Mac os drawing app

5 Simple (Yet Cool) Drawing Apps for Mac

Mac attracts creatives for a couple of reasons. It’s either the typical standard for certain niches, or it has high performance standards. While other operating systems are certainly capable of offering the same, creatives still clamor for a Mac. With that reputation, it has some great drawing apps, but they don’t have to be complex. Here we look at some simple drawing apps for Mac, along with some more advanced solutions.

1. Preview’s Markup

Before diving into a pool of drawing apps for Mac and testing each one, you’ll want to take a look at the simplest drawing app built in to macOS Preview: Markup. In fact, it’s available across all Apple devices and is technically more of an annotation app. Still, you can draw with it, and it may be perfect for your needs.

Once you open an image in Preview, you can find the Preview toolbar icon at the top of the pane.

This opens the Markup Toolbar, which covers a bunch of ways to annotate your image.

You get two modes in Sketch and Draw, alongside the other tools (such as Shapes, Text, Sign, and more). You’ll also get the option to use open Markup in the right-click context menu. The option you’ll need is under the Quick Actions menu

You may find that Preview and Markup is enough for you, though (of course), there are more drawing apps for Mac to consider.

2. FireAlpaca

If you want a certain level of power from your drawing app, yet simplicity at its core, FireAlpaca is the solution for you.

It looks dated, as it uses an older macOS style rather than the new guidelines. Still, this doesn’t detract from its functionality.

You’ll find that navigating the interface is familiar, yet there’s much you can do with the app. If you use Adobe or Affinity products (more of which later), you’ll feel at home with FireAlpaca.

Also, a nice touch is that you can select the brush shape if you need a different style than the default. It’s not something you see in free and simple drawing apps, so it’s a plus point you’ll want to look into.

3. Tayasui Sketches

In our opinion, Tayasui Sketches is the definition of a simple yet cool drawing app for Mac. It’s uncluttered and focused on quality drawing.

You have a panel of brushes on the left, and each type has a distinct visual representation – a nice touch. Color swatches sit on the right, and you can add more (or alter the existing swatches) using a dedicated panel:

Given that we’re looking at simple drawing apps for Mac here, it’s great to see the functionality pared down yet still have quality. What’s more, you can choose one of several digital papers – not something you find in free, no-nonsense drawing apps.

4. Paintbrush

Paintbrush is a veteran drawing app for Mac, though it’s similar to the classic Microsoft Paint in terms of functionality. It also offers a great “freehand” experience.

While it doesn’t have high levels of complexity or specifications compared to other apps, that’s a plus point. If you only occasionally have the need to pick up a digital pencil, this drawing app for Mac will fit the bill.

5. Sketchbook

This drawing app for Mac has had a storied history as well. For a long time, Sketchbook was part of the Autodesk line of products, but it’s now flying on its own.

The app itself has a reputation of being great and super simple to use. It looks much like Tayasui Sketches in places and has a similar vibe.

You have a number of floating windows that let you choose pen and brush types, colors, and other functions. It’s not an over-exaggeration to say that Sketchbook can be a professional tool in the right hands, given the wealth of drawing options at your disposal.

Though, the one drawback compared to other drawing apps for Mac on this list is that it’s a premium only solution. For $19.99, you’ll get everything Sketchbook has to offer, without the need for a subscription. As far as we’re concerned, that is a good deal.

Advanced Drawing Apps for Mac

A simple app is all well and good, but you may want something with more power. Some of the apps in our list have premium upgrades, such as Tayasui Sketches. Though, in most cases, you’re going to want to consider a different solution.

If budget is an issue, Inkscape is a oft-mentioned app that’s an open-source (and free) alternative to Adobe Illustrator. The developers admit that the macOS version is in need of enhancements. It’s tough to use due to how the app runs on Mac.

Of course, Adobe Illustrator is an industry-standard solution, and we don’t need to wax lyrical about it because it’s so popular. Affinity Designer gives almost every app a run for its money. It’s a stellar solution that has 99 percent of equivalent tools, with a better subjective User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX).

If you want the feeling of drawing on paper, Rebelle is arguably the very best you can buy. You choose a paper and work with watercolor-style brushes to create artwork that looks as though it’s on a physical medium.

Finally, you may want to consider Sketch. It’s a professional tool to create artwork, draw and design websites, and much more.

It’s a vector-based application with several features, such as a toolbar, canvas, editable shapes and so much more. While Sketch is more of a Desktop Publishing (DTP) app – and wins praise with graphic designers – it has a healthy set of features to help you navigate your drawings. It’s a beginner-friendly tool that you can scale with.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are there any simple Adobe Drawing apps for Mac?

No, unfortunately there are no Adobe-branded drawing apps for Mac desktop machines. Illustrator is the nearest you can get for desktop. Though, smaller devices have a range of Adobe Photoshop products that let you manipulate images. Adobe Comp is a fantastic and feature-rich app, for example.

It’s also worth noting that Illustrator is available for Mac, but it’s a full-featured product. You may also want to look into Adobe Fresco, although it’s a professional level app.

2. Do you need a stylus, drawing tablet, or Apple Pencil to use these drawing apps for Mac?

Not at all. While a drawing tool is ideal, especially if you want to create finer lines and gradients, you don’t need anything other than the Trackpad.

3. Is it important for my app to be cross-device?

This all depends on your goals. If you see yourself flitting between different locations – for example, if you move between home and school – you may want to consider a cross-device app. Though, it’s not obligatory, and you may get just as much functionality using a desktop-only app.

You should also consider storage. If you work on large-scale projects, you may max out the storage on a smaller device. This is where an iCloud account becomes valuable.

We’d suggest that if you’re at the stage where you need the power of a desktop app that other devices can’t provide, you’ll also need more than a simple drawing app on your Mac.

Conclusion

Digital artwork is a booming industry, and there are many people who like to doodle regardless of their ability. If you’re in this group, a simple drawing app for Mac, such as Sketchbook or Tayasui Sketches, is going to be on your “watchlist.” You could even use Apple’s Markup feature across your devices. It works well as an annotation app and can handle simple sketches too.

If you’re after a drawing app for Android devices, we have you covered. Will you use any of these drawing apps for Mac? Let us know in the comments section below!

Tom Rankin is a quality content writer for WordPress, tech, and small businesses. When he’s not putting fingers to keyboard, he can be found taking photographs, writing music, playing computer games, and talking in the third-person.

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Best Drawing Software for Mac [Free & Paid]

Ollie Mattison

Sep 13, 2021• Proven solutions

When it comes to flawless functioning, especially in the field of graphics designing, animations, and most importantly during the rendering process, nothing can beat the smoothness and speed of a Mac computer. With that said, if you are a creative designer, you would definitely hate those frequent system crashes that Windows PCs have, and most certainly you wouldn’t like the time the non-Mac computers waste when your head is full of creative idea.

Considering the above, we have complied a list of some free drawing software for Mac that you can use as a beginner or a professional graphic designer.

Part 1: 10 Best Drawing Apps for Mac [Free & Paid]

Below are some best drawing programs for Mac free and paid. The list also includes the name of a built-in app in macOS called Preview that is more or less similar to MS Paint that Windows operating systems have.

It is noteworthy that the applications listed below are in no particular order as far as their working efficiency or flexibility is concerned, and you are free to pick any software that you find best as per your business or personal needs.

Although we have tried our best to provide the latest information about the programs available at the time of this writing, you are highly encouraged to check the vendors’ official website to get the most updated version and corresponding details of the applications you are interested in.

1. Free Preview App on Mac

System Requirements: macOS Mojave 10.14 or later

Best for: Home users for elementary photo and PDF manipulations, editing, and annotations

• Allows image conversion
• Enables PDF editing
• Allows background removal from the photos
• Allows batch picture conversion
• Allows image resizing

2. Sketch

Price: $99 one-time payment | $9 per user per month (for teams)

System Requirements: macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later

Best for: Professionals who want to create vector arts, workflows, icons, user interface designs etc. for apps and websites

Main Features

• Allows pixel-perfect vector design creation
• Supports Boolean operations
• Enables projects and/or component sharing through Shared Libraries
• Lets you upload your designs to the Cloud for seamless accessibility

You can go to https://www.sketch.com/ to learn more about this drawing app or download it.

3. Paintbrush

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or later

Best for: Beginners who want to do some basic photo editing like cropping, adding annotations, etc.

Main Features

• Can open photos of almost all major formats like JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, BMP, etc.
• Can open photos with transparency in PNG in GIF files with Alpha Channel
• Offers basic drawing and editing tools

You can go to https://paintbrush.sourceforge.io/downloads/ to learn more about this drawing app.

4. Patina

Price: $2.99

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or later

Best for: Home users and beginners who want a basic drawing program that can also do some elementary image editing like cropping, resizing, etc.

Main Features

• Has almost all drawing shapes including arrows
• Allows manual color management
• Allows rotations
• Supports transparency

5. ArtBoard

Price: $39.99

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.9 or later

Best for: Beginners and professionals who want to draw vector arts, designs, and also wish to edit the existing images

Main Features

• Allows exporting your creations to editable PDFs
• Supports almost all major formats such as PNG, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, etc.
• Supports transparency
• Has clipart library with a plethora of drawings

6. FireAlpaca

Price: Free

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or later

Best for: Beginners and professionals for creating designs and illustrations, and digital painting using various tools

Main Features

• Supports 3D Perspective view
• Available in 10 different languages

Learn more about this drawing software here: https://firealpaca.com/ .

7. Affinity Designer

Price: $49.99

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or later

Best for: Creative professionals who want to design industry-standard vector designs with pixel-perfect precision

Main Features

• Supports pan and zoom at the framerate of 60fps
• Offers unlimited artboards
• Supports almost all major formats from Adobe products such as Ai, PSD, SVG, etc.
• Available for Mac, iPad, and Windows

Go to https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/designer/ to learn more about Affinity Designer.

8. Tayasui Sketches

Price: Free with in-app purchases

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.10 or later with 64-bit processor

Best for: Beginners and home users to come up with creative drawings and sketches

Main Features

• The program is multilingual
• Allows layered objects
• Allows exporting your creations in PSD format
• Supports stylus and can recognize pressure

9. Autodesk SketchBook В

Price: Free

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 or later

Best for: Beginners and professionals who are looking for a free tool with simple UI to put their ideas and concepts on sheets

Main Features

• Has effective sketching tools
• Offers robust coloring options

10. Krita В

Price: Free

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.9 or later

Best for: Creative professionals who want to draw vector arts, paint the sketches, apply filters, etc.

Main Features

• Offers multiple brush engines
• Allows masking and advanced selections
• Allows creating layered objects
• Offers advanced color management

Part 2 (Bonus): How to Draw in Preview on Mac for Free

The built-in free drawing software for Mac, Preview, has a couple of markup tools that allow you to annotate and draw shapes on the images. The step-by-step instructions given below explain how this can be done with least efforts:

Step 1: Reveal Markup Toolbar

Right-click the photo you want to edit on Mac, go to Open With, and click Preview (default). Next, click the Show Markup Toolbar from the upper-right corner of the interface to get Markup Toolbar under the standard toolbar.

Step 2: Use the Shapes Tool

Click the Shapes icon in the Markup Toolbar, and select your preferred shape tool from the available options. Drag the automatically added shape to reposition it to your preferred location on the image. Optionally, use the scaling handles to resize the shape as needed. Next, click the Border Color and Fill Color icons, and select your preferred colors for the shape’s outline and background color respectively.

Step 3: Use the Text Tool

Click the Text tool from the Markup Toolbar, drag the text frame to your preferred location on the image, and use the scaling handles to resize the frame. Next, click inside the frame, delete the placeholder text, and type a new caption instead. Now, click the Text Style icon, and use the available options to format the text as needed.

There are several free drawing software for Mac. Depending on your needs, the level of complexity of your work, and the type of tools you need in the application, your definition of best free drawing software for mac may vary from that of your friends’ or colleagues’. Nevertheless, the bottom line is, free drawing apps for mac will always have limited options, and if you want some advanced tools and features, your best bet would be to go for a paid program as it may not only offer flawless user experience, you can also expect around the clock technical support from their team, should you stumble upon any issue while using the tool.

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