Plasq, a small group of passionate developers responsible for stuff like Comic Life, Skitch and Wormhole, has released Doozla 1.1, a state-of-the-art drawing application aimed at children. Word for iOS, Excel for iOS, and PowerPoint for iOS all come with basic inking options on the Draw tab: a selection tool, a draw-with-touch tool, a stroke eraser, pens, multiple ink colors, and ink thickness options.
EazyDraw for Mac is a powerful graphic development and editing program that offers a full set of tools for the creation of icons, logos, and more. With the vector-based drawing and editing features you'll find in this program, you'll be able to complete all types of projects and produce professional-grade graphics with ease.
Pros
Tons of tools: This program contains all the tools you need to complete a wide variety of projects. While you may never use all of the features included in this app, you'll also never have to worry about whether or not a certain tool is included. All you have to do is find it.
Layer controls: The layer controls for this app let you create complex images with ease. You can also transfer them to Photoshop quite accurately by going layer by layer until the task is complete.
Good Help: The tutorials and manual that come with this program provide a good amount of information, organized in an accessible way. While it will take anyone without experience some time to find their way around this app, the good Help options make it a much more manageable task.
Cons
Awkward interface: The learning curve for this app is not improved by the setup and organization of the interface. Controls are awkwardly placed at times, and even experienced users may have a hard time finding the tool they're looking for because it's not in the expected place.
Bottom Line
EazyDraw provides all of the tools you need to complete any type of graphic design project. While its interface does leave something to be desired, which increases the challenge of learning to use all of the features, it does reward the effort you put in to overcome that obstacle. Users of all experience levels will benefit if they can make it past the steep learning curve and get a feel for what the program can actually do. You can try out this program for free with some restrictions on the number of graphics that can be added to each drawing, and you can purchase a 9-month license for $20, or you can opt for permanent access starting at $95 for a single user.
Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of EazyDraw for Mac 6.5.0.
What do you need to know about free software?
Mac has long been referred to as the “Creative’s workshop.” The idea that most graphic designers, interior designers, video animators, and architects are more drawn towards Mac may hold water to an extent. Mac attracts creatives for either of two reasons – as the traditional tool they’ve always used or its perceived high performance standards. Speaking of tradition, the first version of Photoshop was built exclusively for Macintosh users, giving Mac the first mover advantage.
And while the PC versus Mac might present an interesting discourse, I will be walking the safe lines, and a list of simple drawing apps for Mac is all we are talking about today.
Related: 5 of the Best Drawing Apps for Android
1. Patina
This sweet and simple drawing app is certainly closer to Microsoft Paint than Adobe Photoshop on the complexity scale, but lets you illustrate things that certainly wouldn’t have been readily doable on Paint. You won’t find any complexities like layers here, but within the one layer you do have you can do plenty.
You can use it for the basic things like cropping, rotating and making colour adjustments on images, but there are lots of other options here too when it comes to transparencies, brush types, sketching and so on.
The elegant interface makes Patina a delight to use, and it’s compatible with myriad file types like PDF and Photoshop files, alongside JPGs, PNGs and other usual suspects.
2. Markup Feature in Preview
Before going ahead and downloading a bunch of apps you’ve never heard of, you should try out macOS’s secret paint feature, hidden right there in the trusty Mac Preview app.
When you open an image in Preview, click the icon next to the search bar at the top-right to open the ‘Markup Toolbar,’ which you’ll quickly find does a whole lot more than just marking up.
This toolbar pretty much functions like a basic paint program, allowing you to draw, scribble, make shapes and annotate the image you’re previewing. There are even some mildly more advanced functions, like Smart Lasso, which lets you accurately pick out shapes in your image.
It’s simple stuff, but it does the job when it comes to everyday tasks.
3. Sketch
This Mac drawing software holds all the aces when it comes to versatility. Sketch can be used to create professional artwork, draw and design websites and so much more. Sketch is a vector-based application with several features such as a toolbar, canvas, editable shapes and so much more. I have found Sketch a bit irregular, as it may require a little background knowledge and experience in basic designing. It’s nevertheless a user-friendly tool even for newbies. You can blob, warp, and twirl your way into anything.
Draw Tool For Mac
4. Paintbrush
Paint Brush is a painting and illustrating application for Mac. Paint Brush is quite similar to Microsoft Paint on Windows in terms of functionality and build. Paint Brush offers some of the best freehand art experience in the game. It does not come with the complexity or spec requirements of other third-party applications, but if you need to get a few illustrations made up for occasional doodling, this drawing application tool is all you need to save the day.
5. Made with Mischief
Made with Mischief is a unique, simple drawing app for Mac. This application is as easy and simple as you could ever imagine. After installation you are welcomed by a blank screen and can start drawing right away, creating the nostalgic experience of pen and paper.
Made with Mischief is neither vector-based nor pixel-based and works best on a desktop. Made with Mischief has other exciting features like allowing you to create and customize your set of brushes and pen tools. Made with Mischief is a pretty good application for beginners as it lets you draw without limiting your canvas size.
6. ArtBoard
Drawing Tool For Mac Free Download
Sketch Tool For Mac
ArtBoard is a simple Mac drawing application that enables you to create minimalist and elaborate artwork for professional and personal purposes. ArtBoard offers so much in tools, features, usability components and flexibility. You can use any of its numerous backgrounds and layouts.
ArtBoard lets you work in layers, enabling you to work on different aspects of your drawings simultaneously. One of the most remarkable features of ArtBoard is the option of drag and drop which allows you to incorporate images straight from import. Although its lack of distortion tools and shortcomings in image conversion between vector and raster is noticeable, ArtBoard remains a top drawing tool for Mac.
Conclusion
Itool For Mac
There are certainly many simple drawing apps for Mac out there – free and paid alike. I wrote this list based on a cursory focus on the applications’ imitation of real-life drawing experience, availability of tools, simplicity, flexibility, and interface. I will not have the final word on this and earnestly look forward to your suggestions. Which of these drawing applications do you use? Kindly share your thoughts below.
This article was first published in September 2017 and was updated in June 2019.