Digital art has never been more accessible. With powerful painting and drawing apps on your Android device, you can create stunning illustrations, concept art, comics, and sketches anywhere. Whether you're a professional artist or just starting out, these apps offer everything from realistic brushes to advanced layer systems.
In this guide, we'll explore the best painting and drawing apps for Android in 2026, all with verified working download links.
Best Painting and Drawing Apps for Android in 2026
1. ibis Paint X
Best Overall Drawing App
ibis Paint X is the most popular drawing app on Android with over 460 million downloads. It offers an incredible 47,000+ brushes, 27,000+ materials, and 2,100+ fonts, making it perfect for any art style from manga to realistic paintings.
Key Features:
- 47,000+ brushes and 27,000+ materials
- Smooth 60fps drawing experience
- 84 filters and 46 screentones
- 27 blending modes
- Recording and sharing drawing process
- Stroke stabilization feature
- Various ruler and guide features
Price: Free with ads (Premium removes ads)
2. Autodesk Sketchbook
Best Professional Drawing App
Sketchbook is an award-winning sketching and painting app loved by professional artists and illustrators worldwide. It features a highly customizable toolset with an elegant, distraction-free interface.
Key Features:
- Professional-grade brush engine
- Highly customizable brushes and tools
- Elegant and intuitive interface
- Predictive Stroke for smooth lines
- Layer support with blend modes
- PSD import/export support
- Completely free with no in-app purchases
Price: Free
3. Infinite Painter
Best for Realistic Painting
Infinite Painter is an award-winning app used by millions of artists. It offers one of the most realistic brush-to-canvas interactions, with hundreds of customizable brushes and full stylus support.
Key Features:
- Hundreds of built-in natural brushes
- Realistic brush-to-canvas interaction
- 100+ customizable brush settings
- Full pressure and tilt stylus support
- Perspective guides and grids
- Cloning tool for photo-to-painting
- PSD import/export
Price: Free trial, then $9.99 one-time purchase
4. Krita
Best Free Open-Source Option
Krita is a professional-grade, open-source painting application that's completely free. The Android version is identical to the desktop release, offering the same powerful tools used by concept artists and illustrators worldwide.
Key Features:
- Full professional feature set
- Advanced brush engine with stabilization
- Animation tools with timeline and onion skinning
- Robust layer management
- Wide format support (PSD, PNG, JPG, etc.)
- 100% free, no ads or in-app purchases
- Identical to desktop version
Price: Free and open-source
5. MediBang Paint
Best for Comics and Manga
MediBang Paint is designed for creating digital art, comics, and illustrations. It offers free cloud storage and cross-platform support, making it easy to work on projects across devices.
Key Features:
- 180+ free brushes (700+ with subscription)
- Comic panel and page templates
- Free cloud storage
- Cross-platform (Android, iOS, Windows, Mac)
- Screentones and backgrounds for manga
- Team collaboration features
- Lightweight and fast
Price: Free with ads (Premium subscription available)
6. PicsArt Color Paint
Best for Beginners
PicsArt Color offers a complete drawing suite that's easy to use for beginners while powerful enough for pros. Features a unique auto-recovery system so you never lose your work.
Key Features:
- Fully customizable brushes
- Unlimited layers with blend modes
- Color wheel and mixer
- Symmetric drawing with rotating axis
- Texture brushes
- Auto-recovery (never lose work)
- Pattern and color fill tools
Price: Free with no ads
7. ArtFlow
Best GPU-Accelerated Performance
ArtFlow features a GPU-accelerated paint engine for smooth performance even with large canvases and many layers. It supports canvases up to 6144x6144 pixels with 50 layers.
Key Features:
- GPU-accelerated paint engine
- Canvases up to 6144x6144 with 50 layers
- 100+ brushes including smudge tool
- Stylus pressure support
- Custom brushes from images
- Selection masks and layer clipping
- PSD import/export
Price: Free with ads (Pro $5.99)
8. PaperColor
Best Traditional Art Feel
PaperColor simulates the experience of traditional painting with realistic brushes and textures. Perfect for artists who want a natural drawing feel on their Android device.
Key Features:
- Realistic brush simulation
- Wide range of traditional tools
- Draw on photos feature
- Handwritten signature tool
- Wide color library
- Lightweight (only 16MB)
- Stylus support
Price: Free with in-app purchases
9. Tayasui Sketches
Most Realistic Drawing Tools
Tayasui Sketches offers some of the most realistic drawing tools available, with a minimalist interface that lets you focus on creating. Great for traditional artists transitioning to digital.
Key Features:
- Ultra-realistic pen and brush tools
- Pencils, markers, watercolors, and more
- Layer support
- Minimalist, intuitive interface
- Works great with stylus
- Import reference images
- Export in multiple formats
Price: Free with Pro upgrade available
10. Clip Studio Paint
Best for Professional Manga Artists
Clip Studio Paint is a professional-grade app used by manga and comic artists worldwide. It offers powerful tools specifically designed for creating comics, manga, and illustrations.
Key Features:
- Professional comic and manga tools
- Advanced pen stabilization
- 3D model posing references
- Vector layers
- Animation support
- Comic panel layout tools
- Extensive brush library
Price: Free trial, then subscription ($2.99/month)
Comparison Table
| App | Best For | Layers | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ibis Paint X | All-around use | Unlimited | Free |
| Sketchbook | Professional art | Yes | Free |
| Infinite Painter | Realistic painting | Unlimited | $9.99 |
| Krita | Open-source option | Yes | Free |
| MediBang Paint | Comics/Manga | Yes | Free |
| PicsArt Color | Beginners | Unlimited | Free |
| ArtFlow | Large canvases | Up to 50 | Free/$5.99 |
| Clip Studio Paint | Pro manga artists | Yes | $2.99/mo |
Which Drawing App Should You Choose?
- Best overall: ibis Paint X - Most features, huge community
- For professionals: Autodesk Sketchbook or Infinite Painter
- For manga/comics: MediBang Paint or Clip Studio Paint
- For beginners: PicsArt Color Paint - Easy to learn
- For free professional tools: Krita - Full-featured and open-source
- For traditional art feel: Tayasui Sketches or PaperColor
All these apps work great with styluses for a more natural drawing experience. Try a few to find the one that best matches your art style!