How to sketch with pencil and ink on a Mac
Choose your paper
Start a new document and pick a “Surface” in the “New Canvas” card: “Fine Paper” is the default, while “Kraft” and “Slate” give a toned ground. Click “Create Canvas”.
Pick up a pencil
Click “Pencil” in the tools palette (or press P), then click it again to open its style tray. “HB Graphite” is free; the other Pencil styles are Pro.
Set size and smoothing
Click “Tool Options” in the palette to set “Size”, “Opacity” and “Steady”. Press [ and ] to resize the pencil between strokes.
Block in, then build tone
Draw light contour lines, then hatch and cross-hatch; tone darkens where strokes overlap. On a pen tablet, press harder for a darker line or lean the pen to shade.
Ink over the sketch
Press N for “Pen & Ink” and trace with “Ballpoint” (free) or “Fine-liner” (Pro). Ink starts its own layer if there is room, so you can later right-click the pencil layer in the “Studio” sidebar and choose “Hide Layer”.
Export your drawing
Choose File ▸ “Export as PNG…”, “Export as JPEG…” or “Export as Layered PSD…”; every export is free. PNG drops the paper; JPEG keeps the paper’s flat color.
A pencil drawing app for Mac with six pencils
As a sketching app for Mac, Paint My starts like a paper sketch: with graphite. Pencil strokes are translucent, so tone builds where lines overlap, and even a single scribble darkens where it crosses itself.
Graphite grinds against a paper height field with ridges and valleys, so hatching breaks up along the tooth. “Colored Pencil” brings that grain to color, so Paint My is a colored pencil drawing app too. Compare every style in the Pencil family of the brush library.
- “HB Graphite” (free): a light, fine lead for construction lines.
- “6B Soft”: a bigger, softer, darker lead for deep shadows.
- “Mechanical 0.5”: a thin line with no grain; pressure changes how dark it is, not how wide.
- “Charcoal Stick”: a broad, heavily grained tip for big tonal areas.
- “Colored Pencil”: translucent color with paper grain.
- “Carpenter”: a flat lead fixed at 90°, so lines turn thick or thin with direction.
Digital charcoal and shading with tilt
“Charcoal Stick” is Paint My’s digital charcoal: a wide tip, heavy grain and a dark, translucent build-up. Soften it with “Smudge” (free, in the Blend family), which drags the color along. For a chalkier line, “Conté” in the Dry Media family is opaque and gritty.
With a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, pressing harder makes every pencil darker and most of them wider; 46 of the 57 brush styles respond to pressure. Lean the pen and 13 styles shade with their side, including “HB Graphite”, “Charcoal Stick” and “Conté”: a broader, lighter, grainier mark. See drawing tablet for Mac for both.
A digital sketchbook for Mac, on the paper you choose
Every canvas sits on one of 8 surfaces, at 64–8192 px per side. “Kraft” gives a warm brown ground and “Slate” a dark one, for sketching on toned paper. Switch any time with the “Surface” chips at the foot of the “Studio” sidebar.
Turn on Settings ▸ Tools ▸ “Paper texture affects brushes”, and the grainy pencils and “Conté” catch the long fibers of kraft or the fine, hard grain of slate. It is off by default, so every brush matches its preview.
Digital pen and ink drawing
The “Pen & Ink” family holds six styles: “Ballpoint” (free), “Fine-liner”, “Fountain”, “Brush Pen”, “Calligraphy” and “Technical”. The ink glistens while wet, then dries to its true color; the sheen is never exported.
“Fine-liner” and “Technical” ignore pressure, for an even line. “Fountain” and “Brush Pen” have tips that follow the stroke, and “Calligraphy” holds its nib at 45°. For lettering, see calligraphy app for Mac.
Already have a sketch on paper? Scan the drawing with your iPhone and ink over it. To turn a photo into a sketch instead, use Magic ▸ “Photo to Sketch…”.
Which sketching tools are free?
- “HB Graphite”, “Ballpoint” and all three erasers, including “Color-aware”.
- 3 layers and 50 undo steps; Pro has no layer limit and no undo step limit.
- One canvas open at a time, a five-color palette, all 8 surfaces and every export.
- No account needed, and it works offline.
Questions
Which app can I use to sketch on a Mac?
Paint My is a native Mac app with six pencil and six pen and ink styles on 8 surfaces. It’s a free download for macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Can you sketch on a MacBook without a tablet?
Yes, with the trackpad or a mouse. A mouse draws at full pressure, so set line weight with “Size” and “Opacity”, and raise “Steady” to smooth shaky lines; tilt shading needs a pen tablet.
How do you shade with tilt?
Use a pressure-sensitive pen tablet that reports tilt, and lean the pen as you would a pencil. On the 13 styles that respond, such as “HB Graphite”, “Charcoal Stick” and “Conté”, a flatter pen gives a broader, lighter, grainier mark, even on a rotated canvas.
Can I sketch on toned paper?
Yes. Choose “Kraft” for a warm brown ground or “Slate” for a dark one, in the “New Canvas” card or later from the “Surface” chips. Turn on “Paper texture affects brushes” so grainy pencils catch its texture.
How do I keep lines steady?
Raise the “Steady” slider in “Tool Options” and Paint My smooths each stroke as you draw. Set your starting value in Settings ▸ Tools ▸ “Default Stabilization”.
