11 Best iPad Apps to Boost Your Creativity

When you’re a digital artist, it’s important to have the right tools for what you want to create. We’ve taken a look at some of the best drawing apps for digital art, but what about the apps that help support the creative process?

Whether it’s helping you find the right colors, character poses, or even making your own font, there’s rarely one app or accessory that can do everything.

That’s why we’re taking a look at some of the best iPad apps to help you boost your creativity. Let's take a look.

Template apps

When you don’t want to start an idea, design, or illustration from scratch, a template can help. They're often designed by professionals for almost anything you can think of creating.

The apps in this section have a wide range of capabilities and functions, but they all include helpful presets and configurations to jump-start your creative projects.

Adobe Express

If you’ve ever tried to turn your work into engaging graphics for social media or other platforms, you know how tricky it can be. Adobe Express has a massive template library that lets you create mood boards, documents, social graphics, and more with simple searches.

You can even jump-start the work you create in Express with files from your other Adobe programs. Using Linked Assets, you can import your work from Illustrator and Photoshop to transform them into on-brand visuals.

This is all while incorporating an impressive amount of Photoshop-inspired editing features and AI-powered features from Firefly. You'll also find a number of preset animation settings that can bring your work to life in just a few taps.

Overall, Adobe Express will be any Adobe user's best friend who wants to do more with their files while simplifying their workflow.

Canva

Similar to Adobe Express, Canva is a template graphic powerhouse. In just over a decade, they've become an all-in-one design solution for professionals and hobbyists alike.

Use it to create a variety of projects, such as videos, presentations, posters, and more. Now, their platform is filled with AI-powered features under what they call Magic Studio. This includes classic tools like the Background Remover and Text to Image generator, as well as pro features like Magic Expand.

They've enhanced the template search experience by allowing you to describe your ideal template design and generate options using Magic Design.

Overall, Canva can be a more economical solution compared to certain Adobe subscriptions. You can use Canva for free, but if you want more premium features, you might want to upgrade to a monthly plan.

Prêt à Template

Fashion illustration is a unique skill set that usually needs niche tools. The Prêt à Template app was designed specifically for fashion drawing and can help you create high-quality illustrations with its templates and digital drawing tools.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a fashion illustrator, this can help you create fun clothing for your characters, backgrounds, and more. Choose the Templates library from the menu to open up different clothing types, shoes, bags, and accessories.

The drawing interface and tools are simple, using layers to keep your work organized as you add details. Special features like pattern brushes help you add an instant look and feel to whatever template you’re using. While you’ll be limited to the most basic tools and templates with the free version, you can upgrade for a one-time purchase to unlock all that the app has to offer. If you're interested in learning more about the app, check out their YouTube channel for helpful in-depth tutorials.

Photoshop Express

You might just do a double-take when looking at this app, but no, it isn’t Photoshop. It’s a mobile-optimized version of Photoshop that lets you add filters and effects to your photos in a single tap. If you're looking for fun things to do with your photos but aren't sure where to start, let Photoshop Express do the heavy lifting.

The collage feature lets you add photos from your device or Adobe Stock to layout templates. You can choose from Grid, Unique, or Classic photo collage layouts to get the arrangement you like best for your photos. Even after you've selected your layout, you can still edit and rearrange your photos however you like on your canvas.

You'll also find pre-designed photo themes, such as holidays, events, family gatherings, and more. This will enhance your layout with designs that match the occasion. And of course, there's a lot of powerful AI built in. You can use it to add makeup edits, dehaze photos, and even add smiles to photos in your library. All of this will not only speed up your workflow but also give you inspiration for new ways to transform your photos.

Inspiration apps

It's not uncommon to hit a creative block when trying to find elements to finish off a piece. And the creativity has to come from somewhere!

That's why having a method for finding inspiration is great for adding colors, textures, photography, and more to your work. These apps can help you elevate your work by sourcing the visual resources you want to add to your next mood board so you can move past creative block.

Coolors

The colors you use in your work can change the entire look and feel of your piece. But what do you do when you have trouble picking colors? Thankfully, this beautifully designed app has you covered.

Coolors is a favorite among designers and illustrators looking for color inspiration for their work. When generating a color palette, you can adjust your number of swatches and lock the swatches you want to keep. When you’re ready, you can export your palette to Procreate, SVG, ASE, and more for wide compatibility in popular drawing and design apps.

And because it's so beloved, you can quickly filter through the color palettes that other users have generated in the app. You can even like and save your favorites into collections for easy reference later.

With a pro account, you’ll get access to even more useful features, like specific color palette types, unlimited palette exports, increased swatches, and more.

Adobe Capture

If you’re looking for an all-in-one inspiration and creation tool, you’ve found it with this app. Adobe Capture is one of the best-kept secrets as a companion app to several Adobe programs.

When it comes to inspiration, you can take advantage of its ability to take almost any file you import and create something from it. Capture can help you create pixel and vector brushes, color palettes, and even record audio files.

If you have a picture on your device, importing it into Capture can turn it into an asset for your project that can be saved to your Creative Cloud Library, making it accessible in all your Adobe apps. Even from within the app, you can use your device camera, and the app will give you suggestions for how to transform your image into something that can inspire your next project.

Ever thought of creating a pattern from your drawings? Take your work from Adobe Fresco to create a swatch and import it into Capture using the Capture Pattern feature from the Export menu. Let it give you your next big spark to create something new and exciting.

Are.na App

What good is inspiration if it's scattered everywhere? Are.na  is a way for you to reign in the chaos. The app helps you save your favorite things from around the internet, like images, links, and even entire PDFs, into channels. The content you save in your channels is called blocks.

There are no likes, favorites, or ads, which makes the experience feel more streamlined than other traditional social media platforms. Instead, as you browse through the platform, you can use connections to link or relate content to other channels or blocks on the platform. It also lets you see who else on the platform has the same blocks in their channels, helping you discover even more inspiring resources from people already using the app.

It also encourages attributing your blocks, so that sources and important metadata are credited and traceable. I love their culture of handling knowledge with care and think it's something everyone should get into when sourcing inspiration. Sign up for free, and start using it for your next mood board.

Unsplash App

High-quality visuals are one of my favorite ways to gain inspiration for my work. Unsplash is a beautiful library of photos and illustrations powered by easy-to-use search and filters.

If you’re not sure where to start, you can check out their Trending Searches to see what visuals are inspiring people the most lately. Once you find what you’re looking for, you can favorite photos and organize them into collections so you’ll always have access to them.

When you download from Unsplash, creators are easily credited with a simple copy-and-paste link. And with options for free or licensed work, as well as commercial, you have flexibility depending on your needs.

If you want even more from Unsplash, you can upgrade to their paid subscription: Unsplash+. With it, you’ll gain access to illustrations, enhanced licensing options, editing tools, and more.

Reference apps

Using references is a common practice by artists when creating original characters, illustrating objects, typefaces, and more. References can be anything from desk models, photos, or even things you find in your own surroundings.

Understanding what you're creating looks like can help to get key elements like proportions and poses right before you start adding your own flair. These apps were designed to help you have great references every time, allowing you to keep going back to them.

Handy Art Reference Tool

You'll never have to rely on taking awkward photos of your own hands again, thanks to this app. The Handy Reference Tool app is designed to help you reference male and female hands, props, and more.

Using common digital art app gestures, you can rotate and zoom in and out to get the exact view you need. You also have the option of using their camera function to adjust the zoom and field of view with sliders. If that's not enough, you can also add objects and manipulate joints in the same way.

Similar to using 3D models in Procreate, you can set up your lighting to realistically interact with whatever is in your scene. Once you've created a scene you like, you can save it so you can go back to it again. With premium one-time purchases, you can expand the models in the app to include feet and skulls.

Fontself

The foundation of creating your own typeface or lettering is great references. And if you've ever wanted to make your own font, Fontself was created to make it accessible for iPad users.

You have eight style options for template references within the app, giving you a variety of resources you can build from. The interface is simple to use because you can draw out your font completely in vector form without having to plot points.

If you want to fine-tune your linework, you can adjust your points later. Once you've got the feel of how you want to draw your font, you can easily toggle off the template reference in the View Settings.

With support for over 80 languages, artists and hobbyists worldwide can create their own fonts and use them in their favorite digital art apps, such as Procreate and Fresco.

Magic Poser App

When you don't have access to live drawing subjects, having a digital model is the next best thing. The Magic Poser app can instantly render 3D models using its physics engine to edit them into any dynamic pose you need. Simply tap and drag the colored nodes to move the subject around that point.

From the homescreen, you can choose from a library of hundreds of models and objects, so you can start with the right base. If you're a free user, you'll start out with limited poses and preset options for your models.

If you want to take it to the next level, you can upgrade your experience to exporting to OBJ format and importing it into Procreate to recolor it. Premium users also have the option to reference stylized anime models, clothing, hair, and objects across over 10 categories. To learn more, you can download the app for free and take a guided video tour of the app under the Tutorials tab.

Bonus: Paperlike™ Drawing Collection

Hopefully, you're ready to start creating with the apps from this list. Next step: make sure you have the right accessories to get the most out of your iPad.

So if you’re ready to create (and enjoy a discount), explore our Drawing Collection.

When you bundle our Paperlike™ Screen Protector with accessories like our Pencil Grips and Drawing Glove, you can enjoy a discount at checkout. Improve your experience on the iPad and start on your next masterpiece!