Lucky Chan’s ($3.99) is the best drawing iPhone app available in the iTunes App Store, hands down. As close as I’ve seen to Photoshop for iPhone, ArtStudio is a must-have iPhone app for a professional artist or designer. Developed especially for the iPhone/iPod Touch platform, ArtStudio uses a line-smoothing algorithm. OK, so I don’t know exactly what that means, but I do know the result is a truly outstanding drawing iPhone app.
When you first start the iPhone app, you’ll see a drawing that indicates the location of all the iPhone app’s controls, including the upper “smart” corners that undo/redo with a tap. ArtStudio utilizes “pinch to zoom in/out,” and the lower right arrow displays the app’s toolbox. Within the toolbox, you’ll find your brush options (holding each brings up more options for customization such as size, spacing and opacity). Fourteen standard colors are available, but you can also customize these using the gradient palette. Users can create up to five layers in an image and turn them on or off, create a new order or decrease visibility in the layers panel. Available filters include things such as black and white, sepia, blur, sharpen and invert color.
Shaking your device brings up a menu of commonly used options such as zoom to 100 percent, clear layer and undo. Images can be saved within the iPhone app itself, or exported to the camera roll. You can also take a photo directly in-app, or import an existing photo from the library. There is in-app emailing as well.
Although ArtStudio is a professional-caliber iPhone app, beginning artists shouldn’t feel left out—the iPhone app includes several drawing lessons. And, if you’re just a compulsive doodler, ArtStudio is just plain fun to mess around in. Lucky Chan is hard at work developing a version for iPad as well.
