This post gives out detailed information on how to draw in laptop using various programs listed below.
Free programs for drawing on a computer
1. Crita
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Krita is such an advanced and functional drawing program that it’s hard to believe that this is not a commercial product, but an open-source development. This editor has support for layers, a huge number of brushes and tools, a bunch of different filters and effects.
Krita can be used to create digital paintings, sketches, paintings, comics, and even hand-drawn stop-motion animation. The interface is easily customizable. Plus, Krita works great with graphics tablets.
2. GIMP
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Powerful, flexible, customizable open-source raster editor. True, the interface and hotkeys are peculiar here – artists who are used to Photoshop will have to relearn.
GIMP has most of the tools available in Photoshop: layers, masks, color correction, smart selection, brushes, filters, and a mountain of other features. Some of the missing ones can be fixed using third-party extensions.
3. Inkscape
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
But this is already a tool for creating vector graphics – a free and open-source analog of Adobe Illustrator. It is well suited for creating logos, icons, web graphics, vector illustrations, and other design products.
Inkscape contains everything for the comfortable creation and editing of vector images: color and texture management tools, layers, smart placement and alignment of objects, as well as the ability to vectorize bitmap images.
4.Paint.NET
- Platform: Windows.
This, of course, is not a full-fledged analog of Photoshop, but rather, the good old Paint on steroids, but for amateur drawing it will be enough.
It is precisely because of its simplicity that Paint.NET is well-suited for beginner artists. Plus, it is able to work quickly even on low-power devices.
Paint.NET supports working with layers and has a lot of effects. There are tools for blurring, styling, sharpening and noise reduction, and if desired, the program’s capabilities can be extended using plugins.
5. Medi Bang Paint Pro
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
This is a specialized tool that will appeal to the creators of comics, anime, and manga. The application is very easy, fast, and absolutely free. MediBang Paint Pro comes with over 800 preset anime backgrounds and templates. In addition, there are about 50 brushes and a large selection of free fonts.
6 Gravit Designer
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, web.
Gravit Designer is a fairly powerful and advanced yet free vector graphics editor. With it, you can easily create icons, logos, banners, and other images. The application has many tools: curves, layers, shapes, selection, and transformation of objects, and works with text and fonts.
In addition, Gravit Designer has a built-in library of user-created vector objects. You can freely use them in your own work. Another feature of the application: if desired, it can be launched without installation, directly in the browser through the Gravit native web service.
7.MyPaint
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Fast open-source raster editor. The work is structured so that you focus on the process of drawing, and not on wandering through the menu items. MyPaint supports graphic tablets and offers a built-in collection of brushes and the ability to create your own.
Other features of the program include an endless canvas, duplication of the main functions with hotkeys, and a visual choice of color immediately under the cursor.
Paid programs for drawing on a computer
1. Affinity Designer
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Price: $49.99
The editor impresses with its capabilities. Customizable panels and keyboard shortcuts, a handy canvas rotation system that makes it look like you’re drawing on real paper, graphics tablet compatibility, shadow effects, glow effects, outlines, bevels, you name it.
Affinity Designer is definitely worth a try for those who are professionally involved in graphics and design and do not want to overpay for Photoshop.
2. Blackink
- Platform: Windows.
- Price: $59.99
A very peculiar program for drawing, which differs from the others presented here. BlackInk will allow you to draw incredible pictures with a rather unusual style. What can I say, just take a look at the images created in the editor, and you will understand that it allows you to create art.
Instead of traditional approaches to creating bitmaps, BlackInk uses its own mechanism. The so-called Controller opens up unprecedented possibilities for customizing brushes. It is not easy to master it, but the result will impress you.
3. Adobe Photoshop
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Price: subscription from 644 rubles per month.
Photoshop is the de facto standard in the world of computer graphics, the most popular program for artists, designers, and photographers. It makes no sense to talk about the possibilities of Photoshop: if something can be done with the image, then it will do it.
Because Photoshop is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, you can easily access your brushes, colors, and styles across devices with settings synced on the fly. In addition, because of its popularity, there are just a bunch of plug-ins created for Photoshop.
The only thing wrong with Adobe’s brainchild is the subscription price. However, this was to be expected, because Photoshop is the most powerful and advanced of all raster editors in the world.
4. Corel Painter
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Price: $429
Everyone knows Corel Draw – the most powerful professional vector graphics editor. But Corel has another brainchild – the Corel Painter raster editor, which is great for drawing. This editor has many handy tools for working with color, synthesizing textures and cloning objects, as well as brushes, canvases, and layers.
This expensive but effective editor for sophisticated artists is definitely worth the money.
5. Sketchbook Pro
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Price: 1,790 rubles.
A powerful raster editor with an intuitive interface and a large set of tools that is suitable for both beginners and professional artists. Sketchbook Pro boasts hundreds of brushes, custom color palettes, and layered image processing.
The developers paid great attention to the user experience: the result is a feeling of drawing on paper with physical brushes and other artistic tools. At the same time, each brush (or pen) is adjusted to the smallest nuances.
6 ArtRage
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Price: $29.9
A simple artistic drawing tool that allows you to create realistic creatives. ArtRage mimics painting techniques such as oil, watercolor, and pastel very accurately and provides the most intuitive process for working with them.
The editor allows you to fully customize all the parameters of the picture and create your own style. There are also editing functions like color correction, transformation, and others.
7.PaintTool SAI
- Platform: Windows.
- Price: 3 600 rubles.
High-speed Japanese bitmap editor with support for various formats, which is suitable for creating manga, anime, and comics. PaintTool SAI allows you to process several files at once, can smooth lines, remove small flaws, and also supports drawing with graphics tablets.
The program is well optimized and undemanding to resources. And thanks to its simplicity and minimalistic interface, it should appeal to novice artists.