5 Best Painting Apps for Android
Android is able to help us in a lot of different fields, when it comes to creativity, Android is only limited by your own. The best painting apps for Android are surprisingly feature packed and can help you paint on the move
These painting apps for Android were tested on a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Sony Xperia Z and the older apps, a Galaxy Note 3 (In 2014). All of the apps worked perfectly fine on all smartphones and there were no problems faced during testing as well as painting.
I’ve been using Sketchbook for a long while now and it has been my go-to painting and drawing app since 2014. I also used the rest of the apps from time to time over the years, and to be honest all of them are stellar in their own right. None of the apps need an active Internet connection to work. The apps are not in any particular order because they offer essentially the same experiences, just with different layouts.
1. SketchBook – draw and paint
SketchBook is without a doubt my personal favorite app for painting on Android. It is intuitive, works well on almost any device and allows you to work in layers; which to me is incredibly important.
This app is the only reason why I sorely miss my old Galaxy Note III, while Galaxy S7 Edge is amazing but I cannot draw on it with my fingers. If you have access to a stylus based device, or a tablet that allows you to maneuver your finger somewhat precisely, this is one of the best painting apps for Android.
The interface is kept really simple, the tool bar is located on the top, the layers on the right and additional options that are instantly needed can be accessed by pressing the circle near the bottom. The app has a lot of different brushes, and you can even manipulate them to some extent. The overall experience is amazing and you will have a lot of fun painting on SketchBook.
2. PaperOne:Paint Draw Sketchbook
PaoerOne is a relatively new app on the painting scene but it has some compelling features that are instrumental in it being popular. The app is also awarded the Editor’s Choice badge on the Google Play Store, so you know it is going to be a quality application.
While Sketchbook is a great painting app for Android but it is still basically a sketching app, PaperOne gives you some amazing tools that imitate a real paint brush.
There are a lot of different painting tools available from big paint rollers to relatively smaller watercolor brushes. While I won’t say that the brushes react extremely realistically, they do a great job of balancing accuracy with simulation.
The interface is kept very simple, the canvas is shown on full screen with the toolbox appearing at the bottom. Overall the app is easy to use and a little bit more user-friendly than other apps.
3. ibis Paint X
Ibis Paint X is a Japanese app that allows you to fill colors automatically, especially if you are a fan of the manga painting styles. While I understand that this may seem like a coloring app than a painting one, you can actually do a lot of work with this app on your side with ease.
If you are looking for a particular comic book style to imitate on the go, this is the best painting app for Android for you. The tool bar is extremely accessible and the tools all worked perfectly fine.
I had absolutely no trouble drawing and painting different images on this app. Sometimes you need to turn in a project in a hurry, we’ve all been there and this app is a great solution to that problem.
4. MediBang Paint – Make Art !
This app has a ton of different brushes that are not only fun to use but also highly accurate. It is also a very light weight digital painting app for Android but also a fairly competent comic book illustration app.
One great thing I like about this app is its ability to transfer everything to the desktop app and back to the phone. Basically, the phone application has all the features that are available on the desktop application, so switching between platforms is fairly easy.
If you already have a graphic tablet attached to your drawing PC, this app is a no-brainer at all. You can do all the precision work on your PC and finish up the painting on the go without having to worry about compatibility and transfers.
The interface is clean, the tools are all accessible and there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to brushes, overall this is a great app for painting on Android.
5. ArtFlow: Paint Draw Sketchbook
ArtFlow has been around for a while but hasn’t gaind that much popularity among the painters and artists. It is still recommended by Google Play Store editors and I agree with them.
It is a nifty little app that allows you to make great quality artwork on the go. Even if you don’t own a stylus based Android device, there is a lot of precision that can be achieved simply by zooming in.
I also really like how the layers are easily accessible on the right-hand side of the canvas. All the tools are displayed right on the top in portrait mode. A lot of different tools are at your disposal from symmetry options to different shapes and multiple brushes to different guides that allow you to make precise drawings and paintings.
Overall it’s a great app to have on your phone because it uses little storage space as well.
Conclusion
These were the 5 best painting apps on Android available right now on the Google Play Store. I had a lot of fun playing around with these apps and I’m pretty sure that you will enjoy using them as well.
If you have any suggestions about other apps that I may have missed, feel free to discuss in the comments below and recommend them to us. I would personally love to check out more painting apps on Android.
Just like always, drop your suggestions or opinions in the comments, we love to hear from you.
