Adobe Fresco is a drawing and painting app for iPad and iPhone featuring unique Live Brushes that simulate oil and watercolor paint behavior in real-time — with paint mixing, bleed effects, and wet-on-wet interactions unlike any digital brush. Unlike Procreate (static brushes), Fresco's Live Brushes dynamically simulate physical media mixing. Integration with Adobe CC means designs flow directly into Photoshop and Illustrator. Available free with paid tier for additional Live Brushes and cloud storage.
Adobe Fresco
Drawing and painting app for iPad
Best for: Traditional painters transitioning to digital who want realistic oil and watercolor simulation with Adobe Creative Cloud workflow
- Free plan
4.3/5 ratingEditorial score 80/100adobe.com
The editorial note
What to know about Adobe Fresco
Is it right for you?
Who Adobe Fresco suits
Choose it if
- Traditional painters transitioning to digital who want realistic oil and watercolor simulation with Adobe Creative Cloud workflow
Look elsewhere if
- Illustrators wanting a deep brush library for digital illustration (Procreate has more brushes and customization)
What you get
Key features
- Live Brushes
- Pixel brushes
- Vector layers
- Adobe CC sync
- Animation
- Apple Pencil
- Watercolor simulation
Works with
Integrations3
The trade-off
Pros and cons
Pros
- Live Brushes (realistic oil/watercolor)
- Adobe CC integration
- Free tier
- Apple Pencil
- Vector and pixel layers
- Photoshop brushes
Cons
- Live Brushes require Creative Cloud subscription
- Smaller brush library than Procreate
- Adobe subscription lock-in
Quick read
At a glance
- Category
- Design & Creative
- Pricing model
- Freemium
- Free plan
- Available
- Free trial
- Not listed
- Website
- adobe.com
The verdict
Our take on Adobe Fresco
Best iPad painting app for traditional artists going digital. Adobe Fresco's Live Brushes simulate oil and watercolor mixing behavior that Procreate's static brushes can't match — watercolorists and oil painters choosing their first digital painting app find Fresco's physical media simulation most familiar.
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