Illustration: Andy Wolber / TechRepublic

When people mention drawing tools, they typically mean things like pencils, pens, markers, chalk, or more recently, tablets and styluses. That's appropriate, since people have used those tools to describe for years.

But the Chrome browser also tin serve as an constructive drawing tool when used with a well-chosen web app. All of the apps below allow you lot use a mouse or touchpad to describe in Chrome on a figurer; if your organisation has a touchscreen, these apps take marks made with a finger or stylus as well. These apps permit y'all sketch a process, capture a concept, or illustrate your thinking — all within a desktop web browser.

See: Multicloud: A cheat canvass (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Google and several developers offering drawing apps that work in a browser. Google makes at least five drawing apps, although no single Google drawing app includes a full ready of drawing tools. The other browser-based apps beneath are listed roughly in order of ease of utilize, ability, and price. (The 2 apps at the lesser of the listing are both total-featured vector graphic design apps.)

1. Google drawing apps

Google Drawings, Chrome Canvas, Jamboard, Google Keep, and Autodraw offer distinct drawing capabilities.

  • Google Drawings works all-time to create diagrams, procedure maps, and other shape or frame-style layouts.

  • Chrome Canvass supports freehand sketching in 4 styles (pencil, pen, marking, and chalk) and lets you draw on up to 10 different layers.

  • Google Go along not just lets you draw a notation, only as well recognizes handwritten words in your drawn notes when yous search in Keep.

  • Jamboard, a collaborative app meant more often than not for meetings, lets people draw in one or more rectangle-shaped frames.

  • The AutoDraw app'due south primary purpose is to find a professionally created image that corresponds to the lines you draw.

For more than details about Google's cartoon apps, read Comparing and Contrasting Google'due south Actual Drawing Apps past Tom Mullaney.

SEE: How to utilize iv Jamboard features on the web (TechRepublic)

Google offers at least five apps that include cartoon: Chrome Canvas, Google Drawings, Google Keep, Jamboard, and AutoDraw.

ii. Limnu

Limnu is the most elegant and simple drawing app that works in a browser. Information technology provides a limited set of colors, shapes, pens, and pen sizes, among other features. The app supports both private and collaborative boards, and also includes video-conferencing capabilities.

You tin can subscribe to the Limnu Pro Programme for $5 per month (or $50 per year) or the Limnu Team Plan for groups at $8 per person per month (or $80 per person per year). Get more details about Limnu pricing.

Limnu provides a simple and elegant drawing feel.

3. Sketchpad

Sketchpad supports a variety of pen types, shapes, text, and clip art. With support for layers, the apps lets yous hide, indistinguishable, or delete any layer, in addition to moving a layer forrad or astern, or to the forepart or dorsum. Even better, Sketchpad is free to apply online, although you may purchase a desktop version of the app ($iv.95), which lets you lot save files offline.

Sketchpad offers many pen types and tools. The app also supports layers.

4. Indigestible SVG

Boxy SVG (scalable vector graphics) delivers a powerful vector pattern app. Every bit the proper noun implies, vector graphics scale, so the size of whatsoever images you create may be scaled up or down with no loss of resolution. The app includes a long listing of drawing, text, object, and shape cosmos and manipulation tools.

You may subscribe to utilize the app from Chrome on Windows or macOS ($ix per calendar month) or, on a Chrome OS device with access to the Chrome Web Store, buy the app for a one-time fee of $9.99.

Boxy SVG provides a powerful vector blueprint app, bachelor either as a subscription (in Chrome on a computer) or Chrome Spider web Store purchase (on Chrome OS).

5. Gravit Designer

Now offered from Corel Corporation, Gravit Designer (gratis) and Gravit Designer PRO ($49 per year) both provide professional vector-editing features. The paid version improves access to fonts, expands import and export options, and adds many other image edit options. The upgrade as well adds cloud storage, with access to project version history.

There is a complimentary version of Gravit Designer that anyone may utilise and a paid version that provides professional-level vector graphics design tools.

Your experience?

Android apps also may be an option. Many Chromebooks and Chrome Os devices back up the installation of Android drawing apps, such every bit Autodesk SketchBook or Adobe Illustrator Depict. And while you lot won't be able to admission those Android apps when y'all utilise Chrome on another platform, such as Windows or macOS, Autodesk and Adobe offer cartoon apps for those platforms.

Which of Google's drawing apps exercise y'all use most often? Which spider web-based drawing app practise you adopt that works in Chrome on your computer? Allow me know either in the comments beneath or on Twitter (@awolber).