As a designer, I often have opportunities to sketch out ideas for clients – I might be in the wireframing stage of the design and want to get ideas on paper quickly, or I might need to create a logo or illustration. However, it can be a pain to get a paper sketch to a client! There are similar frustrations if you are sketching for fun and have no way to capture the physical sketch.
Luckily, there are now several applications for iPad that let you sketch and create quickly (typically with a stylus or Apple Pencil), and allow easy digital export. My top three are Paper, Procreate, and Affinity Designer.
Affinity updates Publisher, Designer, and Photo apps on Mac and iPad Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher, and Affinity Photo have all been updated to version 1.9, bringing new tools and features. Affinity designer is an alternative to adobe illustrator, which uses vectors to draw. The things you make with those will have cleaner and sharper edges and will be infinitely resizable. You can apply textures to shapes you draw, but it’s not as easy to just straight up draw like you can in the others. Affinity Designer for iPad is a true game-changer for all vector designers. And this course is going to show you just how big of a game-changer it truly is. In total, this course provides more than 9 hours of content, with more than 80 lessons available for immediate access. The vector graphics design software that allows you to create sophisticated graphics. If you need to deal with vector graphics for marketing materials, websites, icons, UI design, or concept art, then Affinity Designer is a must-have. Affinity Designer for iPad Affinity Designer works great for vector graphics, and is one of the best apps to get the job done on the iPad.
Paper by WeTransfer
Free, optional Paper Pro $11.99/year (App store)
Paper is an application that lets you sketch ideas in a journal-like format. It has a limited number of brush/pen options (some are only available with Paper Pro), plus cut/paste and duplicate functionality.
I’ve been a fan of Paper since it’s FiftyThree days, but the reason I continue to use it for wireframing is that it comes with web and mobile templates in-app, as well as storyboarding templates.
My favorite “brush” to use for prototyping is one that snaps your slightly wiggly lines or uneven circles into straight lines, rectangles, and circles. In addition, because Paper lacks some of the more advanced functionality of tools like Procreate and Affinity Designer, it’s easier to focus on the content of a wireframe rather than layers, custom brushes, or creating a pixel-perfect design.
Procreate
$9.99 (App store)
Procreate is touted as one of the best sketching apps on iPad. It offers all sorts of functionality for digital sketching and art, including brushes, layers, and several hand gestures that can be used instead of the stylus.
Procreate does a fantastic job pairing with the Apple pencil to get a variety of textures and depths, much like using a real pencil on paper. The downside of Procreate is its steep learning curve. I’ve been using it for a few months and am still discovering new functionality. Some of the functionality, specifically around finger gestures, is so hidden I only discovered it watching other people sketching.
Overall, Procreate is fantastic software for digital drawing and sketching. But for beginners, I’d recommend watching tutorials and other artists to get the hang of all the hidden features.
Affinity Designer
$19.99 (App store)
Affinity Designer differs from Procreate and Paper in that it allows me to create and export vector illustrations or designs. It also gives me control over each vector node or point.
Affinity designer is a nice balance between freehand drawing with a stylus and the control of vector forms that I missed from my graphic design days. Since it renders in vector, it also gives you great control over color and gradients in a way that is a little more difficult in Procreate, and which just isn’t possible with Paper. This tool is my go-to for creating things like logos and other imagery that needs to be scaled across a variety of media and sizes.
Affinity Designer Mac Ipad Pro
Overall, these tools together give me a well-rounded set of options depending on my personal or client needs—whether they need wireframes, a logo, or a digital illustration.