SketchBook is a drawing app for Android with a wide set of brushes and a clean canvas. It is great when you want to sketch something, but sometimes you just want a pencil and a page without installing anything. So we built Inkwell Pad, a small sketchpad that runs right here. It is free, needs no signup, and it starts with a ghost line on the paper so you know where to begin.
Play Inkwell Pad now
Drag on the paper to draw. Pick a brush and a color below, then try the mirror button for an instant kaleidoscope.
How to use it
Choose from five tools: pencil, marker, airbrush, wash (a soft watercolor style) and eraser. The size and opacity sliders sit at the bottom, next to a palette of 13 colors and a custom picker with hue, saturation and lightness sliders. Mirror mode repeats your strokes in 2, 4 or 8 directions. Glaze makes overlapping strokes darken, and Paper fills the background with your current color.
Undo and redo hold the last 40 steps. On a keyboard, press 1 to 5 to switch brushes, [ and ] to change size, and Ctrl+Z to undo.
Each day shows a new drawing prompt, picked from the date so everyone gets the same one. Draw anything and the day counts toward your streak. Your drawing, settings and streak are saved on this device. Nothing leaves your browser, and Save PNG creates the file locally.
How it compares to SketchBook
Inkwell Pad keeps the part of SketchBook that makes it pleasant to use: a full-screen canvas, a short row of brushes, quick color and size changes, and symmetry drawing. It opens instantly and keeps working offline after the first load.
We left out the heavy parts. There are no layers, no selection tools, no perspective guides, no stroke stabilizer settings and no PSD export. The brushes are simple by design, and the drawing is stored as one flat image.
Use Inkwell Pad for a warm-up doodle, a quick idea or a daily prompt. Install SketchBook when you want layers, a larger brush library or a canvas you can keep working on for hours. For more options, see our list of the best apps for digital painting on Android.
Get the full app
SketchBook is a free drawing and painting app for Android and other platforms, with the layers and brush controls that a browser page cannot match.
Frequently asked questions
Can I draw in a browser without downloading anything?
Yes. Inkwell Pad, right on this page, works with a finger, a stylus or a mouse. It needs no account and no install.
Is this the real SketchBook?
No. Inkwell Pad is an original sketchpad we built, inspired by the simple draw-and-tweak feel of SketchBook. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the publisher of SketchBook. All of its code and interface are our own.
Does it work offline?
Once the page has loaded, yes. Drawing, undo and PNG export all run on your device.
Is my drawing uploaded anywhere?
No. Your canvas is autosaved in your browser’s local storage on this device, and the PNG you save is created locally. Clearing your browser data removes the saved drawing.
Is it free?
Yes. There are no ads, no accounts and no purchases.
