5 Free (and Really Good) Drawing & Painting Apps - 2023 EDITION

[@BJbear2001]

Thanks for helping me narrow my choice drawing app down to Krita! I've used PT-SAI, OpenCanvas(still going in 2017), Sketchbook Pro, TegakiE(flash based), DA-Mural(flash based), and Adobe PS(class version 2012), and Blender(Before the suit by A-PS or somesuch).

[@slamotte]

I personally love Krita and IbisPantX. Ibis just added full on pixel art settings and i'm having so much fun experimenting with it! Krita also has a brush pack that came out recently and it looks identical to pencils, the closest I've ever seen.

[@repeekyraidcero]

Krita is the only one besides ibis i like. It as lots of potential.

[@emerygrey1582]

Wait theres a REAL pixel art function on ibis now?! I havent heard of this

[@teddie7471]

@@emerygrey1582 yeah ibispaint has a pixel art function now it's really good

[@Artn00b]

@@teddie7471 how do I do it?

[@slamotte]

@@Artn00b there's a video on their channel for their recent update that tells you how (in the ver10 update) . Simply put: 1. you open a 1:1 canvas at 70:70 or less for the canvas size 2. go to the menus and the farthest 1 to the left (or 1st menu), turn on the grid switch 3. turn "display when zooming" to pixelated 4. choose the DIGITAL PEN in the brush menu and turn it all the way down to 1 pixel size and start drawing! 😁

[@pauldog]

Krita was the first thing I touched and I found learning how to use it quite organic. I started with just am the brush and eraser, then filled things in with colour. Then learnt about layers and how to make good use of them sand have started getting into more advanced tools and means of shading etc. It's really been quite a delight to use, especially once I got past my first couple of comics

[@Jibily1]

Krita's brush engine is so good. It's by far my favorite. ... It doesn't try to be like any other art app, though, so it takes a minute to learn. But once you learn it, it's amazing. I recently switched to using an iPad primarily for drawing, and I miss Krita so much.

[@KoalaTulip47]

Shame that Krita can't be on iPad because of Apple's weirdness about open source apps. I'd love to use it with the Apple Pencil.

[@fablewalls]

Well you have Procreate that Apple doesn't care about compared to Adobe but we're never going to see Procreate on an Android tablet.

[@adrienagreste2670]

@@fablewalls procreate is a paid app and Krita is free. Not every apple user can afford procreate ( don’t get me wrong, im a procreate user tho but I’m here for my pc)

[@fablewalls]

@@koifishflavor Ironic isn't it? Apple only has eyes and respect for Adobe. It's like the old saying "treat them mean, to keep them keen..."

[@Leeolaaj]

Agreed

[@EggoBeggo__]

iOS users don’t get much when it comes to apps or game mods , sadly .

[@PrivateLZG]

The devs of Krita are just incredible. The program is, in my opinion, the best of them and still gets regular feature updates that even improve the program more. Dang

[@danieltrevizo170]

😊

[@fabiandrinksmilk6205]

Yeah, KDE makes great software. Their Plasma desktop is just Windows, but better in almost every way. It's funny how Microsoft is how copying KDE instead of the other way around.

[@PrivateLZG]

@@fabiandrinksmilk6205 Yeah dont have to tell me, your speaking to a regular KDE neon user here

[@Sonicspeedtime31]

Fr!, it's great!

[@rufaidamanzoor-o4s]

Can someone help me out....I don't want to use adobe illustrator so I want a substitute that is way easier to navigate and does not pixelate the image after zooming so I downloaded krita but it pixelated the image when I zoomed in, I had high hopes😭

[@YughioZexle2000]

It’s honestly beyond me as to why Krita is so underrated I had never heard of it until a couple weeks ago and I’ve been working a little bit every day to get and get the basics down So far the learning curve isn’t actually that bad at all!

[@beatboxing_skeleton5479]

i hear krita is really good to use, tbh i struggled a lot with figuring it out, but it's pretty good of an app, some of my best art was on it

[@Buttercookie_Draws]

Ibis paint x is my go to app to use. I didn't like it at first but now I absolutely love it! The fun part is you can even import brushes made by other people, which is where i found my main brush :D

[@cgtang]

I use Krita religiously for several years now. Both on my Windows laptop and Ubuntu pc. The brush engine is top notch and very customizable. Great for making your own brushes. Planning to ditch my pricey paperweight iPad Gen 6 and get a nice galaxy tab so I can use krita on the go.

[@AndrewMaksym]

Brilliant!

[@subhodeepmaji2975]

How do u use it on laptop? Dont u need stylus for that?

[@AndrewMaksym]

@@subhodeepmaji2975 I use an xp pen USB wireless tablet and I also have a lanovo tablet

[@Toma-621]

@@subhodeepmaji2975 I would assume they have a drawing tablet of sorts

[@arsomkr]

Yeah, you need a pen tablet or pen display.

[@R_O_T_A]

For me , krita is the best app all the time for drawing and painting

[@htsunmiku]

I really like using it on my galaxy fold but I hope they make a more touch friendly interface (like csp app or procreate)

[@geoffreymegardon5624]

Yes it is really good, but still too reliant on the keyboard.

[@MattPin]

It's awesome! I use it on my linux laptop + my Samsung s6 lite

[@mavr1k440]

@@geoffreymegardon5624 funny thats what i like about it. 😂

[@animegirl-mz6bs]

i really dislike krita, but its only because (as far as im aware i heard this from a friend) the lighter you touch, the less opacity becomes which i dont like, but if you can tolerate that i recommend krita 100% ive used it before with mouse and keyboard, but im gonna be using adobe animate when i get my drawing tablet

[@ajwalker4416]

I'm totally ok with you updating previous videos! Please feel free to update as you see fit. Learning about the new apps I may have missed really helps. Thank you.

[@musingsofmessa]

I could listen to Brad talk about art a lot. Also, really love the little animated bits! 😊 I use ibisPaint X, and it's wonderful. Been using it for about a year or something like that - maybe 8 months. 🙂

[@cravingfriedrice]

woah I’ve been using it for 5 years ehe

[@dljennings26]

0:06 “I am looking for friends” 💀💀💀 I will be your friend

[@omicron1100]

I had no idea FireAlpaca was Medibang! I used it for a little while while looking for an alternative to Paint Tool Sai and before discovering Krita. Great drawing app!

[@repeekyraidcero]

Funnily enough FA runs more reliable than MB somehow imo

[@michaelbaldwin5953]

Been using Krita as my alternative to Photoshop for Image Manipulation..............yes i know it's primarily an Art program , but for me it's also great as a free Image manipulation program as well.Just be aware you can't print directly from it , You need to save your artwork and load it into something like Libra Office Draw (also free) for layout and print functions.

[@Manchineel_]

Thank you, I have been looking for an app for starting digital art but haven't found one that I am interested in, this will help me alot.

[@kriiler]

Ive been using krita since 2017, and like I'm so used to it now that even though I do have photoshop from school, I still prefer krita. And krita has gotten better over the years, and got a lot more features and changes that I really like. Krita's 2d animation feature is one of THE best I've seen out of any FREE apps (no astericks). Not to mention that Krita has a pretty large brush library by itself without downloading other brush sets. It is unfortunate that Krita doesn't have a ipad/android tablet version, but at the same time I can't imagine having Krita's interface on such a small screen. I have an ipad/pencil, and I just got Procreate.

[@dbweb.creative]

Thank you so much for including Light Brush!! Every painting app is of its own flavour, hopefully people may find features they like and what is comfortable for them.

[@Rye_Ch3]

I honestly love Krita and even now that im way more into digital art and have much better equipment I cant ever see myself changing programs. Krita has the right amount of features and the right UI setup to give you everything you need without it being so unbearably overwhelming

[@yuukod2546]

Great video! I love Medibang - it’s the program that I primarily used on ipad before going to Clip Studio (bc its my main program on desktop and still has a better brush engine), I still use this program for very simple stuff now but it can do detailed stuff. For me, some of the brushes just weren’t nice for more detailed stuff. I dont know if this changed but Medibang has a premium service now to remove the ads. It used to be one time buy to remove the ads. Its no longer like that. So if Ibis Paint is a one time not premium buy I’d say get it. It’s a way better experience without the ads in the way. And its worth it.

[@SkipperWing]

Great vid! I also like the caveat of not including *free apps, because its a problem I have with a lot of social media educators, where there's some caveat to what they're doing that requires some resource I don't already have (usually as much free time as they have, as much revenue to spend on their recommendations, or as much initial expertise). I'd love to see these same videos for 2D animation and 3D, or a cheapest hits version for tablets (for anyone who doesn't want to attach themselves to a particular company, app dev, or device)

[@alex_montoya]

Have you tried Heavypaint?

[@seireiart]

My go-to drawing app right now is Krita (I used to be a CLIP STUDIO PAINT user)

[@Yuzuki1337]

It was the other way around with me, started with Krita and got CSP eventually. Love them both though and when I get myself a nice tablet this christmas, I'll probably run Krita on it. :)

[@s0nnyw3a7her]

Krita has been my go to for awhile now and I loved it so much but I just got on after a bit of a art break and now this newest update has me disgusted, it's so bad I can't stand it anymore, so I'm here looking for anything else

[@Only_Rory]

1:09 actually no more! They made a windows app now. I haven't tried it yet but i heard you can use it only for an hour a day and have to pay to remove that limit but that doesnt remove ads etc

[@thebradcolbow]

oh nooo, this video is out of date already 🤣

[@bashiresuku]

i am a begginer in digital art. I ve always wanted to learn how to draw better since i see it as the coolest talent ever. Started using Krita and yeah the app is amazing has a lot of features. But as Brad said it is pretty intimidating for me, someone who doesnt know much about digital painting. But i am willing to learn and watch as many tutorials as possible to learn how to use it better.

[@adeptgirl3454]

I wouldn't hold my breath for pressure sensitivity in Paint Dot Net, they've been promising it since I was in college. It's a great program for anything else, though, and good to see it make the list! I use Fire Alpaca myself. Tried Medibang and it tried to railroad me into signing up for their cloud storage, which would be great for people who want to work on one project across multiple devices, but I tend to want my files where I can see them. FA does have an ad pop-up on loading but it's easy to close.

[@LadybugNinja0]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on apps that offer 3d sketching! Kind of like blender’s grease pencil, there’s a couple I’ve found so far that are really fun like gravity sketch and mental canvas and the recently released feather 3d sketchbook.

[@TerraCorvusEntertainment]

Yesss! I love Krita. I do all my cartoons with it. And you can create some incredible artworks with this program.

[@TheMoonlight1711]

btw, note about ibis paint x it is available on windows(dont know about other operating systems) but you have an hour limit a day

[@infinitivez]

Brad, I don't think Medibang or FireAlpaca is opensource anymore. I haven't been able to find either of their repositories for a couple of years now. While both GREAT products, they don't allow you access to download their codebase, fork or make modifications.

[@JoanaCorvo]

i just bought a new tablet and i am so happy to learn krita is available in android!! can't wait to try it out :)

[@FR4YZE]

I got so used to ibispaint x that using any other app will be strange. It has all i need and it helped me alot

[@elisafaleschini2404]

Same. Recently I've tried Krita, and it feels so strange, I can't understand it at all😅🥲

[@shock4christ]

Same. Ibis Paint X is the best, in my opinion.

[@kelvinchuks8885]

3:48 fireapaca is so cool, tried it last week

[@dappermuis5002]

I love Krita, dispite it having so many features. I haven't even scratched the surface of it. I had not done much painting for years and when i had it had been on Fresh paint on Windows with a mouse. Talk about a challange. Using a mouse that is. I loved the simplisity of the app though. One of the best things wasn't which app to use, but getting a drawing tablet made all the difference. Mine is cheap and basic, but love it. I'm now on Linux and using Krita, and the drawing tablet, it like night and day. I acutually found the tablet works better in Linux than Windows. My Windows experence was horrible. I just use the basics in Krita and my art work is way better, than from a few years before. All the things Krita is offering is kind of overwealming, if you just stick to the basics. it is doable and you can expand from there when exploring. I like the Digital brushes. To me Krita is kind of like Blender, tons and tons of things you can do. but you need to focus on a small part and work from there.

[@larabartulovic1667]

Funny enough, Medibang Paint Pro is free and has amazing tools. It has canvas formats such as paper formats of any size and you customize the canvas size! I use it for my day to day life and it always updates for free! It can backup your drawing progresses! It's amazing to use and you can learn a lot from it. I love the program and nothing is going to change my love for it.

[@dormitria]

I love Krita 😍

[@chocortez23]

Thank you!! Download one write now!! I have been praying for a free app and soooo excited to try one out!

[@Shades_arsenal]

Actually, Ibis Paint X is available for download on Windows, not just android and IOS. Just wanted to point that out, but great video none the less! Keep up the great work Brad!

[@KiloGraham]

Accidentally paid for krita on steam but I havent regretted it. Its very stable, autosaves my work, has most every type of tool and pen. Runs without an adobe client app or background adobe software. Kinda clean, kinda powerful.❤ I want more pens and an interface better than a 20 year old drawing app.

[@chirichiri6662]

Thanks for this. I really want to dive into making digital art on my Galaxy tablet but soooooooo many tutorials online are using iPads and Procreate and it's really quite annoying.

[@sofia_drawsmore]

I’ve heard of firealpaca!! I used to use it because I couldn’t run SAI on my old iMac, and I can’t recommend it or MediBang enough!

[@KiksuAnimations]

Krita is the GOAT. My first Digital Art software. It's very similar to Adobe PhotoShop.

[@Biaanca5036]

Using FireAlpaca 1.5 on a Windows XP laptop. On a 64mb DirectX 8.0 FireGL. It's running the same way Krita does on my modern 2024 laptop. Just nice experiences all around. And although WinXP DOESN'T support pen pressure over remote desktop, FireAlpaca actually launches and renders at full speed over Remote Desktop in windows XP. 💗

[@DarkFoxKirin]

I love that you used a Steam Deck to draw, I have one too and I was wondering how it works, is it smooth?

[@starbuck090]

Awesome video and really informative! Hopefully you make a video of the other side - best paid apps that are worth our money 😃

[@IsmailNazari-qp2kr]

From where should I get digital art?

[@everythingworld4354]

Could you make a video about ibispaint again and showing the features of it

[@Molotovangale]

As a long time user of medibang, I think its sufficient and easy to use. Especially since I don't have any sort of stylist so I have to use my fingers:/ I do wish a few things were different, but it does everything that I absolutely need it to, so-

[@RohitHela]

I've been using Krita since two years and I have to say it is the best painting app. It has got layer mask, timelapse recorder, different brush engines, faster responsiveness.

[@GravellionDaizeen]

New digital artist- Krita seems amazing but you are spot on. I'm intimidated asf and have a hard time retaining all the little bits and info.

[@TikTok00-yt]

Tysm! This tuturial is soooo brilliant! 😂

[@DShawnPaytonOffiicial]

Just installed IBIS Paint and it seems pretty cool. Thanks!

[@darbzworld9059]

fireAlpaca is my fav drawing app and I'm glad it's here ^^

[@dar.446]

Update of ibis paint, ibis paint can now be used on windows! But idk abt mac but they are now able to be used on windows. So if you don’t have an iPad or iphone (for some reason) and u only have a windows well now u can use it on windows!! 🎉 Im hoping that in the future lots of other devices are able to use ibis paint on, bc it’s an amazing app. I personally myself use ibis paint, and it’s really good. You will get used to it very easily, and it’s a very amazing app!

[@auliamate]

I personally main iArtbook for iPadOS and Sketchbook. iArtbook, while unknown, is pretty robust for an indie app, especially in brush creation and selection. I really like how I can make my brushes a nice, rounded, really resistive for clean cartoon line art and finger gestures work well on it too. Only downside is that support for tilt and pressure sensitivity is still in it's infancy. Sketchbook (formerly Autodesk Sketchbook) is more powerful, and has full sensitivity as it's made by a giant team. But while it has that benefit, they removed iCloud transferring (kinda important to creators) and the app doesn't really have the line art brushes I really want.

[@Marllon_333]

*Eu sempre uso o Ibis Paint X, é muito bom!*

[@TheDoctorFromArknights]

As an Ibis Paint User, It is a fucking godsend, also didn't they already introduce Windows Impelementation like Months ago? I swear I saw a vid of theirs showing it off...

[@fuzzydragons]

good list to show to people just starting out with digital and dont want to spend any money yet 🙂

[@khorosho9080]

nice video! keep going, giving a couple of these a try

[@ssjblckgohn1569]

The problem is *IT'S NOT THE APP, IT'S ME*

[@joovieldellava]

SAME!!!

[@Olyvia-t8u]

Real same

[@Idan-ib3ot]

Thanks it really helped me

[@saloniverma3636]

9:31 BTW sir ibis paint just came for PC too

[@UrlocalGuzzwpawz]

“And I wanna make friends!” Bro ain’t scared respect

[@typ0id]

Since Clip Studio is starting to hit it's downfall, I might switch to Krita. Hell, it still looks intimidating to me after using CSP for 2~3 years now. I'm still gonna try to learn it lolol

[@bits_n_bitszys]

I also use sketchbook and find it works pretty well 😊

[@firstofficer296]

Very hard to use

[@chips6042]

An app I still love is Sketch Book Pro. I think it’s no longer available to get (on pc, still there for mobile, but it’s not the same) but I still have my version (didn’t pay, got it when it went free) I got it on my laptop with a pen, and I can zoom in and out with my fingers without it being glitchy. The brushes available are also good. It’s why I still use it and love it.

[@lucabastianello9830]

I'm using Krita, still I'd like a bit more about options

[@hanijayt6128]

"You are looking for an app you can draw in You are looking for an app you don't have to pay for You are looking for an app what's both of those things and doesn't suck I'm looking for friends" Sad but relatable

[@Kanne_Starr]

Fire alpaca is amazing though,

[@BhengBandibas]

I use ibis paint❤

[@nathanmandala8465]

What about final draft 11?

[@ianthecomicartist]

Great video! And I discovered that, as much as I loved the free version of Ibis, upgrading to the paid version for my Galaxy Tab S6 Lite made it consume fewer system resources. I would have frequent crashes with the free version (it autosaved, so I never lost any work, but it was annoying) but all that went away when I bought the full version. I guess all those ads on screen just taxed the processor too much...

[@frankmckinley1254]

Thanks for the update video.

[@Jillie842]

Lol I love how there was a genshin ad but thanks this really helps

[@Acekatt]

I'm still using autodesk sketchbook. krita was fine as it was the closest to CSP but until it has a mobile layout it's no good for me.

[@forestfires7495]

Krita is where I started, and if you can understand it, any other art programs will be understandable as you move forward!

[@LILS_MADD]

Thanks! That's was really helpful!! 😀

[@AliyahBlossom]

How do you make these animations??

[@jason_liam]

Which XP-PEN pad are you using at 7:26? Is there a review video for it.

[@jason_liam]

I've mailed you on your official id(semaphorebrands).

[@jennassexdungeon]

brad, ibis paint is available on pc. it launched over 3 months ago

[@briaharris183]

Thanks for this

[@mr_leviathan]

Great video, Krita really is a fantastic program. Think you could do an updated free animation apps video?

[@ivvydoll6282]

Ibis updated their stuff and you can now use it on your computer (I have it on my laptop)😌👌🏾

[@saarb9459]

I can actually download ibispaint on my laptop idk it’s just an option in the store

[@komodoejderi41]

8:04 bro literally made a grunt

[@nikolaskuklis5925]

I miss Huion Sketch :( It had everything I wanted from drawing app Because IbisPaint has ad on canvas and ad on brushes it just doesn't feel good to work with for me so usually Medibang Paint is my fav now but it is missing motion blur and reference window It was so good but now i had to find it on unofficial apkstore just to find out i have to constantly set my date & time to before 1st September 2022

[@hyliansaviour9420]

Ibis actually does have a desktop version now

[@pinkieglitterheart]

I like using the free version of ibispaintx. it's very nice

[@sepideh6560]

Ibis paint is available on windows now!

[@Tenorbase-y4l]

HI! Can you change the shape of your drawing from Google photos using this app?

[@rklauco]

Funny, I paid for sketch book loooong time ago, then it went free and now the circle has closed :)

[@avatarfan7316]

Im pretty sure Ibis paint is on computer now, just you have to pay, you can use it for 1 hour a day with the unpaid version and its compatible with graphics tablets and stuff. Its still pretty new tho

[@jackkemp7256]

3:48 Oh, that’s why I’m here. I’m seeing if I should download file alpaca on my new computer like I had on my old one.

[@himesad1259]

Ibis piant announced they allowed to be used on pc

[@NHarts3]

Hey Brad will you be reviewing affinity 2 any time soon? Thinking about upgrading 😁

[@littlelemonaide4223]

My friend was struggling to make a logo for her sister's store in clip studio paint just the other day. She couldn't figure out how to bend the text how she was imagining, let alone well enough to look good. I take the file into krita and, after a little poking about, find it has several easy to use warp options, including one that did exactly what she wanted. Not bad considering she had to pay for clip studio while I got krita for free

[@DmitryPekarev]

I like "FlipAClip" for animation sketches. Free version is quite good and enough for it.

[@Helen48321]

I am currently drawing in Krita and not using a drawing tablet instead i am using a stylus, it's allowed to draw in tablet but recommend to use a stylus whenever you want to draw in Krita.

[@descendantgaming5410]

Correction on the not on windows thing for ibis, it was ported to windows. You can use the trial for an hour a day until you pay for the full version which kinda sucks,but it's still cool having my favorite drawing app on a computer.

[@funicesdevalt6143]

Ibis paint has now a windows version but you only have a hour to use the free trial and then you have to pay to use the app