Ranking Every Drawing App

[@vizvik1678]

Krita being free and on the S-tier shows how advanced and capable software it is!

[@puffyunicat2458]

Krita is one of the worst software I have ever used. You can't put software in the s tier when its programmers don't even bother with the UI/UX. Making software so insufferable to use is just like saying "we don't care about our software's users ". If it isn't enough Krita's brushes look and feel shitty. Krita can't compete with Photoshop, Clip studio, or Procreate (not even with the discontinued Paint Tool Sai). I really don't like it. Not as a programmer, not as a designer, and especially not as a user.

[@krishiv6565]

@@puffyunicat2458 I don't know which universe's Krita u have been using

[@lloydkuijs]

@@puffyunicat2458 As a software engineer, your comment made me barf.

[@FroggyWagon]

@@puffyunicat2458 I've used Krita before and I feel the same.

[@hatedphrase7937]

@@puffyunicat2458 hah... as a digital painting hobbyist, i bet u can't even use linux based OS As a programmer and a designer yourself, please do enlighten us. Do your magic, Krita is Open Source after all.

[@lego_minifig]

I always respect open source software like Krita

[@rosiisartistic]

krita is just great. Been a user for 2-3 years and I love it.

[@smorty3573]

Open source stuff is just really cool

[@giveitupforbeabadoobee]

it also have animation feature and doesn't support NFT, what a chad.

[@smorty3573]

@@carma27 Very True. I love Krita on my tablet and Plasma is just fun to use.

[@blackcitadel37]

The version 5 is no joke. I prefer it over Photoshop for drawing.

[@flaminashes4693]

How dare you forget the S+ tier MS Paint

[@alfaridarizka865]

Wrong. MS Paint is the SSS+++ tier /j

[@HLPiepgrass]

You made me laugh!😂

[@ExultantTJ]

It is GOD tier.

[@kurisurisuku]

@@alfaridarizka865yooo

[@Thatonemetalsonicfan]

I was sad once I saw that MS paint wasn’t on this list

[@jamesedenart]

I'm genuinely surprised SAI wasn't even on the list. It felt like it came around when everyone was begging for better inking abilities than what photoshop could offer, and the stabilization tool was revolutionary at the time. I would have continued using SAI had CSP not come onto the scene as a "love child between SAI and Photoshop"

[@Amanecer458]

I tried to Dowland Sai, is saw many videos and i only had the trial version

[@repeekyraidcero]

I know a few pros who swear on it... But it isnt on Android, sooo...

[@poolsharkATTACK]

Isn't it SAI currently abandonware? It was so revolutionary when it came out, but I feel like it's steadily falling behind the curve

[@TheWipal]

@@poolsharkATTACK people kept stealing it so the dev dropped it

[@snoozyA113]

@@TheWipal that’s unfortunate. I really loved sai when I was younger and would’ve loved to see the application adapted and upgraded over the years

[@Miranda_Starheart]

Ibis paint also has a KZbin channel where they teach you how to use their features or tutorials on how to draw different things which is cool

[@sugengriyanto229]

Yeah, they have a bunch of tutorials

[@Haunted_Plush]

Yeah and they're actually easy to follow and not too technical witch I like a lot since it's easy for me to get overwhelmed with that stuff lmao

[@PSL-Mogger]

@@sugengriyanto229 I don't understand why ibispaint is in c tier while infinite painter in b.

[@Junkhead10]

@@PSL-Mogger I feel you ibis has way more to offer especially when you consider the community stuff, it seems this youtube wasn't aware there is a paid version to avoid the amazing ads. but not the end of the world that he didn't know

[@justintimbertim8589]

@@PSL-Mogger Brad actually said that Ibis paint can go anywhere on the tier, so it is considered an s tier app, but he put it in c tier because of the ad.

[@ons3949]

S- Photoshop, Krita, Clip studio paint, Procreate A- Illustrator, Affinity designer, Huion Sketch B- Frescoe, sketchable, Leonardo, ArtstudioPro, infinity painter, Artflow C-Vectornator, Sketchbook, Heavy Paint, Ibis paintX, Medibang D- Affinity Photo, My pint, Inkscape F-Gimp Didn't make the list- Coreldraw/paint

[@ponpokobushi7389]

Sai 1/2 must be on A or S for god speed brush engine and flexibility.

[@AriaSerif]

Krita deserves to be off the S list for constant crashes and other bugs with 5.0, plus a crappy support team

[@yuukihinamori2310]

@@ponpokobushi7389 I agree. Still a Sai user here and I still love it to this day.

[@jekesan4221]

@@AriaSerif You just have suckish PC/tablet, i always draw on it for more than 3h and never crash

[@AriaSerif]

@@jekesan4221 my pc isn't the issue and my tablet never gave me any trouble before. thing is I NEVER had any of these issues UNTIL the update. I had minor issues with the 4.2 version I had, but nothing like this.

[@alzamonart]

Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator became the gold standard because for many years... they were the only game in town. My personal opinion: Photoshop was never intended to be used as a digital drawing/painting app, but photo retouching and manipulation. Again, since there weren't any apps that could compete with or surpass Adobe's offerings, they ended up being the industry default... but now in 2022 this is no longer the case, and with Adobe moving to a rather expensive subscription model, Affinity and CSP's single-purchase offerings are a solid, money-wise alternative. I personally dropped all Adobe programs in favor of these (and Procreate in my iPad Pro).

[@npcimknot958]

Adobe's biggest mistake was following Netflix subscriptions model

[@TakarieZan]

@@npcimknot958 I can't even say Netflix subcription model. Netlfix is competitively priced. Adobe arguably isn't.

[@akane8615]

what is csp?

[@thomasrivet5494]

@@akane8615 CSP = Clip Studio Paint 11:43

[@akane8615]

@@thomasrivet5494 thank you so much!

[@ForkedEye]

I'm still in love with Concepts. One of the best on my Surface Pro!

[@thebradcolbow]

Concepts!!! ahhhh, I forgot that one!

[@MohammadIbrahim-np8io]

Is it similar to procreate where u can deag and fill in colour

[@jayrinaldi]

@@thebradcolbow you can't just comment 'i forgot that one' and then not rank it in your tier list. :-P

[@bokbas]

@@thebradcolbow yeah, missed opportunity. Big fan of concepts...and your channel.

[@marinabarbosa227]

I looooove concepts

[@tecinplace1316]

"There's also little things in Clip Studio like you can animate..." bruh thats a huge thing

[@EGODINGO32]

Kinda overglanced that didn't he? I mean, even anime studios in Japan use it for their animation.

[@love_mandyxo]

CSP is my fave. Medibang and Procreate were great until Medibang started constantly freezing and the selection tool in Procreate went wonky. Anything Adobe for me is overrated and overpriced

[@repeekyraidcero]

MB is unusable... But clip is such a paywall... Ibis is my pick as it never failed to save my work.

[@lovingbritt]

Medibang is great for sketching and I love it still

[@hoshiuno7530]

@KONTASTROPHE the pc version no but the mobile app well yeah.

[@hamloaff]

@@hoshiuno7530 ahhh right the mobile app

[@lylivictor]

@KONTASTROPHE i have csp on my PC and its the best there, the money was worth it, but the Android version is not a one time purchase system, it's not the cheapest so it can be difficult for a lot of people to pay, especially in dollars, even tho I love csp I'm trying to see if I can get used to krita on my tav s6

[@jordandunn2386]

Very surprised Paint Tool Sai wasn't on the list (and it seems I'm not the only one), but I can kinda understand why, too; the stablest version of the program is pretty outdated at this point, and while the 2.0 software is indeed in continuous development (site released a new technical preview last week), I'm pretty sure the whole team working on it is just one dude, and it's been ongoing for years. Sai was my first drawing program, and the first drawing program of most other artists I knew while I was learning. It's definitely in a weird space developmentally right now, but it heavily influenced how a whole generation of digital artists approach the medium. No other software I've tried feels quite like it, though CSP comes the closest, and if Paint Tool Sai released a major feature update tomorrow, I'd go back to that as my default program in a heartbeat.

[@Diwasho]

I don't think I'll ever ditch SAI, it's the only thing I can comfortably use. Nothing else feels even close as good as it, even SAI 2.0 is not quite the same.

[@DallasUzumaki]

@@Diwasho on what devices is it available? And is it good for the beginners?

[@Diwasho]

@@DallasUzumaki It's just on Windows. I don't know how well it would run on 11 but I'm currently using it on Win10 and it's still working well aside from some UI scaling issues on higher resolutions. And yes, it's great for beginners. Not only is it easy to learn but it's pretty much fully capable of producing high end art, and if you ever want to add finishing touches in Photoshop you can easily save your file as PSD whenever you want, as well as open PSD files in SAI. I love how flexible SAI is, I'm not sure that I can recommend it as a main drawing app since it hasn't been updated in over a decade but if there's nothing else that feels good enough for you then do give it a try.

[@mimii694]

SAI was my first art program too. Crazy to think I'd almost forgotten about it. Helped me make my first steps into the digital art world

[@ashurad_fox5991]

I still use SAI til this day (like ver 1.4 if I remember) since the ver 2 was a miss for me (the ui and work area made it hard for me to use) And unlike photoshop like design, SAI is really simple and easy to understand. (Sadly the psd bug in the ver 1 is quite a pain, since you can't save or export if you open said psd file)

[@nia427147]

Krita is amazing for being free. Great as an intro for beginner / hobbyist wanna try their hands at digital art, not ready to invest in drawing app quite yet. There are more powerful tools like CSP, Procrate, etc. but what Krita can offer isn't too wide a gap from those and has the audacity to be FREE!

[@katladrera2718]

Is krita apps is good for pc usage?

[@teaartist6455]

@@katladrera2718 One of the reasons I hate this trend to call desktop applications/programs "apps" is how it obscures things like these. Weather you mean pc as in desktop os in general or windows specifically, yes, though it's originally for Linux and I couldn't tell you how good or bad the ports to other os are.

[@andre-arthur]

Infinite Painter and Art Flow are my picks on my Android Tablet! I love the drawing experience and the clean UI! Really happy to see them developing good apps for Android

[@pavlice_]

the only thing I wanted from this list was for gimp to end up in the lowest possible tier and I was not disappointed

[@mathieul4303]

Lol, now I understand why I never came back to this app

[@mxnjones]

GIMP is…I hesitate to say garbage, but it isn’t very good.

[@alfaridarizka865]

I remember watching LavenderTowne's review of GIMP and the most memorable things for me were the bell pepper brush and the color wheel that's spinnable for some reason 😂😭

[@trikeonabike4949]

*Opens Gimp* There’s a menu here, up there, down there, over there, EVERYWHERE.

[@postmax81]

There are not enough letters in the alphabet for it. The most awful app I have ever used!

[@alasseearfalas]

I recently started using Sketchbook again on my Android phone (it's May 2023) and idk if it's the new team managing the app or what, but it's fantastic now!! Infinite layers (something I couldn't find on any other free Android app), excellent brushes with some fun oil-like blending functionality, minimal interface that gets out of the way & I swear gets easier to navigate with every update, basic palette creation, and so on. I would absolutely put it in A tier now. It's not quite the powerhouse that Krita is, but for on-the-go art it's definitely one of the best options!

[@richarda3764]

I've always been a fan of Sketchbook as well. Something about the lay out and the way many of the pencils and brushes look. For some reason, I seem to come up with some very good work out of it. My only issue was when I tried to use the text tool and found it very underwhelming for what I was trying to do.

[@kmbassett7222]

Sketchbook is wonderful, and it's the only free app I've tried that doesn't have ads! It makes me want to buy the pro version out of gratitude.

[@katieee_llyn]

Clip Studio in S tier- as it should 👌

[@thebradcolbow]

I know that was 100% my bias showing, but now that it's on Android it has become one of my favorite apps ever.

[@jyotirmaypradhan2665]

Clip studio should make one time purchase for mobile devices

[@angel-stories2547]

@@jyotirmaypradhan2665 I agree

[@technosterj4530]

@@jyotirmaypradhan2665 just download mod 👨‍💻

[@Ash-fm6ym]

@@jyotirmaypradhan2665 facts literally just pirate it , so easy

[@thesuperzfamilyvlog6607]

You really are my digital-art-hero! Thank you for a great list!

[@EPeltzer]

I have to give a deafening shout out to all the true open source free apps out there. This includes Krita Inkscape Gimp and Blender (omg Blender!) Once you spend a few years in the arts and using digital tools, you start to realize how many tools you need and what a terrific pain in the neck it is to keep up with subscriptions, upgrades, etc. Yes Krita and Blender have learning curves but there are free tutorials out there that are amazing. It pays off very quickly once you commit to learning these tools. The community is amazing. These apps are absolutely incredible, deep, capable, and pro level. And to know that they will always always be free and available on multiple platforms is just priceless. No one is going to slap a paywall or ads or device limits or subscription fees on them. And it's not just being a cheapskate. I have seriously tried and paid for many of the apps on this list. I pay for additional capabilities in blender and for digital models and materials and stuff like that gladly. But I always gravitate back towards the free open source tools. Even a tool like Inkscape well it doesn't seem very sexy does it? Maybe not oriented towards artists exactly. But it's precisely what is needed for most graphic design and not an ounce of fat and I can open up drawings from 15 years ago.

[@davebilson]

Blender also has the drawing app Grease Pencil. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIvcc2ZmYt2NfNU

[@jennaln]

Thank you so much for this list! I'm just about to start working digitally on my desktop after years of only working traditionally, and thanks to your review I also ordered the Huion Kamvas 16! I was at a complete loss on where to start with drawing apps so this has been an invaluable video.

[@gg31hh]

u missed out Concepts .. i think should do different categories for vector drawing and Raster drawing

[@chintex_]

I feel like art studio pro should be higher on this list for it's brush engine. When it comes to things like painting it's far superior to procreates.

[@leeray666]

Totally underated.

[@sander1133]

Far far far superior to Procreate when it comes to brushes. Which is surprising since Procreate has such an elaborate "Brush Studio".

[@jeebishak]

Agreed. Artstudio Pro is crazy versatile. Awesome brush engine.

[@rebelgonebad]

You beat me to the punch! Waaay better than mid-tier; more like Photoshop tbh, with a brush engine which works and doesn’t freeze on an iPad (pro anyway)… unlike Photoshop on any platform! Affinity Photo so low is strange, especially compared to a freebie Huion app?!

[@asimian8500]

I would have placed Art Studio Pro between A and S level. The brush engine is excellent and I agree it's better than Procreate for painting...and even sketching (pencils and charcoal). And it's better than Photoshop for large brushes without that lag. In fact large brushes are so responsive.

[@Escalusia]

Clip Studio Paint is by far the best I've ever tried. I got tired of how many tools SAI was missing, and that it rarely got updated. CSP did everything SAI did + photoshop (without all the hassle and big money). It's been amazing, easy and it's SO powerful. The fact that you can also record your drawing process too was amazing. It's also relatively cheap and it OFTEN goes on sale. Not to mention their massive tool and brush library created by other artists! It's amazing for illustration, comics and it's good for animating as well. It works amazing on iPad too, but it's not as "sleek" as procreate. However, what I love about that, is that I have to click so much less than procreate. I feel like I constantly have to open a tab and then click a thing and then scroll down.

[@Moonfixer]

So THIS is what that tier list post was about! Lol. Great video, this gave me a few ideas as to what other apps to look out for.

[@thebradcolbow]

yep yep. I kept googling "ranking" or "top list" I was missing the word "tier" so that's why I asked on Twitter.

[@goldfishcrackers7845]

I was boutta throw hands when you put Clip Studio Paint in A and not S tier 😠 but then you moved it to S and I'm complete again ☺❤ CSP literally allows one to do anything & everything imo! As an animation student, I wish it was the standard, but thas just my opinion 💦

[@thebradcolbow]

Darn it! The whole reason I made this list was to get people mad! I'm kinda upset you walked away happy. 🤣

[@michaela984]

Same! I was like: "What?? Only A tier?? Brad, what the hell are you on? lol" But than he changed it to S tier thankfully lol

[@rgb2296]

🤣

[@brenday_da_bababoei_cat]

@@thebradcolbow D I S A P O I N T M E N T

[@rizzrizz2291]

@@thebradcolbow Can I use it on my Xp Pen 15.6?

[@sloppynyuszi]

I find Photoshop too old fashioned for drawing. Only reason I would use it for is editing drawings for all the effects it has. For outright drawing I would start in procreate or other more basic software. If there is something they can’t do I might move it to Photoshop. Rarely need to these days though.

[@npcimknot958]

Photoshop is great for composition other apps better with drawing

[@tennessee3156]

The problem i find with Huion is that they limit the number of layers (based on the quality) ... I NEED LAYERS

[@ryuugaeisen8946]

Yeah and in animation, clipping layers kinda kills the background layer

[@YouKnowImOnMyPeriodYah]

I abuse the sh*t out of layers and that’s probably why my iPad storage is suffering lmao

[@superNova5837]

Procreate does the same although it may be based on ram as well

[@waterbubble1304]

One of the things I really like about Krita is how customizable the dockers and tools are. I like being able to choose where I want to put them and how big they are. I haven't used any other programs so I dont know if this is a common thing but I find it really useful.

[@TraktorTarzan]

if you want CSP then google when it has sales. the drawing version will only cost $20. if i didnt buy it on sale, id be drawing on krita

[@Kogami]

As a GIMP defender, this semi hurts my soul but I can also get why *everyone* hates it lol. I prob still like it because I used it waaaay before Krita was a thing + couldn't get Photoshop back then... or is it just Stockholm Syndrome... 🤔 (That said the newest Version 10 is the superior ver of GIMP but as you mentioned there's no reason for people to use it anymore nowadays haha)

[@thebradcolbow]

It's been several years since I've used it. Maybe I should go back and give it another chance. My biggest beef was just that it was to slow on the Mac.

[@fablewalls]

@@thebradcolbow - you'll be back quicker than you know it. Gimp was never good even first time round.

[@carlosmarques535]

​@@thebradcolbow 🤔 It is an Editing software, having a different UI from Photoshop and different workflow aren't flaws per se. Every app you reviewed has different UI's and shortcuts (Procreate says hello). Saying GIMP is not for drawing is expected, flaming it as a whole just because, this is sad (for me) actually. Another thing, your let Corel's out of the review because you didn't use it for years, just like GIMP. Why get out your way just to say is bad? I expect more from you Brad. I know you don't care about me or my opinion, but alas.

[@rano12321]

@@thebradcolbow probably why, they mention on their twitter they neighter have mac devs nor macs to develop for, so no wonder it's gonna run like crap on macs, use it on windows or linux, it runs fine.

[@corwin32]

When I read the title, I thought, “Brad’s way to fair-minded and positive to ding a lot of apps. I was kind of expecting a top-heavy tier list”.

[@thebradcolbow]

Hah, you're totally right. There were one or two times when I though, ya know, someone worked really hard on this app.

[@kelliblanton9420]

Rebelle is still one of my favorite programs for any time I want to do a traditional style. As a traditional painter I love how well it replicates how real paint reacts on different surfaces while still being able to undo.

[@itsDjjayyArt]

I'll look into it, I have windows 11😅

[@Junkhead10]

I personally use ibis paint and it works fantastic so many options and you can pay a small amount to not have to watch ads plus there is a bunch of community stuff as references stuff and custom pens.

[@schrodingerskatze6192]

I personally love drawing and painting with Affinity Photo, so I'm not sure white it just suddenly fell down the entire list without explanation :D Especially since Photoshop is at the very top. Because Affinity Photo is very similar to Photoshop. It runs smoothly even when working on huge canvases, you have lots of editing tools, you can import Photoshop brushes and it has a similar brush engine, too. Sure, Affinity Photo is not the standard like Photoshop is but D tier is a bit harsh in my opinion.

[@SourPlanet]

It's definitely stronger than D... But he makes a solid point that if you're going to drop Designer on the list too, Photo can't really compare. Photo is basically contained within Designer- just with some power user functions missing (functions which aren't as relevant to art creation). In that light, it makes sense. With no context though, I agree. It's well above D. Closer to A, actually. I literally replaced Photoshop with Photo for production work for a year and it lacked nothing. Now I'm back in Photoshop missing Photo features lol

[@RacoonAndres]

Yeah it should be at least A tier, guck adobe products and it’s subscription model

[@cantisanifotografo]

It’s brush engine is super basic, no “wet” effect in affinity photo or designer.

[@SourPlanet]

@@cantisanifotografo Wet effect isn't necessary in digital painting. I mean, Photoshop doesn't do it at all well either. I've been working in concept art and illustration for 15 years and I teach digital painting.. and I have literally never used wet effects or seen any coworkers/teachers/students use them either.

[@cantisanifotografo]

@@SourPlanet and other apps do it wonderfully, like Procreate and ArtStudio Pro (two apps I have). I used Affinity Designer for pixel painting at first, then I realized what I was missing. I love Designer for vector work, and having the Pixel Persona is wonderful. But if I want to make a pixel illustration (no vectors), Designer is not even in my mind now. ArtStudio Pro is just fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, I love Affinity Photo and Designer. I have the 3 Affinity apps in my mac, and I have the two available for iPad. I use them constantly for other type of work. But for painting.. at least for me, they’re far behind in terms of the brush engine. The “wet” effect is just one thing and you surely know that. It’s too basic in many other little things.

[@sunilsdesigns1232]

Love using Clip Studio Paint, totally deserves the S-tier rating! Thanks for sharing this awesome ratings video!!

[@lovingbritt]

So true definitely up there!

[@goodkiller93]

As someone that's still very much a beginner and decided on Android, I found Infinite Painter to be the most intuitive. HOWEVER, that app is buggy. Files get corrupted, layers shift randomly, etc. Maybe it's been patched since I used it a few months ago, but I found it difficult to recommend based on those bugs.

[@ChaosWitxh]

Me watching this while I work on Affinity Designer on my iPad. Absolutely my favorite for iPad for sure! Procreate used to be that for me, but I tend to do more precise work which I need a vector program for. But, I still have access to the pixel persona 😌

[@wolfhansinful]

Great video. About time to jump on the Tier video bandwagon ! In my books Affinity Photo gets B or even A Ps & Ai get S (industry std. after all) CSP gets A ArtStudio Pro gets A, even an S, it's on par with Procreate in being fun to use

[@jecheesecake]

For my day to day usage, Affinity Photo does 90% of what I need Photoshop for at $55 one time buy vs. PS sub model. Not sure how PS gets S tier and AP gets D when their capabilities or so close.

[@pancakes7373]

I have huge respect for krita, man. Been a user eversince I first started digital art. Still using it now

[@Choedron]

I use Rebelle 5. It is really good and inexpensive - but aimed at the traditional artist, who loves to do paintings/drawings with a traditional workflow. The colour mixing is exceptional compared to other apps. And it is not congested with features, which you would never use anyway. Brushes are still very customisable though. And no other app has the ability to make nano pixels. It is not subscription based. I hate subscription based software. Ps would be an F on my list - for the simple fact, that it is subscription based.

[@theinktician]

Being industry standard does not excuse the flaws of Adobe apps. They are almost as unwieldy as Gimp, with the only thing making it usable being the thousands of tutorials. After college, it's still unwieldy. I'd give it a B - and that's high-balling it

[@theinktician]

The B is for photoshop btw. Illustrate gets a C. Fresco gets a B too

[@293940cabster]

That’s one of the most honest comments I’ve read. Yes, GIMP may have a few flaws, and it may not be super user friendly, but it has most of the same tools, customizable brushes and swatches, and it’s free.

[@RafaelDrumondRego]

I agree with most of the list. I would probably put affinity photo either on C or B. I think it has a lot of useful illustration tools being similar to photoshop, though I understand the professional point of view of Brad. But, besides that I would agree with most of the rest of the tier.

[@Rafaelrpaese]

Me too, AP has more potiential for concep illustrators, or just pixel illustration, like photobashing and etc. I understand why Brad feel this way for AP, itis because I does not have utility to him, compared to AD, because of his comic styles of drawing. So it makes a lot of sense, but I think is fail for him to put AP in such low category, when it is just tool that is not suitable for his artstyle

[@violetsprite]

Thanks for explaining each app and why you like/dislike them. Can you do the same for Animation apps, please?

[@hillustration]

Rebelle is amazing. The watercolor and drip effects are incredible. I wish it had a blur function.

[@anderummel]

i concure. truly the best media simulator! perhaps blur is unavailable due to it being a "media simulator". you cant blur on paper/canvas, you can't blur in the app.

[@hillustration]

@@anderummel True, they say a brush or something is coming and you can use the smudge tool to do something like a blur with the correct settings.

[@badasspuppy]

Kind of surprised you haven't talked about Concepts app yet. It's vector based, allows line adjustments like pushing it to the side, stroke width and even changing the brush. More geared towards sketching but I really love the interface.

[@elsdee2630]

Thanks, Brad, for introducing me to a few drawing apps. A handy list for anyone who draws casually or professionally, to be sure.

[@thorjelly]

Although I always much preferred Krita for drawing, I used to like photo editing in GIMP more. It just has more powerful, more customizable filters, Script-Fu, and at least it used to have better patching, feathering, and magic wand tools. But now that Krita has non-destructive filter layers, a feature I wanted for years that single-handedly made Photoshop much better than FOSS alternatives for photo manipulation, and GIMP still is dragging their heels about non-destructive editing, I'm not even sure about that anymore. GIMP, add non-destructive editing already for pete's sake.

[@Mr.ThomasAnderson]

I definitely agree with the list, no objections with what’s there. However, you forgot Blender and I know what it’s labeled as but because of its price tag and the innovations made with their “Grease Pencil” function it needs to be up here as an option. If it cost what it’s worth I might think differently but it being free allows anyone to download and get going and so many use it just for drawing. Once they start drawing with it people get seduced by the 3D capabilities and ability to draw in 3D space; coupled with the community assistance and available brushes being made it has to be included.

[@mxnjones]

Wait, you can draw in Blender? Whoa! 🤯 I really need to learn to use it!

[@Mr.ThomasAnderson]

@@mxnjones For a couple years now, definitely check it out and it will only cost you time.

[@tams805]

@@mxnjones It's a decent video editor too.

[@alzamonart]

I've seen some Blender Grease Pencil demos out there. I am learning Blender for its core 3D capabilities but over time I'd like to check this function, seems like a good way to supercharge your 2d drawing.

[@artistinspiration]

Agree with most of the rankings only for affinity photo and Inkscape they deserve a higher ranking both are super good at what they do

[@askeladden450]

yup, I had been using illustrator for years now and 1 week ago, I switched to Inkscape and I am already more productive with it than I ever was with illustrator. especially the gradient stuff and paths effects are amazing!

[@JupiKitten]

Honestly, all the apps I've tried you ranked about where I would have. The only changes I'd have made is to put sketchbook (pro version in particular) in B tier because it really does have a lot of potential and it is good at what it was designed to for, aka mobile touch screen devices. You get a surprising amount of control just using your finger to draw. Not as much as say photoshop or Krita with a a nice art tablet/screen, but its still impressive. Ink... maybe in C? Maybe. D is probably fine for it. Gimp 100% in F. I've never liked Gimp even back when everyone was raving about it I just found it too clunky and painful to use. I recently moved away from photoshop (damn near 20 years using it 😵‍💫) to Krita because I switched to a new pc and was not at all happy to find out Adobe had unvalidated my cs6 keycode that I purchased years and years ago, coupled with what seems to be some shady practices with their monthly subscription service model. Krita has been really nice, possibly even better then photoshop was 👀... Ikr? Surprised myself with that one. I don't even mind the slow updates, frankly I'd been living without any official support from photoshop for a long time because I refused to give up my older program so I dont even feel it with Krita. If you're in a similar boat, it's worth giving it a try, you may even like it 👍

[@AdamJRichardson]

I keep coming back to Leonardo, though it has some limitations on its brush tools (eg marker is poor). Strictly speaking its still in beta, developer is apparently working on a big re-write so we'll see what emerges hopefully later this year

[@mrebholz]

Krita is the new Gimp. I went full Krita, despite I own a CS6 Master Collection (Ps, Ai, Id, Pr, Ae, etc). Inkscape is my new Freehand.

[@mrebholz]

I used to like Artrage. It is not feature rich but easy to use. It's not for free though.

[@johnperry6201]

You're videos really help me out going back into drawing after about 10 years of drawers block

[@maeisnotdaijoubu358]

i do both traditonal and digital art and i find sketchbook easier to adapt because of the selection brushes.

[@pinoyastronaut]

Always looking forward to your video upload every week!

[@mlocascio656]

Also, thank you for the Time Stamps, it really helps a lot!

[@TravTravRA]

I just happened to look for "art apps" because I draw on a non-updated _Microsoft Whiteboard_ because of its incredibly useful infinite board scaling, Sketchbook, and Drawpile. I've been using Sketchbook for... 8 years now? Both mobile and desktop and seeing it on C makes complete sense. Thank you for the list, this is actually a really good way of being introduced to other apps lol

[@AlfredReinoldBaudisch]

GIMP is still HEAVILY, HEAVILY used for: (1) making PS1 textures for PS1 (Play Station 1) models; (2) quickly correcting textures and making them tileable; (3) pixel-art (Aseprite nowadays is the standard, but a lot of ppl still use GIMP).

[@AlfredReinoldBaudisch]

But, to be fair, what I cited GIMP for is very niche. I would think that using it for painting is insanity. But for other usages (and all the cool filters and operations), GIMP is very good.

[@joeskeesick]

Xara Designer Pro - I've been using it for years. It was the first app to have most of the things we take for granted now in a lot of the other apps. It is fast, nearly infinite zoom (some 36000% iirc). I have used all the big alternatives (AI, Affinity, Corel) and always come back to it.

[@aboi55]

Krita really deserved the - S Tier

[@LoamySoul]

Clip Studio is my fav, but I hate the bulky feel. Love the simple interface and gallery of Ibis Paint X.

[@repeekyraidcero]

Same. I really wanted to like CSP. Then I open Ibis for five minutes and proceed to deleted CSP xD.

[@aarisha5316]

Does csp have symmetry recently stardEd usin and it's nowhere to be found

[@LoamySoul]

@@aarisha5316 I believe so. I think it is the triangle button on the left side of the screen (the tool bar). If you're not sure what I am taking about, search "clip studio paint ruler tool" on KZbin and the official CSP channel will pop up with a video titled "How to: Symmetrical Ruler"

[@MaxLindorfer]

Love your videos Brad! It would be great to see you give Rebelle a try. The ink simulation stuff really does give unique results. The 'natural media' elements might not be well suited to your clean, flat style, but I think you would enjoy it nonetheless.

[@Lori_P89]

I want to love CSP so bad but there's just way wayyyy too many abstract icons and tabs inside of tabs inside of other tabs!! My brain can't handle it and I've been trying to learn since the Manga Studio days T_T So happy to see that Krita is in the same tier

[@star-rh8bk]

Same It’s definitely something you really have to use all your brainpower just to find a brush

[@repeekyraidcero]

Ikr ? i'd rank even krita more userfriendly. What's celsys thinking ?!

[@nurainaazhar1210]

I used infinite painter instead bcs appearance wise its so simple. I tried csp and it screams only pros use this HAHHA

[@sahiru]

i thought i was the only one

[@sahiru]

@@repeekyraidcero exactly the interface isn't as clamped as csp its very annoying fininding everything in it

[@rogthepirate4593]

Not gonna lie, I went mad for a sec when I saw you drop Krita in B tier at first. I've basically moved on from PS completely because I'm reaching an age where I don't want to bother with the hassle of pirating stuff any more, but I also don't want to pay adobe's outrageous asking price to use PS because I am and will always remain a hobbyist (and I have enough expensive hobbies already), so Krita is really THE perfect piece of software for me. I love it to death.

[@TheHallieLogan]

Thanks for this. I really appreciate the time and consideration that went into this video, it has made the process of selecting a few apps to get started with much easier.

[@KhakiCap]

Krita and CSP my favourite boys at the top, yeah! (I mainly use to Sketchbook app on Android, tried MediBang but still trying to figure it out. And as I saw in the video, I'll try some other apps if they'll be any good.)

[@Sinyao]

I used sketchbook years ago and it was a buggy mess. Glad to hear it's better.

[@jezrail666]

Krita on Android also works surprisingly good. Espacially if you have a bluetooth keyboard

[@KhakiCap]

@@jezrail666 i know about that, it's awesome. But I'll have to get myself that bluetooth keyboard sometime.

[@onlysublime]

Clip studio paint is bomb! I especially like how it follows Photoshop standards so I didn't have to relearn anything.

[@JSAbbott]

I would love to see you try the grease pencil in Blender.

[@PaGDu333]

17:22 We ibis Paint full ver. User, we’re once again humiliated by 10 y/o’s using ibis paint x ads ver.

[@hyliansaviour9420]

I just got Infinite Painter on my android tablet while learning. I really like it :)

[@roachewy]

watching 1 ad unlocks all the brushes you only need to do it once a day lol

[@thebradcolbow]

Nice! Good to know!

[@superNova5837]

Except for certain effects

[@itsyaraz]

Krita my beloved is in S tier, I think I can die happy now

[@foxfoxes1225]

if ur coming from a painting background Heavypaint is and EASY S i understand why some people might not like it but if it clicks with you it is just SO SO good

[@StephaneDesnault]

Like many I also would have liked to see Concepts rated ?

[@ArtPoetryImages]

This list is spot on. I help someone that challenges with a B app (Brush Lag). The resolution was exporting to procreate and offering a quick tutorial.

[@terraglade]

came here after hearing clip studio might be going subscription. Might be time to give Krita another try

[@kimpark3956]

Omg no!

[@brandonslomski1836]

I have a lot of fun on 53’s Paper app. The limitations are kind of nice and the sketchbook interface is fun

[@lustrafemme]

my vote for afphoto for drawing is B tier. A tier at least for desktop, D or F for ipad version. i'm pretty sure the A15 bionic beats out my 2013 15in macbook pro in some tasks, yet drawing on photo for desktop is smooth as hell and on the ipad its possibly the worst lag ive experienced.

[@valcoholic]

Back when we both were young guys, there was a company called Metacreations which would come up with applications like Bryce, Poser and Painter. As it was a time, when companies would swallow companies and especially Adobe proved a certain hunger for companies like Macromedia (what a huge thing that was back then!), Metacreations closed its doors and spread its apps across the whole industry and, yeah, Corel got its hands onto Painter. I'm saying this as Painter was an absolutely outstanding marvel in the time before Corel. It did things no one had ever seen before that would still feel quite interesting today (I'm talking like 20 years ago) and back then, drawing on a computer would mean buying a Wacom Intuos sort of tablet and mostly paint inside photoshop. Painter had pretty complex brush dynamics going on and was especially specialized om imitating real stuff like oil and watercolor. And unlike Fresco, where this is a pretty dope feature, Painter would let you chose the kind of paper, all kinds of options with the amount of water, the brush, the colors and so on. It really was like a simulator for painting. Why am I telling these legends in past tense? Well I bought Corel Painter about 6 years ago for my work and... I mean it still delivered. I could still argue that the whole way, ink-brushes can be set up inside painter is still ahead of anything seen in Photoshop or all the iPad drawing apps I know. But Corel never seemed to really work on the application. Its pretty much like Adobe acquired Macromedia Fireworks and then left it there to die a long, suffering death. Corel Painter - at least the version I own - runs so miserably slow and has an UI so painfully outdated and clunky; I can't expect a desktop app to bring the clean approach of Procreate to the table (em...why not) but this is the straight opposite. So I'd just recommend to download a demo of Painter to just see what its generally capable of doing as its still an impressive engine. I'd just wish Corel would have some guys inhouse that would see how they could move this application into the 21st century. At last.

[@somewhatdiscrete]

so happy to see infinite painter get some recognition! it's what I used on my samsung tablet before getting an ipad and moving to procreate, and for a complete beginner like myself it was INCREDIBLY fun and simple to use.

[@Frozen_Death_Knight]

To me ranking the Affinity apps can be pretty tricky because of how much you can jump between each while working. Personally I would rank Designer as a B, Photo as an A, and Publisher as a high A to low S rank. Publisher is just a better Designer despite the lack of the Export Persona. The Photo Persona is a lot better than the Pixel Persona because it has nearly all the features from Photo. The main reason I switch to Photo at all is because of the Liquify Persona and extra image editing tools, which is also why Photoshop has remained an S tier art program for so long. If Designer gets more vector tools and a raster-to-vector converter I would put it in a solid A. I hope Publisher will get the other Personas eventually so I don't have to switch back to Photo/Designer for the Export and Liquify Personas, which would put it in a solid S tier. Photo on the other hand needs some more extra polish regarding certain tools and features before I consider it S tier for art. I.e. better menu shortcuts, more Layer panel features, a better brush management system, and fixing bugs, some of which are Windows specific.

[@Msis03]

Krita has been a lifesaver for converting CSP illustrations to CMYK, these two are my perfect combo :)

[@mwdc1]

My list: S (Best): Photoshop, Illustrator, Designer, Clip Studio, Procreate A (Good): Krita, Ibis Paint/X, Fresco, Artstudio Pro, MediBang Paint B (Decent): MyPaint, Sketchbook, Vectornator C (Meh): Infinite Painter, HeavyPaint, Inkscape D (Bad): Photo F(Worst): GIMP Not ranked: Sketchable, Leonardo, Corel Draw/Painter, Artflow, Huion Sketch

[@a.stockton4817]

procreate still blurs when your resize, rotate or even move any element of a drawing. unacceptable

[@UlfricStromcloak]

Brad, agree with your list. I would like to add two more even though they cater to a specific artstyle. One is Aseprite ( the go to app for Pixel Art) & another one is Marmoset Hexels 3 (A geometry based like Trixel, Hexel & Pixel, painting app). It has a vector tool too. Both of them are capable of animation.

[@vpower9232]

Hey Brad, you have to redo this review. There is no reason to dislike apps when they are unique and very effective. Infinity Painter is my fav and it belongs on the top with Procreate. There are a lot of things that Procreate can not do versus Fresco, Artstudio, Affinity Design and Sketch Book. All off these app can get the job done. They are unique without the traditional photoshop similarities. All these app I mentioned are clearly made very well with no limitations. All these apps have nice features that’s useful & modern.

[@sanekibeko]

Clip Studio doesn't deserve the S ranking anymore.

[@rolandcharriez7631]

Personally as an industrial designer I love sketchbook pro. It's intuitive and easy to use. I have the original autodesk sketchbook, but did purchase sketchbook pro from pro from Microsoft. It has features the original app did not have. It's as close to sketching and rendering as an industrial designer can get. I can manifpulate a virtual page as I would would with drawing on real paper. As a freelance designer I was able to parlay this skill/app in getting work for "real time" sketching for clients. This saves time and it's instant in getting those sketches to clients. I also augment any drawings when necessary with PhotoShop. I can't give enough praises to Sketchbook Pro. Thanks for the video, it was very informative.

[@voidmind]

I'm glad you know enough about Krita to know it's value.

[@sirmihael]

As a regular ibis paint user, I just want to mention you can absolutely pay to just unlock the full program. No need for ads or anything, so I would definitely place it higher on my own personal tier list

[@blue4059]

You should do this again without factoring in the price, just looking at apps from a pure usability perspective regardless of whether they are paid or free, and regardless of the OS Platform. Also you should test the apps under similar conditions, like iPad 12.9 for Apple, Galaxy Tab S7+ for Android, and Surface Pro 8 for Windows. Using something like Surface Laptop Studio with the bigger screen or dedicated drawing tablet or smaller Android/Apple tablets might heavily skew your results.

[@repeekyraidcero]

That would make Ibis and Krita the winners by default.

[@dyordyor]

I've been using Gimp for over a decade and I agree with you that it's an F-Tier program for drawing/sketching. It has a wide range of capabilities but the workflow for drawing is clunky, the overall learning curve is steep, and it's extremely laggy at higher resolutions if you don't have a high spec PC. If you do a lot of photo editing and graphic design (aside from vector), it's an AMAZING program to use, especially when you consider that for $0 you can get the only program which has layering/compositing capabilities on par with Photoshop. I've used it for photo editing, color grading, image restoration, mockup for logos, album covers, stage VFX, short animations and gifs, Minecraft textures, etc. etc. With that being said, as soon as I decide to draw something, I open Krita or CSP.

[@siddharthyadav9004]

Does anyone love the infinite painter on iPad? With all the geometric grids and tools, tone lock, fill brushes , reference it's should be given more credit imo

[@roofoofighter]

They need to fix the crashes. They haven’t published any updates for a year.

[@siddharthyadav9004]

@@roofoofighter yeah that is true. It's a shame

[@travissennett1026]

As someone who is able to be more creative with traditional media I have been tossing the idea around about getting Rebelle 5. The paint mixing seems incredible, but I would love to hear what you think. I was bummed to hear you say right off the bat that it wasn't one of the applications you are reviewing because you haven't used it. I'm very close to just pulling the trigger and getting it. In fact, if I wasn't in the middle of moving and unpacking I probably would have already. Which is probably a good thing, impulse buys are a no-no, right?! haha. Thanks for all this info! I have to give some of these another try; it's been years since using many of them.

[@AllenAlberti]

I haven't used Rebelle 5 but 3 and 4 were awesome.

[@H.DrawLab]

Thank for creating this content

[@Zenzuke]

Man you really did Infinite Painter dirty on this, it's a real pleasure to use on the iPad and it's got the best implementation of guides (perspective and otherwise) in almost anything that's not Lazy Nezumy

[@AnansiDaGyuki]

I think the video was fair on ranking. Wish I saw concepts and painttool sai on the list

[@thebradcolbow]

I'm kicking myself for forgetting both of those!

[@Krempeljc]

@@thebradcolbow Then please, please do a Concepts revisited review. Came a long way since your review 5 or 6 years ago.

[@matthewdavis9437]

Medibang Paint has unfortunately added a subscription model. You can get some features for free, but stuff you used to be able to get with a one time purchase have become locked behind a subscription. You're only okay if you bought those things in it before Medibang Premium was released.

[@johnreynolds6074]

Thanks for the video. I liked your analysis. I have Procreate, Krita, and the Affinity suite. After using Procreate with it minimalist tools areas and large drawing screen area, I want a much larger 4K tablet before trying Krita again. I hope XP Pen comes out with a 4K 24/27 inch tablet this year to match Hurion that would result on the same drawing area as an iPad Pro 12.9.

[@davidnorman6348]

Thanks, Brad! A very helpful rundown on most of the well-known illustration softwares. I've been working with Adobe for over 20 years (as an advertising/marketing illustrator), but have been put off by their outrageous pricing scheme. I'm in the process of transitioning to CPS and Krita and love them both.

[@bodybody5609]

Just noticed photopea missing, but if i were to rank it prolly A tier

[@thebradcolbow]

Oh nooooo, I knew I was going to forget something good!

[@MarlonOwnsYourCake]

I love mypaint because it's kind of like ms paint but with traditional art looking brushes and layers. Very simple so I don't have to think about anything but the picture

[@LihimSidhe]

Would really love a deep dive into how to use Clip Studio's perspective, figure dolls, and object placement and store. Otherwise agreed w/the list.

[@repeekyraidcero]

Check out laovaan, he did an amzing video on 3d models with csp.