If you want to explore your creativity, there are many iPad apps to help you get started. The iPad started out as a simple device that you could use to stream content and browse the web on the go, but Apple essentially turned it into a powerful machine that you could use to create digital art, edit videos, and more.
We’ve compiled a list of the best iPad apps for creativity available on the App Store.
Before we dig into the details, it’s worth noting that Adobe’s Creative apps are often the top choice for boosting creativity on the iPad, but they’re already well-known, so they’re not included in this list. Instead, we focus on lesser-known apps that you might want to know about and try.
lake
Not every creative app needs a blank page staring at you. Lake takes a more relaxed approach, allowing you to digitally color hand-drawn illustrations by independent artists using over 700 colors and a selection of brushes.
If you want to use your imagination, you can also color or draw on a blank canvas. You can also write down your thoughts in a coloring diary.
This app is perfect for people who are just starting to explore their creativity or want to relieve stress. You don’t have to be artistic to use this either. There is no penalty for drawing outside the lines here.
Lake provides free access to a limited number of illustrations. To unlock the full catalog of illustrations and features, you must pay a monthly subscription fee of $9.99.
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Procreate is one of the most popular drawing apps on the iPad, and for good reason. This app lets you digitally paint, sketch, and illustrate using dozens of brushes. Procreate is easy to use, with a simple interface and built-in gesture controls.
This app enables high resolution canvases up to 16K x 8K on compatible iPad Pro. You can also create storyboards, GIFs, animatics, and simple animations. Additionally, you can import image files such as JPG, PNG, and TIFF. Procreate includes several features designed to aid the creative process on iPad, including QuickShape, StreamLine, Drawing Assist, and ColorDrop. These tools take care of the technical heavy lifting so you can focus on the fun part.
Once you’re done creating your creation, you can relive your creative journey using the app’s time-lapse “replay” feature. This is an incredibly satisfying way to watch your creations come to life, and you can share 30-second clips on social media.
Get access to Procreate with a one-time payment of $12.99.
lumafusion
LumaFusion is the perfect app for video editing if you’re ready to graduate from iMovie. This app has many user-friendly features that make it perfect for aspiring videographers and indie filmmakers on a budget.
LumaFusion allows you to create multi-layered edits using 4K ProRes and HDR media. You can add various effects, choose from dozens of transitions, record a voiceover, and more. This app allows you to create multi-layer titles and import fonts and graphics. Additionally, you can fine-tune your audio using graphic EQ, parametric EQ, audio separation, and more.
With this app, you can create projects in a variety of aspect ratios, including 16:9 landscape, 9:16 portrait, square, widescreen film, and anamorphic.
LumaFusion is available for a one-time payment of $29.99. You can also purchase additional features, such as multicam editing and the ability to send projects to Final Cut Pro for Mac.
Kamba
Canva provides a user-friendly platform that allows anyone to create visual content, even without graphic design experience. Use over 250,000 templates to create presentations, infographics, videos, websites, social media posts, and more.
Canva has tools to edit photos, customize content with logos and images, add audio, and crop and speed up videos.
The platform also has a set of AI features designed to ease the creation process. For example, you can use “Magic Switches” to enhance images, or use “Magic Media” to turn ideas into images.
Canva is free, but if you want unlimited access to AI features, premium templates, and more, we offer a $12.99 monthly subscription.
Affinity Designer 2
Affinity Designer 2 is a graphic design app that combines vector design, pixel-based textures, and retouching in one platform. Perfect for professional illustrators, web designers, game developers, and other creators.
With this app, you can create illustrations, branding, logos, icons, UI/UX design, typography, posters, labels, flyers, stickers, concept art, digital art, and more. Supports Apple Pencil precision, pressure sensitivity, and tilt features.
Affinity Designer 2 features gesture controls to speed up your workflow and lets you customize keyboard shortcuts. You can also create your own custom fonts and zoom to over 1,000,000% for absolute accuracy.
You can access the app with a one-time payment of $18.49.
concept
Concepts is the perfect app to explore ideas and experiment with designs. You can use this app to sketch plans, create notes and mind maps, and draw storyboards and designs.
The app features nudge, slice, and selection tools that allow you to easily change elements of your sketch without redrawing. This app features realistic pens, pencils, and brushes that flow with pressure and tilt.
Concepts gives you access to scale and measurement tools to calculate real-world dimensions, and also features a tool wheel or toolbar that you can customize to your liking.
The basic functions of the app are free. Concepts offers a $4.99 monthly subscription if you want access to additional features, such as the ability to create your own brushes and premium editing tools.
Tayasui sketch
Tayasui Sketches is an excellent and user-friendly sketching and drawing app. It comes with realistic watercolor brushes, digital acrylic brushes, the ability to blend two colors to get the perfect shade, gradient and depth tools, and much more.
This app allows you to multitask by opening another app and dragging lawyers and documents between the two apps. There’s also a “Zen mode” that allows you to create without getting in the way.
You can also upload images and incorporate them into your work. Tayasui Sketches allows you to save your creations in a personal folder.
The basic functions of Tayasui Sketches are free. The app offers a $2.99 monthly subscription that unlocks unlimited layers, new brushes and markers, an enhanced brush editor, the ability to backup your drawings, and more.
Dudel Draw
Dudel Draw is a little different than the other apps on this list. Designed to unleash your creativity by providing you with new shapes every day and serving as a starting point to sketch on.
These everyday shapes range from basic geometric shapes to more complex and abstract designs. Additionally, you can explore your creativity further by choosing to view your shapes from any angle using the app’s ‘Flip’ and ‘Rotate’ features.
You can also compare different creations every day and get your friends involved in improving your creativity by participating in fun competitions. Dudel Draw provides a great way to hone your artistic skills, challenge yourself to create something new every day, or simply express yourself.
Dudel Draw is free to use.
sketchbook
Sketchbook is an easy-to-use app for sketching, painting, and drawing. The idea behind this app is to make you feel like you’re painting on paper because the digital brushes and pens behave like the real thing.
The app has a simple interface that lets you store palettes and tools, making it easier to focus on drawing.
Customize your brushes by adjusting size, opacity, flow, and more to match your personal style. There is also a “predictive stroke” feature that smooths out the lines of your drawings.
Sketchbook is free to use, but you can unlock premium features with a one-time payment of $2.99. Premium features include the ability to import additional brushes and color palettes, adjust the size of your canvas once you’ve started working, and the ability to export multiple canvases or an entire album as a PDF.
This story was originally published in December 2024 and is updated regularly with new information.
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