Best Apps For Digital Painting is a series of application reviews applicable to digital painting. The goal is to review, rate and discuss how these apps can be utilized in the world of digital painting. This series is not intended for beginning artists that are still learning the basics, but for intermediate or advanced artists looking for new tools to integrate into their workflow.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Digital Painting
best apps for digital art free
The best digital art software in 2022
By Tammy Coron Contributions from Daniel Piper published 21 days ago
Find the best digital art software to create stunning work on any device.
A man using Photoshop, one of the best digital art options, while working in a cafe
(Image credit: Dipu Thakuria / Shutterstock)
Looking for the best digital art software? You’ve come to the right place. From Photoshop to Affinity, with both free and paid-for options out there, knowing where to look can be a daunting task. That’s where this list comes in.
Choosing the best digital art software for you comes down to what you’re trying to create. There are specific tools for photo editing, graphic design, digital painting and everything in-between – including specific niches like manga drawing. There’s also the question of cost. From pro tools with pro price tags to completely free options, the best digital art software comes in all shapes and sizes when it comes to price. In this guide, you’ll find offerings on both ends of the price spectrum, from zero to, well, not zero.
Many of these programs work well with the best drawing tablets you can buy, so you don’t need to worry if you’ve already got a digital art setup. For drawing on the go, see our selection of the best drawing apps for iPad and the best 2-in-1 laptops for creatives.
If you’re after more design tools, see our roundup of the best graphic design software. And if you’re looking to expand your typography options, don’t miss our roundup of the best free fonts.
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The best digital art software available now
The best digital art software: Adobe Photoshop
(Image credit: Xavier Portela)
01. Affinity Photo
The best alternative to Photoshop
SPECIFICATIONS
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOSCost : £48.99
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REASONS TO BUY
+Incredible value
+Excellent Photoshop compatibility
+Impressive tools and performance
REASONS TO AVOID
-Lacks Photoshop’s high-end features
Not everyone wants to commit to a monthly subscription. If that’s your case, Affinity Photo is probably your best alternative to Photoshop. It’s a one-time purchase, so once you’ve paid the initial cost of the software, you’re set. In terms of power and performance, it’s pretty much on a par with Photoshop, though it lacks some of Adobe’s most advanced features like content-aware fill.
If you’ve already used Photoshop but want to move away from the subscription model, then Affinity Photo is certainly one of the best options since it offers full compatibility with PSD files, making it effortless to migrate projects over. It also has enough power even to cope with 100+ megapixel images, so you don’t have to worry about working with super-high-resolution files. And if you prefer to draw on an iPad, Affinity Photo for iPad is also available.
In our Affinity Photo review, we particularly liked how, unlike Photoshop, the tool isn’t dependent on current OS and hardware – it runs equally well on older machines. If you’re torn between the Affinity and Adobe offerings, take a look at our guide to Affinity Photo vs Photoshop.
Best digital art software: Affinity PhotoCB endorsed
(Image credit: Serif)
02. Photoshop
Still the best digital art software overall, for good reason
SPECIFICATIONS
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOSCost : $20.99/£19.97 per/month
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Creative Cloud Photography
US$9.99/mth
Creative Cloud Single App
US$20.99/mth
Creative Cloud All Apps
US$29.99/mth
VISIT SITE
at Adobe
REASONS TO BUY
+De-facto standard
+Complementary iPad app
REASONS TO AVOID
-Subscription-based
-No vector support
Adobe Photoshop is still the industry standard when it comes to digital art. If you’re working professionally, it’s almost certain that you’ll be expected to use it at some point and there’s good reason for its dominance. Photoshop is basically good at everything, not just photo editing but also drawing, digital painting, and plenty more. It works across a wide range of devices, including smartphones and tablets. Check out our guide to how to download Photoshop to find out more.
You can easily share your data and access all of your assets, including brushes, images, colours and styles, across all of your devices. There’s also an impressive library of Photoshop plugins available to add extra functionality. And new features are being added all the time – we particularly loved the new neural filters in our Photoshop 2022 review.
The only real drawback of Photoshop is that it’s not a vector editor, meaning you don’t get smooth, scalable lines. Adobe of course offers its own vector editor in the form of Adobe Illustrator, and you don’t necessarily need to choose between them, as getting a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud gives you both. If you know you’re going to be doing a lot of digital art and you want the best software, a Creative Cloud subscription is probably the way to go (our guide to the best Adobe Creative Cloud deals is regularly updated with the best deals).
Best digital art software: Corel Painter 2022CB endorsed
(Image credit: Corel)
03. Corel Painter 2022
Painter’s annual update offers plenty of improvements
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, MacCost: $429/£359.99
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Prime
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View at Corel Corporation
REASONS TO BUY
+Streamlined interface
+Lots of brush options
+Runs better than previous versions
REASONS TO AVOID
-Expensive up-front price
As its name implies, Corel Painter 2022 is especially good software for digital painting. The latest update adds a new stamp-type brush customisation, providing fine control over the dab effects of your favourite brushes. Like many digital painting effects, the purpose is to make your work look as “real” and un-digital as possible, and it does that very effectively.
Elsewhere, the latest update to Corel Painter has completely reorganised the brush library, which may be unwelcome news for anyone who’s used to the old system, but it actually provides a lot of useful functionality. Brushes are alphabetised in categories that are easy to remember, and there’s a filter search system that makes finding the type of brush you need much quicker and easier. For individual favourite brushes, there’s also a ‘like’ button that lets you create a custom palette.
Previous versions of Corel had a reputation for taxing computer hardware to an extent, but GPU acceleration has been tweaked in the latest edition. The program will also examine your system on startup, and recommend optimisations to make itself run as smoothly as possible on your system.
Corel Painter 2022 is available for an up-front cost, though a considerably steeper one than Affinity Photo. It costs $429/£359.99 new, or $229/£180 if you’re upgrading from a previous version. That’s quite a lot of money but there are no ongoing subscription fees and Corel does occasionally offer discounts. See more in our Corel Painter 2022 review.
Digital art software: Rebelle 4
(Image credit: Escape Motions)
04. Rebelle 5
Create realistic watercolour, acrylic, wet and dry media artwork
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows 8 or Mac OS X 10.13 or newerCost: $89.99/£71
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
BUY HERE
REASONS TO BUY
+A wealth of new features
+Authentic painting experience
+Affordable, with free trial available
REASONS TO AVOID
-Uses a lot of memory
If Painter 2022 is a little too expensive, Rebelle 4 could be your best alternative. Featuring more than 170 brush presets, it’s designed to mimic the way that paint behaves in the real world. It’s one of the best digital art software options for creating realistic-looking watercolours or oils with plenty of thick impasto effects.
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The latest edition of this impressive natural media painting app offers plenty of useful upgrades, including new stabilisation and texture features, natural RYB colour mixing, layer groups and colour management. If you need an affordable alternative to Painter that doesn’t cut corners and feels authentic, be sure to take a look, and check out our Rebelle 5 review for more information on what we love about the software.
Best digital art software: Procreate
Conclusion
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