ibisPaint
ibisPaint is a versatile social drawing application that provides over 15,000 brushes, 21,000 materials, and 84 filters to help you create professional-grade digital art on your mobile devices and desktop.
Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is a professional-grade vector graphics software providing a fast, precise, and subscription-free solution for creating complex illustrations, branding, icons, UI designs, and high-quality typography on multiple platforms.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | ibisPaint | Affinity Designer |
|---|---|---|
| Website | ibispaint.com | serif.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | One_time |
| Starting Price | Free | $99/month |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 7 days free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✘ No product demo | ✘ No product demo |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2010 | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan | Nottingham, UK |
Overview
ibisPaint
ibisPaint is a comprehensive drawing application designed to bring a professional studio experience to your smartphone, tablet, and PC. You can create intricate illustrations using a massive library of over 15,000 brushes, including dip pens, felt tip pens, and airbrushes. The app records your entire creative process as a video, allowing you to share your technique with a global community of artists.
You can manage complex projects with unlimited layers, blending modes, and advanced selection tools usually found in desktop software. Whether you are a hobbyist doodling on your phone or a professional illustrator working on a tablet, the software provides the precision and variety of tools needed to produce high-quality digital art. It bridges the gap between mobile convenience and professional capability with a focus on social sharing and community learning.
Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer gives you a powerful, lag-free environment for creating professional vector art and complex illustrations. You can switch instantly between vector and raster workspaces, allowing you to add texture and brushwork to your clean paths without changing applications. Whether you are working on branding, icons, or expansive concept art, the engine handles thousands of objects with zero lag and provides live previews of every adjustment you make.
You can manage your entire creative workflow on Windows, macOS, or iPad with full file compatibility across all devices. The software is built to handle massive documents and offers advanced typography controls, professional color space support, and unlimited artboards. Because it requires no subscription, you own the software outright and can focus on your creative output without worrying about recurring monthly costs.
Overview
ibisPaint Features
- Extensive Brush Library Choose from over 15,000 brushes including dip pens, felt tips, and dual brushes to achieve the exact texture you want.
- Time-lapse Recording Record your entire drawing process automatically so you can export and share your creative journey as a high-quality video.
- Advanced Layering Add as many layers as your device memory allows and use professional blending modes to create depth and complex effects.
- Manga and Comic Tools Utilize specialized frame dividers, screen tones, and text tools to create professional-looking manga and comic book layouts effortlessly.
- Selection and Masking Isolate specific areas of your canvas with lasso, magic wand, and layer masks for precise editing and coloring control.
- Filter and Adjustment Apply over 80 high-quality filters and color adjustments to instantly enhance your artwork or change the mood of your piece.
Affinity Designer Features
- Vector-Raster Hybrid. Switch between vector and pixel personas instantly to add organic textures and shading to your scalable vector illustrations.
- Live Performance. Pan and zoom at 60fps while viewing live previews of transforms, blends, and effects even on massive, complex documents.
- Unlimited Artboards. Organize all your screens, pages, and branding elements in a single project with customizable artboards of any size.
- Advanced Typography. Control your text with full OpenType support, allowing you to adjust kerning, tracking, and ligatures for professional layouts.
- Precision Grids. Set up complex isometric, functional, or fixed-angle grids to ensure your icons and UI elements are pixel-perfect.
- Non-Destructive Editing. Apply adjustment layers, effects, and live filters that you can tweak or remove at any time without damaging pixels.
Pricing Comparison
ibisPaint Pricing
- Access to 15,000+ brushes
- Unlimited layers
- Time-lapse recording
- Community sharing features
- Ad-supported interface
- Everything in Free, plus:
- No advertisements
- 20GB of cloud storage
- Prime-only materials
- Prime-only fonts
- Canvas paper textures
Affinity Designer Pricing
- One-time payment only
- Full professional feature set
- No subscription required
- Free version updates
- Choice of macOS or Windows
- Professional color support
- Everything in Single License, plus:
- Access on macOS, Windows, and iPad
- Includes Affinity Photo 2
- Includes Affinity Publisher 2
- Cross-platform file compatibility
- Commercial use license
Pros & Cons
ibisPaint
Pros
- Massive selection of free brushes and materials
- Smooth brush strokes with high pressure sensitivity
- Built-in recording feature is perfect for social media
- Professional features available on a free tier
Cons
- Frequent ads in the free version can be distracting
- Interface can feel cluttered on smaller phone screens
- Performance may lag on older mobile devices
Affinity Designer
Pros
- One-time purchase eliminates expensive monthly subscription costs
- Incredibly fast performance even with thousands of objects
- Seamless switching between vector and raster editing modes
- Excellent iPad app offers a full desktop-class experience
Cons
- Lacks some specialized AI-driven automation tools
- Missing a dedicated vector tracing/auto-trace feature
- Industry standard file formats occasionally require manual cleanup