6 open-source alternatives to digital drawing apps

It’s hard to find open-source software that works on tablets like the iPad or Android tablets. While there are plenty of

open-source creative design software
, these are typically found exclusively for desktop use. There are some workarounds to using open-source software on tablets, as well as a handful made directly for tablet use, to allow you to draw freely on a self-hosted platform with no privacy concerns.

6

GIMP

No direct app, but workaround support for tablets

Gimp is one of the best open-source creative software tools you can find. Although it’s typically used from a desktop across many operating systems, due to its open-source development, it isn’t developed specifically for tablet use. However, it can be used on Windows tablets with some workarounds, putting it as a great digital drawing option for on-the-go illustration or editing.

GIMP 2.10 has acceptable support for macOS to connect to an iPad tablet. GIMP reacts to the dynamic brush movements of styluses including the Apple Pencil or Crayola stylus for iPad. GIMP doesn’t currently have

SideCar support
, but if or when that happens, it’ll be a game-changer for tablet creativity.

For Windows users, any tablet used with a Wintab driver should, in theory, work for accessing GIMP via your tablet. Largely, most Wacom drawing tablets will work with GIMP.

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There is an iPad app named XGimp Image Editor Paint Tool, which is developed using GIMP’s open-source license, but it isn’t provided by the official GIMP developers; however, it has bad reviews and is very user-unfriendly to navigate. You’ll see better results using the desktop version of GIMP and a workaround for tablet use.

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GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)

5

Pocket Paint

Digital drawing from your phone

Source: Pocket Paint

Pocket Paint is an open-source app available for Android devices — not to be confused with an iOS app of the same name, for AI image generation. While it doesn’t offer too much in complexity of features, it does the job for drawing, editing, and expressing creativity from the palm of your hand.

It has been developed with the idea of helping users create graphics for further development tools, such as Pocket Code. But there’s no strict reason it must be used for that intention.

Using Pocked Paint is fiddlier than apps built for larger tablets, but it scratches the creative itch when needed. You’ll find basic expected tools such as brushes and stamps, transparency, color picker, fill, image uploads, and a few more features.

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4

DPaint JS

Web-based tool accessible via the browser

DPaint JS is an open-source, web-based digital drawing tool. It was modeled originally after Deluxe Paint and has a focus on retro Amiga file formats.

It’s not complex software; it has a similar, but simplified version, interface to Adobe Photoshop. It offers basic tools for

digital drawing
, such as a paint brush as well as fill and gradient tools.

If used from a tablet, you can open it in your browser and use your finger or stylus for more precise drawing, which may have better results than trying to do so from a desktop using a mouse or trackpad. Using a stylus is recommended due to how miniature some of the icons you must select are, like brush options, which are each less than 3mm in diameter from my 11-inch iPad screen.

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3

MyPaint

Wacom support for digital artists

Although MyPaint isn’t specifically a tablet-based app, it does support

graphics tablets
such as Wacom and similar. Using third-party apps, such as OpenCanvas, you can use MyPaint from a tablet, if desired. It’s typically available for Linux, macOS, and Windows systems.

This open-source drawing tool is simple, but speedy. It has a strong brush engine, like Krita, which supports pressure sensitivity. It offers an infinite canvas for large drawing, and it has a simple, minimal interface for easy navigation.

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2

Krita

Great digital drawing tool, but not for tablets

Despite the fact that most digital illustrators or artists prefer using a tablet for their craft, there’s still plenty who enjoy using a desktop. Using Krita for digital drawing is a desktop-only task, unless you are using a graphics tablet like a Wacom or the XP Pen drawing display.

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Krita remains one of the best open-source digital art software, regardless of its lack of tablet or iPad support. It’s easy to use, versatile, and free to access. Compared to Photoshop, Krita gives it a run for its money, and if you can get over the lack of tablet support, it can compare very well to both Procreate and Adobe Fresco for digital drawing features. Krita offers

vector and raster
brushes, to provide texture to your digital art.

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1

Photopea

Browser-based Photoshop alternative

The best thing about open-source software that offers browser-based options, is that you can access them from any tablet device, regardless of the type of support developed for the app itself.

Photopea is already one of my favorite open-source Photoshop alternatives, so having the ability to use it from my iPad Pro makes it even better. Although I don’t typically use Photoshop for digital drawing, many people do, so using Photopea from your iPad or tablet is a game-changer.

The interface is the same as on a desktop, and you can use your stylus to draw in a more natural way than you might with a mouse from the desktop version. Although Photopea doesn’t support dynamic movements using the Apple Pencil, it still lets you draw naturally like you would with a real pencil or paintbrush.

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Open-source drawing tools for tablets are less available than desktop

There is a whole host of drawing software available for tablets — both Android and iPad options — but not many that are available as open-source tools. With many workarounds or by using browser-based tools, you can access some open-source drawing software on tablets. Sometimes, desktop versions will outweigh what you can find on a tablet, such as Krita, but Photopea is a fab option available via desktop and tablet on the browser.