ShadowDraw vs Dudel Draw
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ShadowDraw
Learn to draw with guided, step-by-step lessons designed for beginners. Follow the strokes of professional artists to build confidence and master fundamental techniques. Explore thousands of tutorials across various popular art subjects.
- Step-by-step guided drawing lessons
- Thousands of tutorials
- Manga, anime, people, animals, and nature subjects
- Art Teacher Mode
- Sketch My Way Mode
- Builds drawing fundamentals
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Learn to draw with confidence using your Apple Pencil. Featured by Apple as App of the Day in 2023 and 2025. ShadowDraw® is the easiest way for beginners to learn how to draw on iPad using their Apple Pencil. Our guided lessons teach you step-by-step by showing the real strokes of professional artists, helping you build confidence, accuracy, and real drawing fundamentals from your very first session. LEARN TO DRAW THE SMART, BEGINNER-FRIENDLY WAY ShadowDraw breaks every drawing into simple, guided steps. You follow the same strokes as a professional artist, learning: * Line control * Shapes & construction * Proportions * Shading * Final detailing Each step unlocks only after you complete the previous one, giving you a structured, supportive learning path—like having a private art teacher with you on your iPad. THOUSANDS OF STEP-BY-STEP LESSONS Explore beginner-friendly drawing lessons across the most popular art subjects: * Manga & Anime Characters * People & Portraits * Animals (cats, dogs, horses, birds, dragons, and more) * Architecture & Buildings * Botanical & Nature Drawing * Birds & Butterflies * Coloring & Simple Shading * Holiday & Seasonal Art * Warm-Ups & Foundations * Sketching Basics With over 2,000 guided tutorials, there’s always something inspiring to draw. PRACTICE YOUR WAY ShadowDraw offers two flexible learning modes: Art Teacher Mode We pick brushes and colors so beginners can focus on fundamentals. Sketch My Way Choose your own tools and colors for creative freedom. BUILD A DAILY DRAWING HABIT Short, approachable lessons help you build confidence and stay consistent. ShadowDraw makes daily practice easy, fun, and motivating—even for busy beginners. RECOGNIZED BY APPLE & TRUSTED WORLDWIDE ShadowDraw has been featured in the App Store collections, including: * Incredible iPad Apps * Great with Apple Pencil * Apple Pencil Starter Kit * Better with Apple Pencil * The Best Drawing Apps * The Best Apps for Creatives ShadowDraw has also ranked as the #1 Drawing App in its category. Apple writes: “With over 1,500 hand-drawn lessons developed by real artists, ShadowDraw is a drawing app for beginners who want to improve their skills through daily step-by-step exercises.” PRAISED BY THE PRESS The New York Times “ShadowDraw… teaches drawing forms by having you follow along the animated pen strokes of another artist in an updated take on the ‘copying the masters’ approach.” MacBreak Weekly — Pick of the Week “…the next generation of step-by-step.” Also featured by CNET and Creative Bloq. LEARN TOGETHER WITH SHADOWDRAW+ A ShadowDraw+ membership unlocks the full library and supports Family Sharing, so everyone in your household can learn to draw at their own pace. WE’RE HERE TO HELP Need support or have feedback? Contact us anytime through in-app Chat Support. Email: support@shadowdrawapp.com Website: shadowdrawapp.com Instagram: @shadowdraw For our EULA agreement, please visit: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ShadowDraw® and Shadow Draw™ are trademarks of Shadow Draw Inc.
Dudel Draw
This app provides a daily unique shape to inspire your drawings. Transform basic forms into art by sketching directly on them, and explore creations from other users. It's designed to spark creativity for artists of all levels.
- Daily curated shapes
- Random shape mode
- Draw and sketch directly
- Flip and rotate shapes
- Share artwork with friends
- Explore other artists' creations
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Apple Design Award Finalist for Fun & Delight 2024 Every day, you get a shape. What your brain sees is entirely up to you. Maybe it becomes a cat. Maybe it becomes a spaceship. Maybe it becomes something unique to you. That's the whole point. Dudel Draw is a daily drawing challenge for people who love to doodle, want to get back into drawing, or just need a little creative spark in their day. No pressure, no rules; just you, a shape, and a few minutes of pure fun. Flip it. Rotate it. Zoom in. Draw. Then download your art and share it with friends to see who has the most creative mind in the group! Privacy Policy: https://www.sillylittleapps.com/dudel-privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.sillylittleapps.com/dudel-terms-of-service
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dudel Draw at 4.8 against ShadowDraw's 4.2. Dudel Draw also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). ShadowDraw's advantage is ratings volume (1.8K vs 568). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. ShadowDraw sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Dudel Draw asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dudel Draw holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.8K and 568 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of ShadowDraw's written reviews are positive against 86% of Dudel Draw's.
ShadowDraw ships an update every 6 weeks, Dudel Draw every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShadowDraw | Dudel Draw |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (1.8K ratings) | 4.8 (568 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 59.4% of reviews | 86.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.8K — better | 568 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 820 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shadow Draw | Silly Little Apps LLC |
Customer experience
ShadowDraw
Dudel Draw
User reviews
ShadowDraw
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Helpful for beginners
- 🎨 Variety of drawing topics
- 👍 Intuitive step-by-step guidance
- 💡 Relaxing and therapeutic experience
- 🤖 Responsive customer support
Room to improve
- 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy at times
- 🤔 Tracing-focused approach may not teach drawing fundamentals
- 🔍 Difficulty finding purchased content
- 🔀 Jumping between steps too quickly
Dudel Draw
From 568 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fun and creative
- 👍 Simplicity and ease of use
- 💡 Sparks creativity and inspiration
- 🤩 Enjoyable for all ages
- 🎨 Helpful for artists and non-artists
Room to improve
- 🐛 Lack of eraser tool
- 🐛 Undo button not always reliable
- 🐛 Drawing gets lost when navigating away
- 🔧 Limited drawing features (no zoom, rotation, etc.)
Bugs and requests
ShadowDraw
Reported bugs
3 issues- Drawings disappearing after completion
- App crashing on launch for some users
- Eraser tool not working properly with coloring feature
Requested features
5 requests- More free drawing content
- Canvas rotation and reference image positioning
- Ability to save progress on drawings
- Clearer visual indicators for brush/pen changes
- Side-by-side drawing mode to practice without tracing
Dudel Draw
Reported bugs
2 issues- Tapping on shape doesn't produce dots
- Navigating away from drawing screen causes loss of work
Requested features
5 requests- Add eraser tool
- Implement palm rejection
- Allow for 90-degree rotation
- Add ability to save and share drawings
- Expand shape library and options
In-app purchases
ShadowDraw
- ShadowDraw: Monthly Plan7 Days trial$7.991 Month
- ShadowDraw: Yearly Plan7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Dudel Draw
No in-app purchases
