Online Drawing Software

There is a huge range in quality and type in online drawing websites and software that you will encounter in your journey. So where do you start and what do you look for?

In this article, you will find some couple of online drawing software. Most of them are free whereas a some are not. They are all have effective and interactive user interface.

Adobe Photoshop CC

Adobe Photoshop CC is still considered as the best drawing software in the market. It has a comprehensive set of tools that allows the creation and enhancement of illustrations, 3D artworks, and photographs. Also, it’s capable of designing mobile and web apps, reproducing paintings in real life, editing videos, and many more. Essentially, this tool is used for bringing any idea to life.

Price Range: Adobe Photoshop CC can be acquired as a part of Adobe Creative Cloud membership. The price varies for individuals, businesses, students/teachers and schools/universities accordingly. Plans start for as low as $9/license/mo. Moreover, Adobe offers a full-featured Photoshop for seven days with no credit card required.

Key Features of Adobe Photoshop CC

1. It can be used for designing anything. From small logos and banners to full-size posters and packaging. Furthermore, the tool is capable of creating a design for an entire website, game app, etc.
2. It has powerful editing features that are capable of a multitude of mind-bending works. This includes restoring old photos, removing or adding objects realistically and transforming an image completely.
3. It allows even beginners to create amazing jobs. And at the same time, professional graphic designers can unleash their full splash of creativity through this tool.
4. It has a set of powerful paintbrush features (brushes, pens, markers, pencils). This offers a great amount of control, enabling you to draw or paint anything you can think of.
5. It has many functionalities that focus on improving user experience. Multiple undo and faster ways to transform crop and enter text to name a few.

CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW is a professional graphic design application that features all the tools needed for smarter and faster vector illustration, photo editing, page layout, typography and more. This drawing software has platform-specific versions. Therefore, whatever you’re using to create designs, the app will always draw the device’s full potential. There’s a plethora of customization features and capabilities provided for graphic design as well.

Pricing Range: The complete CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 can be purchased for $569. Likewise, it can be availed through a monthly subscription of $16.50 (billed annually for $198). There’s an option for upgrading the old versions of the suite for $329 as well. Also, the vendor offers a free trial.

Key Features of CorelDRAW

1. It grants you access to a comprehensive set of royalty-free content. Examples of which include clipart, hi-res digital images, fonts and templates.
2. It fully supports the use of stylus pens and wheel devices, like MS Surface Dial.
3. It features unique time-saving tools such as shadow effects manipulator, vector mosaic generator and automated symmetrical design. In addition, there’s a LiveSketch feature as well for making sketches on the fly.
4. It is a powerful tool for vector illustration. Thus, allowing you to turn basic shapes and lines into a complicated piece of artwork.
5. It ensures color consistency across different types of media (pdf, jpg, eps, etc.) making it easy to prepare documents for printing.

Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a smooth and powerful graphic design solution that focuses on speed, accuracy and improving users’ workflow so that their creativity isn’t hindered by technical limitations. This platform is made to utilize the full potential of modern computing hardware to provide you with fluid, responsive, and live user experience. Also, accuracy is a major feature in this product with its ridiculous zooming capability, flexible guides, advanced grids, etc.

Pricing Range: Affinity Designer’s desktop version (Windows and Mac) can be purchased for $49.99 and has a free trial offered. For iPad users, the product is available for $19.99.

 Key Features of Affinity Designer

1. It is capable of zooming in up to 1,000,000% times and no, that’s not a typo.
2. It presents the exact same file formats and features regardless of which device it’s used in, resulting in a seamless user experience across the board.
3. It allows users to freely switch between raster and vector workspaces with just a single click. Consequently allowing you to apply the best of both worlds in your work, at your own pace.
4. It has a core engine that can take documents of any size or complexity and can easily handle even 1000s of objects.
5. It showcases many convenient features such as customizable keyboard shortcuts, grids, multi-file compatibility and more.

DrawPlus

With the creation of Affinity Designer, DrawPlus has now become a legacy product of Serif which is ideal for both beginner and graphic designers that need to work on print and online designs. Its customizable, feature-packed interface can be used to create anything, be it a logo for a product or a moving animation.

Pricing Range: Since this is legacy software, you can now only purchase DrawPlus X8 through the Affinity Store account for about $24.99.

 Key Features of DrawPlus

1. It comes with realistic and natural-looking brushes which allows you to paint with a variety of media, such as watercolor and oil. Not to mention that it’s able to retain vector editing functionalities all along.
2. It allows you to customize the interface for a more comfortable workspace.
3. It comes with a variety of brushes for you to work with. And if there’s no pre-built brush that suits your style, you can create one. Complete with your own preference of weight, opacity, etc.
4. It features an on-screen “How To” guide to provide assistance in case you have some questions.
5. It allows smart sizing for producing grid patterns and resizing elements. This particularly useful for generating wallpaper effects.

Clip Studio Paint

Illustrators who specialize in painting and drawing will enjoy Clip Studio Paint. This is thanks to its many helpful and unique features that are useful for such trade. Natural brush feels and high-sensitivity strokes, for example. The app can detect even up to 8000+ levels of pen pressure and apply it accordingly to the drawing. It’s also an ideal application for manga and comic artists. That’s because the software is packed with assisting features for their work, such as speech bubbles and panel splitting.

Pricing Range: Clip Studio Paint is available in standard and full-featured version. Paint PRO costs $49.99 and Paint EX can be purchased for $219.00. There is also volume license available for multiple purchases. A free trial can be downloaded from the vendor website.

Key Features of Clip Studio Paint

1. It features AI colorization which uses deep learning technology wherein you only have to provide hints of color on certain parts and the app will make the surprisingly accurate finish.
2. It allows you to import 3D figures that can be fully customized to suit the draft you’re making. Now you can easily draw any pose or angle.
3. It is brimming with features that are ideal for drawing manga and comics. This includes speech bubbles, effect lines and panel splitting.
4. It enables the creation of animation by adding timelines, camera movements, sound effect and music.
5. It supports the use of vector layers which allows lines to be resized and edited easily.

Krita

Krita is an open-source and free digital painting application that’s perfect for artists who are looking for a cheap but powerful tool where they can create concept art, illustrations, comics, textures, etc. It brings many features, both common and innovative, to provide users with creative freedom, regardless of whether they’re amateurs or professionals in the field.

Pricing Range: Krita can be downloaded for free, including its different builds, shell extension, and source code (since it’s open-source).

Key Features of Krita

1. It features brush stabilizers which is helpful for those who have shaky hands.
2. It offers 9 different brush engines. Each of these can be highly customized to suit your style and needs.
3. It eases the creation of patterns and textures thanks to its wrap-around mode feature.
4. It is equipped with numerous drawing assistant features. Helpful in creating the perfect shape you’re going for.
5. It can easily import texture and brush packs from other artists or export one of your own to share it with others.

MediBang Paint Pro

MediBang Paint Pro is part of the MediBang Paint series that’s specially created for desktop users. It’s free, but feature-packed, drawing software that contains every essential feature needed for creating comics or illustrations. With the uncluttered interface and intuitive tools, creating amazing artwork on any style is easier.

Pricing Range: MediBang Paint Pro can be downloaded for free from the vendor website. You can also find the other MediBang Paint apps for different devices in that same place.

Key Features of MediBang Paint Pro

1. It features more than 50 brushes to use for each occasion, such as GPen, Mapping Pen and Watercolor brush.
2. It is a lightweight application that does not consume too many resources from your computer. This means that it can be used in conjunction with other apps without a performance drop.
3. It has many comic-centric features to assist comics and manga artist. Easy panel creation and convenient page management for instance.
4. It offers about 800 pre-built backgrounds and tones that you can use for free.
5. It gives you access to a lot of fonts for your texts and dialogs.

Procreate

Procreate is an iPad exclusive drawing solution that’s loaded with industry-standard tools such as layering features, blend modes, color drop, and many more. All of which are developed from the ground up to maximize your iPad’s full potential. With this app, you are able to create inspiring paintings, beautiful sketches and stunning illustrations on the go.

Pricing Range: Procreate is available on the App Store for $9.99. There are also in-app purchases you can avail for richer drawing experience.

Key Features of Procreate

1. It allows you to create gorgeous typography with the option of importing fonts to make a more compelling message.
2. It contains a diverse set of handcrafted brushes. This allows you to blend and mix colors, create sketches or make shades as if using an actual pencil.
3. It provides highly accurate control over vibrant colors. This is achievable through the system’s advanced tools such as Eyedropper, P3 Wide Color integration, and unlimited Palette Library.
4. It works perfectly with the Apple Pencil device to provide a very natural drawing experience.
5. It features a fluid, quick menu that you can configure for instant access to your favorite features.

Autodesk Sketchbook

Autodesk Sketchbook is a graphics solution that features precise drawing tools and maximized drawing space for your creative process. Its portability allows you to capture an inspiration anytime it strikes, wherever you are.

Pricing range: Autodesk Sketchbook is now free to use by individual artists. But enterprises must avail a license for $85/year.

Key Features of Autodesk Sketchbook

1. It allows you to work on maximized workspace because the tools won’t show up until you need them.
2. It can export your work to different formats including PSD while layers, groupings, blending, etc. The system carefully preserves the formats as well.
3. It enables you to capture an image with your device’s camera and use it directly to your work.
4. It has dozens of tools that allow for a more precise drawing and faster workflow. This includes ellipse guides, predictive stroke and radial symmetry.
5. It gives off natural feeling when making illustrations thanks to its drawing engine that’s capable of handling a 100 mpx canvas.

YouiDraw Drawing

YouiDraw Drawing is an online graphic design tool that only requires an internet connection to be accessed and used, from any device. This app offers basic design features together with some advanced functionalities. As a result, the tool is ideal for students and professionals alike.

Pricing Range: This is a free online drawing tool which, upon visiting the site, allows you to start working right away. No downloads or payment is necessary.

Key Features of YouiDraw Drawing

1. It’s very easy to access and use. Just go to the site and then start designing right away.
2. It provides a wide selection of usable designs for different types of work. This includes posters, t-shirts and gift cards.
3. It has an interface design reminiscent of MS Paint and Photoshop. The difference being, it’s more comprehensive than the former and simpler than the latter.
4. It provides a high-level of interoperability. That’s because it’s compatible with most devices and your work can be saved and loaded to any of them using your YouiDraw account.
5. It displays tooltips for different aspects of the tool right from the get-go. Therefore, newbies will have an easier time using it.

 Photoshop CC (Windows/macOS)

A professional graphics software that’s popular with professional designers, photographers, and editors. Abundant in features, it is also useful for drawing illustrations. Photoshop CC requires some customization, so it is suitable for intermediate artists.

Photoshop CC is prominent in the design and photo processing industry, and many design schools use Photoshop to teach students. This versatile software can export multi-page data for use online, in print, and for videos.

You can draw in Photoshop, but it wasn’t created with illustration or comics in mind. It takes time and effort to customize the pen and brush tools, and features like pen pressure are turned off by default. However, if you are looking for a highly-customizable program, Photoshop CC will work well for you. An update in 2017 added a stabilization function to the pen and brush settings.

Since it was initially software for photo processing, it is quite good at adjusting colors. It also supports CMYK, the go-to format used for printed works. Since Paint Tool SAI does not support CMYK, the two software are often used together.

Photoshop CC is suited for intermediate users, so we recommend it if you know what you want to create and are happy to customize your software. Another similar software, Photoshop Elements, has limited functions but can draw digital illustrations without any problems and costs less than US$100.

Developer:  Adobe Systems Co., Ltd.

Support: For some issues, the Adobe support team can be contacted via their official contact form or a chat feature. Although the official website has a community forum for asking and answering questions, these topics are mainly related to design and photo processing. There is not much information on illustration and comics.

There are also many books and online websites that introduce Adobe Photoshop, but again, there is little information specializing in illustration and comics.

Trial version:
Download the full-feature seven-day trial version from the Free Trial Download page.
Note: To use all the features, you must obtain an Adobe ID and register for the trial version.

How to purchase:
You can buy Photoshop CC from the official website and other digital software purchasing sites.

Price:
Creative Cloud Photography Plan: $9.99/month

• Photoshop CC is a monthly subscription service.
• When purchasing from the official website, Adobe accepts payments through credit card, PayPal, and wire transfer. You can pay with cash if you load it onto a prepaid debit card, available separately from many retailers.

Clip Studio Paint (Windows/macOS/iPad/iPhone/Android)

Clip Studio Paint is a versatile software that supports a wide range of specialties, including illustration, comics, and animation. It comes with a plethora of digital art tools, so you can start drawing with it right out of the box. Clip Studio Paint is suited for those who want to create various kinds of works, including illustration. There is also a version available on the iPad/iPhone/Galaxy/Android/Chromebook.

Professional creators use Clip Studio Paint in the illustration, manga, and animation industries. Schools use Clip Studio Paint to teach comic, illustration, or animation courses. This software has an outstanding reputation for how it feels as you draw. Clip Studio Paint supports multi-page data export for digital, printed work, and movies. With features for arranging images and text, it’s suitable for simple design work as well.
Furthermore, it is useful for specialty comic production, such as for webtoons. It comes with webtoon canvas settings and the ability to split vertical works into multiple smaller works. Last but not least, artwork production can be recorded with its canvas timelapse feature and then shared to social media in video format.

It takes some time to learn how to use all of the software. However, some features such as the editable 3D drawing figures are great for beginners. You can change their pose and angles to help create base sketches.

In addition to pens and brushes, it also has many other digital art tools such as color and monochrome screen tones. You can download and add pens, brushes, tones, etc., from Clip Studio ASSETS, our official material service, and you can import Photoshop brushes (extension: .abr). Pens and brushes have a high degree of freedom, and once you get used to them, you can customize them to suit your style.

There are two versions, PRO and EX. Multi-page comics and full-fledged animations can be created with the higher grade EX version. Clip Studio Paint is a powerful software that allows you to create various genres of illustrations, comics, webtoons, and animation. The tablet and smartphone versions for iPads and Samsung Galaxy devices have the exact same features as the desktop version. When using it on multiple devices, you can use a cloud service to migrate your works and settings. Another advantage of this software is that you can create the same pens and brushes regardless of OS.

Developer: CELSYS, Inc.

Support:
You can contact support via the website’s official contact form. There is also a Frequently Asked Questions section, a wealth of detailed explanations, tutorials, and videos by professional creators. Not only that, but there is also a Q&A service, Clip Studio ASK, that allows users to ask and answer each other’s questions. Many users also use social media to exchange information.

You can also find books about this software. However, because it is continuously releasing new updates, the information may not match the latest software specifications.

Trial version:

• For Windows and macOS, you can use all the features (*1) for 30 days after downloading from the free trial version page on the official site. If you apply for a monthly usage plan, you can use it for up to 3 months free of charge (*2).
• Clip Studio Paint for Galaxy is now available in the Galaxy Store worldwide.
• Clip Studio Paint for Android/Chromebook is available for download from the Play Store.
• The iPad version can be used for free for up to three months (*2) if you download it from the App Store and apply for a monthly usage plan.
• The iPhone version is free to use for one hour every day after downloading it from the App Store. It can be used for an unlimited amount of time with an in-app purchase.

Note 1: In order to use all the features, you must obtain a Clip Studio account and register for the trial version.
Note 2: This is only for the first time you apply for a monthly use plan. You also need to apply via the app.

Please refer to the help section on the official website for more information.

How to purchase:

Clip Studio Paint can be purchased and downloaded from the official website via Paypal, credit cards, bank/wire transfer, WebMoney, and check.
In addition to the official website, you can purchase the packaged version at online stores and events.
Both iPad and iPhone versions can be downloaded from the AppStore.

Price:
Windows/macOS
One-time payment (download version)

• PRO: US$49.99 (tax included)
• EX: US$219.00 (tax included)

Windows/macOS/iPad/iPhone/Galaxy Monthly usage plans

A flexible monthly usage plan for a single preferred device (Windows/macOS/iPad/iPhone/Galaxy). You need to apply from the app.

• Clip Studio Paint PRO: US$4.49 (tax included)/month (Annual: US$24.99)
• Clip Studio Paint EX: US$8.99 (tax included)/month (Annual: US$71.99)

There are also other great deals available for multiple devices. For more information, please refer to the official website.

Smartphone plan

• Clip Studio Paint PRO: US$0.99 (tax included)/month (Annual: US$6.49)
• Clip Studio Paint EX: US$2.49 (tax included)/month (Annual: US$16.99)

Note: When using pen pressure detection or Galaxy Dex mode, please use a Clip Studio Paint plan other than the smartphone plan. Visit the following site for more details about Plans.

Corel Painter 2021 (Windows/macOS)

Corel Painter 2021 is a multi-functional graphics software suitable for creative works. You can draw comfortably with its 900+ versatile brushes and high customizability. It’s suitable for painting realistic style works.

Corel Painter is a long-selling software that is a standard for drawing and painting. The long and smooth stroke of its unique brush engine allows you to draw intuitively with realistic painting strokes as if you were painting on paper. Although expensive, its preset brushes and intricate customization make it suitable for a range of painting styles. However, the focus on realistic brushstrokes makes it less ideal for creating cartoon or comic styles.

To improve the speed of launch and operation, we recommend that you check the specs of your computer before installing and use a computer with specs that exceed the software’s minimum specifications.

Corel Painter 2021’s independent color selector allows you to select a color while checking it against other colors. It also has a Color Harmonies function that lists colors that match the selected color. So even if you aren’t confident in picking colors, these features help inexperienced artists choose colors more easily.

It’s annual subscription is available for both Mac and Windows, and includes free brush packs and updates as soon as they are available. A low-priced version of Painter Essentials 8 is also available. Although it has fewer brushes, the freedom of customization and the independent color selector is comparable to the full-featured version.

Corel also has an android-compatible app called Painter Mobile that comes in both free and paid versions. The paid version comes with more functions.

Developer: Corel Corporation

Support:
You can contact user support from the website’s official contact form. Detailed manuals and user galleries are also available on their dedicated tutorial website, and several books have been published that teach you how to use this software.

How to purchase:
Download the desktop version (Windows/macOS) from the official website.

Price:

• Annual subscription: US$199
• One-time payment: US$424 (Free 30-day trial available)

Krita (Windows/macOS)

Krita is an open-source, free graphics software. This new digital illustration tool is complete with basic drawing functions and brushes.

This software is available for free. Unlike other software, Krita supports Linux. You can also use many brushes and import additional user-created resources, a feature unique to open-source software.

In addition to the ability to create an infinite number of layers, it has vector layers that you can use to transform figures and text without losing image quality. Krita also has a symmetry drawing tool that allows you to draw objects with intricate patterns.

Even though it is free software, it has an animation creation function, which supports frame-by-frame animation and simultaneous playback of animation and imported audio.

The drawback is that you will need to get used to brushstroke lag if you want to draw with it. This lag exists regardless of device, so if you are looking for high-performing brushstrokes, we recommend Clip Studio Paint.
Krita is available for purchase from Steam or the Microsoft Store.

Beta versions for ChromeOS and Android are also under development and can be downloaded from the official website.

Developer: Krita Foundation

Support:
You can contact support from the website’s official contact form. Krita also has tutorials and a Frequently Asked Questions page. Furthermore, you can download additional resources and browse their user gallery.

How to purchase:
Download the desktop version (Windows/macOS/Linux) from the official website for free.
Purchase the desktop version (Windows/macOS/Linux) from Steam and the Microsoft Store.

Price: Free, US$9.99 (Steam), US$9.79 (Microsoft Store)

Conclusion

There are lots of websites for kids that offer drawing games and drawing tips. The following are some favorites from other parents at a local preschool where I volunteer for the monthly playdates: 1) KidArtTastic– this site offers free access to a variety of art supplies, including markers, paint brushes, colored pencils and more! It has a neat feature where you can save your final drawing to a printable PDF file. 2) Coloring Pages 4U– this site is fun because you get to color in your character using a mouse or by using your finger on a touch tablet. Try the Superhero coloring pages called “Make Your Own Hero”. 3) Sharpie-Kids– if you have kids from about 7 years