Comparing Adobe Fresco and Sketchbook

Adobe Fresco and Sketchbook are both popular digital painting and drawing apps that offer a variety of features for creating digital artwork. However, there are some key differences between the two apps.

Adobe Fresco is a newer app that was released in 2019. It is a powerful app that offers a wide range of features, including:

  • Vector and raster brushes
  • Wet blending
  • Natural media brushes
  • Smudge tools
  • Color adjustments
  • Layering
  • Export to other Adobe apps

Sketchbook is an older app that was released in 2012. It is a more streamlined app that focuses on simplicity and ease of use. It offers a smaller range of features than Fresco, but it is still a powerful app that can be used to create professional-looking artwork.

Here is a table that compares the key features of Adobe Fresco and Sketchbook:

Feature | Adobe Fresco | Sketchbook

Brushes | Vector and raster brushes | Vector brushes

Wet blending | Yes | Yes

Natural media brushes | Yes | No

Smudge tools | Yes | Yes

Color adjustments | Yes | Yes

Layering | Yes | Yes

Export to other Adobe apps | Yes | No

In general, Adobe Fresco is a better choice for artists who need a powerful app with a wide range of features. Sketchbook is a better choice for artists who want a simple and easy-to-use app.

Here is a more detailed comparison of the two apps

Brushes: Adobe Fresco offers both vector and raster brushes, which gives artists more flexibility when creating their artwork. Sketchbook only offers vector brushes, which can be limiting for some artists.

Wet blending: Adobe Fresco’s wet blending feature allows artists to create realistic watercolor effects. Sketchbook also has a wet blending feature, but it is not as powerful as Adobe Fresco’s.

Natural media brushes: Adobe Fresco offers a wide variety of natural media brushes, such as pencils, charcoal, and oil paints. Sketchbook does not offer any natural media brushes.

Smudge tools: Both Adobe Fresco and Sketchbook offer smudge tools, which can be used to blend colors and create smooth transitions.

Color adjustments: Both Adobe Fresco and Sketchbook offer a variety of color adjustment tools, which can be used to tweak the colors of your artwork.

Layering: Both Adobe Fresco and Sketchbook offer layering, which allows artists to create complex compositions with multiple layers of artwork.

Export to other Adobe apps: Adobe Fresco is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, which means that you can easily export your artwork to other Adobe apps, such as Photoshop and Illustrator. Sketchbook is not part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, so you will need to export your artwork to another format if you want to use it in other apps.

Overall, Adobe Fresco is a more powerful and versatile app than Sketchbook. However, Sketchbook is still a good option for artists who want a simple and easy-to-use app.

Here is a summary of the pros and cons of each app

Adobe Fresco Pros:

  • Powerful app with a wide range of features
  • Wet blending feature
  • Natural media brushes
  • Smudge tools
  • Color adjustments
  • Layering
  • Export to other Adobe apps

Adobe Fresco Cons:

  • More complex to learn than Sketchbook
  • Can be resource-intensive

Sketchbook Pros:

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Vector brushes
  • Wet blending feature
  • Smudge tools
  • Color adjustments
  • Layering

Sketchbook Cons:

  • Not as powerful as Adobe Fresco
  • Does not offer natural media brushes
  • Cannot export to other Adobe apps

I hope this article has helped you to decide which app is right for you. If you are a beginner, I recommend starting with Sketchbook. It is a great app for learning the basics of digital painting and drawing. If you are a more experienced artist, you may want to try Adobe Fresco. It offers a wider range of features and can be used to create more complex compositions.