Inkpad - Graphic Design

I really wanted to like this app. It's an affordable vector illustrator with a very efficient and intuitive interface. It even has a lineage going back to a nice open source offering. The only thing that is preventing me from liking and using this app is that it cannot really import SVG files. Every SVG file I tried, including ones generated by Inkpad itself, come through horribly distorted. Borders are all wrong, text sizes are out of control, and generally it would take hours to correct the mistakes in the imported image. That coupled with the fact that inkpad has its own format and stores its files in a hidden location means that you have no chance at meaningful interoperability with other editors. If you can commit to using Inkpad exclusively, this editor would be quite nice. However, I need to be able to import assets and edit files on my Mac as well. I simply cannot do that with Inkpad.

I’ve been using Inkpad since it’s first inception back in 2011... When Envoza took over the development and maintenance of the app, it literally “saved my bacon 🥓” (and given that I am a vegetarian, that says a lot). I am a semi-professional cartoonist and Inkpad is the heaviest workhorse in my cartooning arsenal. There is not a single vector problem it can not solve (or at the very least help me work around). If I could give the app more than 5 stars I would. I live in fear every time Apple updates its iOS that it might leave Inkpad unsupported. If I were to suggest one small improvement that would make it a perfect app... that would be the addition of “nudge” controls. It is very difficult to shift a selected object only a few Pixels left/right/up/down using a touch drag. If Envoza ever saw fit to add that function to the app, I would be eternally grateful (that and never ending support for the app itself).

Well, this app is good. The vector feature thing certainly is useful, but... I have one complaint. The paintbrush tool... well, here is an example of how it works. If I were to draw a circle, it would fill the circle in automatically. ...I don’t want it to do that! Not unless I tell it to. I can’t make a curvy line without it turning out super weird, and then having to go erasing parts of it until it is a thin line. And that’s inconvenient, and a tad difficult. Why isn’t there just a normal paint brush??? I want to make a nice drawing with this, but i guess I’ll have to go into a different, FREE drawing app i have and make a drawing that is better than anything I could ever make in this app, which WASN’T free! Give me a normal brush, and I’ll give you an extra star.