• Vector Drawing Programs For Mac
• Vector Software For Mac
• Free Vector Program For Mac

Mac has long been referred to as the “Creative’s workshop.” The idea that most graphic designers, interior designers, video animators, and architects are more drawn towards Mac may hold water to an extent. Mac attracts creatives for either of two reasons – as the traditional tool they’ve always used or its perceived high performance standards. Speaking of tradition, the first version of Photoshop was built exclusively for Macintosh users, giving Mac the first mover advantage.

It also has both vector tracing and brushes, which most of the other programs lack. Vector tools offer creative control and let you create truly unique designs. If you are hesitant to make an investment in learning graphic design, then the ACDSee Photo Editor serves as an affordable option. A french animation software, TVPaint is the all-in-one 2D animation software you’ll ever need. It’s definitely more robust and complex than Photoshop, but it’s also much pricier. This software is for professional animators and studios.

And while the PC versus Mac might present an interesting discourse, I will be walking the safe lines, and a list of simple drawing apps for Mac is all we are talking about today.

Related: 5 of the Best Drawing Apps for Android

1. Patina

This sweet and simple drawing app is certainly closer to Microsoft Paint than Adobe Photoshop on the complexity scale, but lets you illustrate things that certainly wouldn’t have been readily doable on Paint. You won’t find any complexities like layers here, but within the one layer you do have you can do plenty.

You can use it for the basic things like cropping, rotating and making colour adjustments on images, but there are lots of other options here too when it comes to transparencies, brush types, sketching and so on.

The elegant interface makes Patina a delight to use, and it’s compatible with myriad file types like PDF and Photoshop files, alongside JPGs, PNGs and other usual suspects.

2. Markup Feature in Preview

Before going ahead and downloading a bunch of apps you’ve never heard of, you should try out macOS’s secret paint feature, hidden right there in the trusty Mac Preview app.

When you open an image in Preview, click the icon next to the search bar at the top-right to open the ‘Markup Toolbar,’ which you’ll quickly find does a whole lot more than just marking up.

This toolbar pretty much functions like a basic paint program, allowing you to draw, scribble, make shapes and annotate the image you’re previewing. There are even some mildly more advanced functions, like Smart Lasso, which lets you accurately pick out shapes in your image.

It’s simple stuff, but it does the job when it comes to everyday tasks.

3. Sketch

This Mac drawing software holds all the aces when it comes to versatility. Sketch can be used to create professional artwork, draw and design websites and so much more. Sketch is a vector-based application with several features such as a toolbar, canvas, editable shapes and so much more. I have found Sketch a bit irregular, as it may require a little background knowledge and experience in basic designing. It’s nevertheless a user-friendly tool even for newbies. You can blob, warp, and twirl your way into anything.

4. Paintbrush

Paint Brush is a painting and illustrating application for Mac. Paint Brush is quite similar to Microsoft Paint on Windows in terms of functionality and build. Paint Brush offers some of the best freehand art experience in the game. It does not come with the complexity or spec requirements of other third-party applications, but if you need to get a few illustrations made up for occasional doodling, this drawing application tool is all you need to save the day.

5. Made with Mischief

Made with Mischief is a unique, simple drawing app for Mac. This application is as easy and simple as you could ever imagine. After installation you are welcomed by a blank screen and can start drawing right away, creating the nostalgic experience of pen and paper.

Made with Mischief is neither vector-based nor pixel-based and works best on a desktop. Made with Mischief has other exciting features like allowing you to create and customize your set of brushes and pen tools. Made with Mischief is a pretty good application for beginners as it lets you draw without limiting your canvas size.

6. ArtBoard

ArtBoard is a simple Mac drawing application that enables you to create minimalist and elaborate artwork for professional and personal purposes. ArtBoard offers so much in tools, features, usability components and flexibility. You can use any of its numerous backgrounds and layouts.

ArtBoard lets you work in layers, enabling you to work on different aspects of your drawings simultaneously. One of the most remarkable features of ArtBoard is the option of drag and drop which allows you to incorporate images straight from import. Although its lack of distortion tools and shortcomings in image conversion between vector and raster is noticeable, ArtBoard remains a top drawing tool for Mac.

Conclusion

There are certainly many simple drawing apps for Mac out there – free and paid alike. I wrote this list based on a cursory focus on the applications’ imitation of real-life drawing experience, availability of tools, simplicity, flexibility, and interface. I will not have the final word on this and earnestly look forward to your suggestions. Which of these drawing applications do you use? Kindly share your thoughts below.

This article was first published in September 2017 and was updated in June 2019.

Illustration software offers vector-based graphics editing and drawing capabilities for creating simple and complex non-photographic designs, technical diagrams, and illustrations such as logos and stylized art.

Most also offer basic typography and page layout capability for producing small documents. These advanced drawing tools are powerful enough for high-end professional design and business use.

Adobe Illustrator CC: An Affordable Vector Editor

What We Like

• A professional image editor.

• More affordable than other paid software.

What We Don't Like

• No one-time payment option.

• Will take a while to get familiar with all the tools.

Illustrator CC is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. This once expensive software is now available as a reasonably priced subscription service. The industry-standard vector drawing app is well supported among professionals, particularly those with a print-oriented environment. Create logos, icons, and complex illustrations for the web, print, video and mobile devices.

Illustrator CC introduced pixel-perfect artwork creation. Use it to draw shapes and paths that align to the pixel grid seamlessly so you'll never have to deal with anti-aliased icons again.

Although Illustrator CC has a challenging learning curve, Adobe offers video tutorials and user guides to simplify the learning process.

Price: $9.99 /month, or more with a different Creative Cloud plan; free during the trial

Illustrator CC works with Windows 10, Windows 7, macOS High Sierra (10.13), and macOS Sierra (10.12).

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite: Get the Most Bang for Your Buck

What We Like

• Relatively easy-to-use user interface.

• One-time payment option.

• Comes with several other tools.

• Provides access to a web version.

What We Don't Like

• Upgrades aren't free for the perpetual license.

• Subscription must be paid yearly at once.

Besides getting CorelDRAW, the core application for vector-based illustration, you also get Photo-Paint for image editing, Corel Website Creator, and several other utilities, fonts, and clipart in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite.

As an affordable graphics suite, it's a popular choice among small business users. The newest version includes the state-of-the-art Symmetry mode, Block Shadow tool, PhotoCocktail, and WordPress integration.

Price: $16.50 /month or $469 one-time fee; free during a 15-day trial

CorelDRAW works with Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7.

Inkscape: Free Vector Illustrator

What We Like

• Advanced features for a free program.

• Supports extensions.

• Runs on multiple platforms.

• Works in lots of languages.

What We Don't Like

• Seems laggy at times.

• Slow installation.

Inkscape is the open source community's free alternative to Adobe Illustrator. Although it doesn't match the full range of features of Illustrator, it is a worthy alternative with advanced and professional features for vector-based drawing.

• Pencil, pen and calligraphy tools
• Shape tools
• Text tools, kerning, letter spacing and line spacing
• Advanced fill and stroke options
• Gradient editor
• Color selector and color picker
• Layers

Inkscape can be downloaded for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Affinity Designer: A Feature Powerhouse

What We Like

• Awesome features.

• Runs on the iPad and desktops.

• No monthly cost.

What We Don't Like

• Must pay to use it beyond the trial.

Serif's Affinity Designer is a professional graphic design software that claims to be the fastest and most precise vector graphic design software available.

The modern interface works in any color space and is cross-platform compatible. It offers adjustment layers, effects, and blend modes. The workspace is customizable with docked and floating UI modes.

Affinity Designer boasts an impressive list of features, including these:

• Professional print controls
• Advanced type capabilities
• Shapes library
• Force touch, stylus pressure, tilt, and other controls
• Create your own brushes and nozzles
• 1 million+ zoom, and save your favorite zoom levels
• Light or dark user interface
• Supports several languages

Windows and macOS users can install Affinity Designer.

Xara Designer Pro X: Elegant Vector Graphics Editor

What We Like

• Ideal for web and graphic design.

• Supports older Windows versions.

• Requires minimal system resources.

What We Don't Like

• Steep price.

• Blocky, unattractive user interface.

• Trial is only seven days long.

• No Mac or Linux version.

Xara Designer Pro X promises amazing speed, a small size, reasonable system requirements, a moderate price, and a powerful feature set. It comes with loads of tutorials and video demos to ease the learning curve, and its loyal base of users are zealous. Xara is proud it introduced the world's first vector anti-aliasing in its all-in-one program that incorporates illustration, photo editing, page layout, websites and more. Additionally,

• Xara's Zoom tool zooms to 25,000 percent
• Offers unlimited undo and redo
• Supports a wide range of import and export file formats
• Generates PDFs, even those including transparency or graduated fills
• Supports CMYK color separations, spot color plates, and Pantone color support.

Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista are supported.

Canvas X 2019: An Advanced Graphics Editing Tool

What We Like

• Built for business use.

• Perpetual and one-time payment options.

• 30-day money-back guarantee.

What We Don't Like

• Impractical for novice illustrators.

• Price is on the higher side.

• Runs slowly on older computers.

Canvas X 2019 from ACD Systems is aimed at a user base of large corporations and technical professionals, specifically aerospace, energy, research and engineering, but it should not be neglected as an all-purpose graphics tool for small business users, web designers, educators and creative professionals. The one drawback of this powerhouse is its intense learning curve.

• Includes color management
• Suitable for commercial printing and any advanced image or export format
• Include text formatting and style tools along with editing, proofing, and annotation capabilities.
• Offers a template library for illustrations publications, presentations and animations.
• Shares documents with secure encryption and password protection.

Price: $239 /year or $599 perpetual license; free during 30-day trial

This program runs on Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Canvas Draw 5: Adobe Illustrator Alternative for Macs

What We Like

• Touch Bar support.

• Use a free, extended trial.

• One-time payment and subscription options.

What We Don't Like

• Built for Macs only.

• Will take some learning to understand it all.

Vector Drawing Programs For Mac

Canvas Draw 5 for Mac is designed for business professionals and creatives. A comprehensive set of vector tools and advanced raster image editing capability position all of a project's graphic elements in a single document. This program supports:

• Pressure sensitive Wacom tablets
• 128-bit password encryption
• Unicode text engine and UI
• Copy and Paste with RTF
• Improved drop-down menu
• 2D and 3D vector objects
• Autotrace capability

Price: $89 /year or $249 perpetual license; free during a 30-day trial

Canvas Draw 5 works with macOS Mojave (10.14), macOS High Sierra (10.13), and macOS Sierra (10.12).

Intaglio: Perfect for MacDraw Users

What We Like

• Several licensing options.

• Supports new and old vector formats.

• Compatible with old Mac software.

What We Don't Like

Vector Software For Mac

• Must contact them directly to purchase the program.

• Works with Mac systems only.

Intaglio is an affordable vector drawing program for Macs from Purgatory Design. The program carries the legacy of MacDraw into the modern Macintosh world. Mac users who grew up with MacDraw should feel right at home, and those new to Mac drawing can pick it up quickly.

• Intaglio supports many vector and bitmap file formats
• Reads legacy drawings from AppleWorks, ClarisDraw and MacDraw II/Pro
• Works with SVG, PDF and EPS files
• Converts bitmap images to vector paths
• Contains 2D drafting features
• Exports vector files

Free Vector Program For Mac

Price: $89.00 (1-user license), $379.00 (5-user license), $599.00 (10-user license); free during a trial period