18 Of The Best Android Apps To Download For Creatives

best android apps
Android is the world's most-used mobile OS - so what are the best Android apps to download if you're a designer, illustrator or artist, With increasingly powerful Android devices entering the marketplace, there's more choice than ever before for designers looking to create while on-the-move. But the Google Play store can be a bewildering place to attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff. Whether you're looking to create vector graphics with your S Pen on a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, or sketch out a wireframe on your Google Pixel 2 XL, there will be an Android app to download here for you. Adobe Illustrator's best features in an Android app. Adobe launched its vector app Adobe Illustrator Draw on Android back in 2016, but even now it is virtually the only credible way to create vector drawings on a mobile device (unless you opt for a Windows-toting tablet). Illustrator Draw will be familiar to anyone used to its desktop sibling, and it doesn't scrimp on features, with configurable pen tips, layers, merge options, and more.

Probably the best free-drawing Android app around. Autodesk is more renowned for its class-leading 3D applications, but in Sketchbook it has a powerful mainstream drawing app with arguably the most natural drawing experience of all. Features include 170 customisable brushes, full PSD layer and blending support, and switchable predictive stroke which transforms your hand-drawn lines and shapes into crisp, precise forms. Paired with a top-spec Android device - especially one with a stylus - Sketchbook is probably the best free-drawing app around. An easy-to-use photo editing Android app from Adobe. An app that caters more for big statements than subtleties, Photoshop Mix lets you cut out and combine elements from different images, blend layers and make adjustments to your creations on your Android device. PS Mix majors on ease-of-use, and it live-syncs with Photoshop CC meaning that when you make a change on your phone, it’ll show up instantly on your desktop. Usefully, you can take advantage of all the CC benefits with an Adobe Photography Plan, which saves a fair bit over a full Creative Cloud subscription.

This SVG vector graphics app includes great 3D design tools. Developer Sean Brakefield completely overhauled his SVG vector graphics app Infinite Design in 2016, and with the very latest updates it is now a real alternative to Adobe's dominant Illustrator Draw. Infinite Design, as the name suggests, features an infinite canvas (pan, zoom, or rotate), but also infinite layers, infinite path editing, and infinite undo and redo with a history slider. It has myriad layer options; a transform tool to translate, scale, rotate, flip, distort, and skew; automatic shape detection; grids for reference or snapping; but its standout feature is the ability to create 3D images with five perspective tools. Also, a neat addition for users of Android apps on Chromebooks is the baked-in keyboard shortcuts. Adobe's sketching app for Android is ideal for CC users. Photoshop Sketch is just one of many sketching apps in our countdown, but Adobe's offering will gravitate to the top of any Creative Cloud subscriber's list due to the benefits of concomitance that belonging to Adobe's suite of tools provides.

However, it is a great sketching app in its own right, with features including blend modes, perspective grids and natural drawing tools, plus the ability to turn any photo into a brush using Capture CC from within the app. Canva's design app recently made the jump to Android. Canva has been around as an online design tool since 2012 but has only very recently made the move to Android - so recently, in fact, that the only press image we could get hold of is the iPad version. The Android flavour is near-identical in terms of interface and features, which are excellent and plentiful respectively. The Android app is ideal for mockups and wireframes. Mockups and wireframes have never been easier to create than with Adobe Comp. Using natural drawing gestures with your finger or stylus, you can sketch out rough layouts and Adobe Comp will transform it into a crisp, professional mockup.