57 brush styles in 12 tool families

Pencil 6 stylesFree: HB Graphite

Six leads for sketching, shading and line work, from fine HB graphite to a broad charcoal stick. Every pencil stroke is translucent, so graphite darkens where strokes overlap or loop back over themselves. Tilt a tablet stylus and all six shade with the side of the lead, in a wider, lighter and softer mark; “Mechanical 0.5” reacts only slightly.

• HB GraphiteFreeFine, light graphite; pressure changes width and flow, and tilt shades with the side
• 6B SoftProSofter and darker than “HB Graphite”, from 2 to 40 px; tilt to shade with the side
• Mechanical 0.5ProA fine 1–4 px line with no grain; pressure changes flow, not width
• Charcoal StickProBroad and soft, from 4 to 80 px, with heavy grain; tilt to shade with the side
• Colored PencilProGrainy, translucent color that deepens where strokes overlap; tilt to shade
• CarpenterProA flat lead fixed at 90°, so the line’s width changes with the stroke direction

Sketching app for Mac

Pen & Ink 6 stylesFree: Ballpoint

Six pens for line art, inking and lettering, with ink that goes down wet and then dries. “Fountain” and “Brush Pen” have an oval tip that turns with your stroke, and “Calligraphy” holds a flat nib at a fixed 45°. “Fine-liner” and “Technical” keep the same width at any pressure, for even lines in pen and ink sketching.

• BallpointFreeAn ink line from 1 to 12 px that widens with pressure
• Fine-linerProA crisp, even line that stays the same width at any pressure
• FountainProAn oval nib that turns with the stroke; widens with pressure, reacts lightly to tilt
• Brush PenProAn oval tip that turns with the stroke and swells with pressure, up to 48 px
• CalligraphyProA flat nib fixed at 45°: thick and thin strokes come from the direction you pull
• TechnicalProA very hard-edged line from 1 to 8 px; pressure doesn’t change it

Calligraphy app for Mac

Marker 5 stylesFree: Chisel

Five translucent markers for coloring, lettering and highlighting. Each pass builds up where it overlaps another, so color deepens as you go over it. “Chisel”, “Dual Tip”, “Highlighter” and “Alcohol Blend” hold a flat tip at a fixed angle, so the line’s width changes with the direction you draw.

• ChiselFreeA flat tip held at 45° that ignores pressure; passes darken where they overlap
• Fine TipProA round tip, from 2 to 24 px, with an even width at any pressure
• Dual TipProAn angled tip at 45° that, unlike “Chisel”, widens with pressure
• HighlighterProA flat, horizontal tip with very see-through ink, from 10 to 100 px
• Alcohol BlendProA soft-edged, wetter marker; pressure changes flow instead of width

Hand lettering app for Mac

Brush 6 stylesFree: Round Wash

Six brushes for watercolor washes, ink washes and dry-brush texture. Every stroke is translucent, deepens where it overlaps and dries over time, and “Watercolor”, “Ink Wash”, “Streaky Wash” and “Splatter Wash” settle with darker edges when you finish the stroke. All six have an irregular, organic outline, and five of them vary in density along the stroke.

• WatercolorProSettles with a strong darker edge; uneven density and an irregular outline
• Ink WashProA pale, see-through wash that settles with a darker edge
• Round WashFreeA slightly oval tip that turns with the stroke; pressure changes width, not flow
• Dry BrushProBroken streaks along the stroke with uneven, patchy coverage
• Streaky WashProA broad, streaked wash with a subtle darker edge
• Splatter WashProThrows droplets past the edge of the wash, which settles darker at the rim

Watercolor app for Mac

Paint 3 stylesFree: Acrylic

Three opaque paints that cover what’s underneath instead of glazing over it. “Oil” leaves ridged impasto across the stroke, “Gouache” has a flat, matte grain and “Acrylic” lays down smooth, solid color. While paint is still wet, it smudges further than dry paint.

• OilProRidged impasto across the stroke, and it stays wet far longer than “Acrylic”
• GouacheProA flat, matte grain that looks the same on every surface
• AcrylicFreeSmooth, near-solid coverage with no grain; pressure changes width

Oil painting app for Mac

Dry Media 3 stylesFree: Pastel

Three dry sticks that break up against the paper’s grain, each in its own way. “Pastel” and “Conté” cling to the peaks of the grain and crumble in the valleys, while “Crayon” has a wax resist. All three cover rather than glaze, and they shade with their side when you tilt a tablet stylus.

• PastelFreeClings to the peaks of the paper’s grain and crumbles in the valleys
• CrayonProA wax resist: part of the paper’s grain takes less color, so the mark breaks up
• ContéProLess grit than “Pastel” and a firmer edge, from 3 to 40 px

Chalk 3 stylesFree: Soft Chalk

Three chalks for powdery, broken marks. With “Soft Chalk” and “Hard Chalk”, the powder catches on the crests of the paper’s grain and speckles off between them, and “Dusty Chalk” drags heavy streaks along the stroke. All three are opaque and shade with their side when you tilt a tablet stylus.

• Soft ChalkFreePowder catches on the paper’s crests and speckles off; tilt to shade with the side
• Hard ChalkProFirmer and more solid than “Soft Chalk”, with less powder breaking up the mark
• Dusty ChalkProHeavy streaks along the stroke, with slightly scattered dabs

Airbrush 6 stylesFree: Airbrush

Six digital airbrushes for soft shading, smooth gradients and spray texture. Like a real airbrush, each one keeps spraying while you hold still, so the spot builds up richer color. Pressure sets the flow on four of them, while “Stipple” and “Spatter Flick” throw scattered dots and ignore pressure.

• AirbrushFreeFully soft-edged with low flow, so color builds up gradually; pressure sets the flow
• StippleProHard-edged dots, widely spaced and scattered; pressure doesn’t change them
• Fine DetailProA small, soft spray from 4 to 60 px for detail work
• Soft HaloProVery large, faint and soft, from 30 to 300 px, for broad gradients
• Mist ConeProA gritty cone: dense dots in the middle that thin out to a fuzzy rim
• Spatter FlickProCoarse, scattered speckle with droplets thrown past the edge

Spray Can 10 stylesFree: Classic Can

Ten spray cans for graffiti, lettering and grungy texture. Every can keeps spraying while you hold still, so paint pools richer on the spot. Only “Hi-Fi” runs into drips, and only when it lingers, never on a moving pass. “Fat Cap” sprays a wide aerosol cone up to 320 px across, and “Skinny Cap” a tight line up to 90 px with a crisper edge.

• Classic CanFreeSpeckled spray where each dot either lands or skips; pressure sets the flow
• Wide FanProA broad speckled spray, from 40 to 240 px, for covering big areas
• SplatterProSpeckled dabs flung widely around the line; pressure doesn’t change it
• MatteProA speckled can that pools when you hold still, but never drips
• Fat CapProA wide aerosol cone, from 60 to 320 px: dense in the middle, fuzzy at the rim
• Skinny CapProA tight aerosol line, from 8 to 90 px, with a crisper edge than “Fat Cap”
• StencilProA hard-edged speckle spray; it’s a brush, not a mask
• Dust & GrimeProA dry, sparse aerosol with scattered dots and stray droplets, for dirt and wear
• RustProUneven aerosol with droplets thrown past the edge, for grungy texture
• Hi-FiProSmooth, soft coverage; hold still on one spot and the paint runs into drips

Pixel 3 stylesFree: Pixel Brush

Pixel styles snap every mark to a square grid, with a “Cell” size from 4 to 64 px in steps of 4 and a grid overlay while a Pixel style is selected. “Pixel-perfect”, on by default, removes doubled corners on diagonals, and fast strokes leave no gaps. Symmetry drawing works too, with every mirrored mark snapped to the same grid.

• Pixel BrushFreeFills whole grid cells; “Pixel-perfect” clears doubled corners on diagonals
• Pixel ShadingPro
• DitherPro

Pixel art app for Mac

Eraser 3 stylesFree: Hard, Soft, Color-aware

Three erasers, and all three are free. “Hard” and “Soft” remove paint with a crisp or a gradual edge, and “Color-aware” removes just the colors close to the first pixel you touch, set with its “Tolerance” slider. Every eraser works on the topmost visible layer that has paint under your first touch, including an imported photo.

• HardFreeA crisp edge, from 2 to 200 px; pressure changes width
• SoftFreeA soft, gradual edge; pressure changes width and flow
• Color-awareFreeErases just the colors like the first pixel you touch; set the range with “Tolerance”

Blend 3 stylesFree: Smudge

Three tools that move paint already on the canvas instead of adding color. “Smudge” and “Liquid Smear” pick up the color under the tool and drag it along, and “Blur” softens edges in place. Wet paint smudges much further than dry, and like the erasers, they work on the topmost visible layer with paint under your first touch.

• SmudgeFreePicks up the color under it and drags it along; wet paint moves further
• BlurProSoftens edges in place instead of dragging paint along; pressure sets the flow
• Liquid SmearProDrags color like “Smudge”, with higher flow and closer dabs for a stronger smear