Image: iStock
An interactive drawing app for kids can do wonders. Nowadays, children need not learn to draw using pencil and paper. Instead, they can use their parent’s smartphone as a sheet and their finger as a pencil and get creative. Using these applications on mobiles and tablets is easy and fun for the little ones as they can move their fingers smoothly and have fun while doing so. These apps entertain while boosting learning and creativity. They help children develop fine motor skills, enhance hand-eye coordination, and encourage artistic expression. If you want to know which app could be more useful for them, reading our post can be helpful. However, ensure that your children are not overusing the devices as it can prove detrimental.
Key Pointers
- Engage children with the interactive app Drawing with Carl to explore unique patterns and painting techniques.
- Entice them with Musical Paint for Kids, where their finger on the screen pours melodies.
- Help your children create beautiful artwork using Scribblify, 123 Color HD, and many more unique apps.
17 Drawing Apps For Kids
These drawing apps for children keep them engaged for quite some time while giving them a chance to hone their creative side. Parental involvement greatly improves the drawing experience. Engaging with your child while they create not only encourages them but also strengthens your relationship.
1. Drawing with Carl
Age group:
2 – 5 years
With this drawing app, kids can learn to draw, paint, and color. The app is interactive and lets children explore different colors and patterns. There are special features such as pattern paint bucket and mirror painting. There are also talking stickers to make the app quite appealing for children.
Available on: iOS
2. Draw and Tell HD
Age group:
3 – 9 years
Designed for children who love drawing and painting, the app has a variety of crayons, brushes, stickers, patterns, and more for them to experiment with. Children can use stencils to draw different images on various backgrounds. With such a large variety of resources at your child’s fingertips, there is a great scope for them to learn.
Available on: iOS
Quick fact3. Musical Paint for Kids
Age group:
2 – 6 years
Why stop at just drawing when you can also enjoy music? This game engages all the senses of your child while encouraging them to design masterpieces. Every time your child places their finger on the screen, there is music. This makes the child want to draw more as they can hear a melodious rhythm.
Available on: iOS
4. Drawing Games to Learning Kids
Age group:
2 years and above
If your child is a drawing enthusiast, try this app as it helps them learn new letters and numbers while drawing. The interactive tool has comments and ideas for the children to use. There are also instructions to draw so that the children, who are just starting out, can learn with ease.
5. Drawing Pad
Age group:
3 years and above
With different pencils, markers, and crayons, Drawing Pad offers children a variety of choices to draw, outline, and paint. The roll out tray gives your children the freedom to select whichever drawing tool they want. There are several backgrounds, including a blank canvas that your children can experiment with or a beautiful landscape. This app has a minimal learning curve and is simple even for young children.
Available on: iOS
6. Drawing for kids: Doodle Games
Age group:
2 – 8 years
If you want your child to learn to draw simple characters, this app can be a good choice. The game gives your children an opportunity to create doodles and explore new forms of visual art. There are 128 drawing and coloring pages for the children to enjoy. Apart from drawing and coloring, hand-eye coordination and motor skills are also enhanced with this app. There are also several themes for your child to choose from.
7. Doodle Buddy Draw
Age group:
3 – 8 years
This app offers over 1,000 stickers for your children to use and there are several backgrounds as well. They can use stencils to make shapes that they cannot make easily otherwise. Using drawing tools such as chalk the child can smudge lines without dirtying their hands. There is a premium, ad-free version of the app, where you can also buy “Doodle Bucks,” for in-app purchases.
Available on: iOS
8. 123 Color HD
Age group:
2 – 8 years
The coloring book app has several cartoon-style images with Paint by Numbers and Letters options. The pages are designed for the child to dabble in different colors and learn about color combinations. Even for adults who are not too good in the artistic department, it is possible to create a stunning masterpiece using this app.
Did you know?Available on: iOS
9. How to Draw
Age group:
4 years and above
If you or your child wants to learn drawing, this is the app you should install. The app gives you step-by-step instructions to draw figures, starting from the most basic ones to advanced animals, cartoons, and anime. You can select an image from the vast online catalog in the app. You also have the option of coloring an image according to the app’s instructions or by yourself.
Available on: iOS
10. Joy Doodle: Movie Color and Draw
Age group:
2 – 8 years
Children enjoy doodling, and if you offer them glowing crayons, they would be doubly happy. With the Joy Doodle drawing app, kids can enjoy doodling on a black background with glowing neon colors. Using these drawing tools, your children can create magical scenes. This app has an easy interface.
Available on: iOS
11. Peppa Pig: Paintbox
Age group:
2 – 6 years
If your child is a fan of Peppa Pig, they may love this drawing game. The app allows your child to explore the world of Peppa Pig, her family, and friends. There are backgrounds frequently used in cartooning, as well as animated stickers and paintbrushes. Children have several drawing tools to choose from. This free app contains no ads or in-app purchases. You can also draw inspiration from these painting ideas for kids for their school painting events.
Available on: Android and iOS
12. Pico ToOns – Coloring Book
Age group:
3 years and above
Pico ToOns has several drawing and painting tools and special effects. Your children can create their own masterpieces using photo-realistic crayons, markers, paintbrushes, pens, chalk, spray, and paint bucket. They can decorate their drawings with colorful stickers as well. Children have to simply tap a tool to access it.
Available on: iOS
13. Squiggles
Age group:
2 years and above
Though not a drawing app, Squiggles allows children to draw squiggly shapes on the screen and then turns the shapes into innovative scenes. For example, a curly squiggle can turn into a lion’s mane or a car’s exhaust smoke. All you must do is to let your child doodle on screen and press play. This game is free to download.
Available on: iOS
14. Scribblify
Image: Linked PIXEL LLC
Age group: 3 years and above
Scribblify is a great game for children and adults alike. No matter what your skill level is, you can create your own artwork using this app. It allows your children to experiment with colors, lines, and symmetries. There are handcrafted brushes, each with a unique texture and behavior. The kaleidoscope and mirror drawing modes allow your child to create cool images. You can access an advanced color palette and background options for a small fee.
Available on: iOS
15. Crayola Create and Play
Age group:
3 years and above
This interactive drawing app teaches drawing and painting to through different art lessons. There is a variety of including, vehicles, animals, princesses, and monsters. The app help children to illustrate figures using dotted lines. Once your children have mastered drawing on these lines, they can create their own figures on the app’s sketchpad.
16. Sketches
Age group:
4 years and above
Tayasui Sketches is a digital art app that encourages your child’s creativity. It offers a wide range of virtual brushes, pens, and other artistic tools to give free rein to your child’s artsy side. Its photo import feature lets your child make fun art to enhance an image. Its cloud sync lets you synchronize all the drawings with multiple devices and easily store and share your little one’s masterpiece.
17. Draw It
Age group:
12 years and above
For older children, the Draw It app by Kwalee Ltd can be a great way to enhance their drawing skills. It comes with challenges that your child has to complete to score better and rank higher than the other participants. It is not a conventional drawing app but a new and refreshing way to practice their drawing skills.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which is a free drawing program for children?
Tux Paint, Simple Paint, Coloring Book, ABC Drawing School, and Fruits Coloring Game & Drawing Book are some free drawing programs for kids.
2. Which is the best pencil sketch app?
VansPortrait, Image to Sketch AI, Sketch My Pic, Pencil Photo Sketch, and Image Online are some good pencil sketch apps that will help your kid curious to learn sketching. These apps will also help them understand the nuances of sketching and make it a fun experience.
3. Which is the best app to draw cartoons?
Adobe Photoshop Sketch, Procreate, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Graphic, Pixelmator, Animation Desk, Inspire Pro, Photo Cartoon Camera, Animator, And Animate Me are some interesting apps for children to draw cartoons.
4. How can drawing help with my child’s social and cognitive development?
Drawing can aid a child’s social and cognitive development by fostering creativity, promoting fine motor skills, encouraging self-expression, and improving problem-solving abilities. This can also help develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Additionally, drawing can challenge children to think critically and problem-solve as they create images, which can improve their cognitive skills (1). Art therapy can also be particularly beneficial for special-needs children, helping to develop reading skills and emotional intelligence. By engaging in art activities, children can express their emotions and thoughts, helping to enhance their sense of self and overall development (2).
5. What safety measures do these apps take to protect children?
Many apps focus on safety by enforcing strict data privacy policies and blocking in-app purchases without parental consent. Always review the app’s privacy settings before use.
Infographic: Ways To Boost Your Child’s Creativity With Technology
The advancement of technology has allowed you to combine your child’s ideas with technological advancements and boost their creativity alongside. Check out and save this infographic to know how you can help boost your child’s creative abilities. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Illustration: Best iPad And Android Painting And Drawing Apps For Kids
Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team
Check out this video to find the best drawing and painting apps for your device! The video also covers free apps, so you can get creative without breaking the bank.
References
- Zakaria M. Z. Yunus F. & Mohamed S. (2021) Drawing activities enhance preschoolers socio-emotional development.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1296198.pdf - Zubair Hina (2010); Use of Art/Art Work and Cognitive Skill for the Rehabilitation of Special Children of 4-9 Years of Age
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1137145.pdf
Community Experiences
Join the conversation and become a part of our nurturing community! Share your stories, experiences, and insights to connect with fellow parents.
Read full bio of Kristen Miller
Read full bio of Nisha Bharatan
Read full bio of Harshita Makvana
