Though vector drawing apps are usually targeted to designers of all stripes, they can be particularly useful to manufacturing and engineering designers. And they can be fun for those designers to use away from work, too.
Both 3-D graphics and computer-aided design software rely heavily on vector graphics, which can be used to create technical specifications, engineering designs, and artwork.
A vector-drawing app lets users take some aspects of their work on the road or into the field with them to be worked on or shared with colleagues or clients. App creators say their apps allow users to do their work across multiple devices and to quickly sketch out an idea while they’re away from their desktops.
In fact, the availability and individual features of various vector-drawing apps can boggle the mind and cause potential users to spend more time than they’d like combing through descriptions, rankings, feedback, and comparisons. Thousands of drawing apps are available for both mobile Mac and Android.
So it pays to do a little sleuthing before deciding on a popular drawing app. The cost isn’t the main issue—many apps are reasonably priced—but you may spring for an app you don’t like or you may find the one you purchase, download, and spend time learning, won’t support your needs.
Before shopping for a vector-drawing app, draw up (pun intended) a quick list of features you seek in an app. These might include price point, whom you can share the drawings with (only other users of the app, for example), and whether your drawings will be used for graphical illustrations or for 2-D or 3-D CAD applications.
For instance, while the newly released Autodesk Graphic app, for iPad or iPhone ($8.99 in the Apple app store) can be used by all types of designers, mechanical engineers using the app can take a vector diagram and import it as a sketch into Inventor or Fusion 360, both from Autodesk, to extrude from. Users can also import, edit, and annotate existing schematics.
The app is a rebranding of iDraw, formerly produced by Indeeo, which has been acquired by Autodesk and renamed Autodesk Graphic.
Automotive manufacturer using the app can create car concept designs with the app’s vector drawing tools.
Product industrial designers can create product mockups, illustrations, and print-based designs. Graphic designs can import and export commonly used design files so they can be integrated into an existing workflow.
The original iDraw made its debut for the first version of the iPad and contains a pen tool, layers, boolean commands, grids, snapping, effects, and other features. The Graphic update includes support for El Capitan and iOS 9 and pressure-sensitive drawing and haptic feedback capabilities.
If course competitors like iDesign ($7.99 in the Apple app store) work for mobile technical design as well and allows users to draw using a finger. Offset features means fingers don’t get in users’ way or block users’ views.
Those looking for drawing apps for the Android platform will find many to choose from as well.
And Adobe makes a suite of mobile apps for its Creative Cloud that let users start drawing on one device, store it in the cloud, and pick it up later on another device equipped with the suite of apps.
Vector-drawing apps can serve great purpose when used for work and can be fun for nonwork drawings. But you’ll probably want to hold yourself back from downloading and trying out all the available apps out there and a short, concise list of needs and wants helps. Or, for another way to find the app for you, spend a lost weekend playing around with different vector drawing apps. It could be fun.
