Only a few years ago, it was impossible to think of the “best android apps for digital arts”, rather practising art in mobile devices. There weren't many mobile apps for digital arts; those available, could only do the basic arts.
With the increasing development of mobile devices, now it's possible to draw, practise and even make a career by making arts in it. Even the big digital arts companies are making mobile version apps, especially Android versions these days.
Nowadays, Android devices are more powerful than before. You can clearly see this if you look at the camera quality of a phone. Most of the people are switching to mobile devices as it is handy and easy to carry.
For this same reason, mobile apps are getting popular among digital artists too. It is noted that there are different types of painting tools like open source painting tools, premium, etc. These are also subdivided into different and specific software like MediBang Paint, Krita, Procreate, and others.
However, it is still hard to draw on mobile devices as the screen size is small. We tested some apps that are best for digital art in 2025. Here are the top 11 ones:
It is an award-winning sketch tool for everyone who loves to draw. This android app is designed mainly for professional artists and illustrators. But with the basic tools, even a total beginner can also start his drawing journey.
Best part of this app is it offers a desktop-like quality in the mobile version.
It was originally developed by Autodesk but is now an independent app.
Sketchbook Mobile has over 100M+ downloads with a 4.2 rating in the Play Store.
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With over 500K downloads and 4.3 rating, Serious Paint Free, means serious business. Developed for users seamless sketching and painting and designed for beginners and casual artists, it is a free-to-use Android app for digital art.
One of the great features is that it can be used offline. Moreover, the app has no ads, so you don’t have to think about distractions.
With the basic tools, one can easily create an effective art.
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This is one of the highest rated Digital Art apps in the playstore. With a 4.6 rating and over 10M+ downloads, this award-winning app serves as a cross-platform app for tablets, phones and Chromebooks. First released in 2012, Infinite Painter is an ideal app for concept artists.
It is designed to mimic real-life painting techniques. It has a free and pro plan. Pro plan gives one over 40+ powerful tools that can diversify one's work. Most of the reviews in the Play store are satisfying. They say that the pro version maxes out one's creativity.
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With the tagline, “Easy to Paint, learning to paint”, this is another free digital art tool in the Play store. Though the rating is somehow low, it got over 10M+ downloads.
It is an excellent Android app which imitates the paint brush for drawing and doodling. This app tries to mimic the interface with real paper textures. So, it feels easy and simple to sketch and paint.
This app has a free and pro version. Though most of the features are in the pro version, a total beginner can easily start his learning curve with the free plan.
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First launched for iOS and now for Android, Tayasui Sketches, developed by TAYASUI, is a publishing company based in France. Though the company is based in France, the name is a Japanese word which means easy or simple.
This digital drawing app is known for its clean, elegant, minimal feature that can help the artists organize their artwork easily.
With over 5M+ downloads and 4.2 rating and one-time purchase feature, this digital art app for Android is growing consistently. Though they are improving continuously, the playstore review says the app is still buggy and laggy.
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Basically a notebook with drawing features. This app offers natural writing with simple sketching experience. As it is mostly a note-taking app, it is great for journaling quick ideas and doing quick sketches.
Bamboo Paper is developed by Wacom Europe GmbH, a global leader in the pen display and tablet market for creative users. Moreover, they have been providing innovative digital solutions for a wide range of partners.
With features like cross-platform usability, it got over 1M+ downloads and 4.4 reviews in the Play Store.
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7. Clip Studio Paint
Formerly known as “Manga Studio”, this powerful app is popular among manga/anime artists. This industry-standard tool is mainly for comic and manga creators.
In comparison, most people choose this app over Photoshop because the interface is customizable. With the customizable tools, one can easily enjoy a natural drawing experience. As it has cross-platform flexibility, users can never lose their work.
They have 2 plans: Pro and Ex, both offer free trial so one can easily try out for some days before buying it.
Clip Studio Paint has over 10M downloads and 3.6 rating in the Play store.
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From taking notes to architectural sketches, cartoons or illustrations, one can do anything in this “easy to use” app. The best part of the app is, it is free, has no ads, even no download request.
It competes with Infinite Painter and ArtFlow as all of them use extensive brush collections and have intuitive interfaces.
Developed by Samsung R&D Institute Bangladesh, it has over 1M downloads and a good rating of 4.5, and popular among hobbyists and professionals.
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Developed by 4Axis Technologies and with the tagline “Learn to Draw”, it has over 10 million downloads in the Playstore, also it has a positive review of 4/5. It prioritizes the ease of use and entertainment unlike other professional-rated apps.
Moreover, they have a feature called reference drawing, in which more than 50 Marvel superheroes are added. It can help kids in learning to draw step by step.
Their website, drawingdesk.com has a ton of video lessons that can help a kid learn drawing more easily and in fun mode. Most probably, they use different types of video sharing platforms to reach their required audiences.
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This one is different from all the listed digital painting apps. With over 1M+ downloads and 4.5 rating, developed by dotpict LLC, DotPict specializes in pixel art. This app has a big community and the best part is you can post your artworks done by this app and also done by other apps.
With a grid-based interface and intuitive brush control, it is a lightweight digital art app made for Android devices and has accessible tools for creating detailed pixel networks unlike its competitors Pixly and Aseprite.
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Animatic, as the name suggests, focuses on creating frame-by-frame animation. Developed by Inkboard, it offers a simple yet effective UI that can help users create effective animations. The app is mainly beginner friendly. So those who are starting, they can get their basic drawing skills from this app.
Its competitor is FlipaClip. This app allows users to bring out their creative sketches with features like intuitive onion skinning and animation tools.
However, with over 500,000 downloads and 4.0 rating, it is still a good and excellent entry-level animation tool.
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Why believe our reviews? We install all top best apps in the market, use those ourselves, test those and then write about it. We use them for more than 1 week and cross check them too.
It is hard to choose the perfect fit for you. Moreover it is difficult if you are a beginner; but not impossible. Here's how to choose:
Our article can help you massively as the article only talks about the major and minor features. So it is a precise answer to your questions. Some things are to be considered like usability, easy-to-use, minimal ui. Also remember to use “free trials” to test the app.
Professionals need to focus on things like options like:
Also, try to get suggestions from other industry professionals.
What do you think is best? Of course it is best to draw on a tablet as it gives your hand much free space and free space can help you draw flawlessly. But nowadays, mobile phone screens are getting bigger and bigger and the new folding phones have almost the same screen size as the tablets.
Apps are apps, it doesn't matter that much, that much we learned from our usage. The only difference can be found if the app has a paid version. Paid version offers a wide range of features so it might matter then.
Choosing the best Android app for digital art depends on user needs, skill level, and preferences too. Beginners might prefer simple, user-friendly apps while professionals might like feature rich apps. Every app specializes in something. So, testing free trials and considering major factors will help one find the perfect app for his/her digital art.
It usually depends on what features you are looking for. For instance, Procreate is currently getting good reviews. Moreover, this app can create stunning animations in minutes, and there are tons of Youtube video tutorials.
No, it is not free. It is exclusively only available for the iOS users. iOS users have to pay a one-time payment of $12.99 to use this app. While there isn’t any Android version, drawing apps like Infinite Painter and Sketchbook can provide similar features.
As of March 10, according to Similarweb, Ibis Paint, developed by Xibis inc. is in the top chart. With features like social sharing, smooth performance, vast brush library, this app is favourite among the manga and anime artists. Furthermore, it is an AI-Powered tool that can give a powerful user-friendly experience both for the beginners and professionals
