The iPad has evolved from a simple device for streaming and web browsing into a powerful machine for digital art and video editing. We have compiled a list of excellent iPad apps for creativity available on the App Store. While Adobe’s creative apps are top choices, this list focuses on other noteworthy and somewhat lesser-known applications.
Procreate is one of the most popular drawing apps for the iPad. It allows you to create digital paintings, sketches, and illustrations using dozens of different brushes. The app is easy to use with a simple interface and built-in gesture controls. It supports high-resolution canvases up to 16K by 8K on compatible iPad Pros. You can create storyboards, GIFs, animatics, and simple animations, and import image files like JPG, PNG, and TIFF. Helpful features include QuickShape, StreamLine, Drawing Assist, and ColorDrop. After finishing your work, the time-lapse Replay feature lets you relive your creative journey and share a video on social media. Procreate is available for a one-time payment of twelve dollars and ninety-nine cents.
LumaFusion is a powerful video editing app for those ready to move beyond iMovie. It offers user-friendly features perfect for aspiring videographers or indie filmmakers on a budget. You can create multiple layer edits with 4K ProRes and HDR media, add effects, choose from dozens of transitions, and record voice-overs. The app allows for multilayer titles and the import of fonts and graphics. Audio can be fine-tuned with tools like Graphic EQ, Parametric EQ, and Voice isolation. Projects can be created in various aspect ratios including landscape, portrait, square, widescreen film, and anamorphic. LumaFusion is available for a one-time payment of twenty-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, with additional features available for purchase.
Canva provides a user-friendly platform for creating visual content, even without graphic design experience. You can create presentations, infographics, videos, websites, and social media posts using over two hundred fifty thousand templates. Tools are available for editing photos, personalizing content with logos and images, adding audio, and cropping video. The platform includes AI features to ease creation, such as extending an image with Magic Switch or turning ideas into images with Magic Media. Canva is free to use, with a twelve dollar and ninety-nine cent monthly subscription for unlimited access to AI features and premium content.
Affinity Designer 2 is a graphic design app that combines vector design, pixel-based textures, and retouching in one platform. It is great for professional illustrators, web designers, and game developers. The app lets you create illustrations, branding, logos, icons, UI/UX designs, and typography. It fully supports the Apple Pencil’s precision, pressure sensitivity, and tilt functionality. Gesture controls and customizable keyboard shortcuts speed up your workflow. You can create custom fonts and zoom to over one million percent for precision. The app is available for a one-time payment of eighteen dollars and forty-nine cents.
Concepts is an app for exploring ideas and experimenting with designs. You can use it to sketch plans, make notes and mind maps, and draw storyboards. It features Nudge, Slice, and Select tools to easily change any element without redrawing. The app includes realistic pens, pencils, and brushes that respond to pressure and tilt. It provides scale and measurement tools that calculate real-world dimensions and a customizable tool wheel or bar. The basic features are free, with a four dollar and ninety-nine cent monthly subscription for advanced features like creating your own brushes.
Tayasui Sketches is a user-friendly sketching and drawing app. It features a realistic watercolor brush, digital acrylic brushes, and tools to blend colors and create gradients. You can multitask by opening another app and dragging layers and documents between them. A Zen Mode allows for creation without distractions. You can upload your own images and store your creations in personalized folders. The basic features are free, with a two dollar and ninety-nine cent monthly subscription that unlocks unlimited layers, new brushes, an extended brush editor, and backup for your drawings.
Dudel Draw is different from the other apps. It is designed to unleash your creativity by providing a new shape every day to use as a starting point for your sketch. These daily shapes range from basic geometrical forms to complex abstract designs. You can view the shape from all angles using flip and rotate features. You can also share the creative experience with friends by comparing your daily creations. The app is a great way to sharpen artistic skills and express yourself. Dudel Draw is available for free.
This story was originally published in December 2024 and is updated regularly with new information.