I plan to write detailed reviews for these iOS artist apps (as I try a ton of different apps), but here is a list of my current favorites. Most apps I have tried, though there are a few that I will buy soon due to great reviews. I encourage you to come back every so often because I plan to update this list!
Currently, I have an iPhone & some creative apps are iOS only. I used to have an Android, so I tried to find a few good alternatives for my android homies out there. However, on the productivity side, Android users have awesome options!
Have a favorite? Drop by the comments & add your favorite iOS artist apps!
Art Reference Apps
Handy Art Reference Tool [iOS only ]- “rotatable 3D lit hand with a variety of poses useful for drawing”, highly reviewed.
Android Alternative - seems similar.
Skelly - Poseable Anatomy Model for Artists - iOS / Android - A very nice app designed by Proko, who is an amazing artist. He has wonderful resources in general, visit him here.
Art Pose [iOS only] - another poseable model. (Have not tried this one yet)
Medical Anatomy Reference
BioDigital Human Mobile - 3D Anatomy- iOS / Android
Lovely functionality for free
3D4Medical’s Apps -primarily linking to iOS versions, they have a few old versions for Android though.
Complete Anatomy - iOS / macOS / Windows
Essential Anatomy 5 - iOS / macOS
Version 3 is available on Android & Windows
Pocket Anatomy - iOS/ Android - a nice app where you can pin stuff and learn about it in greater detail.
Photography Apps
Enlight - iOS only (Photofox (Enlight 2)) - I prefer the one time $4 app, Enlight, but the second version is nice because sometimes subscriptions are a more sustainable business model for the devs. I love this app bc of the aesthetic interface and the wealth of features in provides.
Snapseed - iOS / Android - made by Nik & acquired by Google, Snapseed is a fast, well designed photo editor. It’s free and comes with a lot of useful features. It’s not over cluttered either.
Polarr - iOS / Android / Desktop / Web - I really like this one’s interface because it has sliders that make fine adjustments easy on mobile. Also has a lot of unique features and a lovely design. Tried it when it was in beta & it’s grown a lot!
Affinity Photo - iPad only - also comes in a desktop mac & windows app. A well designed app, a bit of a learning curve (desktop version) but has so many features & is comparable to PS @ a much cheaper price.
Adobe Lightroom - iOS / Android - awesome for developing RAW photos, classy desktop app as well. Has great management features and edits nondestructively. The ability to export multiple times w different settings is a great feature.
Adobe’s Mobile Apps - available for iOS & Android -in addition to lightroom, Adobe has a lot of great apps. I have most of them and use them regularly. (Especially the Capture one)
Pixelmator - iOS only & also has a mac version - a faster, cheaper alternative to photoshop. Has a lot of features, but not too bloated. I like the design as well.
April - iOS / android - my favorite free collage app that doesn’t have annoying watermarks. Easy to use interface, lots of options, great templates. Highly recommend this one.
ProCam 4 - iOS only - a wonderful manual camera + RAW app. I love advanced features and well designed interface. Highly recommended for people who want more than basic controls. Android Alternative- Open Camera / Camera MX or read this lovely article by Android Authority.
Afterlight - iOS / Android - great filter options & has an easy interface for quick edits.
VSCO - iOS / Android quite popular, especially for its filters & community.
Pixlr - so useful for quick edits & also more detailed ones. The web version comes in handy for quick fixes, but their are also desktop and iOS & Android apps.
Painting & Design Apps
Procreate - iOS only - highly reviewed. I have the Pocket version, which is a bit cheaper. Great brush options, clean and uncluttered interface, and a lot of functions for digital painters.
Pixite Apps - both design & photography apps- Fragment, Pigment, & Shift are available on Android, while on iOS, their more complete catalog is available.
- I have & adore assembly, which is a super nice app for designing vectors on your mobile device; union , where you can combine & blend images easily, & fragment, where you can transform photos into neat designs.
ArtRage - iOS iPad / Android / Desktop - ArtRage has a really cool brush engine that mimics traditional media.
Adobe Illustrator Draw - iOS / Android - allows you to sketch in vectors, which is a great format when you want to resize your art later nondestructively.
Autodesk offers several apps on both iOS & Android. I like their sketchbook app.
Writing Apps
There are a lot of writing apps for mac and windows, but a few less that are cross platform. Here are the best mobile writing apps for iPhone and iPad I could find.
Scrivener- this is an excellent app! I love the interface and how you can customize it to fit your workflow. They also have a Mac version of their writing app.
- One time purchase
Ulysses - an excellent writing environment for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It’s got a clean interface and flexible options with export and management of files. A bit less complex than Scrivener, but well regarded in the writing community.
- Requires a subscription
Bear- a very pretty markdown editor with linkable notes. It’s got a nice live preview, so you can see what you’re doing. It’s also really pretty. Sync does require a subscription, but it works fine without that.
I hope this article helps!
If there is enough interest, I might add a few more categories! (Art social media, productivity). Let me know if that would be helpful to you.