annually across five different art fields. Recipients are chosen on the merit and imagination of their past work, and what effect the recognition and support of a grant will have on their careers.
These artist grants are not given to fund specific art projects. Instead, they are meant to support artists financially while they pursue whatever artistic endeavors they wish, including developing new ideas, starting new projects, and completing ongoing projects.
The Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant
Art discipline: Painting and sculpture
Amount: $25,000
Special notes: Only open to 'mature' artists
The Gottlieb Foundation gives out 12 artist grants each year. It aims to support 'serious' and 'fully-committed' artists, meaning those who focus on their artistic goals over other personal or financial responsibilities. The foundation only awards these art grants to 'mature' artists, which it defines as having worked for at least 20 years in a mature phase of their art.
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Varies
Special notes: No restrictions on how grants are used
Guggenheim Fellowships are art grants that are given to individuals who show 'exceptional creative ability' in the arts. The goal is to help provide the recipient with time so they can work with as much creative freedom as possible. Recipients can use the funds in any way they see fit to help with their work.
In addition to this artist grant, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation also provides grants to scientists and scholars. As a result, they receive about 3,000 applications a year, and award about 175 fellowships across these different fields.
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants
Art discipline: Painting, sculpting, printmaking
Amount: Up to $10,000
Special notes: Artists must have been working for a significant amount of time and be in financial need
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation provides grants for artists in financial need, whether that's professional, personal or both. When selecting an applicant, the organization focuses on artists who have been working for a significant amount of time, and who can demonstrate both artistic merit and financial need.
Radcliffe Fellowship Program
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Up to a $70,000 stipend and $5,000 to cover project expenses
Special notes: Involves living at Harvard University for a year
Each year, the Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program chooses 50 talented artists and scholars to convene at Harvard University for a full academic year. There they can work on individual projects while benefiting from a multidisciplinary community.
Applicants from any discipline and who focus on any subject matter are welcome to apply. However, there are some subjects that are of special interest to the Radcliffe Institute. For instance, artists whose work involves women, gender, and society will have a better chance of getting chosen.
Sustainable Arts Foundation Awards
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Up to $5,000
Special notes: Only artists with children are eligible
This foundation aims to support artists with families by providing financial awards to parents that are pursuing creative work. Parents often put aside their creative impulses to meet the demands of raising a family, so the foundation's goal is to encourage parents to continue with their creative passions.
Visual Art Grants
These grants are a boon to visual artists looking for support in their practice.
Artadia Awards
Art discipline: Visual arts
Amount: Up to $20,000
Special notes: Artadia has award programs in cities across the U.S.
Artadia is a national non-profit organization that supports visual artists by providing merit-based grants for artists. These awards are unrestricted, so artists can use them however they want. The awards range from $5,000 to $20,000 and also come with ongoing career assistance.
Artadia focuses on recognizing artists in several cities that show a commitment to contemporary art. It currently has award programs in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area. To apply, you have to live in one of these designated cities.
The Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Awards
Art discipline: Visual arts (except video)
Amount: $1,500
Special notes: Up to seven awards are granted annually
This foundation gives unrestricted cash awards to help individual artists who are working on or planning a new visual art project. Between four and seven artist grants are given out each year. Applicants have to be living and working in the U.S to be eligible.
Photography Grants
Best free dvd compression software. These are some art grants aimed specifically at photographers, including some that will consider both artistic and journalistic photography.
Aaron Siskind Foundation Grants
Art discipline: Artistic photography
Amount: Up to $10,000
Special notes: $25 fee to apply
The Aaron Siskind Foundation gives out art grants annually to support artists working in photography and photo-based art. It selects recipients based on artistic excellence, accomplishments, and the promise of future achievement.
Burn Magazine Emerging Photographer Grant
Art discipline: Artistic and journalistic photography
Amount: $10,000
Special notes: Open to any emerging photographer
The Emerging Photographer grant is intended to support photographers who will become tomorrow's icons. Recipients can use the money to support themselves as they move forward in their work and continue making a mark.
In addition to the Emerging Photographer grant for artists, which is open to any emerging photographer, Burn Magazine offers a $10,000 award specifically for photographers who are 25 and under. If you apply for the Emerging Photographer grant and meet the age requirement, you'll automatically be eligible for the award.
Project Launch Grant
Art discipline: Artistic and journalistic photography
Amount: $5,000
Special notes: Applicants should have a completed or nearly completed project
This artist grant is offered by CENTER, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and providing opportunities for gifted photographers. It is awarded to photographers that have either a completed or nearly completed project that would benefit from some financial support. Safari technology preview 13 11. The recipient also has their work published on Lenscratch, and gets to participate in an exhibition at The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in North Carolina.
W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography
Art discipline: Documentary photography
Amount: $35,000
Special notes: Helps photographers working on major photographic essays
This art grant provides photographers some financial freedom to carry out major photographic essays. The grant was established in 1978 following the death of American photo essayist Gene Smith.
The artist grant is given to photographers whose work demonstrates a commitment to documenting the human condition. A panel of judges selects a recipient whose work follows in the tradition of Smith's 'concerned photography and dedicated compassion.'
Grants for Emerging Artists
These art grants are given to help young or unrecognized artists take their careers to the next level.
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant
Art discipline: Representational style painting, drawing, sculpting or printmaking
Amount: $15,000
Special notes: Applications are accepted throughout the year with no deadline
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation gives grants for emerging artists to develop their skills in artistic expression. Applicants must be 18 or older, in an early or developmental stage of their work, and be able to show a commitment to making art their lifetime career.
Harpo Foundation Grants for Visual Artists
Art discipline: Visual arts
Amount: Up to $10,000
Special notes: $15 application fee
This grant for emerging artists aims to help support under-recognized visual artists. Applicants are evaluated based on the quality of their artistic work and potential to expand aesthetic inquiry. The grant can be used towards any activity that will help with the development of the artist's work.
Puffin Foundation Artist Grants
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Up to $2,500
Special notes: Focuses on under-represented artists
This organization aims to provide grants for emerging artists who are 'often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy.' It also focuses on new artists, and specifies that established artists are less likely to be considered for a grant. They look for 'projects that seek to enrich and inform the public on important subjects such as the physical environment, social justice, civil rights and other contemporary issues facing the country (and the planet), that some organizations might hesitate to fund.'
Performing Arts Grants
Here are some grants for artists specializing in the performing arts, from music and dance to theatrical productions.
APAP Cultural Exchange Fund
Art discipline: Performing arts
Amount: $2,000 for individuals, or up to $10,000 for groups
Special notes: Supports artist to travel outside the U.S. to collaborate with international artists
The Association of Performing Arts Professionals gives travel grants to help American artists travel abroad to collaborate, build partnerships, and experience art from around the world in its cultural context. There are no limitations on the countries the artist can travel to, but APAP encourages applicants to consider choosing a country in Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East.
Franklin Furnace Fund
Art discipline: Performing arts
Amount: Up to $10,000
Special notes: The grant recipient must travel to New York to present their work
The Franklin Furnace Fund has been awarding performing arts grants to performance artists since 1985. The grants are meant to enable artists to produce major performance artworks in New York. Artists from anywhere in the world are encouraged to apply, but the grant recipient is expected to present their work in New York.
This art grant is typically given to emerging artists. However, the organization's website says, 'every year the panel changes, as do the definitions of ‘emerging artist' and ‘performance art.'' So, if at first you don't succeed, apply, apply again.
Jubilation Foundation grants
Art discipline: Music and dance projects
Amount: $5,000 per year for two years
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Up to $2,500
Special notes: Focuses on under-represented artists
This organization aims to provide grants for emerging artists who are 'often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy.' It also focuses on new artists, and specifies that established artists are less likely to be considered for a grant. They look for 'projects that seek to enrich and inform the public on important subjects such as the physical environment, social justice, civil rights and other contemporary issues facing the country (and the planet), that some organizations might hesitate to fund.'
Performing Arts Grants
Here are some grants for artists specializing in the performing arts, from music and dance to theatrical productions.
APAP Cultural Exchange Fund
Art discipline: Performing arts
Amount: $2,000 for individuals, or up to $10,000 for groups
Special notes: Supports artist to travel outside the U.S. to collaborate with international artists
The Association of Performing Arts Professionals gives travel grants to help American artists travel abroad to collaborate, build partnerships, and experience art from around the world in its cultural context. There are no limitations on the countries the artist can travel to, but APAP encourages applicants to consider choosing a country in Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East.
Franklin Furnace Fund
Art discipline: Performing arts
Amount: Up to $10,000
Special notes: The grant recipient must travel to New York to present their work
The Franklin Furnace Fund has been awarding performing arts grants to performance artists since 1985. The grants are meant to enable artists to produce major performance artworks in New York. Artists from anywhere in the world are encouraged to apply, but the grant recipient is expected to present their work in New York.
This art grant is typically given to emerging artists. However, the organization's website says, 'every year the panel changes, as do the definitions of ‘emerging artist' and ‘performance art.'' So, if at first you don't succeed, apply, apply again.
Jubilation Foundation grants
Art discipline: Music and dance projects
Amount: $5,000 per year for two years
Special notes: The only requirement is that applicants live within the U.S.
Jubilation Foundation performing arts grants are given to individual artists with 'an exceptional talent for helping young people feel fully alive through rhythm—as expressed in music and dance.' The foundation's goal is to promote well-being and the joyful side of human nature through music and movement.
Shakespeare in American Communities
Art discipline: Theater
Amount: $25,000
Special notes: Grants must be matched from other sources
In partnership with Arts Midwest, the Shakespeare in American Communities program provides funds to nonprofit theater companies. The funds are provided to support professional, high-quality productions of Shakespeare plays performed for middle- and high-school students.
Grants for Sculptors
These grants are worth checking out, whether you're an unknown or well-established sculptor.
Alex J. Ettl Grant
Art discipline: Figurative or realist sculptures
Amount: $5,000
Special notes: Includes promotion in art magazines
The National Sculpture Society (NSS) sponsors a number of annual artist grants for sculptors. One is the Alex J. Ettl Grant. It involves an unrestricted $5,000 grant, a half-page ad in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, and a quarter-page ad in Sculpture Review magazine. It is awarded to a sculptor who has shown a commitment to sculpting as well as outstanding ability.
Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant
Art discipline: Animal sculptures
Amount: $5,000
Special notes: Includes promotion in art magazines
This is another art grant sponsored by the NSS and it offers the same exposure in magazine ads as the Alex J. Ettl Grant that's listed above. The difference is this grant is awarded to sculptors who specialize in animal sculpture.
Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant
Art discipline: Sculpture
Amount: Up to $50,000
Special notes: Three grants are available every year
This grant for artists was established in 1988 to enable sculptors to devote a substantial amount of time to the development of their work. The foundation offers three grants of up to $50,000, $20,000, and $10,000. Applicants can be at any stage of their career development. The grant winner is chosen primarily on the quality of work submitted. Also taken into consideration is the proposal included in the grant application.
Grants for Female Artists
These artist grants aim to recognize exceptional women in a variety of art fields.
The Bennett Prize
Art discipline: Figurative realist painting
Amount: $50,000
Special notes: Involves creating a traveling exhibition of paintings
The Bennett Prize awards $50,000 to a female artist to help her create a solo exhibition of figurative realist paintings that will travel the country. It aims to assist female painters who haven't yet gotten full recognition, including new artists and those who have been painting for many years.
Inge Morath Award
Art discipline: Photography
Amount: Varies
Special notes: Focuses on long-term documentary photography projects
This annual award is given to a female photographer under the age of 30 to help in completing a long-term photography project. The specific guidelines change year to year, but they focus on photo essays that document different cultures and contemporary issues.
Money for Women
Art discipline: Visual arts and literature
Amount: Up to $1,500
Special notes: Artists should have substantial work done on their project before applying
Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund is a feminist granting agency that has been around for over 40 years. It gives grants to individual feminist women in the arts to help them complete ongoing projects. The website specifies that, when applying for a grant, the project should already be well underway and the artist should have substantial work to show. (Projects that are not eligible for this grant include play scripts, videos, and work that will be self-published.)
NLAPW Art Grant for Mature Women
Art discipline: Any or all media, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, original works on paper, photography, or sculpture
Amount: $1,000
Special notes: Entry fee of $35
This grant for female artists is intended to encourage mature, talented women to pursue their artistic goals. The money can go towards anything that will help with their creative efforts. In addition to this visual arts grant, NLAPW also offers separate $1,000 grants for mature women in music and literature.
WSW Studio Residency Grant
Art discipline: Papermaking, screen-printing, photography, intaglio, letterpress, or ceramics
Amount: Up to an eight-week residency with a $350 per week stipend, and money for materials and travel
Special notes: Open to artists in any stage of their career
The Women's Studio Workshop has a residency art grant program. It involves a six- to eight-week residency for artists to create new work. In addition to a stipend of $350 per week, WSW provides $500 for art materials and $250 for travel expenses.
Emergency Grants for Artists
When there's not enough time to go through a lengthy grant application process, these emergency grants can help out artists who are in urgent need of funding.
Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant Program
Art discipline: Painters, sculptors, and printmakers
Amount: Up to $15,000
Special notes: Helps artists facing financial problems due to unforeseen events
The Gottlieb Foundation gives emergency art grants to help artists overcome catastrophic events. Some examples include fire, flood, or medical conditions. One requirement is that applicants need to be able to show they've been working on their art for a minimum of 10 years.
Artists' Fellowship Financial Assistance
Art discipline: Any
Amount: Varies
Special notes: Applicants must make a living off their art
The Artists' Fellowship offers emergency financial aid to professional artists and their families in times of need. The support is meant to help artists overcome unexpected hardships including sickness, natural disasters, and bereavement. This financial assistance program is only open to professional artists who create works for sale in galleries, private commission, or reproduction in mass media.
FCA Artist Emergency Grants
Art discipline: Any visual or performing arts
Amount: Up to $2,500
Special notes: Grants to help artists to meet a project deadline
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts offers emergency grants for artists who are urgently in need of funding. The grants help artists who either have a sudden opportunity to present their work to the public but need funding, or those who run into unexpected expenses for a project with an upcoming exhibition date.
The FCA gives out about 12 to 15 emergency grants per month, and they range from $500 to $2,500.
Finding More Grants for Artists
For this list, we've tried to focus on grants with as few restrictions as possible so that most artists are eligible for them. But there are many grants out there that are limited to a specific location (whether it's a state, region, or city) so look for grants in your area. There are also many grants that are geared toward specific cultures, age groups, subjects, and more.
Finding one of these grants with specific requirements can help improve your chances by limiting the number of applicants you're competing with.
Check out these databases and listings of art grants to help you in your search:
Philanthropy News Digest (select 'Arts/Culture' in the search box)
Good luck—may your financial future be worry-free!
Want to learn more about ways to fund your art?
The Best Photography Contests and Prizes in 2018
5 Ways to Fund Your Personal Project
12 Creative Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Business Advice
How to Get Your Work in an Art Gallery
Get the best of Format Magazine delivered to your inbox.
Artists and illustrators have a new super-tool in their arsenal - Drawing Apps. Tech-savvy creatives are making the switch from paper to digital and reaping the benefits that drawing apps and art apps offer - powerful drawing tools, special effects, ability to create vectors or raster images and even 3D models.
There are a ton of drawing apps, art apps, painting apps, and sketch apps available now to creatives, each with their own USP. Some excel in vector drawings, others in graphic illustrations. There are dedicated apps for image manipulation, mimicking hand drawing, and 3d modeling. While several apps come only in paid versions, there are plenty of free drawing apps available as well.
What are the best drawing apps?
Here is a list of the best drawing apps and art apps in 2020 to express your ideas as digital art.
Adobe Photoshop
No list of creative apps would be complete without listing offerings from Adobe. Adobe has led the pack for decades, and Adobe Photoshop is still the professional's choice for raster art creation. Photoshop is one of the best drawing apps for Mac and PC; they also provide accessory apps for mobile devices and tablets.
The biggest drawback of Adobe's offerings, especially for beginners, is that you now must purchase a subscription to use these apps. For established pros with stable cash flow, this presents little problem, but for aspiring amateurs and beginners, there are plenty of apps that offer as good functionality at a fraction of the cost.
Adobe Photoshop Sketch
If you're looking for an app that combines the ease and simplicity of drawing on your mobile device with the power of Adobe Photoshop, check out Photoshop Sketch. When combined with your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, Photoshop Sketch allows you to fine-tune images created on your tablet later on your computer.
Adobe Illustrator
Best Macbook For Artists 2019
Just as Photoshop is the industry standard for raster pictures, Illustrator is the go-to for vector art. Illustrator is used to create everything from basic graphic design tasks like logos to elaborate and beautiful landscapes and portrait photos. With a little practice, you can make nearly anything into a vector in Illustrator.
Adobe Illustrator Draw
Similar to Photoshop Sketch, but for vector drawing, Illustrator Draw allows you to create vector drawings on the go easily. You can then save them to your creative cloud account and fine-tune them in the full program later. Both Photoshop Sketch and Illustrator Draw are free downloads, but if you want to export the images for later editing, you'll need a Creative Cloud subscription.
Autodesk Sketchbook
Sketchbook from Autodesk is one of the most robust raster drawing programs you will find. Compared to Photoshop, Sketch is a purpose-built platform for artists on the go. It's not meant for photo editing or other tasks, so the program focuses on just what you need to draw on your tablet easily. The program is available for Macs, PCs, iOS, and Android devices. Unlike many apps that stick to proprietary or generic formats, Sketchbook conveniently has the option to export to Photoshop PSD format with layers intact. The best part? Autodesk has now released the full-featured drawing program for free.
Astropad Studio
The Astropad Studio is a different sort of app that can be a great help to folks looking to create digital drawings. For Mac and iPad users, Studio allows you to connect your iPad wirelessly to your desktop and use it as if it were a drawing tablet. The interface is pretty smooth, but make sure you have a clean system with plenty of free memory to avoid lag. You'll also want a great stylus like the Apple Pencil.
Affinity Designer
The Affinity set of art apps is poised to take a significant bite out of Adobe's market share. These programs are full-featured to the point of having things you have to buy aftermarket in Adobe. Designer is Affinity's answer to Illustrator. It is a desktop vector art program with every feature you could ever want. Designer is available for Mac desktop or iPad.
Affinity Photo for iPad
Affinity is also ready to answer your raster art needs. Photo by Affinity is analogous to Photoshop. Its user interface is a bit smoother, however, with cleaver skin changes based on the type of task you're looking to complete.
Both Affinity apps are inexpensive when compared to Photoshop and Illustrator. If you're looking for a great program to learn photo editing or raster drawing with, look no further than Photo and Photo for iPad.
Inspire Pro
For all the painters out there, Inspire Pro turns your iPad into the ultimate painting canvas. This is one of those simple raster drawing apps that can produce some really fantastic artwork thanks for super realistic brushes and massive canvas sizes. You can download Inspire Pro from the Apple App store.
MediBang Paint
A few key features make Medibang's apps the best drawing app for some artists. The app is available on any platform you can think of, from Windows and Mac desktops to Apple and Android tablets. They all have a cloud feature, which allows you to easily store, share, and open your work from any device. This is one of the free drawing apps you really should check out if you want to start drawing today easily and cheaply.
Procreate
Procreate is an iOS-only app designed to fully harness the power of Apple's popular iPad Pro and Apple Pencil combination. More than just a drawing app, Procreate combines many of the powerful tools you'd expect to find in a much more robust program like Photoshop. Layers, custom brushes, and all sorts of special effects are available on your tablet. You can export images, with intact layers, straight to PSD format to open in Photoshop. For on-the-go art, check out their iPhone version as well.
Zen Brush 2
Zen Brush is a simple ink brush app for mobile devices. Of the drawing apps for free, it's super inexpensive and fun to use, but it is pretty limited. But then, ink and paper are pretty limited too, but that hasn't stopped artists from making amazing artworks with them for the last thousand years.
Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro is a Mac OS app that combines many features and functions of other apps all into one tidy app. Pixelmator features many of the best features for drawing and the standard photo editing functions of other editors. It also features a 'layouting' mode for publishing and graphic design work. Their iOS app for mobile is really more of a photo editor rather than an art app.
Assembly
Those in the graphic design world know that there's a lot more to digital art creation beyond hand sketching. Illustrator and other vector programs use shapes to 'assemble' designs, and this is the idea beyond the Assembly app. By simplifying this process, the app allows users to create logos and design elements with ease quickly. Assembly is made for iOS devices.
Graphic
Formerly iDraw, Graphic is a full-featured vector design program for Mac, iPhone, or iPad. The program has all of the features of its more popular competitors, and it allows for the creation of anything from portraits to technical layout and CAD style drawings.
Inkist
Inkist is a super basic drawing app that is available for Mac computer and iOS devices. The mobile app is currently free. It's not flashy, but it has all the right feature to make your artwork pop.
ArtStudio
Luckyclan's ArtStudio is a full-featured raster art app for iPad or iPhone. It features multiple canvas sizes, layers with masks, over 400 brushes, unlimited undo/redo, and even over 40 filters.
Pixaki
Rizer's Pixaki has a bit of a limited audience, but if you're into pixel art, you're going to love it. Export your creations to GIFs and other simple animation formations. The program can open and save to all the popular formats, including Photoshop, PNGs, and ZIP archives. Start with a sketch or photo, and soon you are rocking it retro style like it's 1990.
Infinite Painter
Available on Google Play for Android tablets, Painter is a user-friendly drawing app that you'll love. Organized workflows make navigating the screen easy and keep the workspace less cluttered. Powerful tools like 3D rendering and over 80 brushes make this one of the best full-featured art apps for Android devices.
ArtRage
If you're looking for great drawing apps that can work on nearly any computer or tablet, you've got to check out ArtRage. ArtRage is available in multiple versions, including their free drawing apps called ArtRage Lite for Windows and Mac computers. This program and a loyal following of users, with many fantastic tutorials and inspiration available from other artists.
Concepts
The Concepts App is an interesting program aimed at professional designers that work on Apple, Windows, and Google devices. It uses vector drawings to store ideas; it is very much like a pocket notebook that has gone entirely digital. From brainstorm to 'exploring happy accidents,' as the company puts it, to rendering captivating color illustrations and sharing them with the built-in presentation mode, Concepts has your creative brain covered.
Comic Draw
If drawing comics is your beat, Comic Draw is worth checking out. The app is tailor-made for creating single panel cartoons on your mobile device. You can pair it with the company's Comic Life app for desktop on either Windows or Mac. Put your frames together into a full-featured comic spread with these art apps.
Paper by Wetransfer
If you're looking for a doodle and sketchbook app to collate your ideas and let your creativity go on a walkabout, you'll love this app. One of the best free drawing apps we know of, it's super simple and yet powerful. With a simple toolset and a blank page, let your mind go creative in Paper.
Tayasui Sketches
Available for Mac desktop, iOS mobile devices, and Android, Tayasui's Sketches app is an artist favorite for many reasons. The user interface and app functions are some of the smoothest on the list. The clean look of the sketch space can't be beaten. Color blending and gradient tools, along with patterns and the most realistic brushes you can find, round out this fantastic app. Not many free drawing apps offer so many great features. If you really like what you see inside of Sketches, there is an upgraded Pro version available with even more brushes and tools. The community is an excellent source of both advice and examples.
Sketch Club
As the name suggests, one of the best parts of Sketch Club is the club. The first rule of sketch club: everyone talks about Sketch Club. Combining social media inside the app, you can share your creations and comment on others. Who doesn't love browsing an art gallery on your tablet? The community features daily themed challenges and lots of featured artists whose works you can browse for inspiration. The Sketch Club app is available for Apple iOS in the App Store.
Artflow
If your Android tablet isn't feeling the love with all of these iPad apps in the running, don't lose heart. Artflow is a beautiful drawing app for Android that features a clean user interface and lots of pro features like layers and custom brushes. It is the perfect drawing and painting app to create paint your dream.
Art Set 4
Art Set app for Ipad features tools which look very similar to ones in real life. Art Set 4 is the redesigned and upgraded version of Art Set with more advanced tools for digital painting. This paint program now also has a 3D paint feature along with a workspace which adjusts according to your needs. Although it is a free drawing app for iPad, the pro version gives a ton of features which are essential like setting canvas size of any resolution, auto backup, layers, and 150 more brushes than the free version.
iPastels
This app also features pastel tools which give the feel of real pastels. You can also blend colors on the app using your fingers. iPastels is a free drawing app which is especially useful when you want something to improve your skills when you are in the early stages of your learning. This iPad Pro drawing app has features like layers, apple pencil support, high accuracy which is done by 'floating point accuracy.' The blending of pastels also can be done without much effort in this art drawing app. One unique feature of this easy drawing app is that you can show the pictures as tiles alongside each other; this feature is called the seamless pattern editing mode. Don't have an iPad? Don't worry, iPastels is also a drawing app for the iPhone.
Brushes Redux
Brushes Redux is a free open source painting app which is used both in iPad and iPhone and the work syncs between the two. Other features of this iOS app are the ability to autosave, unlimited undo and redo, adding layers among others. This digital drawing app is quick and easy to use with openGL based painting engine and offers 64 bit paint. On their 3.2 version of the app, they are now providing experimental apple pencil support and started iTunes file sharing option.
Clip Studio Paint EX
If you are looking for an iPad drawing app which has dedicated tools to create manga and comics, this might be the perfect app for you. Not only this, but you can also do illustration, drawing and painting on this art app. To get six months free subscription a user has to sign up for the EX version of the app. This online drawing app is specially designed for professionals as it has a different exporting option like a movie or animated GIF's, it supports apple pencil, and Wacom bamboo sketch. One can draw moving illustrations as well in this drawing app for iPad.
uMake
An award-winning app, uMake is an iPad Pro drawing app for 3D design. Its website claims that uMake is the first 3D design app created for iPad. This 3D modeling and design app gives the features of desktop CAD software on the iPad. An excellent tool for those who are learning 3D modeling and the ability to do so in iPad opens the door for more creative work on the go. They also provide video tutorials on different topics so that it gets easier to learn how to use the app and to create desired results. Some of their best features are 3D tools to pull and push, augmented reality features and complex surface creation making it one of the best drawing apps for iPad pro. They offer a 14-day trial and then you can subscribe monthly, quarterly or yearly based on your requirement.
Paper Colour (Paint Draw Sketchbook, Paint Draw)
This android drawing app is suitable for those who want to learn drawing or painting. It has a feature called basemap which helps a user to set a photo as translucent and draw over it. This Android painting app is very similar to someone tracing on a paper and drawing over the original. This free app is suitable is more amateurs and has additional features on the pro version which can is through in-app purchases.
ibisPaint X
ibis Paint is the of the best drawing apps for Android out there. It has some unique features like recording your drawing as video, and SNS features where you can see and learn from videos other users have made. Other features like fast open GL technology, 142 brushes, 37 filters, and 700 fonts makes it an obvious choice for people looking for an android drawing app with lots of plus points. Apart from this, there are separate features for those artists who are interested in creating manga. To get more features like lesser ads, additional fonts, and materials, gradation map filter, etc. one has to purchase through in-app purchases.
Dotpict
Dotpict drawing free app is available on Android, iPhone, and iPad. This drawing app is only designed to create pixel arts. Some features of the dotpict app are different sharing and exporting options, zoom of canvas to see fine details and display of grids among others.
RoughAnimator
As the name says, RoughAnimator is used to create animations. RoughAnimator drawing app lets you create hand drawn frame by frame animations on multiple kinds of devices like Android, iOS and desktop as well. This animation app offers essential features like unlimited layers, onion skinning, audio, and video import, apple pencil and Wacom stylus support and more but at a price. What better way to start learning animation on your mobile?
Sketch by Sony
Sketch by Sony is a simple Android and iOS sketching app in which brushes and other tools are used to create digital art. The drawing can be done using a finger or a stylus, and the user can create layers in this application. Sony has provided with a big community in this app where people can explore other works and showcase their work as well. One can also personalize their feed and collaborate with other artists to create new work. The in-app purchases can access some additional features.
Pigment
Pigment describes itself as adult coloring app, but it looks like kids will also have a lot of fun with it. It is an app to color already drawn pages by professionals and many exclusively by Disney. There are more than 4000 pages to choose from and its drawing tools like pencils, markers and paint brushes give you the feeling like you are using natural colors and tools. There are unlimited colors to choose from the color wheel, sounds fun right? To get features like premium brushes and entire library you have to subscribe to the premium version.
Hexagon
Hexagon is a software for creating 3D models. It has all the tools a graphic artist would need. Some of the outstanding features are DAZ Studio Bridge, freehand modeling brushes, micro displacement modeling tools, comprehensive UV mapping modules, and more. In Hexagon, you can see real-time shadows and instant ambient occlusion. With this modeling software, you can create 3D models for game development in high quality.
Best Apple Macbook
Sculptris
An excellent platform for someone who wants to make a foray into the world of 3D drawing. With Sculptris, you can create base models which can then be refined in other software like ZBrush. The 3D software can locally redefine the internal structure of the model you are working with. Sculptris has tools that will make you feel like you are working with real clay. You can also paint a wrapped texture on the mesh surface with this software. (Please note that sculptris was last updated in 2011 and may not function in newer systems)
Blender
Blender is an open-source, free 3D software, which supports modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, composition and motion tracking, editing video, and 2D animation pipeline. Developed by experts from multiple fields around the world, Blender has a built-in powerful path-trace engine which offers real results. It has advanced sculpting and other tools through which you can create and transform the models with ease. Blender has a flexible interface in which you can adjust the layout, colors, fonts, etc. There are a lot of add-ons created by users which can be used by anyone using the software.
ZBrush
ZBrush is one of the best software for digital sculpting. With the customizable brushes, you can create shapes, textures, and paint virtual clay. The advanced tools offered by ZBrush is the same as the tools used by designers and artists worldwide. The software has a Non-Photorealistic Rendering (NPR), which enables you to see the artwork in a whole new way. You can convert the 3D artwork into 2D drawing and transfer the sculpted artwork into a comic book. Through ZBrush, you can add overlaying textures, draw outlines, and apply various effects from built-in presets.
Krita
Krita is an open-source painting program, made by artists to provide affordable art tools. This free painting app can be used to create conceptual art, texture and matte, illustration, and comics. Krita, designed for both amateurs and professionals, provides an intuitive interface. This interface can be customized according to your workflow. The dynamic brush tool in Krita can be used to create drag and mass and you can smoothen and stabilize your brush strokes. There are more than nine different brush engines like color smudge engine, shape engine and more through which you can customize your brushes, to suit specific requirements.
Aseprite
Aseprite is a program through which you can create 2D animations. Through this program, you can also create sprites, pixel art, retro-style graphics, and everything related to the 8-bit and 16-bit era. Aseptrite can work on Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu. The program can organize layers, create animations, and custom brushes. The work can be saved in GIF, PNG, and JSON format.
Marmoset Hexels 3
Hexels is a grid-based painting, animation, and design program. With Hexels, you can create complex designs and stunning drawings. With the combination of digital art tools and geometric grid, through which you can paint in free form with the precision of vector art. Powerful software for a pixel artist who can keep track of the colors and gradients with the palette. The canvas can be turned into animation, and a sprite sheet can also be exported easily. Newest version of logic pro x. This program can be used on Windows as well as Mac devices.
Things to consider when choosing a drawing app:
Platform Matters
If you're serious about taking up digital drawing, consider your hardware choices carefully. Ideally, you'll want to sample the exact tablet and computer setup with the stylus of your choice. In short, some are glitchier than others and creating art requires more finesse than some can deliver.
Best Macbook For Artists On Amazon
If possible, consider a tablet with a stylus made by the same manufacturer, for example, the Apple iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil. This ensures the two pair perfectly for the smoothest possible drawing experience.
Also, look for pressure sensitivity. Different styluses handle the task differently. The feedback provided with pressure sensitivity adds an extra realism that makes drawing on your tablet as close to analog pencil and paper as you can imagine.
As with all apps, be sure to check the operating system used by the app of your choice. The most popular platforms are Windows, MacOS, Apple iOS, and Android, and unfortunately, very few apps work on all of them.
Raster vs. Vector Drawing Apps
In the digital world, there are two sorts of images you can draw. Raster images, like JPG or PNG photographs, are drawn pixel by pixel. If you zoom in or enlarge the picture, it will get blurrier and blurrier if it exceeds the pixel size of the image. Think of this as drawing on paper, and you are limited by how large your paper is. You cannot expand the paper size like you cannot expand the pixels. Drawing a raster image is as simple and reasonably intuitive, depending on the app.
Vector drawings solve this problem but unfortunately, add much more complexity. Vector images, like AI or EPS formats, are the world standard in the printing industry. These pictures are made more like computer programs than photographs. In vector drawing applications, you make many paths (lines or shapes) that make up your image. It takes a bit more practice. Four divine beasts. Some vector apps make the process super simple, but the professional programs with all the bells and whistles take a bit of getting used to.
3D Programs
No discussion of online drawing apps would be complete without a word about three-dimensional drawing apps. If you're looking to create 3D modeling or going for that other-worldly feel that is everywhere, you'll want to make sure to pick the best drawing app that is capable of producing 3D images too. And don't feel left out if you got your drawing apps for free, some of these include 3D rendering also!
Conclusion
Now that you have an idea of how many free drawing apps are out there to choose from, you may feel a bit taken back. But remember, the most fun part of finding the best canvas for your project of choice is the adventure in trying them all out! So which do you think is the best drawing app?
Do check out our list of the best Drawing tablets for Graphics, Art and Illustration for 2020.
What Is The Best Macbook To Buy
Disclaimer: The images shown are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the final product. All images are copyright to their respective owners.Liked this post? Share it now.
