Web User - UK (2019-10-16)

34 16 - 29 October 2019

Best Free Apps

App of the Fortnight

DRAWING

Adobe Fresco

bit.ly/fresco486

12.4

Whetheryou’re

passionate about

art orjustlike to

doodle, you’lllove

Adobe’ s new

drawing and

paintingapp for

table ts. Fresco is

currently only

availablefor

iPad s,but there are plans

to launchit fo r selectedWindows 10devices inthe future.

The app offersa focused selection of tools for painting

ona digi talcanvas, using touchscreen controlsinstea d of

a real-life paintbrush.Unlike many of Adobe’ s desktop

progr ams,the userinterface isrelatively uncomplicated,

but the tools themselvesare extremely powerful. Its ‘live’

brushes,for example, use advancedAIto translate your

on-screen swip esinto watercolour oroil brushstrokes that

beha ve realistically andfeelna tural to use.

Adobe Fresco isavailableona ‘freemium’basis, but you

can use it fo r free albeit with certain (mostly professional)

feat ures disabled.Not all brushes are availableto free

users,for example, andthere are somerestrictionsoncloud

saves andthe resolutionof exportedworkunless you pay.

Ifyou already subsc ribeto Adobe’ s Crea tive Cloud, you

may findyou now

have accessto

the fullversion of

Fresco aspa rtof

yourexisting

plan. Ifnot,the

fullstandalon e

version of Fresco

costs £9.49 per

month, but you

can currently

enjoy six months

free with all

feat ures

unlocked if you

sign upnow.

One thing to watch for ismeeting the app’s system

requirements. Aswellasbeing limited to devices running

iOS 12.4andup, Fresco only works oniPad Pros, along with

selectedrecent model s fromthe iPad range,

specifically the third-generation iPad Air, fifth

andsixth-gen iPad s andfifth-gen iPadMi ni. An

ApplePencilisalsorecommended, thoughyou

can alsojustus e yourfinger.

Our rating HHHHH

1

Open Fresco and sign

in with your Adobe

account – if you don’t yet

have one, follow the

promptsto sign up (this

is free). On Fresco’s

homepage, open a new

documentby tapping

one of the size options

listed^1 or by pressing

‘+ Crea te new’^2 to

browse for more sizes.

If you already have a file ,

you can open itby

selecting ‘Import and

open’.^3

2

The top of thetool

palette^1 offers a

choice of three brush

tools – pixel brushes (for

textured brushstrokes),

live brushes (watercolour

and oil) andvector

brushes (flatstrokes with

solid edges). Double-tap

one to customise the

brush style.^2 The

bottom of thetool

palette has optionsto

adjust thecolour, siz e,

ink flow and smoothing

for your brush.^3

3

Layers are displayed

in a strip along the

right.^1 Each type of

brush stroke appears in

its own la yer with a

round badge^2 denoting

the type of brush used.

Tap a la yer to work on it.

Double-tap a layer or use

the buttons on the right

(^3) for la yer actions, such
as adding, hiding or
delete layers. Press the
Share icon^4 to save or
export your work.
MINI WORKSHOP
Create digital paintings using
Adobe Fresco
NEW
1
2
3
2
3
3 1
4
2
1