Best Drawing Apps for Android Tablets

The drawing apps featured in this articles are ones I've used over the years. The list of pros and cons are based on my personal experiences. Whether the apps are suitable for you depends on the art and style you create, and the workflow you're looking for. The apps I've selected are based on their ease of use, feature set and file backup system.

Please note that my recommendations for some apps will not be detail because there are some apps that I just don't use that often. If there are any prominent features or downsides I've left out for the apps that you use, let me know in the comments section.

Also bear in mind that the overall drawing experience is highly dependent on the stylus you use. All tablets can work with stylus. But you will get the best performance only with tablets that come with an active stylus that has pressure sensitivity and palm rejection. If you have a tablet but don't have a stylus, check the manufacturer's website for recommended styluses, and if there are none, unfortunately, whatever stylus you buy will not have pressure and palm rejection.

The apps featured below are apps that are designed for use on larger displays, e.g. tablets. I'll write another list of recommendations for drawing apps that work well on smaller displays, e.g. phones, in the future.

Clip Studio Paint

The release of Clip Studio Paint is significant boost to Android platform because this app is as professional as it can get. CSP is one of the best, if not the best, drawing app for Android tablets. CSP has been around since 2001 on the desktop before it was ported over to the iPad, and now Android. This app is incredibly popular among digital artists for good reason. It's a fully featured versatile drawing app that's great for illustration, comics and digital painting.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Same familiar feature set as the desktop version
+ All keyboard shortcuts supported
+ Loaded with features and tools
+ Uses cloud storage to backup files
+ Files can be opened with CSP on Windows, Mac, iPad and Android
+ Can export files into different formats, including PSD
+ Pressure curve can be adjusted
+ 3D capability. Models can be imported
+ Vector toolkit
+ Lots of brushes, materials, customisable and free resources online
+ Many comic page templates
+ Can be used for animation
+ 10GB online file management system
- Subscription based model for tablet version
- Desktop license cannot be reused for tablet

Medibang Paint

Medibang Paint has been around since 2014. This app is the direct competitor of Clip Studio Paint. The apps is free to use with certain tools locked behind paywall that requires a one-time purchase. There's also subscription model for more tools and additional online storage. It has many features and free drawing tools that should suit most beginners and intermediate artists. The feature set is not as huge as CSP though.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Free to use with good variety of basic drawing tools
+ User interface is quite similar to CSP and Photoshop
+ Many free downloadable brushes and materials available
+ Can export to PSD
+ 3GB free online file management
+ Files can be opened with Medibang on Windows, Mac, iPad and Android
+ Has comic drawing features, e.g. paneling tools
- Feature set not as huge as Clip Studio Paint
- Feature set is a subset of the desktop Medibang
- Pressure curve cannot be adjusted
- Does not support keyboard shortcuts
- Subscription-based model for additional features.

Concepts

Concepts is a vector based illustration app. Visuals, e.g. lines and shapes, are created with mathematical formulas. The use of vector allows for interesting possibilities. For example you can zoom in and out without causing the art to look pixelated. Line art can be selected and changed to different styles (e.g. pencil, ink, etc) or colours easily, The canvas is infinite so you can keep on drawing without having to worry about canvas size. For a vector app that excels at creating a style that's clean and stylised, the textured brushes work surprisingly well and look great.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Free to use but has certain tools locked behind paywall
+ You can choose one time payment to buy selected tools OR pay monthly to get access to all tools
+ User interface is clean and simple to use
+ Interface works great on big and small displays
+ Copic colouring system for picking colours is cool
+ Vector based-artworks have no pixelation
+ Textured brushes (not free) look good
+ Google Drive is used to backup the files
+ Concepts files created on Android and Windows are interchangeable
- Concepts files created on iPad cannot be opened with Android and Windows version
- Feature set for Concepts on Android is limited compared to iPad
- There are many brush sets and all sold separately as one time purchases
- Essentials tool set needs to be purchased to gain excess to unlimited layers and export to more film formats
- No online file management

The backup system used by Concepts involves uploading files to the Google Drive. This is not an online file management system, meaning you cannot access files stored on Android using your Windows tablets because the files are on two separate physical devices. In the event that you lose your tablet, all files stored on the tablet will be lost but you can retrieve the files from Google Drive.

Sketchbook

Sketchbook is an app that has been around since 2005 and has several changes to name and even owners. In 2021, it spun off from Autodesk and is now a separate company on its own. As the name of the app suggests, this app is great for sketching. But it also has lots of drawing tools and brushes so it's quite a capable app for digital painting as well.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ One time purchase
+ Available on Windows, Mac, iPad and Android
+ Good variety of brushes available
+ Can export to PSD files
+ User interface is clean and simple to use
+ Interface works great on big and small displays
- No online file management
- No backup system

There's no online file management system and no backup system. If you lose your tablet, all files will be lost. To backup, you have to export them as PSDs somewhere else.

Huion Sketch

Huion Sketch is relatively new compared to all the other apps mentioned above. This app is created by Huion, the company that sells pen tablets and pen displays. User interface design is clean and looks like it was inspired by Procreate, the very popular drawing app on iPad. The feature set is good for basic to intermediate work but feature set is not as good compared to Procreate. This app has lots of potential if Huion can continue to develop it.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Free
+ Good variety of brushes available
+ Textured brushes look good
+ Can export to PSD files
+ User interface is clean and simple to use
+ Interface works great on big and small displays
- Available only on Android
- No online file management

There's no online file management system and no backup system. You can export your art as native huionsketch file format but you cannot open those exported files with Huion Sketch. Only files you can open are those you have created and stored in the gallery. If you lose your tablet, all files will be lost. To backup, you have to export them as PSDs somewhere else.

Other drawing apps on Android worth checking out

• Krita
• Infinite Painter
• ArtFlow
• Ibis Paint
• Tayasui Sketches
• ArtRage

Conclusion

If you're into drawing comics and illustrations, I would recommend Medibang Paint and Clip Studio Paint.

If you like digital painting and the traditional look, I recommend Clip Studio Paint.

If you like stylised or vector art, go with Concepts.

If you like casual sketching, get Sketchbook, Concepts or Huion Sketches.

For creating professional art, definitely go with Clip Studio Paint. Even though it's a monthly subscription app, it's really worth the money for all the features it provides.