# Brushes — Paint, Sketch, Draw

> Digital painting and sketching app with advanced brush, layer, and color features. (iPhone/iPad app by Envoza.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brushes/id1168117279 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Envoza](https://appshunter.io/developer/867470531)
- Category: Graphics & Design, Photo & Video
- Price: $3.99
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 177 App Store ratings · 42 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 13 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2018-11-20
- Data updated: 2026-09-09
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brushes/id1168117279/reviews.md

## What is Brushes?

Brushes 4 is the latest iteration of the app that started the iPhone and iPad painting revolution.  Redesigned with a clean and modern user interface, Brushes supports iPhone and iPad with optimisation for the iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone Pro and iPad with Apple Pencil.

• Highlights:
- Clean and modern user interface with light and dark modes.
- Files based painting gallery.
- New canvas interface.
- Apple Pencil support with pressure curve.
– Unlimited undo and redo.
- Continuous auto-save.
- Cloud Drive import and export.

• Parameterized Brushes:
- Selection of ready to use brushes with customisable settings.
- Create your own custom brushes from millions of permutations.
- Generate random brushes for inspiration.
- Dynamic adjustment of brush size and opacity.

• Layers:
- Layer your artwork for greater control.
– Lock and hide layers.
– Use alpha lock to only paint where pixels already exist.
– Adjust individual layer opacity.
– Duplicate, rearrange and merge layers.
– Apply layer blending modes: normal, multiply, screen, exclude.
- Color fill any layer.
– Invert layer color and desaturate.
– Flip and arbitrarily transform layers.
– Adjust the color balance per layer.
– Adjust layer hue, saturation and brightness.

• Colors:
- Colour picker with hue ring and saturation square. 
- Store and recall your favourite colors in swatches.
- Sample painting colors with the eyedropper tool.

• Apple Pencil:
- Intuitive and powerful pressure curve to match your style.
- Configurable realtime pressure based adjustment of brush size and opacity.

• Creation:
- Preset canvas sizes for paper, photographs, iPhone and iPad screens, film and television displays.
- Custom canvas size.

• Import, export and sharing:
- Import images directly from your camera roll.
- Import PNG and JPEG images from cloud services.
- Export your paintings for sharing or importing into other apps as PNG and JPEG to all cloud storage services or as photos directly to your camera roll.
- Compatible with paintings created by Brushes 3 and Brushes Redux.

• Light and dark appearances:
- Choose between light and dark monochrome appearances, or current system setting.
- Minimal use of user interface color so that tints in the user interface do not distract from or influence your artwork color choices.

Acknowledgements.

Thank you to Angela Ali, Jason M., Jeff Parker, Sandra Perez and Yoshiyuki Uchida for contributing artwork to the App Store screenshots.  Please visit our website to see more of their artwork and for links to their portfolios.

History.

Brushes was originally created by Steve Sprang for iPhone in 2009 and for iPad in 2010.  His last version, Brushes 3 was released in 2012, but was removed from the App Store in 2015.  I took over development to modernise and support an app that has continued to be enjoyed by so many artists.

## Key features

- Customizable parameterized brushes
- Advanced layer management
- Apple Pencil support with pressure curve
- Light and dark mode interface
- Unlimited undo/redo
- Cloud Drive import/export

## Chart rankings

- #71 in Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 42)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brushes/id1168117279/reviews.md

### 4/5 — When Was The Last Time You Updated?

*2026-04-07*

Why  am I have trouble changing the tips of the drawing or painting effect I want? I can not get brushes to change to a fade tip circle. It keeps switching back to a square which does not give me a smooth airbrush look I’m trying to achieve. Is this a glitch? Am I doing something wrong or did I miss something? I am using an iPad A16 brand new. But this was also a problem on my iPad 6th generation. Why aren’t my brush tips staying when I try to change them?

### 5/5 — Really good but 1 thing…

*2026-04-06*

Brushes is a really good app that uses simple things to make really detailed drawings. There is just 1 thing that I would really love is that there were more save colour slots. Because there’s so little you’re in a way forced to overwrite your even most beautiful colours, which I think is sad.

### 5/5 — 不错

*2025-09-11*

如果菜单全中文就更好了

### 1/5 — Can’t find the feature I wanted

*2025-08-07*

I bought this app because it was recommended by a visual artist for playback recordings. Unfortunately, there is no feature like that in the app and if there is, can you share that here.

**Developer response:** Hi,

I’m sorry that the person who recommended the app told you about a feature that isn’t currently available.  Playback of the painting process is a planned future addition.  

Thanks.

### 1/5 — Ça fonctionne plus

*2025-06-02*

Très déçu

### 3/5 — calming

*2025-02-26*

It helps your brain to relax

### 5/5 — Newbie

*2025-02-11*

I like the simplicity of this app.
As a newbe im not sure how things work. With blending I’ve been using the smudge tool in Procreate.
  I assume there isn’t one in Brush, can anyone help?
   Is there any way of getting instructions/manual as it would help me a lot.
  Thanks

**Developer response:** Hi.  Thank you for your feedback.  There is a link to the Brushes YouTube channel in the gallery menu.

### 4/5 — This is a good app review

*2025-01-17*

You know the app spark that is what I want this app to be like               From: Taylor.scroby

### 1/5 — Let down by major auto save issues

*2024-09-01*

This is a simple drawing app that lets you create high-quality artwork but there is a serious bug which causes significant problems sometimes. If you are choosing a new app, then I would strongly recommend not getting this despite the good features.

What happens is that sometimes auto save does not work so that when you exit the app you find that none of the changes have been applied. Several times are found that all the work of an extended working session had not been saved which can be imagined is incredibly frustrating. Since I’ve had to use the app for some work, I have been obliged to stop every few minutes to find out if it has saved which is not an ideal workflow.

### 4/5 — A good place to start

*2024-05-26*

I already have more robust (albeit pricier) apps and I am not sure why I thought they would have the same features plus something else unattainable, but there’s really no need for this one as it doesn’t offer anything they don’t already offer. 

If you are just starting out, this is a really good price for what it does do- for example you can use layers and adjust the brushes to make your own brushes. I’m just spoiled. A very decent app for this price point, however.

## Frequently asked questions about Brushes

### What can I do with this painting app?

This app allows you to create digital paintings and sketches with a wide range of tools. You can customize brushes, utilize advanced layer management for complex artwork, and leverage Apple Pencil for precise control. It supports importing and exporting images, making it a versatile tool for artists.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include a clean and modern user interface with light and dark modes, a files-based painting gallery, and a new canvas interface. It offers Apple Pencil support with a pressure curve, unlimited undo and redo, continuous auto-save, and Cloud Drive import/export. You can also create and customize parameterized brushes and manage artwork with multiple layers.

### Is this app free to use?

Based on the provided information, this application is a paid app. There are no mentions of in-app purchases or advertisements, indicating a one-time purchase model for full access to its features.

### What devices is this app compatible with?

This application is optimized for iPhone and iPad devices. It specifically supports iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone Pro, and iPads, with particular emphasis on its integration with Apple Pencil for enhanced drawing and painting capabilities.

### How can I import and export my artwork?

You can import images directly from your camera roll or from cloud services like Cloud Drive in PNG and JPEG formats. Exporting your paintings is also straightforward, allowing you to share them or import them into other applications as PNG and JPEG files to all cloud storage services or directly to your camera roll.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.2.6 — 2025-05-22

Minor fixes and enhancements.

### 4.2.5 — 2025-02-11

Minor fixes and enhancements.

### 4.2.4 — 2024-08-04

Updated main menu footer.

### 4.2.3 — 2024-07-17

Minor fixes and enhancements.

### 4.2.2 — 2022-04-04

Minor fixes and enhancements.

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## More apps by Envoza

- [Inkpad - Graphic Design](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkpad-graphic-design/id1057007769)
- [TuVu : Track TV Shows](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tuvu-track-tv-shows/id6761728582)

All apps by Envoza: https://appshunter.io/developer/867470531

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-09.*