10 Best Free Drawing Apps for MacOS

A Mac’s HD display with brilliant colors is the ideal partner for every digital designer. In addition, employing the best-in-class art programs on the computer will satisfy your desire to create fantastic art. However, suppose professional drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator and Corel Painter are too expensive for you. In that case, you may need to look into alternative equally fantastic solutions to satiate your inner artist.

With the arrival of macOS Big Sur, which includes a slew of design improvements and the ability to customize the file icons of the programs, your desire to discover the finest sketching software that isn’t too expensive must be stronger than before.

We understand how it feels to express yourself as a creator without really being constrained by tools and functionalities. In this article, we will learn about the best free Drawing Apps for macOS.

10 Best Free Drawing Apps for Mac

1. Photoshop by Adobe

Adobe Photoshop, the uncontested leader in all thing’s graphics, could turn all your concepts to fruition and miraculously change your artwork. You can convert any photograph into a piece of art by using various tools that allow for easy blurring and endless layering. Choose between the thousands of creative brushes accessible in the program or make your own for unique creations.

Features:

• The program has several tools that allow you to sketch and alter designs.
• As a trusted instrument with a track history of consistently delivering all over its capacity to create stunning artwork.
• For many creative professionals, Adobe is the end-all answer.
• With additional innovations being added regularly and a subscriber base that is continually expanding.
• You can obtain the most out of Photoshop by using the most recent version of the program.

Pros:

• Ease of manipulation of any picture or design.
• A large user population for assistance.
• A well-organized user interface.
• Usage that is customizable as well as user-friendly.
• There are several export assets utilized.

Cons:

• There is a significant learning curve.
• Exclusively accessible as a subscription service.
• It takes up a considerable of hard drive space.

2. Krita

Krita is a freemium open drawing program for Mac created by artists among artists. It’s indeed suitable for artists of all ability levels. It includes all of the functionality and tools required to produce outstanding concept art, drawings, visual effects, including animation. Krita, which is consistently regarded as among the finest free drawing tools for graphic artists and illustrators, has a customized interface with numerous adjustable features to assist save efforts in editing.

Features:

• A collection of strokes for various functions enables users to select the ideal one for their requirements.
• Users can also make their custom brushes as well as tag them.
• Brush engines, types, and stabilizers, pop-up packages, and complex resource management are all included.
• Krita provides you with most of the professional capabilities you require to create stunning designs.

Pros:

• A wide variety of drawing brushes and tools are available.
• The user interface is entirely customisable.
• Simple to use and suitable for beginners
• Plugin compatibility
• Lightweight, with minimal CPU and memory consumption

Cons:

• The graphical design is a little dated and might be improved.
• The icons of graphics and animations are not particularly descriptive.

3. Corel Painter 2022

Corel Painter 2022 has improved thick strokes to reap the benefits of how thicker paint interacts with current artwork. The latest AI styles enable you to make beautiful paintings from pictures. The clone coloring function, improved layers, and improved touch bar compatibility for Mac allow you to get the most benefits of the most recent edition of Corel Painter.

Features:

• You may receive a 15-day trial version of the program to test its possibilities before signing up to explore its limitless potential.
• As a fantastic piece of software for simulating the genuine sensation of paint on canvas.
• Corel Painter’s capability to enable you to alter your strokes to bring a real sense to the artwork may produce fantastic results.

Pros:

• There are a plethora of strokes and instruments for digital drawing.
• A near copy of an artist’s work on paper painting.
• Beautiful brush as well as pencil strokes.
• Adobe Photoshop-like capabilities.

Cons:

• It can cause Mac to slow down if memory is low.
• There may be a severe learning curve.

4. Pencil2D

Pencil2D allows you to create 2D hand-drawn drawings on the Mac. It offers a user-friendly and straightforward interface featuring just the proper tools for creating animations.

Features:

Pencil2D is a user-friendly program that allows users to progress from drawing characters to producing animations with their speed.

• The tool’s capability to employ elements is a bonus.
• The 3d animation designing tool allows for smooth transitions between operations.
• The keyboard commands make working with the program easier and more efficient.

Pros:

• The UI is intuitive and simple to use.
• Beginners are welcome.
• Capability to work with layers

Cons:

• Tools are in short supply.
• More options for importation and exportation are required.

5. Inkscape

Inkscape is a robust design tool available as a free mac drawing program. The software distinguishes out among all the free design programs for Mac because of its different features and functionality that may suit the demands of artists and designers wishing to produce both basic and complicated work.

Features:

• With its various drawing and editing features, Inkscape offers Adobe Acrobat a boost to the economy as an ideal program for generating cartoon graphics.
• In terms of producing the ideal shape or shade, the program allows you to handle objects, change nodes, and conduct path functions.
• Inkscape, an outstanding tool for visual artists and illustrators, supports a wide range of media formats.

Pros:

• A good assortment of vector graphics design tools.
• The interface is simple to use.
• A broad range of configurations is supported.
• Extendable functionality through extensions.

Cons:

• With so many features accessible, it might be frightening at first.
• Processing could be sluggish at times, including a few failures.

6. Sketchbook

Autodesk Sketchbook, among the most prominent drawing applications for creative professionals and designers, is an outstanding tool with a beautiful interface that gives a superior sketching performance.

Features:

• It allows predicted strokes and guides, and there are over 140 brushes to pick from based on your sketching requirements.
• The software’s stunning UI merges into the environment when you start sketching, offering users a full-screen canvases view.
• Sketchbook is loaded with features as well as tools; then, once you start being used, you’ll see why it’s the preferred drawing program for many professionals.

Pros:

• An excellent alternative to pricey sketching applications.
• Intuitive user interface.
• It removes the requirement to draw ideas on paper.
• A comprehensive collection of drawing tools.
• Compatible with both the Mac and the iPad.

Cons:

• To utilize the program, you must have an Autodesk subscription.
• The ruler tool may be enhanced.

7. Sketchpad

Sketchpad, a free sketching application for mac internet website from Sketch.io, features a simple design with the essential tools for creating digital art. But if you’ve never used the program before, you will soon become accustomed to it due to its user-friendly UI.

To make fascinating digital art, you may utilize the tools offered, such as customizable pencils, graphics, lines, and text tools. Whereas the tool may not be ideal for more detailed finishing, it would help make simple drawings online.

Pros:

• A sleek and straightforward online interface.
• Fundamental drawing toolkit.
• Beginner-friendly.

Cons:

• Not appropriate for intricate drawings.

8. SketchUp

SketchUp is the answer to your 3D architecture and design difficulties. Because it is simple to learn, you can rapidly create ideas for household and commercial structures to communicate with customers for input and approval. It includes an easy-to-use interface for detailing both the inside and outside of buildings. Your home drawings would be outstanding, allowing consumers to envisage the construction from various perspectives.

Features:

• It enables a seamless transition between AutoCAD to provide a better 3D depiction of structures.
• The 3D Warehouse repository contains many fully prepared 3D models that you may use in any project.
• Create 3D walkthroughs to show your customers how the constructions would appear.
• Several training videos are accessible online to help you learn, practice, and use the instrument.

Pros:

• A sleek and straightforward online interface.
• Fundamental drawing toolkit.
• Beginner-friendly.

Cons:

Not appropriate for intricate drawings.

9. Pinta

Pinta is the way to go if you’re searching for a free, straightforward solution that’s exceptionally easy to use without sacrificing power or functionality. This program allows you to sketch freehand and incorporate shapes and designs into your creations.

Features:

• There are hundreds of effects to tweak and modify, and the program is accessible in over 50 languages.
• Pinta contains several rather complex capabilities in addition to those essential functions.
• They let you separate and organize objects and modify your workplace to your liking without losing anything.
• This program also preserves a wholly updated and monitored history.

Pros:

• Adjustable appearance
• Add-ons as well as plugins
• Multilingual support
• Administration of Layers

Cons:

• It has a severe learning curve.
• Takes up a lot of disk space.

10. GrafX2

GrafX2 is yet another free and open-source Mac sketching tool to explore. It’s a drawing program with a slew of diverse capabilities ranging from bitmap graphics to videogame graphics.

Features:

• Image editing, motions, dual-view style, shading mode, and a range of valuable shortcuts are among the elements.
• When utilizing this software, there seems to be a steep learning curve.
• This applies to a tangible and intangible interface.

Pros:

• It has a suitable file format.
• It has a vast distributed set of tools.
• It is a free as well as an open-source platform.

Cons:

• It has a dated look as well as a better feel.
• It has a varied range of features.

Conclusion

In this article, all of the applications described above are excellent choices for starting a digital sketching adventure on Mac computers. Therefore, these applications would help you immensely if you are an artist.