HEAVYPAINT Classic 4+

Update to the update:
The latest update includes a few improvements and welcome features but along with them, some new bugs.

The two-fingered pinch, zoom and pan is extremely useful, especially for adding detail but zooming up fails to stabilise, the Apple Pencil tip continuing to move the painting when selecting tools or colours, or using sliders. It’s not clear what causes the zoomed image to lock in place, though it eventually does somehow.

There’s still no PRESSURE control for SIZE but the DRAW tool does seem to produce a more calligraphic stroke with some thick and thin, when the solid circle texture is selected.

So, improvements there are (and another star from me) but far from perfect.

Update:
Having persevered and begun to feel my way around the minimalist UI, I’ve started to like HP much better but I’ve also found a lot of very annoying bugs that really halt the workflow.

Among the worse of these are the brush controls. A change to SIZE by SPEED in D (draw), for instance, will result in a quite pleasing, if odd, thick’n’thin line but that setting is then changed across the board of tools, even in L (line), which produces a single pixel width line, whatever size is selected (on the slider above the colour picker). Switching SIZE option to DEFAULT, say, in L then changes all, including D to the same.

Some SIZE options have no appreciable effect but selecting PRESSURE, which would seem a natural choice, eliminates any mark making whatsoever on all tools.

It is also impossible to change the texture of some brushes.

I could go on.

I should say these bugs apply to the iOS version of HP. I have replicated them on iPadPro, iPad Mini and iPhone XS Max. I have not tried any of the desktop versions (and I’m reluctant to subscribe while the bugs persist in the mobile version) and don’t know if they are also present in MacOS, Windows and Linux but the developer appears to update desktop ahead of mobile.

Let’s hope that the next iOS update resolves these and a myriad other issues in what would otherwise be a highly original and deceptively powerful painting app.

Rating increased to 3 stars pending bug fixes.

****

I like the look of the artwork examples shown here and on Instagram, where there is a lively #heavypaint scene and purchased the app with the expectation of producing artwork in similar style.

I am by no means a novice at drawing and painting, either in real or digital media but HP tools and interface have me stumped. Where some of the best HP artwork resembles accomplished gouache painting, there is nothing remotely natural, ‘real’ or intuitive about HP and next no instruction or documentation to help the newcomer along.

After hours of trial-and-error, I all but gave up and somewhat regretted having bought it. I won’t delete quite yet, in the hope that the developer might eventually give us a clue, or redesign the UI for greater comprehensibility. Keep me posted.

I gave this a try and quite frankly I'm not sure what the designers are trying to achieve with the interface.

I get that not everyone will like an app, but this one is really strange and more of a fight than a pleasure. I urge everyone to try it before accepting my feedback, but after a quick half hour use, it wasn't for me.

I couldn't help feel that those who use this app are like the minimalists writers who insist that markdown is the only way to go when it comes to writing. My ten pence worth comes down to this, It feels like this app is less about the ability to draw and paint simply and more about the technicalities of the interface and the hurdles you have to go through to get something done, then I move on quickly.

None of the letters associated with the brush types really say anything about the function. You don't get any idea of what they mean. Then there is the colour picker, which seems to be more web designer than artist palette.

I'm sure this is a great app in the right hands and with someone who has invested a lot of time in it then great for them, but for me, if I feel the interface is going to fight to work with, then I tend to lose interest.

As far as I'm concerned, Art is not about the struggle to use the tools, it's more about the creation and things that let you get it done. Call me a luddite if you like, but I know what I like and it ain't this one.

The title really says it all. It’s a very versatile painting app that has a wide range of tools and customisation options.
The only downside I can see is that it might not be super easy to get started if you don’t have much experience with digital painting programs.
But once you get the hang of it, it’s fantastic.
On top of that there is very active support from the developer of the app. It’s continually being improved and bugs are quickly addressed.
Also there is a free trial version. I can highly recommend giving it a try!