Best Drawing Apps for Tattoo Artists on iPad: The Only Guide You Need
Remember when designing tattoos meant tracing from a reference on a lightbox, photocopying it to resize, and hoping the stencil transferred cleanly? Some of us still do that, and there’s nothing wrong with it — but if you haven’t made the jump to digital design yet, you’re working harder than you need to.
I resisted going digital for years. “I’m a traditional artist, I draw on paper.” Cool story. Then I watched my buddy design a full sleeve concept in Procreate — adjusting sizing on the fly, flipping elements, trying different color palettes, and sending the client a mockup in 20 minutes that would’ve taken me three hours on paper. I bought an iPad that week.
Here’s every drawing app worth considering, what they cost, and which one you should actually use.
Quick Answer: Just Get Procreate
I’m going to save you 15 minutes of reading: if you just want to know what to buy, get Procreate for $12.99 and be done with it. That’s what 80%+ of tattoo artists use, it’s a one-time purchase (no subscription), and it does everything you need.
But if you want to understand your options, or Procreate isn’t quite right for your workflow, keep reading.
The Apps, Ranked
1. Procreate — The Industry Standard
Price: $12.99 (one-time purchase) Platform: iPad only Best for: 99% of tattoo artists
Procreate is to digital tattoo design what a Cheyenne is to pen machines — it’s not the only option, but it’s the one everyone uses because it works brilliantly.
Why tattoo artists love it:
Brush customization is insane. You can create brushes that mimic every traditional medium — fine liner pens, brush pens, watercolor, stippling dots, whip shading. Or download tattoo-specific brush packs from artists who’ve already dialed in the perfect settings.
Layers are a game-changer. Design a full sleeve with each element on its own layer. Move the rose up two inches? Done. Try the dragon in black and grey instead of color? Toggle between versions. This alone saves hours compared to paper design.
Quick resizing and placement mockups. Import a photo of the client’s arm, overlay your design, and resize/rotate until the placement is perfect. Send them a visual mockup before they even come in. Clients love this and it dramatically reduces “can we move it a little to the left” conversations during stencil application.
Time-lapse recording. Procreate automatically records a time-lapse of your drawing process. This is pure gold for social media. Post the time-lapse on Instagram Reels or TikTok and watch the engagement roll in. Content creation and design work in one step.
Reference images on canvas. Pull reference images directly onto your canvas and design alongside them. Way better than the physical reference-taped-to-the-desk approach.
What could be better:
- No Android version — iPad only
- Text tool is basic (doesn’t matter for most tattoo work)
- No vector support (relevant for clean geometric work)
- Can lag slightly on very large canvases with many layers on older iPads
Tattoo-specific brush packs worth buying:
- Tattoo Smart brushes by Matt Rodway ($10-20 per pack) — realistic tattoo shading and lining brushes
- Hawk & Sparrow Tattoo Brushes ($15) — great for traditional/neo-traditional
- Procreate Tattoo Brush Bundle on Etsy ($5-25) — tons of options, quality varies
Bottom line: Buy it. $12.99 for the most-used tool in your design arsenal. There’s no subscription, no catch. It’s the best value in tattoo tech.
2. Adobe Fresco — Best for Watercolor and Painting Styles
Price: Free (basic) | $9.99/month (Premium with full brush library) Platform: iPad, Windows Best for: Artists who specialize in watercolor, illustrative, or painterly tattoo styles
Adobe Fresco has one killer feature that Procreate doesn’t: Live Brushes. These are brushes that simulate real watercolor and oil paint physics — the way colors bleed and blend on wet canvas, how pigment pools in the valleys of textured paper. For artists doing watercolor-style tattoos or illustrative work, this is genuinely impressive.
Why you might choose it over Procreate:
- Live Brushes for realistic watercolor/oil paint simulation
- Access to the entire Adobe brush library (thousands of brushes)
- Seamless integration with Photoshop and Illustrator
- Vector brushes for clean geometric work
- Cross-platform (iPad and Windows)
Why most tattoo artists won’t:
- $9.99/month subscription vs. Procreate’s $12.99 one-time
- Steeper learning curve
- Fewer tattoo-specific resources and tutorials
- The watercolor simulation is beautiful but tattoo watercolor style doesn’t actually look like real watercolor on skin, so the simulation advantage doesn’t translate directly
My take: If you do primarily illustrative or watercolor-style tattoos and you’re already in the Adobe ecosystem, Fresco is worth exploring. Otherwise, Procreate does everything you need.
3. Clip Studio Paint — Best for Line Work and Comics-Style
Price: $4.49/month (iPad) | One-time purchase on desktop ($49.99 Pro, $219 EX) Platform: iPad, Windows, Mac, Android, Chromebook Best for: Artists who do line-heavy work, manga-influenced designs, or American traditional
Clip Studio Paint comes from the manga and comics world, and its line stabilization tools are the best available on any platform.
Why it matters for tattoo artists:
- Vector line layers — draw a line and resize it infinitely without quality loss. Perfect for geometric and ornamental work.
- Line stabilization — smooths your hand tremor in real-time. Draw cleaner lines than you can on paper. Amazing for fine-line and intricate work.
- Symmetry rulers — draw one side and it mirrors automatically. Essential for mandala and symmetrical designs.
- Pattern fills — one tap to fill areas with dot work, cross-hatching, or custom patterns.
Downsides:
- More complex interface than Procreate (steeper learning curve)
- Subscription model on iPad ($4.49/mo adds up)
- Fewer tattoo-specific tutorials and community resources
- Not as intuitive for quick sketching
My take: If you do a lot of geometric, ornamental, or fine-line work where precision and symmetry matter, Clip Studio is worth the learning curve. For everything else, Procreate is simpler and cheaper.
4. Vectornator (Now Linearity Curve) — Best for Geometric and Clean Lines
Price: Free Platform: iPad, Mac Best for: Artists who specialize in geometric, dotwork, ornamental, or blackwork designs
Vectornator is a free vector design tool. Instead of drawing with pixels (like Procreate), you draw with mathematical paths that can be scaled infinitely without quality loss. For geometric tattoo artists, this is the right tool for the job.
When it’s better than Procreate:
- Creating perfectly symmetrical mandalas and geometric patterns
- Designing sacred geometry with mathematical precision
- Clean, scalable line work that transfers to any size
- Dotwork patterns with mathematically even spacing
When it’s worse:
- Organic, freehand, illustrative work feels stiff in vector
- No painting or shading tools
- Steeper learning curve for artists used to traditional drawing
- Not suitable for most tattoo styles
My take: Free is free. If you do geometric or ornamental work, keep it on your iPad as a secondary tool alongside Procreate. Use Procreate for sketching and illustration, Vectornator for precision geometry.
5. Sketchbook (by Autodesk) — Best Free Sketching Tool
Price: Free Platform: iPad, Android, Windows, Mac Best for: Quick sketching and artists who want a no-frills digital sketchpad
Sketchbook is the digital equivalent of a Moleskine. Clean interface, good brushes, no overwhelming features. It’s great for quick concept sketches and ideation before moving to Procreate for detailed work.
Why it’s worth having:
- Completely free with no limitations
- Dead simple interface — feels like drawing on paper
- Good pencil and pen brushes
- Predictive stroke (smooths your lines)
- Available on every platform
Why it’s not your primary tool:
- Limited layer support
- No time-lapse recording
- Basic export options
- No tattoo-specific features
My take: Keep it on your iPad for quick sketches during consultations. Use Procreate for actual design work.
The iPad Setup for Tattoo Artists
Which iPad to Buy
You don’t need an iPad Pro. Here’s my honest recommendation:
| iPad | Price | Good For | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPad (10th gen) | $349 | Basic sketching, learning digital art | Fine for beginners |
| iPad Air | $599 | Full Procreate workflow, professional design | Best value for most artists |
| iPad Pro 11” | $999 | Heavy design work, large canvases, many layers | Nice but not necessary |
| iPad Pro 13” | $1,299 | Maximum canvas size, best screen | Only if you also use it for video editing or heavy creative work |
My recommendation: iPad Air + Apple Pencil 2 ($129). Total investment: ~$730. You’ll use this for years and it pays for itself in the first month of time savings.
Essential Accessories
- Apple Pencil (2nd gen or USB-C): $129 — non-negotiable. The screen pen experience is what makes iPad design work.
- Matte screen protector (Paperlike or similar): $30-40 — adds paper-like friction so drawing feels natural instead of sliding on glass. Game-changer.
- iPad stand: $20-40 — angle it like a drawing board. Your neck will thank you.
Procreate Settings for Tattoo Design
Quick setup tips:
- Canvas size: 3000x3000px at 300 DPI minimum for most tattoo designs. Go larger for detailed sleeves.
- Brush size: Set your default line brush to match your preferred lining needle size
- Streamline: Turn it up to 30-50% on your liner brush for smoother lines
- Dark background: Design on a skin-tone background instead of white — better visualization of how it’ll look
- Quick menu: Set your most-used actions (undo, flip canvas, color picker) to the quick menu for speed
From Design to Skin: The Digital Workflow
Here’s how digital design integrates into my tattooing process:
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Consultation: Client describes what they want. I open Procreate, do a rough sketch on the spot. Import a photo of the body part and overlay the rough concept for placement/sizing discussion.
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Design phase: Create the full design in Procreate. Multiple layers for easy editing. Send progress screenshots to client for feedback.
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Client approval: Export a placement mockup (design overlaid on body photo) for final approval.
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Stencil creation: Export the design as a high-res PNG or PDF. Print on stencil paper using a thermal printer (I use a Brother PJ-773). Apply as normal.
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Social media: Share the Procreate time-lapse alongside the finished tattoo photo. Two pieces of content from one design.
Total time saved vs. traditional paper design: roughly 30-60 minutes per custom piece. Over a month of custom work, that’s 10-20+ hours of saved time.
The Bottom Line
Get an iPad Air ($599), Apple Pencil ($129), Procreate ($12.99), and a matte screen protector ($30). Total investment: ~$770.
If that’s too much right now, get whatever iPad supports Apple Pencil and Procreate. Even the base model iPad at $349 runs Procreate beautifully.
This is one of those tools where once you use it, you can’t imagine going back. Digital design doesn’t replace your traditional drawing skills — it amplifies them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best drawing app for tattoo artists?
Procreate is the best drawing app for tattoo artists on iPad. Its one-time $12.99 price, extensive brush library, intuitive interface, and massive tattoo-specific brush marketplace make it the industry standard. Over 80% of tattoo artists who design digitally use Procreate.
Do I need an iPad Pro for tattoo design?
No, any iPad that supports Apple Pencil works for tattoo design. The iPad Air (from $599) offers excellent performance for Procreate and other drawing apps. The iPad Pro ($999+) is only necessary if you work with very large canvases or need the best possible screen quality.