Apps For The iPhone Artist

ArtStudio is a wonderful app for anyone with artistic urges. Paint, sketch, and turn your photographs into masterpieces. This app uses very advanced drawing algorithms. It has a gorgeous user-friendly UI and is a pleasure to use. Simply import a photo from your Camera Roll, then decide what you would like to alter. ArtStudio has an astounding amount of features. There are over 40 filters, 21 blending modes, hundreds of customizable brushes, text tools, and more. This is the full version, but if you would like to test it out before buying there is a lite version available.

When using ArtRage for iPhone, it feels as if you are actually painting on a canvas. This app has tools such as an oil brush, a paint tube, and a pencil. In addition to the simulation of painting on a canvas, ArtRage for iPhone will keep track of the amount of paint you have used and how moist it is. There are shortcuts thanks to multi-touch gesture support, so there are no controls to clutter your iPhone screen. Once you are finished being artsy, export the finished piece to your photos or via email.

If painting interests you, Brushes 3 is fun to use. This universal app has an exceptional feature: it records your work with video while you are painting. Once you've finished, simply hit play to see every move that you made. There is only 1 layer available, but should you need more you can buy 10 via in-app purchase. Brushes 3 works with Dropbox to export or import your files, and you can tweet or post your work to Facebook. Note: Facebook sharing is available only on iOS 6. There are also some features exclusive to only the iPad. Some users have recently complained that they upgraded and not received it nor heard back from the developer. I personally haven't experienced that issue upon upgrade.

Are you curious about oil painting? Inspire - Painting, Drawing, & Sketching is a powerful app that will inspire you. This program is quite lifelike in the way that it mimics oil painting in real life. The pigments blend very well. You are able to immerse yourself in your imagination and forget that you are actually working on your iPhone. Inspire also gives a great amount of control over what is being painted. In terms of tools there are 5 brushes that come in varied sizes and can be adjusted to your liking, not to mention 1000 levels of undo or redo and more. Should you like to test this app before paying full price, there is a lite version available.

Try your hand at watercolor with Auryn Ink. This app allows you to create beautiful and vivid watercolor paintings. Pick your canvas, adjust brushes to your choice of pressure or texture, and choose from different types of paper. The way colors blend and move when using Auryn Ink really make this app stand out. Use your fingers or even a stylus to enjoy a stress and mess free oil painting session.

SketchBook MobileX is a simple yet powerful app made specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch. It boasts 2500 percent zoom, 3 layers, and 5 preset brushes. Easily make art with SketchBook Mobile Express, then save it to your camera roll. This app has the same painting ability as SketchBook Pro, and while not as fancy as some of the other apps mentioned here, it will surely satisfy your artistic needs.

Put away the paint and bring on the Colored Pencils. Some artists love the look of using colored pencils, and this app delivers. It needs a bit of development, but currently has plenty of colors and textures to play with. Zoom in, blend colors, and produce what you want. Colored Pencils has a color history feature that comes in handy for quick access to reuse your favorite shades. Save finished work by sending to your email, upload it to Facebook or share it on Twitter via TwitPic.

Tracing Paper is an excellent app that will help you learn or perfect your drawing skills. If it is hard for you to visualize something, why not put it on paper? Tracing Paper comes with many features and is easy to use. Pick a photograph from your library to trace and begin sketching. Upon completion you can save sketches to your photo library and share via email, Twitter, PDF or FaceBook.

A little bit of inspiration can go a long way. Art Lite will get your creative juices flowing by presenting you with world renowned works of art. Instead of drawing or painting, feast your eyes upon over 700 pictures done by famous artists such as Vincent van Gogh or Leonardo da Vinci. Art Lite features 10 artists and their biographies courtesy of Wikipedia, able to be viewed and read offline. There are also quizzes to test your knowledge of historical art. If you want more, there is a full version available for 99 cents.

MyBrushes for iPhone is a very nice app with the same handy playback feature as Brushes 3. There are 100 brush types that will produce the effects of different types of art mentioned in the apps above: watercolor and oil paintings, drawing or sketching, and even calligraphy. MyBrushes provides 50 templates for background use as well. Save your art and share via email, Facebook, or Twitter.

Need just a little more inspiration? ColorSchemer is perfect for those who want to play with different types of color palettes. Find combos that match with a built-in color wheel or take a palette right from an image. ColorSchemer currently has over 1 million palettes. There is a social community where you can share with others who have contributed as well. The LiveSchemes feature allows for tweaking of your palette while keeping the colors harmonious. No matter what type of art you prefer, there is a little something on this AppList to bring out the creative side in everyone. We hope that you make beautiful art on your iPhone.