Three creativity apps for iPad artists

If you own an iPad and an Apple Pencil, then unleash your creative side to make digital artwork right here on the device with every kind of stationery and tools available in these apps. From sketching and painting to note-taking and doodling, everything is now available right on your iPad for free.

Paper by WeTransfer

This app is a digital sketchbook for all artists out there with powerful tools to create fantastic illustrations. Paper doesn't feature any buttons making it unique as it plays primarily on touch intuitive design. Sketches can be stored in sketchbooks, which can be shelved accordingly in the app, while also letting you share your work with Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, or email or save them to your camera roll.

While the basic drawing tool is free, you can unlock more advanced features like mix, colour, write, outline, and sketch for just $1.99 each. Paper tools are rather responsive and can help you achieve basic drawing and painting techniques. Some of the interesting tool features are that the harder you push your pen, the thicker the lines draw, paints can be layered multiple times for a darker colour tone, or you can use the mixer to create new colours.

The Paper Store provides 28 different journals with creative prompts, exercises and drawing tutorials that have been created by designers and illustrators. The simple app is designed for doodles or keeping a journal, drawing diagrams, or creating detailed schematics.

Defter Notes

Defter notes allow you to digitally create handwritten notes with the Apple Pencil and use the app just like you would take notes on paper. The app is also a spatial organiser keeping all your files, documents, and folders in one place. Its ideal for academics, students, teachers, researchers, journal keepers, knowledge workers, visual thinkers, writers, designers, architects, engineers, and productivity-focused creatives.

With minimalistic design and distraction-free environment, it allows for free movement and gesture-based navigation. You can not only draft, but sketch, adjust, and move on your virtual desk freely as well. The app has easy access to attachments, images, and PDF stacks, along with customizable spaces, nested folders, and organized documents in your note-taking space.

Lake

This paperless coloring app is excellent for calming and meditation when stressed. Available on iPad and iPhone for free, with a monthly/yearly subscription to get access to all the features it has to offer. With more than 75 artists and 900 illustrations, Lake developers share a part of each subscription fee with the artist.

The app has four tabs at the bottom with a very minimalistic outlook. All art is categorised under 30 sections to help you select the one you desire to work with. With four colouring tools which have five fixed sizes, the simple colouring app has a lot to offer. Overlapping with paint, for example, on solid lines can occur, or you can prevent them from happening in Settings.

The acrylic brush tool will give a more natural brush stroke, registering every direction and stroke made. For a more realistic experience, Lake has ASMR brush sounds, that imitate the sound of painting with every brush stroke you make on the illustration. Additionally, Lake has a spray paint tool, a watercolour brush and a fill tool. Eraser will help you remove any errors you might have made while colouring, while the colour wheel provides a beautiful palette to choose the perfect colour for your work.

Illustrations can be saved to local Gallery after being completed or exported to other apps to share with friends and family.