15 Best Free Drawing Apps For Android 2023

If you like to draw stuff from time to time, you may have wondered if there are apps made for that purpose. Interestingly, there are.

Even if you are acquainted with some drawing apps already, but are now looking for the best in the market, then this article is also for you. Below, I will share what I consider the best free drawing apps for Android devices right now.

Some of these apps may be as simple as kids would use. Others may be more technical than you are used to. So, whether you are a professional artist, a drawing enthusiast, or anything in between, I’m sure there’s something for you below:

Best Free Drawing Apps for Android

1. Drawing Pad Offline

Besides Drawing Pad Offline, I’ve hardly ever seen an app rated 5/5 on Google Play Store. So, I decided to test the app. Turns out it’s just new on the platform. The 5-star rating comes from only five users and just over 1000 downloads.

Maybe, it’s too early to judge this app’s user acceptance rate, but from my brief research, here are the reasons why I think that Drawing Pad Offline is one of the best free apps for drawing on Android devices:

• The app’s maker Kintsapp has a fairly sizable track record on Google Play Store. So far, they have about 11 apps on the popular platform. I value experience and track records a lot. So, for me, this is a good reason to recommend it.
• My experience with the app shows that it is very easy and even fun to use. I especially like the fluidity of its freehand strokes.
• You can change the color of your stroke or your canvas and the app packs quite a number of colors.
• You can also change the width of your strokes. So, you can make them either thicker or thinner.

The only drawback I can see for now is that you cannot upload your own images and draw on them.

2. WeDraw

WeDraw is an Android app made by Artico Apps.

Like the name sounds, Artico Apps makes apps related to art in a variety of ways. For instance, they made Oh My Doll, an Android-based custom avatar creator. They also made Hairstyles Step By Step, and Draw Art Kawai, a drawing guide for beginners.

Like Draw Art Kawai, WeDraw is also focused on teaching newbie artists how to draw. And, why am I recommending it as one of the best drawing tools for Android users right now? See why:

• It comes from a developer with a sizable track record. For me, this reduces the chances of security, technical, and other issues that apps may have.
• WeDraw’s popularity with users is far more than average. With 21,000 Android users rating it 4.3 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store, you can see how right I am in my judgment. The app has also been downloaded more than 1 million times.
• I also like WeDraw for taking far less of your device’s storage space than most apps of its kind would (just 4.7 MB).

3. ibis Paint X

ibis Paint X is an Android app made by ibis Inc, a software company based in Georgia (USA). The app is free to use with ads.

This app is recommended mainly for beginners and amateurs. It may also be suitable for mid-range professional artists (depending on what you mean by that).

Here are my reasons I think that ibis Paint X is one of the best free drawing apps for Android:

• Affordability: Already, I’m mentioning this app because it’s free to use. Yes, the basic functionality is free of charge for everyone. But, as I implied earlier, some items are locked behind a paywall. Yet, even some of the paid items (like the premium brushes) can be unlocked at the price of watching short ads only.
• Storage economy: The app takes only 27 MB of your device’s storage space.
• High user rating: With over 100 million downloads of ibis Paint X already completed as I write this, it has managed to amass a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store. It shows it’s not just me who thinks this app is worth recommending.
• The app also packs up a comprehensive set of drawing tools (including a huge variety of color palettes, textured brushes, erasers, a felt tip pens, and blur tools).
• Another reason you might agree with me that this app is one of the best Android drawing tools you can find is its social atmosphere. It feels good to share your drawing and let other users react to it.
• I also like the way you can use this app to change to different hues of the same color. So, with a little skill, you can easily create a three-dimensional feel.
• Safety and security: Besides the fact that ibis Paint X is “Verified by Play Protect” just like any other app on Google Play Store, it also comes from a well-established company with a good reputation. Apart from building applications, ibis Inc (established in 1989) is a Microsoft partner that provides Enterprise Resource Management and Customer Relationship Management solutions to numerous clients across the United States and the world.

4. Drawchemy – My Best Free Abstract Drawing App On Android

Drawchemy’s Google Play Store page describes it as an “open abstract drawing application”, but, I can tell you that its use cases extend beyond just abstract drawing. That’s because it includes a set of tools that can be put to any drawing use.

Many users of this app seem to think that it’s the Android version of the popular open-source drawing project Alchemy.

However, I’m yet to find any evidence that the two programs share a common origin. Alchemy may have inspired the Drawchemy algorithm and brand name though.

Here are my reasons for listing Drawchemy among the best free drawing apps for Android devices presently:

• So far, Drawchemy is free of charge and also ad-free. Yet, it doesn’t promise in-app purchases. So, it is supposed to be 100% free to use for now. It has remained this free for the past four years at least.
• The app is relatively easy to master and use. Some users even say that it’s also fun to use. This is partly due to its simple, elegant, and intuitive user interface.
• Another reason I listed this app among the best free Android drawing tools is its great storage economy. Occupying only 1 MB of your storage space, this app particularly stands out in this respect.
• High user rating: I’m far from being the only one recommending Drawchemy. Instead, as I’m writing this, it is rated 4.4 out of 5 stars by 414 users on Google Play Store. This comes from over 10,000 downloads so far.
• Yet another reason why I think that Drawchemy is one of the best Android drawing tools is its responsiveness. It reflows to any screen size of your Android device no matter how small it may be. So, if you want to use Drawchemy to create art on the go, your screen size can hardly be a drawback.
• Drawchemy is suitable for both professionals and amateurs. For professional use, I recommend this app especially for concept and experimental creations. It makes free-form sketching a breeze, utilizing a variety of brush types with different colors, textures, and sizes.
• The app also allows you to shade your drawings with ease – as if you are drawing on paper. For example, you can apply color graduation and many other color effects that make your work come out as very real.

5. MediBang Paint

MediBang Paint is a product of MediBang Inc, a popular Japanese company that is focused on bringing artists close to each other and their fans. Thus, the company has built a couple of other apps that are related especially to manga art. They also own a branded art-themed social media platform.

The above is to establish that MediBang Paint has got quite a background behind it. Here are my other reasons for thinking that this app is one of the best free drawing tools for Android users currently:

• Popularity: It’s said that the crowd is hardly wrong. Thus, with over 10 million downloads of this app already completed on the Google Play Store as I am writing this, it’s quite safe to say that it’s one of the most popular free drawing apps among Android users right now.
• The user rating for this app is well above average also: With the stated number of downloads, it’s currently rated 4.2 out of 5 stars from more than 250,000 reviews.
• Storage economy: It takes only 28 MB of your storage space.
• The app packs up a huge number and variety of brushes and tones – up to 1,000 of them.
• It is also fairly easy to use. For instance, you can easily make brush strokes with your fingertips – as easily as you would on paper.

6. PaperColor

PaperColor is one of the best tools for drawing on Android devices. See why I think so:

• It is not only basically free but also totally ad-free. It is monetized only with in-app purchases which include VIP membership, extra brushes, and more. I have been able to create something spectacular even with the basic features.
• With over 10 million downloads of this app on the Google Play Store right now, it is surely one of the most popular drawing tools available to Android users.
• Users rate it well above average. It’s been able to amass a rating of 4.2 stars from over 170,000 reviews on Google Play Store.
• The app is very user-friendly with an extremely simple interface.

7. SketchOne – The Best Free Drawing ‘Social Media’ App On Android

SketchOne is a free Android app that serves ads and offers in-app purchases. I think it is one of the best free drawing apps on Android devices for the following reasons:

• With 4.3 out of 5 stars from 4000 reviews on the Google Play Store, this app is certainly one of the top-rated drawing apps among Android users currently. This is coming from over 500,000 downloads so far.
• The app takes only 13 MB of your storage space.
• One of the top reasons I rate this app highly among free Android drawing tools is the social atmosphere. You can see what other users are creating live. You can post your artwork for others to see. Users can comment on or react to one another’s artwork. You can even follow users whose work you like. Someone actually described it as an online artists’ club.
• I also like this tool because it offers enough color hues which help with shading and creating realistic artwork.
• Again, I think that this app is quite easy to use.

Also Read: Best Substance Painter Alternatives

8. Sketshare – The Best Free Android App for Collaborative Drawing

Sketshare is an Android app made by Sketshare Ltd, a company I found to be based in the United Arab Emirates. The app is basically a whiteboard community where teams can meet to brainstorm on their ideas by sketching them.

I included this digital whiteboard on this list of the best free drawing tools on Android for these reasons:

• The app is popular on Google Play Store. It is currently rated 4.7 out of 5 stars from 649 reviews and over 500,000 downloads.
• It includes a feature for voice communication with team members. This is in addition to the comment features.
• It takes only 19 MB of space on your Android device.

However, do not expect many features from this app as it is just pens and colors meant to help members in visualizing ideas.

9. Sketchbook 2

Sketchbook 2 is an Android app used for drawing, sketching, and painting on a digital canvas.

It is the second of its kind from a dev known as Raed Mughaus. Raed’s other similar app (Sketchbook 1) is also highly rated, but, I’m not going to talk about it this time because I think that Sketchbook 2 is mostly an improvement on Sketchbook 1.

Sketchbook is free to download on Google Play Store and is monetized with ads and in-app purchases, and the ads are placed in such a way that they don’t interfere with your drawings.

Its best features include:

• It has a cool set of features that include filling tools, color blending tools, brushes, layers, and more. I particularly like the functionality of the layers.
• Users like the app a lot. As proof of this, it is currently rated 4.2 out of 5 stars from over 13,000 reviews on Google Play Store. This comes from over 1 million downloads. So, it’s not just me who likes this app.
• It doesn’t glitch or lag in the middle of your work like most drawing apps do. Many users testify to this as well.
• It’s easy and fun to use. Some users even seem to think that it’s a game. Some other users have compared it with Adobe Photoshop.
• Lest I forget, I also like this app for its storage economy. It occupies only 5.9 MB of space on your Android device.

It is a cool app for beginners and for informal use.

Also Read: Best Photoshop Alternatives

10. Ivy Draw: Vector Drawing

Ivy Draw is a free Android app for drawing and designing vector graphics.

As far as vector graphics go, I recommend this app as one of the best free drawing tools on Android devices. Here are my reasons for the recommendation:

• Ivy Draw packs up a wide variety of tools, icons, paths, bezier curve editor, and other features for detailed vector designs. Many users have compared the Ivy Draw Android app with Inkscape. Its comprehensive feature set however makes it not quite easy to master and use.
• Ivy Draw’s developer, Shoebill Software, is usually swift in responding to user concerns. This helps with the app’s fairly steep learning curve.
• I like that the app doesn’t take much storage space on your Android device (only 4.4 MB).
• Although this app’s user interface doesn’t look quite elegant, it responds to all Android screen sizes no matter how small.
• The app has a feature to stop you from committing errors: Anytime you edit a drawing, you need to tap on it a second time to activate the edit.
• The free version of Ivy Draw can import SVG files. But you need to invest $6 on the pro version to be able to export SVG files as well.
• Another reason I recommend this app is that it is quite popular among vector graphic artists. It is currently rated 4.1 out of 5 stars by over 1,000 users on Google Play Store. This comes from more than 100,000 downloads. For a specialized app like this, these stats are quite impressive.

11. Picsart Color

Picsart Color is an Android app for painting, drawing, and sketching. It is a product of PicsArt Inc who also developed other art-related Android apps like Picsart Photo Editor, Picsart Animator, and Pixel Art, a sandbox coloring book.

I think that Picsart Color is one of the best free drawing tools on Android devices especially for beginners and here are my reasons:

• I like that it’s free to use. It is monetized with ads and in-app purchases though.
• It has a nice user interface that’s fairly easy to master and use.
• Its feature set includes a variety of brushes and a good RGB color scheme. It does not support hex codes though.
• Picsart Color has one unique feature that allows you to pick colors from pictures saved on your device.
• I like the app also for its storage economy. It takes only 17 MB of space on your Android device.
• I’m far from being the only one recommending this app. Instead, with a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars by over 210,000 users on the Google Play Store, it is one of the top-rated Android drawing apps around right now. It has also been downloaded more than 10 million times.

Check Out: Krita Vs Photoshop

12. Learn Drawing

As the name suggests, Learn Drawing is an Android app that gives step-by-step drawing guides. Another way to put it is that it’s a drawing app for total drawing novices.

I consider Learn Drawing as one of the best drawing tools on Android because:

• It takes you by the hand to teach you how to draw like a pro even as a dummy.
• It’s got a cool interface that won’t make you bored or sleepy.
• It doesn’t take much of your Android device’s storage space (only 28 MB).
• Finally, Learn Drawing is more than fairly popular among users. It’s currently rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by 25, 000 users on Google Play Store. This comes from over 1 million downloads.

13. Paint Art/Drawing Tools

This app was made by a Japanese software company, Noku.teku Software. Research shows that Noku.teku also made one other app named NoteMade which is a database-like digital notebook.

Its selling points include:

• It packs up a great toolset and feature set: loads of brushes, rulers, crayons, and more.
• It’s got a nice user interface.
• Rather than giving you different brush sizes, the app allows you to change the size of each brush. It makes your work easier and makes the user interface to be less clogged up.
• It’s not just me who thinks that this app is great. Instead, 7000 users on Google Play Store have rated it 4.3 out of 5 stars from over 1 million downloads.
• I also like this app because it is not storage-intensive. It takes only 3.6 MB of your Android device’s storage space.

Check Out: GIMP Vs Photoshop

14. Drawing and Painting Lessons

As the name suggests, Drawing and Painting Lessons is an app that gives advanced tutorials on the indicated subjects.

See why I consider this app as one of the best free drawing apps on Android right now:

• It has a huge supply of tutorials that cover a wide range of art media from charcoal to ink, watercolor, and more. It also delves into subtopics like anatomy, sculpting, shading, cartooning, graffiti, and a lot more all for free. Some more offers are available at various prices.
• I also like this app because it makes a low demand on my storage space – only 5.4 megabytes.
• Then, I realize I’m not the only one recommending this app. Instead, over 1000 users on the Google Play store have rated it 4.3 out of 5 stars. It has also been downloaded more than 500,000 times on the Android app platform.

15. Kids Coloring And Kids Drawing

Last but not least is something just for the kids – which is great considering that the art of drawing belongs to kids more than it belongs to the rest of us.

The Kids Coloring and Drawing app is an Android-based digital coloring book for kids. It’s a game combined with the art of drawing. Its top features include:

• It’s got a very elegant interface that kids would love.
• I think it’s easy for kids to master.
• Occupying only 28 MB of your Android device’s storage space, this app doesn’t cause a resource demand on your device.
• Finally, this app is popular with Android users. Over 1,000 users currently rate it 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store. So far it has been downloaded more than 50,000 times.

Conclusion

We’ve come a long way. The above list represents the best free drawing apps for Android devices that I can find. Every item on the list has something to do with drawing one way or the other. So, you are free to choose what you need at the moment.

If you asked me what would be my number one pick on the list, I would say it’s SketchOne. That’s because of its social atmosphere. Drawings are best where you can share them with others.