How to color with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

As soon as I got my hands on the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil, I immediately wanted iPad Pro coloring apps to go with it. While at first there wasn’t much to choose from, the options are getting better.

In the interim, I found that if you get a little creative, your options for coloring on the iPad Pro are already endless.

Best coloring app for iPad Pro

There aren’t a ton of dedicated options yet when it comes to coloring on the iPad Pro. The best option available so far is Pigment. You’ll get a small selection of coloring sheets for free, but then you’ll need to opt for a subscription.

Pigment offers a few different options when it comes to completing sheets. You can color just as you would on paper, pressure sensitivity and all, or you can use the fill mode to tap on an area to fill it. You can also use the guide feature to make sure you stay in the lines, if you prefer. I personally like to free-hand color as I find it more challenging and makes your images look unique.

Just keep in mind that Pigment is geared mainly towards adults. The coloring patterns are intricate and aren’t well suited for children. If you’re looking for an option for the whole family, a sketching app paired with coloring sheets may be a better option.

However, for adults, Pigment is incredibly well-done and if you enjoy coloring to relax, it’s easy to spend hours inside this well put together app.

• Pigment – Free w/ IAP – Download

Endless coloring sheets for iPad Pro

The first few weeks I had my iPad Pro, there weren’t any dedicated coloring apps that supported both the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil.

So I got a little creative…

My favorite sketching and drawing app for the iPad Pro so far has been Procreate. With Procreate, you can choose to import existing photos from your Camera Roll to continue working on them.

I took advantage of this and started saving coloring sheets that I found via Google search. Once they were in my Camera Roll, I could easily import them into Procreate and color them however I wanted.

And since Procreate has support for the Apple Pencil, there was immediate support for pressure sensitivity.

To find coloring sheets, I simply Google things like Downloadable coloring sheets or something similar. Then just click on Images and save the sheets to your Camera Roll.

If you want to be even more specific, you can find any genre or type of coloring sheets. For example, Googling Hello Kitty coloring sheets brings up hundreds of options for Hello Kitty fans. Or Dr. Who Coloring Pages… you get the idea.

From there, just import the coloring sheets into Procreate.

With this method you only have to buy Procreate one time and then you aren’t limited to how many coloring sheets you can have, or what kind.

• Procreate – $- Download

While Procreate is my favorite drawing app on iPad Pro so far, there are tons of others available. Some other ones that support importing your own coloring sheets include:

• Tayasui Sketches+ – $ w/ IAP – Download – Easier controls that smaller children can understand and use
• Paper by 53 – Free – Download
• Autodesk SketchBook – Free (requires IAP to import images) – Download
• Adobe Photo Sketch – Free with CC subscription – Download

What iPad Pro coloring apps are you using?

Are you using Pigment to color on the iPad Pro or did you decide to stick with a general sketching app and import sheets? Let me know in the comments what app you chose and why!