Unleash Your Creativity: The Best Procreate Alternatives for Every Artist
Procreate is a multi-award winning, creative illustration app built from the ground up for iPad with a pocket-sized variant for iPhone. The app features a complete, professional toolset that's accessible while still providing the power and flexibility of desktop counterparts. Packed with hundreds of beautiful and configurable brushes, a powerful layering system with over 25 blend modes and the full gamut of vector tools, Procreate offers everything needed for professional design on mobile. However, not everyone has an iPad, or perhaps you're looking for a different workflow or a more specialized tool. Fortunately, there are many excellent Procreate alternatives available for a wide range of platforms and artistic needs.
Top Procreate Alternatives
Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your digital art journey, finding the right software can significantly impact your creative process. Here's a curated list of top-tier Procreate alternatives that offer powerful features and diverse experiences.
Krita
Krita is a professional, open-source raster graphics editor with advanced digital painting and sketching tools. It's a fantastic Procreate alternative, available for Free on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android Tablet, and PortableApps.com, offering features like digital drawing, animation, blending brushes, advanced brush settings, and support for Wacom Tablets, making it a powerful and versatile choice for artists.
Autodesk SketchBook
Autodesk SketchBook is a drawing software featuring an unobtrusive user interface and a powerful drawing engine, making it an excellent Procreate alternative for artists seeking a clean and efficient workspace. It's available as Freemium software on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Windows S, Android Tablet, and iPad, and includes features such as texture for brushes, support for layers, advanced brush settings, and tablet pressure sensitivity.
MediBang Paint
MediBang Paint is a lightweight software designed for illustration and making comic books, making it a strong Procreate alternative, particularly for comic artists. It's Freemium and available on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, offering multi-choice brushes, blending brushes, frame-by-frame animation, pen pressure, and unlimited layers, along with comic templates.
PaintTool SAI
PaintTool SAI is a high-quality and lightweight painting software, making it a notable Procreate alternative for Windows users. It's a Commercial product for Windows, featuring full digitizer support, amazing anti-aliased paintings, color blending, support for layers, texture for brushes, and excellent pen pressure sensitivity, ensuring a smooth and stable operation.
Artflow Studio
Artflow Studio can convert your tablet, Chromebook, or phone into a digital sketchbook, providing a mobile-friendly Procreate alternative. It's a Freemium app for Android, Chrome OS, Android Tablet, and Kindle Fire, boasting more than 80 paint brushes, smudge, fill, and eraser tools, along with support for layers, PSD file opening, and stylus support.
ibis Paint X
ibis Paint X is an easy yet powerful drawing app made with tools for sketching manga, presenting a robust Procreate alternative for mobile artists. It's a Freemium app available on Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, offering color blending, custom brush creation, gradients, image smoothing, unlimited layers, pen pressure, and the ability to record drawings as video.
Clip Studio Paint
Clip Studio Paint, formerly Manga Studio, is a comprehensive software application for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows used for digital creation, making it a very professional Procreate alternative, especially for comic and manga artists. It's Commercial software offering extensive customization, comic creation tools, natural media painting, smooth lines, tablet pressure sensitivity, and vector drawing capabilities.
Infinite Painter
Infinite Painter is an advanced painting app created for mobile with natural brushes, realistic blending, and an unparalleled toolset, serving as a powerful Procreate alternative for Android and iOS users. It's a Freemium app available on Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, featuring 3D drawing, color correction, extensive customization, support for layers, and the ability to convert photos to paintings.
Artrage
ArtRage is a simple but lovely natural media painting and sketching program, making it an excellent Procreate alternative for artists who love the feel of traditional media. It's a Commercial product available on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, featuring Apple Pencil support, color blending, multi-choice brushes, multi-touch support, and realistic texture painting.
FireAlpaca
FireAlpaca is an image editor that can be used readily and easily, making it a free and accessible Procreate alternative for Mac and Windows users. It's a Free program offering support for layers, multi-choice brushes, smooth lines, blending brushes, and digital drawing capabilities, ideal for beginners and those seeking a straightforward experience.
The world of digital art is vast and varied, offering a plethora of tools to suit every artist's unique style and workflow. While Procreate shines brightly for iPad users, these alternatives demonstrate that exceptional creative power is available across multiple platforms and price points. We encourage you to explore these options and discover the perfect fit for your artistic journey, allowing you to unleash your full creative potential.