We have considered the most common applications that act as full-fledged complexes for drawing, as well as processing various graphic images.
Which utility you choose depends on your goals.
Corel Painter will be highly appreciated by digital graphics professionals. This is the best choice when you want to download the drawing tool to your computer to work with your tablet. The eminent developer offers a developed, but rather complex product. To learn how to use all the benefits of the package, you will have to spend a lot of time. And if you also want to learn how to work in vector, you will have to switch to a more functional tool from the same developer - CorelDRAW.
Autodesk SketchBook Pro is a quality drawing program for all categories of users. It allows you to both process images and create cool art, comics, sketches from scratch. An accessible interface in Russian will be a nice bonus, but in order to work with the utility at the highest level, it is advisable to think about purchasing a professional monitor with good color reproduction.
Krita is no less functional. Artists draw in it both posters and entire comics. The application is free, open source and suitable for all modern operating systems. However, it will be a little difficult for beginners to master it. If you are not afraid of difficulties and are ready to spend time - try it and you will get a really functional tool.
Adobe Photoshop allows you to apply a wide variety of effects and filters. Creating images will seem very comfortable and quite simple. You can enjoy an accessible Russian-language interface and a large number of training video tutorials and materials on the Internet.
Working with Tux Paint is aimed at high-quality training for inexperienced users. The interface of the utility will be convenient for any user, and the presence of sound and animation effects will attract the attention of a children's audience whose parents want to teach their child the art of drawing on a computer.
Paint.NET will bring a lot of positive impressions, the program engine is able to remember all user activity and return more than a dozen completed actions, excluding the errors present in the editing process and applying all kinds of effects. Paint has a familiar Russian-language interface, it effectively edits vector graphics.
Pixbuilder Studio is distinguished by high performance indicators, the rest of the utilities from the above selection demonstrate a lower speed of launching and opening images. The program contains rich professional-level functionality and is available for download absolutely free of charge.
Fans of various brushes will appreciate the Artweaver Free program, which has a lot of useful filters and effects. It is worth noting that the application allows you to create your own brushes, which will become difficult for competitors.
Paint Tool SAI is a serious utility designed for professional artists and designers to create stunning illustrations as well as digital paintings. The utility supports graphic tablets, giving creative people all the necessary resources for artistic activities. Moreover, some studios use Paint Tool SAI as a cartoon drawing program. Its functions are too good.
Graffiti Studio is difficult to compare with full-fledged painters and even drawing games for children, since the purpose of this application is to entertain the user. You can fulfill your teenage dream and feel like a master of street graffiti. True, the range of tools is scarce - only a marker and spray cans, but a huge selection of colors and shades, line thicknesses will be a significant plus.
Also, the wonderful programs MyPaint, Medibang Paint, SmoothDraw, Affinity Designer, the Paint graphic editor built into Windows and the Inkscape raster graphics editor were not included in the review. You can always find their detailed descriptions on our website.
Drawing is one of the oldest occupations. People from different parts of the world were engaged in it even before history began to be recorded in written sources. A lot of time has passed since then. And now, instead of the walls of the cave, we have at our disposal modern smartphones, tablets and computers.
Adobe Illustrator Draw
Dotpict - it is intended exclusively for pixel graphics. The work screen is displayed as a grid, each square of which can be filled with a specific color. This way you can create small landscapes, images of people, animals, etc.
To draw small details - zoom in, and then zoom out again to view the whole picture. The application has a function to automatically save the results of work. Dotpict is a great app for pixel art lovers who want to create simple drawings without using complex tools.
Medi Bang Paint
MediBang Paint works on Android OS, Mac OS X, Windows, iOS. It is possible to start and continue drawing anywhere on different devices. The results of the work are stored in the cloud service, they can be shared with other people.
There is also a decent amount of brushes and other tools for drawing, creating comics. It is even more amazing that such a high-quality application can be obtained completely free of charge.
RoughAnimator
RoughAnimator allows you to first create drawings and then turn them into animation. In other programs, you first need to draw something, then import the image into another program, and animate it there. RoughAnimator has brought it all together.
Draw frame by frame, turning them into little cartoons. There is a playback speed control function and a number of simple tools. Save your work as GIF animation, QuickTime video, or as a sequence of frames. The application costs 300 rubles.
A modern artist can easily do without an easel and without paints: special software for Android and iOS tablets allows you to create digital works of any complexity. The advantage of a mobile studio lies in its compactness: dragging a heavy canvas around is absurd, but the muse never warns of a visit in advance. "Grab her by the tail" - to make a sketch - the artist can anywhere: in line at a supermarket or in a minibus.
This article provides drawing apps that will be useful for both the professional illustrator and the self-taught amateur.
Price: Free
Art flow is a canvas application: more than 70 brushes and other creative tools are available to the artist. A novice creator will definitely be captivated by the extensive functionality from the first minutes of using the program, a more sophisticated user will be impressed by the following advantages Art flow:
- All digital calculations within the application are made on the video card built into the gadget. This technology is called GPU acceleration and guarantees excellent performance and "zero" brakes - even professional PC programs cannot boast of this.
- You can export the "masterpiece" not only in JPEG format, but also in PNG and PSD (if further processing in Photoshop is required).
- The artist is able to work with canvases of considerable size (for example, 4096 by 4096).
- Art flow includes mode NVIDIA direct stylus, which allows you to draw without using a stylus or digital pen at all. In addition, the application is absolutely compatible with styluses. S— PEN, which makes the program "number one" for all owners of Samsung Galaxy Note tablets.
Art flow – « shareware" application for drawing on Android: even the basic version pleasantly surprises with functionality, while the paid one (costing about $ 5) makes it possible to use even more advanced options.
sketch book
Price: Free
Sketch Book is a family of user-friendly applications from the developer Autodesk, the company that gave the world the famous AutoCAD. Unlike the main Autodesk product Sketch Book suitable not only for experienced designers, but also for beginners and even children. Three versions of the program are available for download:
- Sketch Book Express – a free version that offers the artist 15 different brushes, 3 layers, and the ability to enlarge the picture by 2500%! An additional plus is synchronization with cloud storage dropbox, thanks to which it is much easier to exchange sketches and exhibit finished paintings “for the general court”.
- Sketch Book Pro. This program's brush library alone has over 100 brush names and customizable presets. But the rich toolkit is not the only advantage of the Pro version: the application allows you to experiment with layers, create large canvases, upload files from photoshop. Such functionality will cost the user only $5.
- Sketch Book ink – the latest graphics application from Autodesk. Key features are ascetic interface and simplicity. Minimum settings: you can’t edit layers and adjust brushes. Important advantage Sketch Book ink – the ability to get a high-resolution image output (up to 101 megapixels when exporting to iTunes). Appendix ink on Android, just like the Pro version, it is paid.
There is also a program Sketch Book Mobile, "sharpened" specifically for the small screen of a smartphone: it is pointless to describe its functionality in detail, since the application is identical Express.
Pro Create
Price: 749 r +
Due to the minimalist design, it may seem that the functionality of the application Pro Create for iPhone is poor compared to Sketch Book And Art flow, however, this would be misleading. Developers Pro Create are of the opinion that a huge number of buttons on the screen distracts the artist from the creative process. Therefore, the application is partially controlled by gestures.
At Pro Create there are other unique "chips":
- Tools for more realistic drawing - one of these tools is the "wet brush". It is curious that all available brushes are user Pro Create can correct - a special editor with a lot of settings is provided.
- Many ways to export - the image is "displayed" not only in iTunes: directly from the program it can be sent by e-mail or to Twitter.
- Silica - 64-bit engine for iOS ensures that even when using all 16 possible layers, the program will not slow down.
- Quick Line is a simple but no less useful tool whose function is to straighten lines.
More recently, the AppStore has a "revolutionary" Pro Create 3: despite the cost, which "bites" (459 rubles), it is this application that is recommended to be bought by every artist - the abundance of various functions and adjustable parameters of the program can shock even a battered designer.
Price: Free
Appendix Sketch Master for smartphones on Android is not able to boast of wide functionality and an abundance of various tools - there are only 7 brushes. However, this program has other advantages that more than compensate for the poor settings:
- Unlimited number of layers that can be adjusted in visibility, transparency, copy and merge.
- Ability to import photos from the gadget's library.
- Ultra-zoom - the image is enlarged by 3000%!
- Availability - the application can be downloaded for free.
The "fly in the ointment" is that the program Sketch Master does not support the Russian language, however, judging by the huge number of positive reviews on Google Play, this is not a big problem.
Welcome all!
If earlier, to draw a picture, you needed a brush, easel, paints, etc. things, but now you can create without leaving your computer! Moreover, I want to note that the pictures created in some editor on a computer also cause great delight (as if it were a picture on canvas)!
I will add that many mistakenly believe that it is easier to draw a picture on a computer than on a canvas. Moving the cursor (or even drawing with a graphics tablet) is no easier or faster!
Actually, this article is about tools - to draw a picture, you need special programs for drawing (note: graphic editors). Here they will be discussed below. (by the way, I will add that I chose free programs with support for all popular Windows: 7, 8, 10 (32|64 bits)) . So...
By the way!I have another article on my blog about drawing. There is a special sites that allow you to create paintings online, meet other artists, find common ideas. See this article for more on this:
List of the best programs. Let's start drawing?
Before moving on to programs, I would like to dwell on one important issue - the type of computer graphics. In general, there are two main types - vector and raster charts.
Raster drawing It is a canvas on which there are many multi-colored dots (pixels). Together, all these points look to the human eye, like some kind of picture (or photo).
Vector drawing consists of entities: line, segment, square, ellipse, etc., which are all interconnected. All these entities also form the most diverse pictures.
The main advantage of a vector drawing over a raster one is the ability to transform it in any way (for example, increase it) without losing quality. The computer, in fact, only needs to recalculate your picture according to the mat. formulas.
Raster graphics are convenient for creating high-quality photos and digital drawings. The most popular bitmap image formats are JPEG and PNG. It is raster graphics that are most popular in our time (and that is why, in my article, the main focus is on programs for working with it).
Vector editors in the article: Gravit, DrawPlus, Inkscape.
Raster editors in the article: Paint, Gimp, ArtWeaver and more...
Paint
Raster editor
Basic program in Windows
How to run: find it in the START menu, or press the Win + R buttons, enter the mspaint command in the open line and press Enter.
A very simple graphics editor designed not even for drawing, but for easy editing of pictures (add an inscription, an arrow, wipe something, cut one piece of the picture and paste it into another, save the screenshot, etc.).
Professionally, of course, you can hardly draw anything in Paint, but if we are talking about some very simple drawings, then the program can be used. At least if you are only at the very beginning of the journey, then why not try? ☺
gimp
Raster editor (partly vector)
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (or GIMP for short) is a very powerful free and multi-purpose image editor. This editor is very versatile: it can be used for drawing, or as a program for retouching digital photos, as a program for processing a package of pictures and publishing them (+ converting one format to another).
In addition, there are very interesting opportunities for creating step-by-step commands (scripts) that will automate routine tasks (and scripts can be really complex)!
Main advantages:
- drawing pictures and posters;
- support for graphics tablets (Wacom, Genius, etc.);
- draw web designs for sites, edit ready-made layouts from Photoshop;
- you can refresh your old photos, make them more juicy and bright;
- or poster;
- remove unnecessary elements from photos (a bad shot can become a good one!);
- a huge collection of plug-ins for GIMP will allow you to solve a wide variety of tasks;
- program support Windows, Mac, Linux.
ArtWeaver
Raster editor (some analogue of Photoshop)
This program repeats many of the tools of such a popular editor as Adobe Photoshop. To edit ready-made pictures and draw new ones, there are a bunch of ready-made brushes of all types and sizes, different modes, pencil imitation, ink pen, oil brush, etc.
Main advantages:
- support for all popular graphic formats: GIF, JPEG, PCX, TGA, TIFF, PNG (including PSD and AWD);
- a huge number of tools for editing pictures: gradients, selections, fillings, etc.;
- plugin support;
- the presence of convenient tools for drawing: brushes, pencils, etc .;
- support for a graphics tablet (a BIG plus for those who like to draw);
- many different filters: spot, blur, mosaic, masking, etc.;
- working with text layers;
- the possibility of consecutive undoing of their actions.
- support for all popular versions of Windows.
MyPaint
Raster editor
MyPaint - painted portrait of a girl
A popular raster graphics editor designed more for digital artists (those who like to draw). Represents an unlimited canvas (sheet) and a relatively simple interface on GTK +, without distracting the artist from the creative process - drawing.
Unlike the same Gimp, MyPaint has much less graph functionality. editor, but to your attention a huge dimensionless canvas; a large number of brushes, for a variety of tasks and for different functions (there are a lot of brushes, see the screen above).
MyPaint is a tool for painting with brushes on a PC screen in much the same way as you would on a real canvas. In addition to brushes, there are: crayons, charcoal, pencils, etc. It is difficult to resist if there is a craving for drawing ...
Main features:
- the program is specifically designed for drawing, so it has fewer options for editing existing pictures (that is, there are no functions such as selection, scaling, etc.);
- a huge set of brushes that can be customized: create and change groups, blur, mix colors, etc.;
- the program supports graphics tablet;
- the boundless canvas is very convenient in the process of drawing - nothing holds you back while creating;
- layer support: copy, paste, transparency settings, etc.;
- supported by Windows, Mac OS, Linux.
SmoothDraw
Raster
A free program for painting and those who like to draw by hand on a computer. The interface of the program is very simple, designed so that anyone who has just started an artist can immediately start creating, without wasting time studying.
I want to immediately note that the program has a lot of brushes (pen, brush, airbrush, pencil, etc.), there are tools for retouching, working with layers, you can change the brightness, contrast, colors of pictures, add some effects .
Program features:
- many types of brushes for drawing: pencil, chalk, pen, airbrush, brush, spray, etc.;
- works with tablet PCs, supports graphic tablets;
- works with the following image formats: PNG, BMP, JPEG, JPG, TGA, JIF, GIF and TIFF;
- there are photo retouching tools;
- work with layers;
- the possibility of color correction;
- compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10.
Note! For SmoothDraw to work, you must have at least NET Framework version v2.0 on Windows.
Paint.NET
Raster
Paint.NET is a free picture and photo editor for Windows. The main difference from other programs is that it uses an intuitive and innovative interface with support for layers, a dimensionless canvas, special effects, useful and powerful editing tools (analogues of which are only in paid products).
Active and growing online support will help in case of non-standard problems. In addition, a lot of instructions have been written for the program, add. plugins to expand the possibilities.
Peculiarities:
- free for distribution and use;
- user-friendly interface (somewhat similar to Photoshop);
- you can work with multiple documents at the same time;
- support for working with layers;
- a large number of instructions;
- the program is optimized to work with 2 and 4 core modern processors;
- supported by all popular Windows: XP, 7, 8, 10.
livebrush
Raster
livebrush(translated from English "live brush") - a powerful graphics editor that allows you to draw with brushes. Moreover, I want to note right away that the “drawing tool” is not simple, with its help you can create quite interesting pictures, decorate art with beautiful strokes and lines, etc.
In the process of work, you can pick up and adjust the brush so that during its movement - the line under the brush will change its thickness, color, transparency, tip rotation, depending on your mouse movement speed, pressing speed, etc.
By the way, those who have a graphics tablet will be able to fully experience the benefits of Livebrush, because it also understands the force of pressing and its inclinations.
The set of the program has a lot of brushes of different shapes: from simple lines to patterned gothic ornaments. By the way, any pattern can be corrected by yourself by switching to pencil editing.
In addition, you can draw a pattern yourself and save it as a template. You can import ready-made brush sets, projects, decorations into the program. By the way, they can be found in huge numbers on the official forum of the program.
In general, my verdict is that the program is very convenient, interesting, and deserves the attention of all drawing lovers!
Inkscape (Inkscape)
Vector editor (one of the few)
Free analogues: Gravit, DrawPlus
Paid counterparts: CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator
Inkscape is a free vector editor, one of the few that can partially replace such monsters as Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator. The application has a fairly standard interface: a color palette, menus, tools. The program supports all major graphic formats: SVG, PDF, AI, PS, EPS, CorelDRAW.
By the way, Inkscape also has tools from the bitmap editor - for example, it supports various types of blending. In addition to drawing some geometric shapes, the program supports extensive work with text: you can write text along curved lines. Looks very cool and unusual.
The application has a fairly large number of filters, extensions, etc. in its arsenal. All this is available at the office. program website.
Gravity
Vector editor (online version)
Gravity- quite an interesting vector editor. Of course, he will not be able to replace Adobe Illustrator, but he will be able to argue with the previous program (Inkscape).
Of the tools, there is all the most basic: feathers, lines, intersection and carving of shapes from each other, alignment, layers, fonts, etc. Works can be exported to SVG format, to several bitmaps. Also in the program you can open the work made in Adobe Illustrator.
What is somewhat surprising is that Gravit looks like a real program while running in a browser window, and without the use of Flash. Of the main shortcomings, I would single out the lack of the Russian language.
By the way, Gravit has an interesting implementation of the canvas selection: you can choose both standard formats for sheets, business cards, postcards, as well as create covers for popular social networks, phone screens, and other gadgets.
In general, an interesting editor that deserves attention.
Draw Plus
Vector
A very flexible and powerful graphics editor that allows its users to create high-quality illustrations. This program will allow you to fully reveal your abilities in drawing.
DrawPlus has many tools that will allow you to easily and quickly create a variety of shapes, strokes, lines. Each of the elements can be combined with others and gradually everything in the complex will become a rather complex, but beautiful illustration.
By the way, DrawPlus has a 3D module - it will allow you to turn your creativity into real 3D design elements. You can apply a wide variety of effects when creating logos, isometric projections, flowcharts.
A huge number of formats can be imported into the program: PDF, AI, SVG, SVGZ, EPS, PS, SMF, etc. Own format for projects - DPP.
graffiti studio
Website: http://www.vandalsquad.com
Raster graphics
One of the best graffiti drawing software, looks as realistic as it gets!
To start drawing: you need to select a piece of canvas (car, walls, bus), and, in fact, start creating (there are just heaps of ready-made options for selection!). The artist's arsenal includes a large palette of colors (more than 100 pieces), several types of caps (skinny, regular and fat), a marker. The distance to the surface is changed manually, it is possible to make streaks. In general, for fans of such graphics - the scope is huge!
Those who do not believe that real masterpieces can be created in the program, I recommend that you look at the official website and see the best works - your look will change a lot!
PixBuilder Studio
Raster editor
Powerful program for processing and editing graphic images and photos. In addition to editing, it is quite possible to draw and create (however, there are fewer tools for this than in previous similar programs).
PixBuilder Studio has quite interesting tools that allow you to finely work with color, brightness, contrast, and layers. In addition, there are built-in effects (for example, dithering (when processing digital signals, it is the mixing of pseudo-random noise with a specially selected spectrum into the primary signal) ), blur, sharpen, etc.
Peculiarities:
- support for popular raster formats: BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, etc.;
- there is an opportunity and tools for drawing (though very limited);
- great opportunities for editing finished photos and pictures;
- the ability to work with layers;
- professional work with color: balance adjustment, brightness, contrast, etc.;
- setting "hot" keys;
- the presence of ready-made effects (you only need to apply them);
- preview (to evaluate the result);
- support for popular Windows OS: 7, 8, 10.
Krita
Raster editor
An excellent and convenient raster graphics editor for artists (by the way, at the time of writing this review, the program is free even for commercial use). Krita works on both Windows and Linux.
As for the most important thing: there is a good brush motion stabilizer, layers, masks, dynamic brushes, animation, a large number of blending modes, paper and pastel imitation, an "infinite" canvas, etc.
By the way, there is even a portable version of the program that can be run from a regular USB flash drive on any PC. The program has also been translated into Russian.
PS: the article will be supplemented ...
Thanks in advance for tips and advice in the comments!
The modern world is changing everything, and anyone can become anyone, even an artist. In order to draw, it is not necessary to work in some special place, it is enough just to have programs for drawing art on your computer. This article shows the most famous of these programs.
Any graphic editor can be called an art drawing program, although not every such editor is able to please your desires. It is for this reason that this list will include a variety of programs with different functionality. Most importantly, each of the programs can become both a separate tool in your hands, and enter your set, which you can use in different ways.
This graphic editor is not intended for drawing art. More precisely, it was not designed for this. When it was created, the programmers were inspired by children, and the fact that it is in childhood that we become who we are now. This children's program has musical accompaniment, many tools, but is not very suitable for drawing quality art.
artweaver
This art program is very similar to . It has everything that Photoshop has - layers, corrections, the same tools. But not all tools are available in the free version, and this is an important disadvantage.
ArtRage
ArtRage is the most unique program in this collection. The fact is that the program has a set of tools that is great for drawing not only with a pencil, but also with paints, both oil and watercolor. Moreover, the image drawn by these tools is very similar to the real one. Also in the program there are layers, stickers, stencils and even tracing paper. The main plus is that each tool can be customized and saved as a separate template, thereby expanding the capabilities of the program.
Paint.NET
If Artweaver was like Photoshop, then this program is more like standard Paint with Photoshop capabilities. It has tools from Paint, layers, correction, effects, and even getting an image from a camera or scanner. Plus, it's completely free. The only negative is that sometimes it works much slower with 3D images.
inkscape
This art drawing program is quite a powerful tool in the hands of an experienced user. It has a very wide functionality and a lot of possibilities. Of the possibilities, the most prominent is the conversion of a raster image to a vector one. There are also tools for working with layers, text and paths.
GIMP
This photo editor is another copy of Adobe Photoshop, but it has a few differences. However, these differences are rather superficial. Here, too, there is work with layers, image correction and filters, but there is also image transformation, moreover, access to it is quite easy.
Paint Tool Sai
A huge number of various instrument settings allow you to create an almost new instrument, which is a plus of the program. Plus, you can customize the toolbar directly. But, unfortunately, all this is available only for one day, and then you have to pay.
In our modern time, it is not necessary to be able to draw in order to create art, it is enough just to have one of the programs presented in this list. They all have one common goal, but almost each of them approaches this goal in different ways, however, with the help of these programs you can create truly beautiful and unique art. What art creation software do you use?
