I just got an iPad mainly to practice digital art and illustration, but I’m overwhelmed by how many drawing apps there are in the App Store. I’m looking for recommendations on the best iPad drawing apps for beginners that can still grow with me as I improve, ideally with pressure sensitivity support and good brush options. Which apps are you using and why do you prefer them for sketching, painting, or professional artwork?
Top iPad drawing apps for beginners, short version:
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Procreate
- One time purchase, often on sale around 13 USD.
- Huge brush library, easy layers, time lapse recording.
- Tons of YouTube tutorials for beginners.
- Great for illustration, character art, comics, concept stuff.
- Weak spot is vector and text tools.
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Procreate Dreams (if you want animation)
- Same style as Procreate, focused on animation and motion.
- Good if you plan to animate your drawings later.
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Adobe Fresco
- Free tier is solid.
- Great live brushes that simulate watercolor and oils.
- Syncs with Photoshop on desktop if you use Adobe already.
- Interface is a bit heavier, but still beginner friendly.
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ibisPaint X
- Free with ads, paid option removes ads and adds features.
- Popular for anime, manga, webtoons.
- Tons of brushes, supports screentones and comics panels.
- Interface looks busy, but you get used to it fast.
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Medibang Paint
- Free.
- Cloud sync, comic focused, works on multiple platforms.
- Great if you want to make manga or longer comics.
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Sketchbook (Autodesk Sketchbook)
- Often free.
- Clean UI, good for sketching and lineart.
- Lighter than Procreate, nice if you want a “digital sketchbook” feel.
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Concepts
- Free with optional paid tools.
- Infinite canvas, vector based, great for design, planning, UX, notes.
- Less “painterly”, more design and sketch focused.
Practical suggestion if you feel overwhelmed:
- Start with Procreate if you can pay once and move on.
- If you want free only, start with Sketchbook and ibisPaint X.
- If you do manga or webtoons, add Medibang or ibisPaint as your main app.
- Learn 3 things in whichever app you pick: brushes, layers, selection tools. Ignore the rest at first.
One more tip, set up a simple brush set and stick to 3 to 5 brushes at the start.
Too many brush options slows you down more than the app choice itself.
I’ll second a lot of what @andarilhonoturno said, but with a slightly different angle so you don’t get app FOMO forever.
If your main goal is learning digital art (not hoarding apps), I’d think of it like this:
1. Pick ONE “home base” app
For most beginners that’s:
- Procreate
- Best balance of power vs not-overwhelming UI.
- One-time cost, no subscription.
- Brush engine feels great with Apple Pencil.
- Tons of beginner tutorials that literally use the exact same layout you’ll see.
Where I slightly disagree with @andarilhonoturno:
If you’re brand-new, the “weak vector tools” in Procreate don’t really matter yet. You’ll learn fundamentals like line control, shading, and color way faster here than in a full-blown vector app.
If you don’t want to pay at all:
- Sketchbook
- Very clean UI, honestly even calmer than Procreate when you first open it.
- Great for getting used to layers and brushes without 900 menus shouting at you.
2. Add ONE “specialist” app, depending on what you want
Pick just one to experiment with, not five:
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Clip Studio Paint for iPad
- Fantastic if you’re serious about manga, comics, or detailed illustration.
- Perspective rulers, panel tools, crazy brush customization.
- Downsides: subscription and a more complex interface. Great second step once you have basics down.
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Adobe Fresco
- If you’re into a traditional painting feel.
- The live watercolor and oil brushes are honestly better than Procreate for that specific look.
- Slightly heavier UI, but still manageable.
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Concepts
- If you like sketching ideas, product design, interior layouts, etc.
- Infinite canvas and vector-ish strokes.
- Not ideal as your only art app if you want painterly illustration, but awesome for planning and roughing stuff out.
Where I differ a bit from the hype:
- ibisPaint X and MediBang are great, but the interfaces can be visually noisy for a total beginner. If you’re already overwhelmed, jumping into those first might make you feel like you’re piloting a spaceship. I’d treat them as “Phase 2” once you’re comfy in Procreate or Sketchbook.
3. Ignore 80% of features at the start
Whichever app you pick, focus only on:
- 3–5 brushes
- Layers
- Undo / redo
- Basic selection tool
Everything else can wait. You do not need perfect brush packs or fancy effects to get better; you need mileage and repetition. A lot of beginners blame the app when it’s really just that they’ve spent more time in the brush menu than actually drawing. (Been there, suffered that.)
4. Simple starting setup
Concrete suggestion:
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If you can pay:
- Install Procreate and commit to using it for a month as your main app.
- After 2–3 weeks, try Fresco or Clip Studio Paint for a few sessions and compare how it feels, not how many features it has.
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If you want free:
- Start with Sketchbook only for 2 weeks.
- Then add ibisPaint X or MediBang if you decide you really want manga/comics tools.
TL;DR:
Your progress will come way more from sticking to one main app for a while than from picking the “perfect” app. Procreate or Sketchbook as a base, then one specialist app if your interests get more specific later.