Design Apps to Do a Hand Sketch for Your Concept Idea

You’ve probably heard that David Hockney started painting with his iPhone in 2009, and around the same time, Jorge Colombo also drew the cover of a New Yorker edition on his smartphone. But, the urge to scribble on a smartphone is not limited to artists alone.
Whether you intend to use just your fingers or you have a stylish stylus, below we’ve listed some amazing concept design apps or software to do hand sketches that you can use for your idea.

This is like a digital sketchbook with many virtual pencils and tools to choose from. Write or scribble whatever you like – from artwork to diagrams. This concept design app comes with a stylus pencil as well.

Autodesk has a rich history with graphics on computers, and it has passed the same brilliance into this app to help people express themselves at the basic level. It is an amazing app with great tools, which can be enhanced or improved with in-app purchases.

This concept design app is similar to Paper by FiftyThree. Moreover, it is also available to Android users. It has lots of drawing or sketching tools as well as a social media sharing capacity.

Several artists have touted this to be their best hand sketch app. If properly used, this concept design app can produce amazing images, and its support for pressure-sensitive styli offers it a different layer of flexibility.

This is an app used mostly by professionals. The well-known computer-aided design software works perfectly on touch screen. With this concept design app, you can easily share and archive your drawings.

There are over 120 brushes on this app, so irrespective of your skill and product type, there’s something for you. It is especially useful for large complex drawings.

This concept design software can be used for small tasks such as ink or pen sketches with watercolour texture. It can have multiple layers, each having a bespoke blend and opacity setting mode. The best part of this app is its tools which can help you draw perfectly; for instance, it has different French curves and polygons, which can be placed on a sheet and drawn around.

This is another Adobe product, although this is a vector-based app. It has amazing tools, templates and produces wonderful results. But, if you’re not a creative cloud member, you have to settle for its miserly export options.

This is like a blend of screen and paper. As a concept design software, it allows you to scan sketches made on paper, which could be converted to vectors for further edits and additions.

This is not as much a concept design app as it is a note-taker. However, it can be used for sketching, writing/scribbling, and audio recordings.

Autodesk Sketchbook, Bamboo Paper, AutoCAD 360, Adobe Photoshop Sketch, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Carbo, and Notability are all available on both iOS and Android platforms. These apps offer a range of functionalities from basic sketching to professional CAD work and vector-based drawing, catering to various user needs and skill levels across different mobile devices.

Yes, several free concept design apps are listed. Adobe Photoshop Sketch, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Carbo, and Notability are all free. Paper by FiftyThree, Autodesk Sketchbook, and Bamboo Paper are freemium, meaning they offer basic features for free with options for in-app purchases or premium upgrades to unlock additional tools and functionalities.

Tayasui Sketches supports pressure-sensitive styli, offering a different layer of flexibility for users. This feature can enhance the drawing experience, allowing for more nuanced and expressive lines, similar to traditional drawing tools. It can help artists produce more detailed and professional-looking images.

Carbo acts as a blend of screen and paper. This concept design software allows users to scan sketches made on physical paper. Once scanned, these paper sketches can be converted into vectors, enabling further digital edits and additions within the app. This feature bridges the gap between traditional hand-drawn concepts and digital manipulation.

Adobe Photoshop Sketch offers tools that can help users draw perfectly. For instance, it includes different French curves and polygons. These tools can be placed on a digital sheet and drawn around, assisting in creating precise shapes and lines. It also supports multiple layers, each with bespoke blend and opacity settings.