Recolor keeps coloring relaxing, with no ads and an easy-to-spot free picture category. You can keep your work private or share it in the community gallery. Earn daily tokens by opening the app and use them to unlock pictures, or subscribe (starting with a free trial) to access all images, colors, and effects.

Photoshop Sketch is ideal for Adobe vets, but welcomes newbies with clear tutorials. It’s free to use, though sign-in is required. Customize details like your brush’s flow (the amount of color applied with a stroke) and finish works on desktop with the layers preserved. The only tool we were left wanting was a paint bucket.

Even if you’ve hardly ever doodled, you’ll be at home with Sketch. Start with a blank canvas or photo, then add layers to make some serious or (with the likes of burger and mustache stickers) lighthearted art. Sketch also has an active community: Use hashtags to find (or share) art with specific subjects and styles.

There’s not much you can access here without a subscription or tickets, earned through actions like watching ads. However, once you’re coloring, the options are endless. Fill spaces with a tap, or add details with crayons, pencils, and other drawing tools. Complete your work with finishing touches like texture effects.

Despite helpful onboarding captions, ArtFlow isn't the most intuitive sketcher. That said, loads of customizable tools await in the menu (tap the upper-right corner), and you can iterate freely with infinite undos and redos. It’s worth buying the Pro license; without it, you’re limited to far fewer layers, brushes, and undos.