iPastels
Free
4.7for iPhone
Age Rating
iPastels Screenshots
About iPastels
A painting app for all artists, whether you’re experienced or just starting out.
Perfect for creating beautiful works of art or a quick sketch whenever you have a burst of inspiration.
You can also try out ideas and compositions before starting on a new painting in real life, or practise and refine your skills, all without the added cost of art supplies.
• LIFELIKE PASTEL SIMULATION •
The app features live-calculated brushes and strokes, making a realistic pastel simulation possible.
Painting tools include soft pastels, oil pastels, pastel pencils, smudge tool, and more.
• REALISTIC PAPER/CANVAS TEXTURES •
When creating a new picture, a unique, non-repeating paper texture is generated that will interact in real-time with the live-calculated strokes you paint.
You can change the default-generated texture to something else, for example “Canvas”, which is especially well suited for oil pastels.
Click the Layers button, then click “Paper”, and finally “Regenerate”.
• PRECISE COLOR BLENDING •
When painting, especially with soft pastels, use Smudge or the Cotton Swab to blend and smoothen the colors right on the paper, as you would in real life.
With oil pastels, in addition to smudging, the blending is often done by the pastel sticks themselves (for best results, reduce the force or use a similar or lighter color).
• PARAMETERS CAN BE CHANGED LIVE •
All the control knobs in the toolbar can be changed and adjusted while you paint, by using the number keys (1, 2, 3...) on your keyboard.
• EASY AND QUICK TO USE COLOR PALETTE •
Changing the color is only a click away.
The colors in the palette can be rearranged, adjusted, added and removed.
• FULL SCREEN PAINTING •
The Mac’s full screen mode is supported.
You can remove the toolbar if you place the pointer on it and scroll toward the screen/window edge, or if you press the Tab key on your keyboard.
To get it back, scroll inward from near the edge.
You can also move the toolbar to the other side by scrolling it in that direction, or by pressing Shift-Tab.
• ZOOMING, PANNING, ROTATING •
On a trackpad, you can pinch to zoom, and use the rotation gesture to rotate the picture.
Scroll over the picture to pan.
On the keyboard, use the Arrow keys (pan) and - + buttons (zoom).
Use the Space key or the smart zoom gesture to reset zoom, pan, and rotation. Again to go back.
• SEAMLESS PATTERN EDITING MODE •
This unique feature lets you paint on the picture laid out as tiles next to each other.
The results can be used as website or desktop backgrounds, in print, or for textures in 3d modelling.
• METAL •
The engine is based on Metal, with 128-bit color and floating-point arithmetic.
• SWIFT •
The app was developed entirely using Swift (earlier versions used C++).
• DARK MODE • TOUCH BAR • WIDE COLOR •
• MULTIPLE LAYERS • PHOTO TRACING MODE (Pro feature) •
Perfect for creating beautiful works of art or a quick sketch whenever you have a burst of inspiration.
You can also try out ideas and compositions before starting on a new painting in real life, or practise and refine your skills, all without the added cost of art supplies.
• LIFELIKE PASTEL SIMULATION •
The app features live-calculated brushes and strokes, making a realistic pastel simulation possible.
Painting tools include soft pastels, oil pastels, pastel pencils, smudge tool, and more.
• REALISTIC PAPER/CANVAS TEXTURES •
When creating a new picture, a unique, non-repeating paper texture is generated that will interact in real-time with the live-calculated strokes you paint.
You can change the default-generated texture to something else, for example “Canvas”, which is especially well suited for oil pastels.
Click the Layers button, then click “Paper”, and finally “Regenerate”.
• PRECISE COLOR BLENDING •
When painting, especially with soft pastels, use Smudge or the Cotton Swab to blend and smoothen the colors right on the paper, as you would in real life.
With oil pastels, in addition to smudging, the blending is often done by the pastel sticks themselves (for best results, reduce the force or use a similar or lighter color).
• PARAMETERS CAN BE CHANGED LIVE •
All the control knobs in the toolbar can be changed and adjusted while you paint, by using the number keys (1, 2, 3...) on your keyboard.
• EASY AND QUICK TO USE COLOR PALETTE •
Changing the color is only a click away.
The colors in the palette can be rearranged, adjusted, added and removed.
• FULL SCREEN PAINTING •
The Mac’s full screen mode is supported.
You can remove the toolbar if you place the pointer on it and scroll toward the screen/window edge, or if you press the Tab key on your keyboard.
To get it back, scroll inward from near the edge.
You can also move the toolbar to the other side by scrolling it in that direction, or by pressing Shift-Tab.
• ZOOMING, PANNING, ROTATING •
On a trackpad, you can pinch to zoom, and use the rotation gesture to rotate the picture.
Scroll over the picture to pan.
On the keyboard, use the Arrow keys (pan) and - + buttons (zoom).
Use the Space key or the smart zoom gesture to reset zoom, pan, and rotation. Again to go back.
• SEAMLESS PATTERN EDITING MODE •
This unique feature lets you paint on the picture laid out as tiles next to each other.
The results can be used as website or desktop backgrounds, in print, or for textures in 3d modelling.
• METAL •
The engine is based on Metal, with 128-bit color and floating-point arithmetic.
• SWIFT •
The app was developed entirely using Swift (earlier versions used C++).
• DARK MODE • TOUCH BAR • WIDE COLOR •
• MULTIPLE LAYERS • PHOTO TRACING MODE (Pro feature) •
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What's New in the Latest Version 4.7
Last updated on Mar 12, 2020
Old Versions
[IMPROVED] The picture’s paper/canvas texture can now be adjusted with sliders for Coarseness (Pro), Depth, Visibility, and a preview. Found under “Paper/Canvas Properties” when adding a new picture, or in the Layer Control under “Paper/Canvas”.
[IMPROVED] The app now remembers the last used size, color, and texture when creating a new picture.
[NEW] (Pro) Two new tools for adjusting contrast.
[IMPROVED] If more than one menu is open, a click outside no longer closes all menus, only the last.
[IMPROVED] Misc. things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
[IMPROVED] The app now remembers the last used size, color, and texture when creating a new picture.
[NEW] (Pro) Two new tools for adjusting contrast.
[IMPROVED] If more than one menu is open, a click outside no longer closes all menus, only the last.
[IMPROVED] Misc. things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
Show More
Version History
4.7
Mar 12, 2020
[IMPROVED] The picture’s paper/canvas texture can now be adjusted with sliders for Coarseness (Pro), Depth, Visibility, and a preview. Found under “Paper/Canvas Properties” when adding a new picture, or in the Layer Control under “Paper/Canvas”.
[IMPROVED] The app now remembers the last used size, color, and texture when creating a new picture.
[NEW] (Pro) Two new tools for adjusting contrast.
[IMPROVED] If more than one menu is open, a click outside no longer closes all menus, only the last.
[IMPROVED] Misc. things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
[IMPROVED] The app now remembers the last used size, color, and texture when creating a new picture.
[NEW] (Pro) Two new tools for adjusting contrast.
[IMPROVED] If more than one menu is open, a click outside no longer closes all menus, only the last.
[IMPROVED] Misc. things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
4.6
Jan 19, 2020
[NEW] (Pro) Two new tools, Blur and Sharpen.
[IMPROVED] (Pro) Some improvements to the Photo Tracing feature, including a new Color Sampling Rate slider.
[FIXED] A few tools needed minor, subtle corrections.
[FIXED] Adding a new “Custom-Sized” picture did not always work correctly.
[FIXED] (Pro) Some issues with Scale, Adjust Size.
[IMPROVED] Some minor things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
[IMPROVED] (Pro) Some improvements to the Photo Tracing feature, including a new Color Sampling Rate slider.
[FIXED] A few tools needed minor, subtle corrections.
[FIXED] Adding a new “Custom-Sized” picture did not always work correctly.
[FIXED] (Pro) Some issues with Scale, Adjust Size.
[IMPROVED] Some minor things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
4.5.4
Dec 22, 2019
[IMPROVED] Better handling of stylus tilt.
[FIXED] A rare but critical stability issue.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
[FIXED] A rare but critical stability issue.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
4.5.3
Dec 8, 2019
[FIXED] An issue that, in certain cases, could crash the app or prevent some basic functions (such as New Picture) from working.
4.5.2
Dec 2, 2019
[IMPROVED] The color palettes are now auto-saved more frequently.
[IMPROVED] Add, Delete, Paste, Duplicate, Import, Merge (Pro) Layer have all been optimized.
[IMPROVED] Better handling of trackpad pressure.
[FIXED] (Pro) Shapes now work as expected.
[FIXED] (Pro) Some issues with Move Layer.
[FIXED] Some issues with Undo and Redo in certain, rare situations.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
[IMPROVED] Add, Delete, Paste, Duplicate, Import, Merge (Pro) Layer have all been optimized.
[IMPROVED] Better handling of trackpad pressure.
[FIXED] (Pro) Shapes now work as expected.
[FIXED] (Pro) Some issues with Move Layer.
[FIXED] Some issues with Undo and Redo in certain, rare situations.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
4.5
Oct 21, 2019
[NEW] (Pro) Two new tools, Adjust Hue Clockwise and Adjust Hue Counterclockwise.
[IMPROVED] Website links in the app are now using secure connections.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
[IMPROVED] Website links in the app are now using secure connections.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
4.4
Oct 14, 2019
[NEW] (Pro) Two new tools, Saturate and Desaturate.
[IMPROVED] The selected painting tool is now more clearly marked in Dark Mode.
[IMPROVED] Some minor things.
[FIXED] Leaving the app while painting (mid-stroke) could cause some issues with the current layer.
[FIXED] A couple of minor issues.
[IMPROVED] The selected painting tool is now more clearly marked in Dark Mode.
[IMPROVED] Some minor things.
[FIXED] Leaving the app while painting (mid-stroke) could cause some issues with the current layer.
[FIXED] A couple of minor issues.
4.3
Sep 29, 2019
[NEW] (Pro) Added a tool called Colorize.
[IMPROVED] Slightly more accurate and/or smooth painting strokes.
[FIXED] The first painting stroke after returning from the Work in Progress screen did not always work as expected.
[FIXED] An issue with the trackpad pressure input, in certain situations.
[IMPROVED] A couple of minor things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
[IMPROVED] Slightly more accurate and/or smooth painting strokes.
[FIXED] The first painting stroke after returning from the Work in Progress screen did not always work as expected.
[FIXED] An issue with the trackpad pressure input, in certain situations.
[IMPROVED] A couple of minor things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
4.2.2
Sep 18, 2019
[IMPROVED] Changing the Painting Tool Mode (Line, Rectangle etc.) will now close the menu automatically, for a faster workflow.
[IMPROVED] Some toolbar settings have been moved to a new settings category called “Head-Up Display”.
[IMPROVED] Added optional text displaying the picture’s current rotation (Settings button -> Head-Up Display -> Current Rotation).
[IMPROVED] The text displaying the picture’s current zoom level is now optional (Settings button -> Head-Up Display -> Current Zoom).
[FIXED] Painting strokes could be cut short in certain rare situations.
[IMPROVED] Some toolbar settings have been moved to a new settings category called “Head-Up Display”.
[IMPROVED] Added optional text displaying the picture’s current rotation (Settings button -> Head-Up Display -> Current Rotation).
[IMPROVED] The text displaying the picture’s current zoom level is now optional (Settings button -> Head-Up Display -> Current Zoom).
[FIXED] Painting strokes could be cut short in certain rare situations.
4.2.1
Sep 10, 2019
[IMPROVED] The current scale is now displayed when zooming.
[IMPROVED] The control knob for Force now gets a red mark if the value is close to minimum and it might be difficult to notice the painting strokes.
[FIXED] An issue with the toolbar becoming extremely small in some rare situations.
[FIXED] A minor issue with the Painting Tool Mode (Line, Rectangle etc.).
[FIXED] A serious (but rare) bug.
[FIXED] A few other issues.
[IMPROVED] The control knob for Force now gets a red mark if the value is close to minimum and it might be difficult to notice the painting strokes.
[FIXED] An issue with the toolbar becoming extremely small in some rare situations.
[FIXED] A minor issue with the Painting Tool Mode (Line, Rectangle etc.).
[FIXED] A serious (but rare) bug.
[FIXED] A few other issues.
4.2
Aug 30, 2019
[IMPROVED] The size of the toolbar can now be adjusted with a slider (Settings button -> Toolbar -> Toolbar Size).
[IMPROVED] You can now set the number of colors displayed per line in the palette (Settings button -> Toolbar -> Palette Colors/Line).
[IMPROVED] Changed some UI colors.
[IMPROVED] The current palette can now be reset to default (scroll to beginning of palette -> “…” button -> Reset).
[NEW] (Pro) Added new painting tool, Colored Pencil.
[IMPROVED] Wax Crayon (Pro) and Pastel Pencil have been slightly adjusted.
[IMPROVED] You can now click twice on the Eraser tool and choose “Clear Layer”.
[IMPROVED] Added optional text displaying the painting tool Force (Settings button -> Toolbar -> Tool Force Indicator).
[IMPROVED] The optional Size indicator text has been made more visible.
[IMPROVED] Slider values no longer show decimals.
[FIXED] Importing a layer did not work as expected.
[FIXED] Scale Picture would fail in certain situations.
[IMPROVED] A few minor things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
[IMPROVED] You can now set the number of colors displayed per line in the palette (Settings button -> Toolbar -> Palette Colors/Line).
[IMPROVED] Changed some UI colors.
[IMPROVED] The current palette can now be reset to default (scroll to beginning of palette -> “…” button -> Reset).
[NEW] (Pro) Added new painting tool, Colored Pencil.
[IMPROVED] Wax Crayon (Pro) and Pastel Pencil have been slightly adjusted.
[IMPROVED] You can now click twice on the Eraser tool and choose “Clear Layer”.
[IMPROVED] Added optional text displaying the painting tool Force (Settings button -> Toolbar -> Tool Force Indicator).
[IMPROVED] The optional Size indicator text has been made more visible.
[IMPROVED] Slider values no longer show decimals.
[FIXED] Importing a layer did not work as expected.
[FIXED] Scale Picture would fail in certain situations.
[IMPROVED] A few minor things.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
4.1
Aug 19, 2019
[IMPROVED] The paper texture is now adjusted with two sliders: A Visibility slider that determines how visible the texture is on a blank paper (set to zero for a digitally ‘clean’ paper), and a Depth slider that determines how much the texture will affect the painting strokes.
[IMPROVED] The tool size indicator ring is now optional and can be replaced or complemented with a text displaying the size in pixels (Settings button -> Toolbar -> Tool Size Indicator).
[IMPROVED] Some minor adjustments.
[FIXED] Some window issues.
[FIXED] Some help/tip messages that were supposed to point at specific buttons failed to do so.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
[FIXED] Some other issues.
[IMPROVED] The tool size indicator ring is now optional and can be replaced or complemented with a text displaying the size in pixels (Settings button -> Toolbar -> Tool Size Indicator).
[IMPROVED] Some minor adjustments.
[FIXED] Some window issues.
[FIXED] Some help/tip messages that were supposed to point at specific buttons failed to do so.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
[FIXED] Some other issues.
4.0.1
Aug 3, 2019
[NEW] Support for EXR image files.
[IMPROVED] Slightly faster animations.
[IMPROVED] Misc. minor things.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
[IMPROVED] Slightly faster animations.
[IMPROVED] Misc. minor things.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
4.0
Jul 18, 2019
[NEW] Realistic paper/canvas textures. You can change the default-generated texture to something else, for example “Canvas”, which is especially well suited for oil pastels. Press Layers button -> “Paper” -> “Regenerate”.
[IMPROVED] Completely new painting engine that is both faster and more lifelike.
[NEW] The toolbar automatically hides (or optionally, moves to the other side) when you paint near it.
[NEW] A button for creating a new random palette section from the color family of your choice. It can be found next to the “…” and “+” buttons at the beginning of the palette.
[NEW] A dedicated Settings button (next to the Layers button).
[NEW] Help/Tip messages will appear from time to time (can be switched off in the Settings menu).
[NEW] A Tutorials button in the Manual menu, leading to a collection of tutorials on our website.
[IMPROVED] Misc. additional things.
[FIXED] Some bugs.
[IMPROVED] Completely new painting engine that is both faster and more lifelike.
[NEW] The toolbar automatically hides (or optionally, moves to the other side) when you paint near it.
[NEW] A button for creating a new random palette section from the color family of your choice. It can be found next to the “…” and “+” buttons at the beginning of the palette.
[NEW] A dedicated Settings button (next to the Layers button).
[NEW] Help/Tip messages will appear from time to time (can be switched off in the Settings menu).
[NEW] A Tutorials button in the Manual menu, leading to a collection of tutorials on our website.
[IMPROVED] Misc. additional things.
[FIXED] Some bugs.
3.9
May 21, 2019
[NEW] (Pro) Added new paint mode: Ellipse.
[IMPROVED] You can now right-click on any picture in “Work in Progress” to bring up a menu with a culled list of options (as well as selecting it, if it wasn’t already).
[FIXED] The selected picture in “Work in Progress” was not marked correctly in certain situations.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
[IMPROVED] You can now right-click on any picture in “Work in Progress” to bring up a menu with a culled list of options (as well as selecting it, if it wasn’t already).
[FIXED] The selected picture in “Work in Progress” was not marked correctly in certain situations.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
3.8
May 13, 2019
[IMPROVED] You can now rearrange the pictures in “Work in Progress” by pressing and then moving to a new position.
[IMPROVED] Painting is now slightly faster.
[IMPROVED] You can now press and move the Current Color to a specific position in the palette.
[IMPROVED] Some minor things.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
[IMPROVED] Painting is now slightly faster.
[IMPROVED] You can now press and move the Current Color to a specific position in the palette.
[IMPROVED] Some minor things.
[FIXED] Some minor issues.
3.7
Apr 23, 2019
[IMPROVED] You can now rearrange the colors in the palette by pressing and then moving a color to a new position (or outside the toolbar, to delete)
[IMPROVED] Some UI animations.
[IMPROVED] Some optimizations.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
[IMPROVED] Some UI animations.
[IMPROVED] Some optimizations.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
3.6.1
May 17, 2014
[IMPROVED] Now compiled with Swift 5.
[IMPROVED] Temporary Palette Section: Colors are now added and removed to/from the end of the section instead of being inserted/deleted first.
[FIXED] An issue affecting the Layer Control.
[FIXED] Misc. other issues.
3.6
May 17, 2014
[NEW] Encyclopedia of named colors, accessible from the Current Color menu.
[IMPROVED] Redesigned menus.
[IMPROVED] You can now switch between three different customizable color palettes in the Palette menu (Click the palette’s “…” button).
[NEW] Seamless Pattern Editing mode that lets you display the picture as tiles next to each other. You’re free to paint anywhere on these tiles, so you can easily create seamless patterns for use as website or desktop backgrounds, in print, or for textures in 3d modelling. Toggle this feature on/off in “Work in Progress”, in the menu that comes up when you click the “…” button.
[IMPROVED] You can now change the size of the control knobs for the current color’s hue, saturation, brightness, in the Current Color menu, under “Customize Toolbar”.
[NEW] A special palette section at the end, where you can click a short or long button to bring up a short or long list of named colors. It can be switched off in the menu that comes up when you click the palette’s “…” button
[IMPROVED] Some of the buttons now rearrange themselves when you move the toolbar to the other side, in order to maintain a position relative to the picture. This behavior can be switched off in the Current Color menu, under “Customize Toolbar”.
[NEW] Duplicate Picture.
[NEW] Duplicate Layer.
[NEW] (Pro) Rotate layer 90 degrees.
[NEW] The palette’s “…” button is now accompanied by a “+” button, to add a new palette section.
[NEW] (Pro) Move, a layer operation that can offset a layer’s position by x number of pixels.
[NEW] (Pro) Layer Mover tool, to grab a layer and move its position.
[FIXED] Zooming the picture would sometimes cause some minor issues.
[FIXED] Improved stability.
[IMPROVED] Misc. improvements.
[FIXED] A few minor issues.
3.5
May 17, 2014
[NEW] You can now choose which painting tool you want a tool button to have by clicking the selected tool. You are allowed to have multiple instances of the same tool, which can be very useful since they have different settings and color. For example, you could assign your favorite painting tool to three buttons, one with a small size suitable for sketching, one suitable for normal painting, and one large-sized with a dark color and low force value suitable for painting shadows.
[NEW] (Pro) Added some extra painting tools to choose from (Wax Crayon, Lighten, Darken).
[FIXED] Some stability issues.
[IMPROVED] Some optimizations.
[IMPROVED] Some updates to the manual.
[IMPROVED] Some minor things.
iPastels FAQ
Click here to learn how to download iPastels in restricted country or region.
Check the following list to see the minimum requirements of iPastels.
iPhone
iPastels supports English
