SketchBook Express is the Perfect App for Artists on the Go
by Toni McQuilken
Nov 10, 2011 8:31 AM –
Install
SketchBook Express. Autodesk SketchBook Express for Android is a fun and intuitive drawing application, optimized for use on Honeycomb tablet devices. Get a taste of the professional-grade paint and drawing tools available in the award winning SketchBook Pro.
Price: Free, $1.99 Pro Mobile Version, $4.99 Pro Tablet Version
Tested on: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Powerful artist tools.
- A wide range of options in brush types, effects, etc.
- A great way to try out Autodesk Sketchbook apps offer for free.
Cons
- Not everything available in the Pro version is in this version.
Features:
My husband is an artist, so as part of the review process for this app, I let him give it a try. And I couldn’t get my tablet back for a while. This app has a wide range of brush types and effects for sketching and drawing on the tablet. As with the Express version, it’s designed to give users a good sample of the tools and power it can bring to the table, with the Pro version available for hard core artists who want to have a wider range of tools.
One thing I really found impressive was the pop-up menu of brush options you can pull up right in the work space. It’s a rotating wheel, so it’s very easy to quickly switch between different brush types to very easily get different looks and feels as you work. The color palette tool is also very intuitive, and lets you really fine-tune the exact color you’re looking for, as well as letting you choose brush types in that screen as well, along with a preview of exactly what it will look like.
The video below is of the full, Pro version of the app, but while the options in Express are a bit more limited, the app works the same way, so you can get a good feel for it:
Watch on Mobile
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Sketchbook Splash Screen
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Sketchbook Tutorial
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SketchBook Pro Brush Types
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Sketchbook Brush Properties
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SketchBook Pro Tools
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SketchBook Pro Drawings
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SketchBook Pro Drawings 2
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SketchBook Pro Drawings 3
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Sketchbook Workspace
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Sketchbook Brush Type Demo
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Sketchbook Palette
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Sketchbook Menu
Usefulness:
For anyone who loves to sketch or draw, and has an Android tablet (though there is a version for phones too), this is an incredibly useful app. It replaces a bag of paper, pencils, erasers and other artist tools, and puts them all in a device you’re already carrying anyway.
Ease of Use:
Both my artist tester and I found this app very intuitive and easy to use. Everything is where you’d expect it, and the tools faded into the background, allowing you to just focus on the art.
Frequently Used:
This is the app you’ll use every time you go to draw.
Interface:
As I mentioned above, everything is very intuitive, and just works, which allows you to really focus on the reason for the app – the art.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
Android Tablet Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Artist Tools,
Autodesk,
Autodesk Sketchbook,
Autodesk Sketchbook Express,
Sketch Book,
Sketchbook,
SketchBook Express,
Sketchbook Pro
Categorised in: Media & Video
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