# Inkwell: Learn to Draw & Paint — user reviews > 56 indexed App Store user reviews of Inkwell by The Rest Of The Owl, rated 4.60/5 from 205 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkwell-learn-to-draw-and-paint/id1516898245/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkwell-learn-to-draw-and-paint/id1516898245.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 162 · 4★ 21 · 3★ 12 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 8 ## What do users think of Inkwell? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 👍 Great for learning art - 👍 Encouraging and patient - 👍 Relaxing and fun - 👍 Good for beginners - 👍 Community support available - 👍 Responsive developer (Trevor) - 👍 Kid-friendly and easy - 👍 Free version available - 👍 Good for decompressing - 👍 Inspires creativity - 👍 Offers user-submitted photos - 👍 Simple yet effective art program - 👍 Interactive drawing lessons - 👍 Soothing music options - 👍 Progress-based learning - 👍 Good for practicing skills - 👍 Community-driven and supportive - 👍 Offers challenges and collaborations **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent crashes - 🐛 App won't turn on - 🐛 Bugs and glitches - 🐛 Unfair prompt slot machine for members only - 🐛 No sound on iPad - 🐛 Laggy drawing interface - 🐛 Slow saving/posting art - 🐛 Paid upgrade issues (coins not working) - 🐛 No way to contact support - 🐛 Lacks FAQs or help section - 🐛 Progress unlock animations are long - 🐛 Difficult to find settings - 🐛 Limited brush options (requested) **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes before drawing - Unable to leave a collab - App crashes on iPad 10th gen - App crashes on startup - App crashes during lessons - App crashes when trying to open - App crashes when clicking to get started - App crashes after tutorial/account creation - App crashes on landing - No sound on iPad - Paid upgrade doesn't remove ads/unlocks properly - Coins deducted but coloring pages not unlocked - App still prompts for upgrade after purchase **Most requested features** - Make random prompt machine free - Add individual settings for lesson, background, and effects volumes - Improve drawing interface - Better palm detection - More layers - Color history - Double tap Apple Pencil to swap between eraser and current brush - Turn off capacitive touch as tool - Closed captioning for audio instructions - More free stuff ## Newest reviews (13 of 56) ### 3/5 — Potential *2026-07-26, version 1.91* I’m working on an iPad Pro. Firstly the pressure sensitivity seems all over the place even with an Apple Pencil. Secondly. Frequent crashes. To access more advanced courses you’re locked behind a pay wall. It’s fine for a beginner, maybe great even. But for someone who just wants to improve with daily exercises I did not enjoy too much. I didn’t get much time to try before it totally froze my iPad and I had to force a restart. ### 3/5 — love it more if it got fixed *2026-05-31, version 1.86* This app has been great. Something has changed and it won’t close down unless swipe it up and actually close it. I don’t why I had to do another venus fly trap but all week when i finish i’m supposed to tap done and it it supposed to finish. No, tapping done down not work at the moment. What’s changed, an update? if it ain’t broke don’t fix cause now it’s broke. Sheesh talk about going from 5 starts to 3. It’s a really good app btw. just needs tweaking. ### 4/5 — I love this app, but it won’t even turn on for me right now 😭 *2026-01-03* Inkwell is amazing, but I have had tons of bugs on it. Once, I was doing a collab and when it was done, I couldn’t leave it. The glitch Im experiencing right now makes my game crash before Im even drawing something. Please fix this bug as soon as possible! I have been working on a drawing since May, and Im so close to finishing it. Please fix this bug, Im considering making a new new account but my account NightOwl2462 has the best drawings I have ever done and I’ll have to restart months of progress on the drawing I mentioned earlier. **Developer response:** Thank you for the kind words. Re: prompt slot machine: We will consider this feedback for the next few builds. ### 3/5 — UNABLE TO EVEN OPEN THE APP!! PLEASE HELP! *2025-09-05, version 1.71* UPDATED REVIEW AS OF 09-04-2025 This has been going on for the past 2 or 3 days now. Where I am unable to even open the Inkwell app. Which is super frustrating considering I use the app everyday!! ### 3/5 — UNABLE TO EVEN OPEN THE APP!! PLEASE HELP! *2025-09-03* This has been going on for the past 2 or 3 days now. Where I am unable to even open the Inkwell app. Which is super frustrating considering I use the app everyday!! **Developer response:** We should have this now fixed in this next build, which is coming out in the next day or two. ### 4/5 — APP CRASHING OUT!! PLEASE HELP!! *2025-04-05, version 1.61* Before i get started…yes, the Inkwell app is current and up to date. As well as the device (iPad) I use the Inkwell app on. PLEASE HELP!! The Inkwell app CONSISTENTLY keeps crashing out on me! When I say crashing out, I mean I’ll be in the middle of doing a lesson in the Inkwell app and all of a sudden the app will just close out!! Please fix this or please let me know if I need to be doing something to resolve this app crashing issue on my end!! The app ONLY seems to crash out when I’m in the middle of doing a teacher taught lesson. When I refer to a lesson, I mean where the screen is split and one side is the teachers canvas and the other side is my canvas. Other than that, the app seems to be just fine when I’m doing other activities like a coloring page, tracing, mini lessons, etc. I really LOVE the Inkwell app and enjoy using it everyday! However, since the app has started to crash literally, every single time I use it ! I’ve been starting to use it less and less. Which is really just unfortunate, because it’s almost getting to the point where I’m considering deleting the Inkwell app!! It is super frustrating to have started a lesson in the Inkwell app, only to find out that, number one it is not saving your work and number two, that you will not be able to complete this lesson in its entirety!! And unfortunately, this is NOT the first time this has happened to me! So basically, there have been multiple lessons I’ve been unable to actually fully complete because of this same issue!!! If Inkwell happens to need any information from me, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Thanks in advance, Vanessa F. ### 5/5 — Amazing *2025-01-16, version 1.53* Literally the best app ever. I wanna be a tattoo artist and this is helping me so much by guiding me through simple to not so simple things and in only a few lessons I’m getting better and better. Thank you ### 4/5 — Beautiful app *2024-10-10* This is really an amazing app with great lessons and having the motivation to come back to it is easy with the reward system of unlocking brushes and trying to keep a streak going. Would be 5 stars but every time I try do something even remotely detailed the app lags and then eventually crashes. The piece eventually becomes one I don’t want to finish because it takes 3 minutes to open back up and then crashes 5 minutes later because it can’t process the drawing anymore. ### 4/5 — Great app, a lot of potential *2024-08-15* Seems great and I really want to sign up. However, I can no longer hear any audio out of this app. The developers are responsive and trying to find the cause of the issue. Before I encountered the audio bug, 8 found the app to be very good **Developer response:** It does take a few days for reviews to post publicly, and I'm glad that in the interim we were able to touch base to try to solve this issue. We are still looking at what the cause could be. We would be grateful if you'd continue to correspond with us on this bug. Any additional information you can provide will help us track this down, because it's likely you have stumbled onto an edge case. ### 5/5 — BEST DRAWING TUTORIAL APP EVER! *2024-07-23, version 1.41* I downloaded this app, thinking you would have to pay, but you don’t! If you want to learn how to do digital art, but those pesky apps make you pay, I definitely recommend this. Also the teachers make me feel like I can actually draw and paint. I love this app. ### 5/5 — Amazing Drawing App to Learn and Share *2024-06-16* Incredible interactive drawing lessons. There is nothing else like it. The soothing music options are the cherry on top. This app has progressed so far in the past year. You now have the option to turn off painting with finger ( no more palm marks) and the lag has been greatly improved. The developer is very responsive on Discord and will almost always respond immediately and is continually making improvements. The drawing interface is no Procreate, BUT more simplified at this point. It does help with learning the fundamentals. Although upgrades are being made there as well, like more brush options and hopefully more layers. Hint hint! If you have a suggestion, a question, experience a bug.. head to Discord. This app has been sort of a community effort and is getting better every day. I highly recommend… come join us! ### 5/5 — Amazing Drawing App to Learn and Share *2024-06-14* Incredible real time interactive drawing lessons. There is nothing else like it. The soothing music options are the cherry on top. This app has progressed so far in the past year. You now have the option to turn off painting with finger ( no more palm marks) and the lag has been greatly improved. The developer is very responsive on Discord and will almost always respond immediately and is continually making improvements. The drawing interface is no Procreate, BUT more simplified at this point. It does help with learning the fundamentals. Although upgrades are being made there as well, like more brush options and hopefully more layers. Hint hint! If you have a suggestion, a question, experience a bug.. head to Discord. This app has been sort of a community effort and is getting better every day. I highly recommend… come join us! ### 5/5 — Fantastic *2024-06-13, version 1.40* I’m really enjoying the Lessons . So glad I downloaded this one. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Wow just wow *2025-09-28, version 1.72* I literally can’t do anything without it crashing this game should be called crash. ### 1/5 — No sound *2024-10-16, version 1.47* I cannot figure out why this app has no sound on my iPad. Should I be hearing instruction? It says it’s playing piano and regardless of what I do in the audio settings, I have no sound. ### 1/5 — Trash *2024-09-02, version 1.44* I cant even log into the game even though I have tried so many different ways to get in I even deleted the app to get back in and nothing is working🤬 ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work *2024-08-29, version 1.44* Try to open and click to get started and it force closes the app ### 1/5 — Crashes on landing *2023-09-15, version 1.14* I logged in and now the app crashes when it starts. ### 1/5 — Keeps crashing *2023-09-09, version 1.14* I finished the tutorial & was really excited to see what I could do with this app. It crashed almost immediately and I have not been able to open it since :( ### 1/5 — Great looking app *2023-09-03* I’m excited to do something with this app, but after completing the first tutorial and creating an account, it now crashes on startup. I will update my review once I can experience the app. ### 2/5 — Unable to open app *2025-12-27, version 1.77* Crashes on iPad 10th gen the last week or something ### 2/5 — Help? :’) *2024-08-29* Just downloaded the app and was trying to pick my personal options and I hit the next button and every time the app crashes- have tried multiple times but it doesn’t work, it seems really promising so I don’t want to give up on it **Developer response:** We have an update out now that should fix the problem. Give it a shot, and email me at trevor@inkwell.studio with any issues. ### 2/5 — Since I can’t actually find a way to contact the developer, I have to write a poor review *2024-08-09* Seemed great and I really wanted to actually sign up. However, I can no longer hear any audio out of this app. I’ve tried everything including completely removing the app. Audio works fine everywhere else on my iPad. I’ve tried everything. This app simply no longer works. **Developer response:** It does take a few days for reviews to post publicly, and I'm glad that in the interim we were able to touch base to try to solve this issue. We are still looking at what the cause could be. We would be grateful if you'd continue to correspond with us on this bug. Any additional information you can provide will help us track this down, because it's likely you have stumbled onto an edge case. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Good app *2026-02-13, version 1.80* i’m really enjoying the lessons in the app. It helps teach about how fast you should draw your lines rather than going slow. It has a picture to colour in as well. it’s good but then i’ve only been using the app for three days. ### 5/5 — ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ *2026-01-20, version 1.79* I love this app and the app is so patient with you and doesn’t move on without you ### 5/5 — I love this app, but it has some unfair stuff *2025-10-14* Inkwell is great, but it’s not fair that the prompt slot machine is only for members of The Deep. PS, please try to make random prompt machine that is for free if you keep the prompt slot machine only available for members of The Deep **Developer response:** Thank you for the kind words. Re: prompt slot machine: We will consider this feedback for the next few builds. ### 5/5 — I love it so much *2025-09-11* Inkwell is such a good app if you aren’t good at are and they just courage you and some how you mistakes are masterpieces I totally recommend to you and it’s kid friendly and easy and free you should get this **Developer response:** That thing where a "mistake" turns into the best part of a drawing? That's the magic right there. Really glad Inkwell's been a good space for you to make art in. ### 5/5 — LO ve this this *2025-08-11, version 1.70* This app is very relaxing I love it ### 5/5 — I love this app, but it has some unfair stuff *2025-05-10* Inkwell is great, but it’s not fair that the prompt slot machine is only for members of The Deep. PS, please try to make random prompt machine that is for free if you keep the prompt slot machine only available for members of The Deep ### 5/5 — Exceptional Customer service *2025-05-05* This is an excellent concept for teaching digital art and keeping users engaged. It is flexible for different interests and learning/drawing speeds as well as fun and encouraging. There have been bugs but when an update caused the program to crash, Trevor had it fixed within hours of my email regarding the problem. ### 5/5 — Good for starting art *2025-02-17, version 1.58* I’ve always been interested in art but I am so bad at it. We all start somewhere and we need practices. This app is amazing for it. Would recconmend ### 5/5 — Good *2025-02-11, version 1.57* I enjoyed this game help starters and teaches you how to draw ### 5/5 — Love this app! *2025-01-23* I am not an artist; I have always envied those who could, seemingly effortlessly, express themselves and their thoughts in such a profound way. Art, in some sense, breaks language and cultural barriers - it evokes feelings and memories and yearnings in us no matter our age, nationality, gender… it is such a wondrous gift. A gift, sadly, that I felt I might never experience, even in a limited manner. After many frustrating and demoralized attempts on my own over the years, it occurred to me that maybe I could attempt some sort of lessons- something that would enable me to decide if wanted just to relax and color, learn basic drawing skills in guided lessons, experiment on my own, or even see what other fledgling artists are doing and exchange support and receive advice from them. I found all of this and more on this app. I use it daily, even if it’s only to spend 5-10 minutes on an ongoing project. It’s wonderful to have that flexibility. I also need to mention the support from the designer, Trevor. Usually, if you try to get help on other apps, you never hear back, or they give you the run around, or they take weeks to respond. With Trevor, I got a response in 10 minutes!!! He has been very supportive, offered advice, even asked if there were things that they could add to the app that would appeal to me. I am amazed by this app, its developers and artists as well as the others who have also joined this community of learners. I can’t recommend this enough. Try the free version, there’s a lot to experience and explore and it gives you a good sense of what it has to offer. If you’re like me, it took less that 3 days for me to go all in on the full version. (Did I mention this is a good way to decompress from a hard day at work and relieve stress?:). ) **Developer response:** This made our day. It's clear you've found something that works for you here, and we're really glad the app gives you that kind of flexibility — whether it's 5 minutes or a longer session. Trevor will be thrilled to hear this. We're a small team, so hearing from people using the app every day means a lot. Thanks for being part of this. --- *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 2026-08-31.*