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Rebecca minored in visual arts and spends much of her free time drawing on various Windows devices.
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Adobe Fresco offers far more tools than Procreate.
Surface Pro 2 with Surface Pen.
There are also live brushes, which build upon each stroke to behave realistically.
I can also adjust the water-to-paint ratio to get the exact watercolor effect I’m looking for.
That’s yet another reason to go with Fresco.
Adobe Fresco: Owl vector drawing, blue jay raster drawing, and blue jay live brush drawing in one document.
Each brush works very realistically, but with more forgiveness than with their physical medium counterparts.
It’s also a very intuitive program to use.
Of course, you’re free to also use AI generation via Adobe’s own program,Firefly.
It often takes multiple classes for users to really understand how to use it.
Of course, the other big problem many people have with Photoshop is the subscription plan.
It’s rather expensive at $20.99 per month, and there are no one-time purchase options.
Digital drawing of a snake in Adobe Photoshop.
Adobe Photoshop | $20.99/mo at Adobe
Photoshop is the leading raster graphics editor on the market.
It offers plenty of tools for digital drawing needs but can be very confusing for beginners.
Fortunately, there are plenty of free tutorials online to get you better acquainted with it.
Vector graphics scale with an image size to always remain sharp and crisp looking.
However, while Illustrator can import raster files, it is not meant to produce raster layers.
To truly master it, you might need to take a formal class, though.
Vector drawing of a Valentines Day bear in Adobe Illustrator.
There are dozens of fonts, and Illustrator makes it very easy to apply various effects to them.
It’s $20.99 per month to gain access to this vector graphics software.
In this way, it’s far more helpful than Procreate.
Not looking forward to posing complex finger positioning?
Pretty nifty, eh?
Clip Studio Paint Pro really is a fantastic option for comic book and manga creation.
Clip Studio Paint Pro allows you to insert 3D assets from a library so you can draw over them on another layer.
Not to mention, the low price makes it a great value buy.
However, unlike Photoshop, I only had to make a one-time payment to gain access to it.
There is a huge brush library with different textures and thicknesses to add depth to any drawing.
However, it will take more work for beginners to really get the hang of it.
Pay for it once, and you’ll have access to it forever.
Plenty of brushes and Mask Layer effects help you get the exact look you want from your work.
Affinity Photo 2 is a great alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
The free trial makes it easy to get a feel for the program.
It offers plenty of fonts and effects to create unique designs.
You’ll be able to create distinct logos, icons, and other imagery in no time.
Despite being free, this open-source drawing and 2D animating program doesn’t skimp out on the tools.
Krita provides a large library of brushes, and it’s easy to work with them in layers.
This open-source software also features some simple 2D animation tools, allowing users to add movement to their work.
Affinity Designer 2 is the perfect vector graphics alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
As with any program, Krita has some faults.
Some of the tools and layouts of the software don’t feel as refined as Procreate or Photoshop.
Granted, this can happen with any drawing program, but it seems to happen more often with Krita.
It’s absolutely free and provides tools for digital drawing and 2D animation.
My absolute favorite drawing program is Adobe Fresco.
It’s free to use but allows for both vector and raster layers within one document.
Kita is an open-source drawing software.
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive drawing program, Adobe Photoshop is the ideal tool for you.
However, it can be challenging for beginners to learn unless they take dedicated courses for it.
Do you prefer to work primarily with vector graphics?
Adobe Illustrator is the go-to graphic design software.
It’s slightly easier to learn than Photoshop and has a huge, dedicated user base to learn from.
Drawing program FAQs
Is Procreate only for iPad?
Procreate was specifically made for iPadOS and Apple Pencil and is not available on other operating systems.
Is Procreate available for Windows?
Procreate is not available for Windows.
Is Procreate really only $12.99?
Yes, Procreate is really only a one-time purchase of $12.99.
It has a good number of brushes and tools that both beginners and veteran artists can appreciate.
However, it doesn’t have as many features as some other drawing programs out there.
What is the best Procreate alternative for Windows?
Adobe Fresco is our number one alternative for Procreate on Windows.
That’s something Procreate cannot do.
Is Paint as good as Procreate on Windows?
Microsoft Paint is a significantly simpler program compared to Procreate.
How much does Adobe Fresco cost?
The Adobe Fresco drawing program is absolutely free.
Even the premium features which used to require a subscription to access are not available without any extra payment.
Is Adobe Fresco as good as Procreate?
