- Skedio is an award-winning application for vector drawing. It minimizes the effort involved into creation and further editing of high quality illustrations. Skedio has a powerful vector engine, so any object, from simple line to complex free-form curve or text label, can be edited independently. Its shape, size and position can be precisely tuned for it to find exactly the right place in the.
- The best selection of Royalty Free Sketch Vector Art, Graphics and Stock Illustrations. Download 870,000+ Royalty Free Sketch Vector Images.
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- Sketch 2 4 2 – Vector Drawing Applications
Explore the best Illustration software for Mac. Browse our catalog of over 50 000 mac apps. MacUpdate is serving app downloads since 1997.
Artists and illustrators have a new super-tool in their arsenal - Drawing Apps. Tech-savvy creatives are making the switch from paper to digital and reaping the benefits that drawing apps and art apps offer - powerful drawing tools, special effects, ability to create vectors or raster images and even 3D models.
There are a ton of drawing apps, art apps, painting apps, and sketch apps available now to creatives, each with their own USP. Some excel in vector drawings, others in graphic illustrations. There are dedicated apps for image manipulation, mimicking hand drawing, and 3d modeling. While several apps come only in paid versions, there are plenty of free drawing apps available as well.
What are the best drawing apps?
Here is a list of the best drawing apps and art apps in 2020 to express your ideas as digital art.
Adobe Photoshop
No list of creative apps would be complete without listing offerings from Adobe. Adobe has led the pack for decades, and Adobe Photoshop is still the professional's choice for raster art creation. Photoshop is one of the best drawing apps for Mac and PC; they also provide accessory apps for mobile devices and tablets.
The biggest drawback of Adobe’s offerings, especially for beginners, is that you now must purchase a subscription to use these apps. For established pros with stable cash flow, this presents little problem, but for aspiring amateurs and beginners, there are plenty of apps that offer as good functionality at a fraction of the cost.
Adobe Photoshop Sketch
If you’re looking for an app that combines the ease and simplicity of drawing on your mobile device with the power of Adobe Photoshop, check out Photoshop Sketch. When combined with your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, Photoshop Sketch allows you to fine-tune images created on your tablet later on your computer.
Adobe Illustrator
Just as Photoshop is the industry standard for raster pictures, Illustrator is the go-to for vector art. Illustrator is used to create everything from basic graphic design tasks like logos to elaborate and beautiful landscapes and portrait photos. With a little practice, you can make nearly anything into a vector in Illustrator.
Adobe Illustrator Draw
Similar to Photoshop Sketch, but for vector drawing, Illustrator Draw allows you to create vector drawings on the go easily. You can then save them to your creative cloud account and fine-tune them in the full program later. Both Photoshop Sketch and Illustrator Draw are free downloads, but if you want to export the images for later editing, you’ll need a Creative Cloud subscription.
Autodesk Sketchbook
Sketchbook from Autodesk is one of the most robust raster drawing programs you will find. Compared to Photoshop, Sketch is a purpose-built platform for artists on the go. It’s not meant for photo editing or other tasks, so the program focuses on just what you need to draw on your tablet easily. The program is available for Macs, PCs, iOS, and Android devices. Unlike many apps that stick to proprietary or generic formats, Sketchbook conveniently has the option to export to Photoshop PSD format with layers intact. The best part? Autodesk has now released the full-featured drawing program for free.
Astropad Studio
The Astropad Studio is a different sort of app that can be a great help to folks looking to create digital drawings. For Mac and iPad users, Studio allows you to connect your iPad wirelessly to your desktop and use it as if it were a drawing tablet. The interface is pretty smooth, but make sure you have a clean system with plenty of free memory to avoid lag. You’ll also want a great stylus like the Apple Pencil.
Affinity Designer
The Affinity set of art apps is poised to take a significant bite out of Adobe’s market share. These programs are full-featured to the point of having things you have to buy aftermarket in Adobe. Designer is Affinity’s answer to Illustrator. It is a desktop vector art program with every feature you could ever want. Designer is available for Mac desktop or iPad.
Affinity Photo for iPad
Affinity is also ready to answer your raster art needs. Photo by Affinity is analogous to Photoshop. Its user interface is a bit smoother, however, with cleaver skin changes based on the type of task you’re looking to complete.
Both Affinity apps are inexpensive when compared to Photoshop and Illustrator. If you’re looking for a great program to learn photo editing or raster drawing with, look no further than Photo and Photo for iPad.
Inspire Pro
For all the painters out there, Inspire Pro turns your iPad into the ultimate painting canvas. This is one of those simple raster drawing apps that can produce some really fantastic artwork thanks for super realistic brushes and massive canvas sizes. You can download Inspire Pro from the Apple App store.
MediBang Paint
A few key features make Medibang’s apps the best drawing app for some artists. The app is available on any platform you can think of, from Windows and Mac desktops to Apple and Android tablets. They all have a cloud feature, which allows you to easily store, share, and open your work from any device. This is one of the free drawing apps you really should check out if you want to start drawing today easily and cheaply.
Procreate
Procreate is an iOS-only app designed to fully harness the power of Apple’s popular iPad Pro and Apple Pencil combination. More than just a drawing app, Procreate combines many of the powerful tools you’d expect to find in a much more robust program like Photoshop. Layers, custom brushes, and all sorts of special effects are available on your tablet. You can export images, with intact layers, straight to PSD format to open in Photoshop. For on-the-go art, check out their iPhone version as well.
Zen Brush 2
Zen Brush is a simple ink brush app for mobile devices. Of the drawing apps for free, it’s super inexpensive and fun to use, but it is pretty limited. But then, ink and paper are pretty limited too, but that hasn’t stopped artists from making amazing artworks with them for the last thousand years.
Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro is a Mac OS app that combines many features and functions of other apps all into one tidy app. Pixelmator features many of the best features for drawing and the standard photo editing functions of other editors. It also features a 'layouting' mode for publishing and graphic design work. Their iOS app for mobile is really more of a photo editor rather than an art app.
Assembly
Those in the graphic design world know that there’s a lot more to digital art creation beyond hand sketching. Illustrator and other vector programs use shapes to “assemble” designs, and this is the idea beyond the Assembly app. By simplifying this process, the app allows users to create logos and design elements with ease quickly. Assembly is made for iOS devices.
Graphic
Formerly iDraw, Graphic is a full-featured vector design program for Mac, iPhone, or iPad. The program has all of the features of its more popular competitors, and it allows for the creation of anything from portraits to technical layout and CAD style drawings.
Inkist
Inkist is a super basic drawing app that is available for Mac computer and iOS devices. The mobile app is currently free. It’s not flashy, but it has all the right feature to make your artwork pop.
ArtStudio
Luckyclan’s ArtStudio is a full-featured raster art app for iPad or iPhone. It features multiple canvas sizes, layers with masks, over 400 brushes, unlimited undo/redo, and even over 40 filters.
Pixaki
Rizer’s Pixaki has a bit of a limited audience, but if you’re into pixel art, you’re going to love it. Export your creations to GIFs and other simple animation formations. The program can open and save to all the popular formats, including Photoshop, PNGs, and ZIP archives. Start with a sketch or photo, and soon you are rocking it retro style like it’s 1990.
Infinite Painter
Available on Google Play for Android tablets, Painter is a user-friendly drawing app that you’ll love. Organized workflows make navigating the screen easy and keep the workspace less cluttered. Powerful tools like 3D rendering and over 80 brushes make this one of the best full-featured art apps for Android devices.
ArtRage
If you’re looking for great drawing apps that can work on nearly any computer or tablet, you’ve got to check out ArtRage. ArtRage is available in multiple versions, including their free drawing apps called ArtRage Lite for Windows and Mac computers. This program and a loyal following of users, with many fantastic tutorials and inspiration available from other artists.
Concepts
The Concepts App is an interesting program aimed at professional designers that work on Apple, Windows, and Google devices. It uses vector drawings to store ideas; it is very much like a pocket notebook that has gone entirely digital. From brainstorm to “exploring happy accidents,” as the company puts it, to rendering captivating color illustrations and sharing them with the built-in presentation mode, Concepts has your creative brain covered.
Comic Draw
If drawing comics is your beat, Comic Draw is worth checking out. The app is tailor-made for creating single panel cartoons on your mobile device. You can pair it with the company’s Comic Life app for desktop on either Windows or Mac. Put your frames together into a full-featured comic spread with these art apps.
Paper by Wetransfer
If you’re looking for a doodle and sketchbook app to collate your ideas and let your creativity go on a walkabout, you’ll love this app. One of the best free drawing apps we know of, it's super simple and yet powerful. With a simple toolset and a blank page, let your mind go creative in Paper.
Tayasui Sketches
Available for Mac desktop, iOS mobile devices, and Android, Tayasui’s Sketches app is an artist favorite for many reasons. The user interface and app functions are some of the smoothest on the list. The clean look of the sketch space can’t be beaten. Color blending and gradient tools, along with patterns and the most realistic brushes you can find, round out this fantastic app. Not many free drawing apps offer so many great features. If you really like what you see inside of Sketches, there is an upgraded Pro version available with even more brushes and tools. The community is an excellent source of both advice and examples.
Sketch Club
As the name suggests, one of the best parts of Sketch Club is the club. The first rule of sketch club: everyone talks about Sketch Club. Combining social media inside the app, you can share your creations and comment on others. Who doesn’t love browsing an art gallery on your tablet? The community features daily themed challenges and lots of featured artists whose works you can browse for inspiration. The Sketch Club app is available for Apple iOS in the App Store.
Artflow
If your Android tablet isn't feeling the love with all of these iPad apps in the running, don't lose heart. Artflow is a beautiful drawing app for Android that features a clean user interface and lots of pro features like layers and custom brushes. It is the perfect drawing and painting app to create paint your dream.
Vector Drawing Online
Art Set 4
Art Set app for Ipad features tools which look very similar to ones in real life. Art Set 4 is the redesigned and upgraded version of Art Set with more advanced tools for digital painting. This paint program now also has a 3D paint feature along with a workspace which adjusts according to your needs. Although it is a free drawing app for iPad, the pro version gives a ton of features which are essential like setting canvas size of any resolution, auto backup, layers, and 150 more brushes than the free version.
iPastels
This app also features pastel tools which give the feel of real pastels. You can also blend colors on the app using your fingers. iPastels is a free drawing app which is especially useful when you want something to improve your skills when you are in the early stages of your learning. This iPad Pro drawing app has features like layers, apple pencil support, high accuracy which is done by 'floating point accuracy.' The blending of pastels also can be done without much effort in this art drawing app. One unique feature of this easy drawing app is that you can show the pictures as tiles alongside each other; this feature is called the seamless pattern editing mode. Don't have an iPad? Don't worry, iPastels is also a drawing app for the iPhone.
Brushes Redux
Brushes Redux is a free open source painting app which is used both in iPad and iPhone and the work syncs between the two. Other features of this iOS app are the ability to autosave, unlimited undo and redo, adding layers among others. This digital drawing app is quick and easy to use with openGL based painting engine and offers 64 bit paint. On their 3.2 version of the app, they are now providing experimental apple pencil support and started iTunes file sharing option.
Clip Studio Paint EX
If you are looking for an iPad drawing app which has dedicated tools to create manga and comics, this might be the perfect app for you. Not only this, but you can also do illustration, drawing and painting on this art app. To get six months free subscription a user has to sign up for the EX version of the app. This online drawing app is specially designed for professionals as it has a different exporting option like a movie or animated GIF's, it supports apple pencil, and Wacom bamboo sketch. One can draw moving illustrations as well in this drawing app for iPad.
uMake
An award-winning app, uMake is an iPad Pro drawing app for 3D design. Its website claims that uMake is the first 3D design app created for iPad. This 3D modeling and design app gives the features of desktop CAD software on the iPad. An excellent tool for those who are learning 3D modeling and the ability to do so in iPad opens the door for more creative work on the go. They also provide video tutorials on different topics so that it gets easier to learn how to use the app and to create desired results. Some of their best features are 3D tools to pull and push, augmented reality features and complex surface creation making it one of the best drawing apps for iPad pro. They offer a 14-day trial and then you can subscribe monthly, quarterly or yearly based on your requirement.
Paper Colour (Paint Draw Sketchbook, Paint Draw)
This android drawing app is suitable for those who want to learn drawing or painting. It has a feature called basemap which helps a user to set a photo as translucent and draw over it. This Android painting app is very similar to someone tracing on a paper and drawing over the original. This free app is suitable is more amateurs and has additional features on the pro version which can is through in-app purchases.
ibisPaint X
ibis Paint is the of the best drawing apps for Android out there. It has some unique features like recording your drawing as video, and SNS features where you can see and learn from videos other users have made. Other features like fast open GL technology, 142 brushes, 37 filters, and 700 fonts makes it an obvious choice for people looking for an android drawing app with lots of plus points. Apart from this, there are separate features for those artists who are interested in creating manga. To get more features like lesser ads, additional fonts, and materials, gradation map filter, etc. one has to purchase through in-app purchases.
Dotpict
Dotpict drawing free app is available on Android, iPhone, and iPad. This drawing app is only designed to create pixel arts. Some features of the dotpict app are different sharing and exporting options, zoom of canvas to see fine details and display of grids among others.
RoughAnimator
As the name says, RoughAnimator is used to create animations. RoughAnimator drawing app lets you create hand drawn frame by frame animations on multiple kinds of devices like Android, iOS and desktop as well. This animation app offers essential features like unlimited layers, onion skinning, audio, and video import, apple pencil and Wacom stylus support and more but at a price. What better way to start learning animation on your mobile?
Sketch by Sony
Sketch by Sony is a simple Android and iOS sketching app in which brushes and other tools are used to create digital art. The drawing can be done using a finger or a stylus, and the user can create layers in this application. Sony has provided with a big community in this app where people can explore other works and showcase their work as well. One can also personalize their feed and collaborate with other artists to create new work. The in-app purchases can access some additional features.
Pigment
Pigment describes itself as adult coloring app, but it looks like kids will also have a lot of fun with it. It is an app to color already drawn pages by professionals and many exclusively by Disney. There are more than 4000 pages to choose from and its drawing tools like pencils, markers and paint brushes give you the feeling like you are using natural colors and tools. There are unlimited colors to choose from the color wheel, sounds fun right? To get features like premium brushes and entire library you have to subscribe to the premium version.
Hexagon
Hexagon is a software for creating 3D models. It has all the tools a graphic artist would need. Some of the outstanding features are DAZ Studio Bridge, freehand modeling brushes, micro displacement modeling tools, comprehensive UV mapping modules, and more. In Hexagon, you can see real-time shadows and instant ambient occlusion. With this modeling software, you can create 3D models for game development in high quality.
Sculptris
![Sketch Sketch](https://media.cheggcdn.com/study/5a4/5a4dbe5a-406f-4514-a878-6d6bd1fd956a/image.png)
An excellent platform for someone who wants to make a foray into the world of 3D drawing. With Sculptris, you can create base models which can then be refined in other software like ZBrush. Native instruments battery 4 v4 1 6. The 3D software can locally redefine the internal structure of the model you are working with. Sculptris has tools that will make you feel like you are working with real clay. You can also paint a wrapped texture on the mesh surface with this software. (Please note that sculptris was last updated in 2011 and may not function in newer systems)
Blender
Blender is an open-source, free 3D software, which supports modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, composition and motion tracking, editing video, and 2D animation pipeline. Developed by experts from multiple fields around the world, Blender has a built-in powerful path-trace engine which offers real results. It has advanced sculpting and other tools through which you can create and transform the models with ease. Blender has a flexible interface in which you can adjust the layout, colors, fonts, etc. There are a lot of add-ons created by users which can be used by anyone using the software.
ZBrush
ZBrush is one of the best software for digital sculpting. With the customizable brushes, you can create shapes, textures, and paint virtual clay. The advanced tools offered by ZBrush is the same as the tools used by designers and artists worldwide. The software has a Non-Photorealistic Rendering (NPR), which enables you to see the artwork in a whole new way. You can convert the 3D artwork into 2D drawing and transfer the sculpted artwork into a comic book. Through ZBrush, you can add overlaying textures, draw outlines, and apply various effects from built-in presets.
Krita
Krita is an open-source painting program, made by artists to provide affordable art tools. This free painting app can be used to create conceptual art, texture and matte, illustration, and comics. Krita, designed for both amateurs and professionals, provides an intuitive interface. This interface can be customized according to your workflow. The dynamic brush tool in Krita can be used to create drag and mass and you can smoothen and stabilize your brush strokes. There are more than nine different brush engines like color smudge engine, shape engine and more through which you can customize your brushes, to suit specific requirements.
Aseprite
Aseprite is a program through which you can create 2D animations. Through this program, you can also create sprites, pixel art, retro-style graphics, and everything related to the 8-bit and 16-bit era. Aseptrite can work on Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu. The program can organize layers, create animations, and custom brushes. The work can be saved in GIF, PNG, and JSON format.
Marmoset Hexels 3
Hexels is a grid-based painting, animation, and design program. With Hexels, you can create complex designs and stunning drawings. With the combination of digital art tools and geometric grid, through which you can paint in free form with the precision of vector art. Powerful software for a pixel artist who can keep track of the colors and gradients with the palette. The canvas can be turned into animation, and a sprite sheet can also be exported easily. This program can be used on Windows as well as Mac devices.
Things to consider when choosing a drawing app:
Platform Matters
If you're serious about taking up digital drawing, consider your hardware choices carefully. Ideally, you'll want to sample the exact tablet and computer setup with the stylus of your choice. In short, some are glitchier than others and creating art requires more finesse than some can deliver.
If possible, consider a tablet with a stylus made by the same manufacturer, for example, the Apple iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil. This ensures the two pair perfectly for the smoothest possible drawing experience.
Also, look for pressure sensitivity. Different styluses handle the task differently. The feedback provided with pressure sensitivity adds an extra realism that makes drawing on your tablet as close to analog pencil and paper as you can imagine.
As with all apps, be sure to check the operating system used by the app of your choice. The most popular platforms are Windows, MacOS, Apple iOS, and Android, and unfortunately, very few apps work on all of them.
Raster vs. Vector Drawing Apps
In the digital world, there are two sorts of images you can draw. Raster images, like JPG or PNG photographs, are drawn pixel by pixel. If you zoom in or enlarge the picture, it will get blurrier and blurrier if it exceeds the pixel size of the image. Think of this as drawing on paper, and you are limited by how large your paper is. You cannot expand the paper size like you cannot expand the pixels. Drawing a raster image is as simple and reasonably intuitive, depending on the app.
Vector drawings solve this problem but unfortunately, add much more complexity. Vector images, like AI or EPS formats, are the world standard in the printing industry. These pictures are made more like computer programs than photographs. In vector drawing applications, you make many paths (lines or shapes) that make up your image. It takes a bit more practice. Some vector apps make the process super simple, but the professional programs with all the bells and whistles take a bit of getting used to.
3D Programs
No discussion of online drawing apps would be complete without a word about three-dimensional drawing apps. If you're looking to create 3D modeling or going for that other-worldly feel that is everywhere, you'll want to make sure to pick the best drawing app that is capable of producing 3D images too. And don't feel left out if you got your drawing apps for free, some of these include 3D rendering also!
Conclusion
Now that you have an idea of how many free drawing apps are out there to choose from, you may feel a bit taken back. But remember, the most fun part of finding the best canvas for your project of choice is the adventure in trying them all out! So which do you think is the best drawing app?
Do check out our list of the best Drawing tablets for Graphics, Art and Illustration for 2020.
Disclaimer: The images shown are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the final product. All images are copyright to their respective owners.
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Every designer’s idea starts on paper, then transforms through software. Learn the essential steps for turning your sketch into digital art with this detailed guide.
The sketching and ideating process is an essential step in every designer and illustrator’s workflow. Whether you’re designing a new font, a poster, or a simple illustration, it’s crucial to get your ideas down on paper before bringing it onto your computer.
Vector Drawing Program
Read on to learn four essential tips to prepare your sketches for the computer, along with step-by-step instructions on how to digitize your sketches in three different creative programs: Illustrator, Photoshop, and Procreate.
Essential Tips to Know Before Digitizing
Before you begin the journey to digitizing your artwork, let’s get into some essential steps to help guide you along the way. These four tips will ensure you always get a smooth transition from paper to software.
Tip 1: Always Use Clean White Paper
No matter what you’re drawing, it’s always crucial to start out with a clean white piece of paper. This ensures that your drawing will properly scan later on. Colored papers may impede on the digitizing process.
Tip 2: Refine Your Sketch
Many artists and designers prefer to loosely sketch ideas before refining them later on. Once you’ve got a solid drawing down, use a fine tip pen or marker to polish up those sketchy lines. Erasers are also your friend here, since smudges and excess lines can often obfuscate your scans and interfere with the digitizing process. Clean erasers are key, since dirty erasers can muddle your drawings even more by smearing pencil lead remnants.
Tip 3: Use Tracing Paper to Go Over Your Sketches
To take my drawings a step further, I like to use tracing paper and go over my original sketches. This type of paper is slightly translucent, giving you the ability to trace over your original sketches and polish up your designs even more. For designers who prefer to have a detailed sketch before moving onto the digitizing phase, this step is an absolute must.
Tip 4: Scan Your Paper at a High Resolution
Scanning your sketches is the last step before bringing them into design software. To ensure a seamless transition from paper to software, scan your sketches at 300 PPI (pixels per inch) or more. The higher the pixels per inch, the crisper the scan will be.
A scan with a higher PPI tends to be of higher quality due to its greater pixel density. The individual pixels in a 300 PPI image are drastically smaller than in a 72 PPI image. Smaller pixels allow for a smoother blend of color and shape. If you’re turning your sketch into a vector image, then the pixel density is not as important; if you’re digitizing your sketch in Photoshop, the pixel density is crucial.
Once you’ve scanned your drawing, transfer the scan onto a flash drive for easy transport to your computer.
Digitizing Your Sketch in Illustrator
Turning a sketch into a vector is one of my favorite techniques for bringing a drawing to life. Adobe Illustrator’s vast library of tools, colors, and effects make digitizing a breeze. Not only that, but vectors hold a greater advantage when digitizing your artwork with its infinite scalabilities, smooth curves, and smaller file sizes.
Textures used from 50 Free Distressed Textures Pack.
Step 1: Bring Your Scanned Image into Illustrator
Once you’ve scanned your image and brought it onto your desktop, go ahead and create a new document within Adobe Illustrator with Command + N. Import the scan with Shift + Command + P, then hit Place and click on an artboard to see your drawing pop up within Illustrator.
Name the sketch layer by double-clicking Layer 1 within the Layers panel and typing in a word such as “Scan,” then add another layer with the folded square icon. Do the same for the new layer and name it something along the lines of “Vector.” This helps to differentiate the two layers and helps you track your outline progress later on. You can also toggle the lock icon to lock all elements of that layer, or toggle the eye icon to turn on and off the layer visibility.
Step 2: Use the Pen Tool to Outline Sketch
On the top layer, start drawing out the outline of your sketch with the handy Pen Tool (P). You can either edit the bezier curves as you move along the sketch, or map out the line and then go back and adjust the curves with the Anchor Point Tool (Shift + C). To manipulate individual bezier curves, hold down the Option key while moving the bezier arms.
Sketch Vectors On Graph
Rinse and repeat until you’ve covered the entirety of your sketch. If some of your drawing contains geometric shapes, speed up your workflow by using the Shapes Toolto quickly map out sketches. Now that we’ve outlined the entire sketch, it’s now time to add in some color.
Step 3: Fill in Color
Before assigning color to your shapes, think about what type of color scheme you’re going for. For my plants below, I took on a muted palette to give my design that retro feel. Color is especially important in a design, so take some time and find a few color palettes that work best for your composition.
Need some color inspiration? Check out these free 25 retro palettes, 101 color combinations, or these 20 seasonal-themed palettes.
Once you’ve settled on a color scheme, import each hue into your Swatches panel to make color integration a breeze. With the Selection Tool (V), click on a shape and then choose from your color swatches to bring it into your design. Toggle the Fill and Stroke colors as needed with X. To switch a stroke color to a fill, hit Shift + X. Continue assigning colors until you’ve filled out your design.
Take your illustration a step further by experimenting with blend modes or by incorporating gradients, textures, brushes, or grain.
Digitizing Your Sketch in Photoshop
While the process of digitizing illustrations in Photoshop appears similar to Illustrator, it’s drastically different. Working in a raster-based program means your illustration will feature pixels and have limits to scalability. Rather than outlining your sketch with bezier curves, you can go over your sketch with brushes if you’ve got a tablet, or fill in those outlines with the Color Range menu.
Step 1: Bring Your Scanned Image into Photoshop
Begin by dragging your sketch image into the Photoshop program. You can either right-click on the image and select Open With > Adobe Photoshop, or drag the image on top of the Photoshop icon on your desktop or toolbar. This will open up a new document with your scanned image.
You can resize or rotate your scan as needed with the Free Transform command (Command + T). Click and drag the corners to resize or place your cursor outside the corners to rotate.
Step 2: Adjust Contrast and Levels
Since many sketches will appear a little light on screen, it’s important to increase the contrast and play around with the Levels and Curves. In the Layers panel, you can bring up these adjustment layers by clicking on the half-filled circle iconand clicking Levels or Curves. Move the sliders to increase the intensity of white and blacks in your sketch.
I suggest playing around with these nondestructive adjustments to see which ones work best for your sketch. If you’re not satisfied with an adjustment, simply click the layer and hit the Delete key.
Once you’ve adjusted the sketch to your liking, condense the layers down by Shift-clicking Layer 1 and each adjustment layer then hitting Command + E.
Step 3: Add Color to Lines
Now, let’s spruce up your sketch with some colors. This technique can be done two ways: with the help of Color Range to highlight the outlines in your sketch, or with the help of Photoshop’s brushes. If you own a tablet, you can easily go over your original sketch with raster brushes.
![Sketch Sketch](https://www.how-to-draw-funny-cartoons.com/images/xduck-drawings-003.jpg.pagespeed.ic.T5DJzpEqFS.jpg)
Before we add some color into your illustration, add a new layer by hitting the folded square icon in the Layers panel. From here, you can choose to activate the Brush Tool (B) and fine tune your brush’s appearance within the Brush Settings (F5) menu.
To go with the Color Range route, click back to your original sketch layer, then head to Select > Color Range and click on the white background with the eyedropper. This selects all areas of your design with white. Keep your Fuzziness down to around 12, then hit OK.
Inverse the active selection with Shift + Command + I, then activate the new layer you just created. With the Brush Tool (B), brush over the outline with the colors of your choice. Change the brush size as needed with [/].
Vector Sketch Online
Continue filling in the outlines until you’ve colored all aspects of your illustration. Once you’ve finished, hit Command + D to remove the marching ants selection.
Step 4: Fill in Rest of Color
Head back to the original sketch layer and activate the Magic Wand Tool (W). Click within the remaining portions of your sketch and fill it in with the Brush Tool (B) on the layer above your original sketch layer. This makes sure you’re not coloring directly on the original sketch; instead, you’re adding color to a separate layer. Continue adding color until you’ve filled out the entire sketch.
Selection Tip: When making multiple selections at a time, hold down the Shift key; to remove selections, hold down the Option key.
Working with Sketches in Procreate*
The Procreate app is a powerful application designed for sketching, illustrating, and prototyping artwork. It closely resembles the setup of Photoshop in regards to its brush library, layer modes, various effects, and raster profile. But with its endless features, tools, and brushes, this digital illustration app is in a league of its own.
Procreate makes the digitizing process feel natural; with the stylus, it tracks the amounts of pressure applied and the angle it’s used at, mimicking the feel of true pen and paper.
*For an in-depth breakdown on the Procreate app, look through this handy guide.
Vector Art Drawing
Step 1: Import Sketch into Procreate
Begin by importing your sketch into the Procreate program. The sketch image can be made by taking a photo of the illustration, or can be transferred to your iPad from an email. I simply took a photo of the sketch, since the quality of the image doesn’t matter when drawing over the original sketch. In Procreate’s main menu, select Photo and then choose your sketch image from the Camera Roll. Procreate will automatically create a new document containing your image.
Once you’ve imported your image, resize or rotate the image as needed by selecting the arrow icon at the top toolbar. Select Uniform, then drag the blue corners as necessary to resize the image. Hit Rotate 45 degrees to rotate your image within the document.
Step 2: Use Brushes to Outline
This is where all the fun begins; the Brushes menu is inarguably one of the best aspects of Procreate. Select the paint brush icon at the top of the program to open the brush library. There are tons of default brushes at your finger tips, from pencils to textured brushes.
Before tracing over your original sketch, create a new layer by clicking the plus sign in the Layers tab. Keeping your layers consistent and organized is crucial here; for each different shape, create a new layer and rename that layer accordingly. To name your layer, click on the layer thumbnail and select Rename.
To create a simple outline, I opted for the Monoline Brush in the Calligraphy section. Experiment with different brush types to see what works best for your illustration. You can fine tune the brush settings by clicking on the brush name.
Sketch Vector Graphics
Click on the circle shape at the top of the program to access your colors. There are various ways to alter colors within the Procreate app. You can browse through hues within the Disc, Classic, Value, and Palettes tabs.
Step 3: Fill in Rest of Color
Sketch 2 4 2 – Vector Drawing Applications
Procreate’s way of filling in color is through the ColorDrop technique. Simply activate the layer you’d like to apply the active color to, then click and drag the circle to the enclosed space. If the outline is enclosed, the color drop will fill the space; if the outline is partially open, the color fill will spread to the entire layer.
Rinse and repeat for the remaining shapes. To bring in some textural elements, activate the Alpha Lock command within the layer thumbnail and draw with a Charcoal or other textured brush.
Cover image via 32 pixels.
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