Sketchbook Pro: The Professional Sketching App That Went Free

Sketchbook Pro is one of the most widely used digital sketching and drawing applications in the world, with a history stretching back to 2002 and a user base that includes professional concept artists, industrial designers, storyboard artists, and illustrators at major studios worldwide. Originally developed by Alias and later acquired by Autodesk, the application was spun off as an independent company in 2021 and made completely free, removing the subscription barrier that had previously limited access to its professional feature set. As of 2026, Sketchbook Pro is available at no cost on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, with the full professional feature set available to all users.

The decision to make Sketchbook free was significant for the digital art community, particularly for artists on Android who had limited access to professional-grade drawing applications. The combination of a genuinely professional feature set, a clean and distraction-free interface, and a free price point makes Sketchbook one of the most accessible professional drawing tools available on any platform.

The Interface Philosophy

The defining characteristic of Sketchbook's interface is its commitment to minimalism and distraction-free drawing. The application is designed to get out of the way and let artists draw, with a full-screen canvas that maximises drawing space and tools that appear only when needed. This philosophy reflects the application's origins as a tool for professional concept artists who need to sketch quickly and efficiently without interface friction.

The radial menu system provides quick access to tools, colours, and settings through a circular menu that appears at the tip of the stylus, minimising the need to move to fixed interface elements at the edges of the screen. This radial menu approach is particularly well-suited to tablet use, where reaching to the edges of the screen can interrupt the flow of drawing.

The full-screen canvas mode removes all interface elements, providing an unobstructed drawing surface that is particularly valuable for artists who want to focus entirely on the work without visual distraction. Tools can be accessed through gestures and the radial menu without leaving the full-screen mode, maintaining the immersive drawing experience.

The Brush Engine

Sketchbook's brush engine is one of its strongest features, providing a responsive and customisable set of drawing tools that covers the full range of sketching and illustration needs. The default brush library includes pencils, pens, markers, and painterly brushes, each with customisable dynamics including size, opacity, flow, and texture.

Predictive Stroke is a distinctive feature that smooths hand-drawn lines in real time, reducing the wobble that can affect hand-drawn lines on a tablet and producing cleaner, more confident-looking strokes. The level of smoothing is adjustable, allowing artists to choose between the natural character of unsmoothed lines and the cleaner appearance of heavily smoothed strokes. This feature is particularly valuable for artists who are new to drawing on tablets and who find that the disconnect between hand movement and screen output makes their lines look shakier than they intend.

The Copic colour library is included in Sketchbook, providing access to the full range of Copic marker colours in digital form. For illustrators and designers who work with Copic markers in their traditional practice, the ability to use the same colour system in digital work provides a useful bridge between traditional and digital workflows.

Symmetry and Perspective Tools

Symmetry tools allow artists to create symmetrical drawings automatically, with options for horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and radial symmetry. The symmetry tools are particularly useful for character design, where bilateral symmetry is important, and for creating decorative patterns and mandala-like designs.

Perspective guides provide one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective overlays that help artists draw accurate perspective without manual construction. These guides are particularly valuable for concept artists and industrial designers who work with architectural and product subjects that require accurate perspective.

The combination of symmetry and perspective tools makes Sketchbook well-suited to the specific needs of concept artists and industrial designers, who frequently need to create symmetrical designs and accurate perspective drawings as part of their professional workflow.

Cross-Platform Availability

One of Sketchbook's most practical advantages is its cross-platform availability. The application runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, with a consistent feature set across all platforms. This cross-platform consistency means that artists can work on the same files across different devices without losing features or encountering compatibility issues.

The cloud sync feature allows files to be synchronised across devices automatically, making it practical to start a sketch on an iPad and continue it on a desktop, or to access files from any device without manual file transfer. This cross-platform workflow is particularly valuable for artists who work in multiple contexts, such as sketching on a tablet while travelling and refining on a desktop in the studio.

Who Uses Sketchbook

Sketchbook has a particularly strong following among concept artists and industrial designers, reflecting its origins as a professional tool for these disciplines. The application's clean interface, responsive brush engine, and perspective tools make it well-suited to the quick, exploratory sketching that concept art and industrial design require.

Storyboard artists also use Sketchbook extensively, taking advantage of its clean interface and the ability to work quickly across multiple panels. The application's layer system and export options support the specific workflow requirements of storyboarding for film, animation, and advertising.

For beginners, Sketchbook's free price point and low learning curve make it an excellent starting point for digital drawing. The clean interface is less overwhelming than more complex applications like Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint, and the full professional feature set means that beginners do not need to upgrade to a different application as their skills develop.

PSD Compatibility

Sketchbook's PSD export allows artists to take their work into Photoshop or other applications that support the PSD format, with layers preserved. This compatibility makes Sketchbook a practical part of a professional workflow that involves multiple applications, allowing artists to sketch in Sketchbook and finish in Photoshop or other tools.

The Bottom Line

Sketchbook Pro is one of the most accessible and genuinely professional digital drawing applications available, offering a clean distraction-free interface, a responsive brush engine, and a full set of professional features at no cost across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. For concept artists, industrial designers, storyboard artists, and anyone who wants a professional sketching tool without subscription costs, Sketchbook is one of the most compelling options available on any platform.