Comparison

Paintwork vs Animation Sketch

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Paintwork

Create handwritten notes, diaries, and drawings with a vast array of tools. Features include customizable brushes, vector graphics, a rich color palette, and image import. Export your creations as PDFs or images.

Highlights
  • Customizable brushes and erasers
  • Extensive vector graphics tools
  • Rich color palette
  • Image and material import
  • Handwriting assistance
  • PDF and image export
  • Customizable backgrounds and canvas
Features
Read full description

Paintwork is a simple and powerful software for handwritten notebooks, diaries, and hand drawn images. It includes functions such as: brush list (hundreds of brush effects, customizable brush thickness, color, transparency, dynamic strength weights, etc.), eraser list (each brush effect can be used as an eraser), Vector graphics tools (including lasso, vector eraser, vector pen, annotation pen, highlighter, wavy pen, double line pen, text box, illustration, dashed line, horizontal and vertical dashed line, curve, closed shape, text pen, rectangle, ellipse, straight line, arrow, triangle, pentagram, polygon, etc.), and also include many related attribute settings, Color list (with a rich color palette and customizable manual configuration of commonly used colors), copy and cut the content of specified areas on the page, import images or materials, as well as a simple calculator, handwriting assistance, and photo scanning of document files. Unlimited writing, ruler, recognition of text, printing of text, filling, and the ability to export PDF files or images. Supports custom background functionality, custom canvas paper, and more. It can be used to write for classroom or book learning notes, handwritten notes for work meetings, hand drawn mind maps, hand drawn account creation, hand made account book making, writing diaries, recording life thoughts, calligraphy practice, handwritten brush and pencil characters, hand drawn artistic characters, and so on. Supports Apple pencil. Can export images or PDFs. If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to contact us. Contact email: pw_team@163.com If you like our application, please give us a good review. Thank you.

About

Animation Sketch

Create 2D hand-drawn animations with intuitive tools and precise brush control. Ideal for both experienced animators and beginners, this app simplifies sketching, coloring, and timing. Seamlessly integrate sound and utilize layers for efficient scene planning and workflow.

Highlights
  • Hand-drawn animation
  • Precise brush control with Apple Pencil
  • Intuitive layer workflow
  • Easy frame management
  • Audio import and syncing
  • Color fill below lines
  • Scene planning with static layers
Features
Read full description

Animate your dreams and bring them to life! An extremely fast hand-drawn animation software using Apple Pencil and iPad for precise brush control and intuitive workflow. Animators will love the simplicity and ease of use which lets them quickly sketch out animations and beginners can focus on improving their drawing and timing. Animation Sketch works seamlessly on all models of iPad. Color your line animations easily with colors automatically going below black lines. Layer workflow means you can seamlessly switch between rough and finished layers. Static layers for layout and background makes scene planning easy. Adding, inserting and duplicating frames is very easy with intuitive UI and drag-drop functionality. Import Audio(mp3, wav) and scrub on timeline to sync animation with sound. Videos and scene files teaching the 12 basic principles of animation included for free. Compatible with Apple Pencil 1st and 2nd Generation. Visit www.animationsketch.net for tutorials, sample works and technical manual. * Color fill automatically goes under black lines for fast coloring * Rough, Layout and background layers for scene planning * Change FPS speed * MP4 and JPG import/export for easy rotoscopy and timing * Onion skinning, auto-save and animated previews * Bundled demo scenes and videos for learning * Export and import animation scene files locally * Non-linear background color adjustment * Expert mode and scrub button for fast and interactive timing Animation Sketch is developed by Appy Monkeys, an award winning app developer with over 10 million downloads globally across all platforms and with an extensive suite of user friendly and power creativity apps.

Screenshots

Paintwork4 screens
Animation Sketch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Paintwork at 4.6 against Animation Sketch's 3.4. Paintwork also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 35%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Animation Sketch's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Paintwork sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Animation Sketch sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Paintwork holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paintwork has 17K ratings behind it against 429, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Paintwork's written reviews are positive against 35% of Animation Sketch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paintwork ships an update weekly, Animation Sketch every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Paintwork versus Animation Sketch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaintworkAnimation Sketch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (17K ratings) — better3.4 (429 ratings)
Positive reviews65.4% of reviews — better35.4% of reviews
Number of ratings17K — better429
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size200 MB366 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer伟典 苏Arjun Gupte

Customer experience

Paintwork

All ratings17,166 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews237 reviews
Positive65.4%
Neutral13.9%
Negative20.7%

Animation Sketch

All ratings429 ratings
Positive56.2%
Neutral11.2%
Negative32.6%
Written reviews147 reviews
Positive35.4%
Neutral20.4%
Negative44.2%

User reviews

Paintwork

From 17K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Vast selection of brushes and tools
  • 💻 Works well on various devices
  • 🎨 Allows for creative expression
  • 💰 Free to use with no paywall

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Certain features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches causing crashes or data loss
  • 🎨 Limited color palette and blending options
  • 🔍 Lack of intuitive UI and tutorials

Animation Sketch

From 429 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Good for beginners
  • 🚀 Smooth animation
  • 💡 Useful for designers

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Limited features without paying
  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 💰 Expensive for full functionality
  • 🎨 Limited color palette

Bugs and requests

Paintwork

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App freezing or crashing when using certain features
  • Artwork getting deleted or not saving properly
  • Inability to import or work with external images

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more color options and blending tools
  • Improve stability and reduce crashes
  • Provide more tutorials and onboarding for new users
  • Allow users to save and access their artwork easily

Animation Sketch

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Animations not saving properly
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Drawing tools not working as expected
  • Issues with onion skinning

Requested features

4 requests
  • More frames and animation length
  • Ability to import images
  • More drawing tools and brushes
  • Ability to adjust animation speed

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Paintwork

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly subscription premium$0.991 Month
  • Annual subscription premium$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock local version$9.99
2 purchases

Animation Sketch

One-time2
  • Upgrade to Pro$9.99
  • Animation Sketch Discount$9.99

Questions

Is Paintwork free?
Paintwork is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Animation Sketch free?
Animation Sketch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Paintwork or Animation Sketch?
Paintwork is rated higher. Paintwork averages 4.6 out of 5 from 17K ratings, while Animation Sketch averages 3.4 from 429 ratings.
Do Paintwork or Animation Sketch have ads?
Neither Paintwork nor Animation Sketch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paintwork or Animation Sketch?
Paintwork ships an update weekly, and Animation Sketch every 2 months. Most recently, Paintwork was updated on October 28, 2026 and Animation Sketch on October 24, 2026.

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