It used to be that if you wanted to get your creative juices flowing you had to take out your easel, brush and paints. There was always the possibility that you’d get paint all over you, and who has the time for that?
With smartphones and tablets at hand, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of cool apps for creatives. We’ve put together a list of some of the best out there for you to try.
1. Replay
iOS; free
Replay let’s you edit your video’s easily and quickly for Instagram. It let’s you add music, text and filters. The only complaint we have is that chubby fingers aren’t the best tool for editing with finesse.
iOS; freemium
What a beautiful interface; Paper is a way for you to put together all the little things that make up an idea or project. That means images, notes, clips, photo’s, whatever you want to add, all together in one place.
3. Bamboo Paper
iOS/Android/Windows; freemium
Perhaps one of the best apps for drawing available, Bamboo Paper let’s you create (and share) doodles that look almost professional. What’s more, the app was created by the same company that makes Wacom tablets and styluses, which means you can use your Bamboo Paper styles to create even better art. Fun for kids, too.
4. Tayasui Sketches
iOS; freemium
With more options than Bamboo Paper, Tayasui Sketches make your creations more intricate and, shall we dare say it, more complicated to create. The results are quite striking though, so this is not one to be scoffed at.
5. Loop
iOS; free
Have you ever wanted an app that allows you to draw on your photo’s? Neither did we, but it seems Loop is a very popular app for doing just that. It’s not clear what sets Loop apart from other apps like Bamboo Paper (or even the iPhone’s photo editing service), but it’s popularity means it deserves a mention.
6. Wattpad
iOS/Android; free
For all aspiring writers out there, pay attention. Wattpad is a very interesting idea; it let’s anyone be a writer. If you’ve got a cellphone, you can write, and Wattpad connects readers to your work. What’s cool is that readers and the Wattpad community can comment and interact with your work throughout the process of posting chapters. There are competitions to take part in, too, and hundreds of short stories and fan fiction from increasingly popular Wattpad writers.
7.VSCO Cam
iOS/Android; freemium
VSCO Cam seems to be like the cool people’s Instagram. It started out as a photo editing app, but they’ve now moved to become an app that let’s you discover interesting and creative content from other users. Sounds a bit like Instagram? The look and feel, though, is very sleek and the app has more ways to edit images, but whether you need all that, it depends on how much of a creative you are or want to be.
8. Dubble
iOS; free
Have you seen those really cool double exposure images, frequently with a quote overlaid and a nostalgic feel? Dubble let’s you create images with strangers right across the globe by adding their image to your’s. Actually, it combines the two images. The result are beautiful, striking and interesting. Worth a try.
iOS/Android/Windows; free
If this is the first time that you’re reading about Instagram then you have to ask yourself where you’ve been. Instagram is a great photo sharing app that let’s you add filters and edit your images. What sets Instagram apart from, say Facebook image sharing, is the community you create on Instagram is based more on the type of images you want to see, and not on whether you are friends with someone in real life. Even 99FM is on Instagram, it’s that good.
10. Pinterest
iOS/Android; free
Are you as obsessed with pin-up boards as the staff at 99FM? What’s great about Pinterest is that it acts like a virtual pin board, which let’s you add content from all over the web to your personal boards, which you can share with friends, strangers or no one at all (secret? we like it!). An app unimaginable to be without.
