If you’re looking for the best applications to draw on PC, software if you may, then this is the place to be.
Digital drawing has evolved since it was first introduced and as time goes by and technology advances, the sheer amount of applications that lets you draw on your computer has increased with even more value and features added.
As you may already have known, this is an input feature, with the drawing ability, you can come up with designs that inbuilt software features can’t achieve. Whether you’re an artist, digital or not, a graphic designer, art director, the drawing apps for PC on this list is for you.
Warning: This post contains quite the exaggeration, all for the effects 🙂
1. Adobe Photoshop
I may never be forgiven if I started this list with another software other than Adobe Photoshop. It is without a doubt the lord of the ring when it comes to PC applications for drawing. As the world’s best multimedia software, it has a wide variety of awesome features that redefine graphic design.
One of its most amazing features is the brush management tool. The Photoshop brush is very much like the traditional brush except that in the app, you can create a brush from scratch or choose from a wide range of presets already made available with the software.
You can choose the brush tip shape, opacity as well as its blend mode. If you are the type who likes to create brushes suitable for your projects from scratch, the software has a brush panel where you can save brushes whose tip, flow, opacity and blend you love. Photoshop has other cool features like group layering, luminance mask control, fantastic fonts and more.
2. Autodesk Sketchbook
This is a flagship project developed by Alias Systems Corporation for expressive drawing and concept sketching. Over the years, it had been at the forefront of the graphic design revolution and had inspired millions of artists to create classical pieces.
With lots of high tech features, the software allows you to capture your inspiration anywhere and anytime. The most interesting feature of the AutoDesk sketchbook is its predictive strokes. It predicts your moves before you finish making it. This helps the artist to create a work with smooth lines and perfect shapes.
With the sketchbook, one can also carry out a perfect scan of a paper sketch and have it imported for line work in the software. Other amazing features of this great PC application include flipbook animation, Copic color library, easy to use rulers and guides, PSD importation, custom perspective guides and more.
3. Adobe Illustrator
This 32-year-old software had gotten 99% of the digital artists hooked. The Max Conference held annually by Adobe had continually recorded 65% increase in yearly attendance. And all of them can’t wait to have you ask before they tell you that they love the Illustrator more than their wives.
And it is understandable. This is because it serves as a faithful midwife for all their design ideas – giving it a touch of artistic genius. The edge that it has over its peers can be attributed largely to the plethora of awesome features that it was loaded with.
One of them is the snap to pixel capability which is the most advanced and lovable feature that it has. This feature helps to create artistic designs with pixel-perfect accuracy. As the artist is creating new paths with the software, they are automatically aligned with the nearest pixel grid. This makes the artwork to have clear lines and sharp segments. If the truth must be said, we would have to admit that without Adobe Illustrator, it will be a sweaty job to create the amazing designs that we have today.
It has found great use in designing clothes, promotional banners, company logos and business cards. Other creative tools built in the software include smart guides, gorgeous typography, color synchronization, CSS extractor, dynamic symbols, perspective drawing, magnification options and more.
4. Corel Painter 2020
Right off the bat, I would like to state that 2019 attached to the name signifies the version of the software and nothing else. Corel Corporation has a tradition of updating the application each year just like Apple does for its iPhone.
The app was designed to emulate the traditional art creation media and their visual characteristics. This includes pastel sticks, felt pens, charcoal, and other materials that your grandfather used for creating art. It is made for serious artists who enjoy the natural intersection between the traditional and the digital.
The Corel painter 2019 has exceeded the creative expectations of illustrators because of its magnificent and authentic brushstrokes on textured canvases. If you want to unleash your creativity with a software that offers you an unparalleled photo art experience, then you will find it hard not to choose Corel painter 2019. It has tons of intuitive tools that guide you to transform your ideas into a painted masterpiece.
One of its most useful features is its SmartStrokeâ„¢ Auto painting. This is an advanced technology that allows artists to create with godlike speed. “Wow” will escape from your mouth as you watch how the Painter aids your bristles to magically bring your art to life. Aside from that wonderful feature above, others include dynamic speckles, dab stencils, brush accelerator and more. All these help you to bring THAT extra special and eye-popping something to your artwork.
5. Inkscape
With Inkscape, you can flaunt your awesome design skills without looking over your shoulder to check your bank account. This is because it is the only application worthy of note that is free and open source. Inkscape is a software for professionals to create or edit vector graphics and complex paintings.
Although it is relatively young when compared to others, it is already generating big waves of attention from serious artists. Inkscape is one of the few software that can work seamlessly with all kinds of vector graphics. This makes it very handy for creating illustrations for billboards, clothes, and product packaging. Other fantastic features include anchor point enhancements, shape builder, SVG exportation and more.
