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  • $4.99

    procreate

    by Savage Interactive Pty Ltd

    So you have an iPad—congratulations! So why not try your hand at digital art? Procreate is hands-down the fastest sketching and painting app I have found. It allows you to work effortlessly with up to 16 exportable layers with 100 undo/redo levels. Eight sliders allow for precision color picking. It has the very important eyedropper color selection tool to return to and touch up areas. Unlike many of the good art apps available, there is zero lag; you paint in real time. The interface is clean and intuitive. However, what puts Procreate ahead of other professional painting apps, besides the power-engine, is the unique brush selection. There are eight pre-set brushes, which allow for an amazing amount of configurability. Additionally, Procreate is the only app that allows you create and import your own brushes. This gives the serious and detail-oriented artists the tools to create precisely what they need. You can customize the eraser and smudge tool too. Procreate is an iPad artist's must-have app.

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  • $4.99

    ArtRage

    by Ambient Design Ltd.

    So you sketched out your ideas in Procreate. If you are a traditional media artist you really owe it to yourself to give ArtRage a try too. It loads, blends and moves amazingly similar to the real thing. The watercolors mimic their real-life counterparts in handling and feel. The oils are creamy and have texture. The canvas or watercolor paper options such as linen or wet paper react with the paints correctly. Quite honestly, no other painting app I have tried does so much so naturally. With several mediums included, it is a complete art studio in one app. Pens, pastels, spray paint, rollers, palette knives allow you to build, blend and even add a thick three-dimensional impasto look. The built in layers function allows import of images to paint directly on. A tracing function is built in as is the clever ability to "pin" a reference image to the top as you work. The only minor note about ArtRage is that It is not as fast as procreate- especially on the first generation iPad. However, it is a lot of fun to use and most of the work I have done has been on this app because it blends and moves in ways no other app does.

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  • $8.99

    iDraw

    by Indeeo, Inc.

    Perhaps you are already a digital graphic artist. If vector illustrating is more your style, then make sure to check out iDraw on the iPad. With this app, you can unleash your creativity and create the most complex and beautiful designs anywhere you have your iPad. In short, it's the answer to Adobe Illustrator on iOS. There are many features that are found in the app, including layers, text, images, multi-layer gradients, RGB color picker, brushes, Bezier pen tool, customizable canvas styles, grid snapping, masking, PDF export, and more. If you handle Illustrator on a daily basis and have been looking for an iOS solution, then look no further than iDraw on the iPad.

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  • $3.99

    Colored Pencils

    by KengoLab

    Okay, so if you are more of a colored pencil artist artist, this might be a better choice for you. If you love subtle, gentle shading and fine-tuning, this app is pretty remarkable at recreating the experience. It is intuitive, offering a plethora of pencils each with differing points ranging from fine-pointed to flat. If you find you have favorite colors you can save them for easy access. Colored Pencils also includes erasers and layers. The undo/redo option will go back 50 steps. Finished work can be directly uploaded to Twitter or Facebook. Colored Pencils is a great choice for artists, both budding and experienced, who love the medium or want to experiment.

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  • Free

    Paper by FiftyThree

    by FiftyThree, Inc.

    This one burst onto the scene and immediately became the darling of artists and non-artists alike. It is just so easy to pick up and start using, with or without a stylus. Its free price tag makes it an absolute must-download, though of course, in-app purchases unlock even more features. It's simply beautiful on the iPad's retina display and a pleasure to use.

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  • $1.99

    ASKetch

    by Andrew Kern

    I know what you might be thinking: what if I just want to work out an idea and do a value sketch or two? One of the oldest and most interesting ways of sketching in values is with charcoal. ASKetch is a simple black and white procedural sketching program for drawing. It's universal with a an interface that stays out of the way and lets you focus on the sketch. It feels fast and responsive, even nuanced. It features three distinct pencil types and allows you to use gestures to switch from hard to soft drawing modes. ASKetch is fast and has 20 levels of undo/redo. This, along with its simple interface makes it a great alternative to a paper sketchbook.

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  • $2.99

    Tracing Paper

    by Hesham Wahba

    Digital creation is fun, but what if you want to get serious? Perhaps you are new to art or you are a professional artist who wants to work on improving skills. Fine art lessons usually begin with copy-drawing from images, be it an "old masters" work or a photograph. By tracing over the image you are training your mind to observe minor detail and keep proper proportion and perspective. Tracing Paper is a universal application that mimics tracing paper and adds the aid of a simple grid. Simply import an image or photograph from your library and adjust the size and rotation to your needs. It will be inserted under the tracing paper so you can then trace, shade and erase until your sketch is perfect. Added options include undo/redo support and zoom for small detail work. If you feel daring you can then use the included colored pencils on your work. Tracing Paper is a great app for artists to hone their skills or to just have fun creating.

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  • $4.99

    LightTrac

    by Rivolu Pte Ltd

    After all this iPad exploration you might want to get out and paint something "En plein air." Perhaps you want to paint the ocean or a city corner. Because light is constantly changing the colors we see around us, painting from life is a time-sensitive matter. Artists need to know when natural light conditions are optimal, especially if they are working on a painting that will take more than one sitting. LightTrac, an app originally designed for outdoor photographers, can help. It determines when light conditions will be perfect. This app takes into consideration the changing seasons, elevation and angle of the sun by date as well as the time of day. For those who wish to include the sun or moon in their work, LightTrac will calculate both the elevation and angle of Sun and Moon for any date and time at any particular location. If you are having an outdoor exhibit of your work, you can plan your art placement to take the best advantage of the light.

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  • $9.99

    Easy Release - Model Release App

    by ApplicationGap

    If your inspiration for your art is a person or personal property, it is very important to have a legal release. This protects the artist or photographer, ensuring that you retain any income you might make from your work. This process is made simple by Easy Release - Model Release App. Designed for professional photographers, this app lets you set up your information easily, including your logo, the location or model information and lets them sign directly onto your iPad. You can then export the signed release via email in .PDF or JPEG. Once that's done, let your muse run free as you create worry-free!

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  • $0.99

    PhotoForge2

    by GhostBird Software

    Even Artists working in traditional mediums need to take and adjust photographs of their work. For image editing on the iPad, PhotoForge2 is the best we found, even eclipsing the newly released Photoshop app in functionality and ease of use. PhotoForge2 works in full-resolution and has layers, curves, levels, tint, color balance, crop, sharpen, channel mixer, white balance, zoom and much more. It allows export to your camera roll, email, Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, Picassa and others. It has an in-app purchase of Pop Camera which expands your editing options even further for only $1.99. We love PhotoForge2 and think you will too.

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  • $1.99

    FX Photo Studio HD

    by MacPhun LLC

    Why not take your art in a new direction and add some filters? FX Photo Studio HD is all about effects. Currently, the application offers photo editors 201 customizable effects to choose from, such “Night Vision,” “Pencil Paint,” and “False Mirror.” Additionally, FX Photo Studio offers standard photo editing features, such as crop, rotate, and flip. It allows you to upload edited photos to almost all the social networks including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you are looking for an easy to use photo filter app with professional grade control and effects, check out FX Photo Studio HD.

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  • $1.99

    A+ Signature - The photo annotator

    by Robert & Tsibucas inc.

    So your work is ready to show! But is it really? Putting a clear, legible copyright is vital, especially if you place an image anywhere on the internet. Proposed changes in copyright law will potentially make any unmarked image "orphaned" leaving it open to use for profit by others. Adding a copyright watermark is also good business practice. A+ Signature makes this process not only easy but a lot of fun! This app lets you add watermark or text to images, or even your actual autograph which can be saved and added to other images and documents. In addition to watermarking, we also recommend that you register your collective work in the Library of Congress for full copyright protection. There is not a app to do this (yet) but it can be done online and is reasonable and easy to do.

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  • $9.99

    Pad Folio

    by christopher kuehl

    Once you have created your art or photography projects, you need a digital portfolio to organize and show them. Pad Folio is easy to use and is integrated with Dropbox for easy import. It allows the creation of multiple portfolio albums as well as customization of colors and fonts. It has the ability to show or hide albums and can be password protected. If you want to give it a try before you purchase there is a free trial version available.

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  • Free

    Intuit GoPayment Credit Card Terminal

    by Intuit, Inc.

    Now it is time to let the world see, and hopefully buy, your art! The ability to accept credit and bank cards will often make or break a sale. This is now possible anywhere you have 3G thanks to Intuit GoPayment. Signing up is free and there is no need for an expensive merchant account. Intuit will even send a complimentary card reader that plugs right into your iPad. The invoices can be customized with your personal logo and, just like in the Apple Store, your customer will sign right on your iPad. Copies of the receipt are then emailed directly to both you and your customer. There are no costs to sign up or cancel, only transaction fees which vary by your sales volume and start out at 2.7%. If you want to see GoPayment in action before you sign up, just download the app and select the Test Drive button.