Budding artists everywhere should grab an iPad, an Apple Pencil, and one of these great drawing and painting apps.

The Apple iPad is a great device for anyone looking to explore their creative side. Especially when paired with the Apple Pencil.

For those eco-conscious souls, the iPad offers a great selection of hassle-free drawing and painting apps. You don't need a brush, a palette, and water to paint anymore---an Apple Pencil (or your finger) is enough.

With that in mind, here are the best iPad apps for drawing and painting. Allowing everyone from beginners to professionals to unleash their imagination on digital paper.

Art Set 4 is a wonderful app for beginners who are venturing into digital painting. Even though it’s digital, it comes close to being a real paper tool.

There are options for painting tools like watercolors, oil paints, and pastels, as well as crayons. You can also change the paper texture by clicking the Plus icon next to the pen tool.

The free version has a "slow draw" option where there is a lag between the drawing and your Apple Pencil, and a "dry" option which can be used to dry the paper quickly to create more layers on top.

One downside of the app is that there are no touch gestures. As you will see in the upcoming apps, touch gestures are really handy to undo and redo any line or stroke.

Art Set 4 is free to download but a one-time subscription gives access to its other great features. Including different pens, brushes, paints, and textures.

Download: Art Set 4 (Free, in-app purchases available)

Sketchbook is another great tool for beginners. It has a lot more features when compared to Art Set 4. You can record your painting process, and add images. Also, the app has a fantastic library of brushes, pens, and textures to explore.

The app also has an option for creating multiple paper layers so that it’s easier to paint and erase.

Similar to the Art Set 4 app, one of the downsides is that there are no touch gestures. However, the app is completely free, which makes it a great choice for beginners.

Tayasui Sketches is another one of those basic-yet-sleek iPad painting apps for beginners. The cool thing about this app is that you can create sketchbook folders to organize your artwork into different collections.

The app has a basic set of 14 tools that include a pencil, fine liner, brush pen, ink, and watercolor pens. But these pen tools are versatile and can be used to create different effects by applying pressure or tilting the Apple Pencil. It also includes a smudge tool that can be used to create blur effects.

Tayasui Sketches also offers the option to create multiple layers. The pro version has more features with the flexibility of backing up and syncing your work to iCloud.

Download: Tayasui Sketches (Free, in-app purchases available)

Even though Adobe has discontinued upgrades for Adobe Photoshop Sketch because it's focusing on Adobe Fresco, this app is perfect for beginners. Similar to Tayasui Sketches, it is simple and minimal, but also has touch gestures for ease.

Photoshop Sketch lets you select screen sizes for new projects. After which, it opens to a screen where a set of pen tools are displayed on the left side and the option for multiple layers sit on the right. The app also has stencils of basic shapes that can be used to trace the outlines.

Adobe Photoshop Sketch is free but has more storage and sync features when the Adobe Creative Cloud is purchased. But you can check out these awesome Adobe apps that are completely free.

Download: Adobe Photoshop Sketch (Free, in-app purchases available)

Concepts is similar to Tayasui Sketches. It also has the option of selecting the background texture and paper type. The design is minimalistic with a circular guide at the top-left corner which expands to show color swatches, flow size, and color opacity.

The unique thing about Concepts is that it has an option of infinite size for the sketch board. So it’s great for drawing mandalas or painting sequences, as the paper stretches on for infinity. It also has touch gestures to undo or redo paint strokes, which comes in handy while drawing.

There are a lot of options for one-time purchases as well as monthly and yearly subscriptions.

Download: Concepts (Free, in-app purchases available)

iBis Paint X boasts some great features, but the price you pay is having to put up with advertisements in the corners of the app. It has a great collection of pens and brushes for beginners as well as advanced level artists.

It also has touch gestures that come in handy during painting. There is an option to set different filters that is unique to this app alone.

iBis Paint is great for beginners venturing into comics and manga as there’s an option to add text boxes as well.

iBis Paint X opens into a gallery where you can click the Plus icon to open a new project. It also has the option for creating multiple layers and downloading the artwork without the background as a transparent PNG file.

There are options for one-time purchases as well as a monthly subscription.

Download: iBis Paint X (Free, in-app purchases available)

Adobe Fresco is one of the newer iPad painting apps on the market, but has created a buzz among amateurs and professionals alike. The cool thing about Fresco is that it has live brushes that mimic real watercolor and oil paint brushes.

The app is similar to Photoshop Sketch but has other features that make it a fantastic app, especially for watercolor and oil enthusiasts.

The digital live brushes glide like a dream and the effects of watercolors mixing together just as they would on real paper is a delight to watch. Fresco has three types of brushes: pixel, live, and vector. The pixel and live brushes can be used on the same layer while the vector brushes work on a separate layer.

Fresco is free to use, but with an Adobe subscription you can download and try over 1,600 brushes from the Adobe website.

Download: Adobe Fresco (Free, premium version available)

If you’ve been browsing the web for a painting app to start your creative journey, the chances are you’ve heard about Procreate.

This app is considered the holy grail for artists and creatives. Alas, it’s not free and requires a one-time subscription of $9.99, but this app is intuitive and detailed, and has a plethora of brush options.

Procreate can seem overwhelming at first, but after fiddling around, you realize its intuitive and easy-to-use.

This app is a good option for beginners who want to maintain a creative habit longterm, and don’t mind paying for the privilege.

Drawing or painting is a great hobby that helps you relax and be more mindful. With multiple options available for iPad users, these are some great apps that can help you get started with painting.

While iBis Paint is great for comics and manga artists, Adobe Fresco is the best for watercolor and oil paints. Sketchbook and Adobe Photoshop Sketch are good for beginners getting into digital drawing or painting, but you can also choose advanced options like Procreate to help kickstart your art career.

Pratibha has a Master's Degree in Science Journalism and she works as a writer. She covers entertainment and productivity at MakeUseOf.

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