Developer: betabugs.de Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4S
There is just something satisfying about putting pencil to paper and creating something interesting, unique, beautiful, or funny. Whether it’s just idle doodling or an unstoppable free-flow of raw creative genius, getting something out on paper is generally a pleasure everyone indulges in every once and while. There are dozens of apps out there that allow users to use finger strokes instead of brush or pencil strokes to express their creativity, but few of them make it so simple for users to create little works of art regardless of their actual artistic ability.
Certainly, someone with innate artistic ability will be able to do truly amazing things with Lead Sketch, but the way that this app renders the user’s finger strokes makes them vastly more interesting than they would be as simple one-stroke lines. As users drag their fingers around the canvas, the app draws a pencil-like line. As more lines are made, tiny relief and shading lines are filled in automatically by Lead Sketch. While this does require the user to release some of the fine control over their image to the app the process can be manipulated just like an artist would manipulate any other tool to get the look they desire.
There are other free apps that do approximately the same thing as Lead Sketch, but this app includes some extras that make it more versatile than other similar apps; customization options being the chief among them. Users can choose from several different types of pencil strokes and colors that each have a unique look. They can also customize the canvas background and its border. Once they’ve finished their works of art, users can save them to work on later, load an older sketch to work on, or export sketches via email, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or their photo album.
Lead Sketch is a simple sketching app, but its customization options add some depth and versatility that make the app well worth its cost. The drawings always look gorgeous and the sharing options make it easy to show them off. It is limited to the sketching art style though, so users looking for something more painterly will need to find it elsewhere.