Light Brush

Overview

Light Brush is a digital painting app for artists who want configurable brushes and layered editing on web, desktop, or Android. It is best suited to people who want a capable free painting workspace across several operating systems, without paying for access to its features. Its tools cover more than basic sketching, but pressure behavior can vary by setup and finished images can be saved only as PNG or JPG.

Key features

Brush customization, smoothing, stamps, size linking, color blending with any brush, and stroke stabilization give artists several ways to shape marks and manage line quality. Pen pressure is supported, but its behavior depends on the browser, brush settings, and operating system; it may not work on Windows 7 or earlier. That makes Light Brush a less dependable choice for artists whose technique depends on consistent pressure response across devices.

Layer blend modes, layer masks, and clipping masks provide useful control over separate parts of a composition. Area, lasso, and automatic pixel selection tools can select artwork, and transformations apply to both content and selections. Spree adds a retouching stage for newly drawn or erased content before it is committed to a layer, which is useful when a mark needs adjustment before it becomes part of the composition.

The app opens or imports PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF, BMP, WebP, WebM, and SVG files. Image saving supports PNG and JPG, while LBC is available for projects. Artists can therefore work with a wider range of source formats than they can export as finished images. Settings and presets live in the browser cache; import and export features allow migration, but users should account for that storage model when moving between environments.

Pricing

Light Brush — free. The free plan is free to use and includes full feature access, so there is no paid tier or trial to weigh against its core tools. It fits artists who want to explore brush customization, masks, and selection tools without a subscription. The trade-offs are not a reduced feature set but the app's format and workflow constraints: image exports are PNG and JPG, and settings and presets are stored in the browser cache.

Platforms

Light Brush is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and the web. That range suits artists who want to work across desktop and mobile environments or use a browser-based option. Pressure behavior still depends partly on the browser and operating system, so broad availability does not guarantee identical pen input everywhere.

Who it's for

Light Brush is a strong fit for artists seeking a free painting app with adjustable brushes, layered edits, masks, selections, and transformations. It is less suitable for workflows that require reliable pressure response across systems or image export in formats other than PNG and JPG. People switching browsers or devices should also consider how browser-cache storage for presets and settings fits their routine.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Full feature access is free, with no subscription or trial requirement.
• Pros: Custom brushes, stabilization, masks, blend modes, and selection tools support a more controlled painting workflow than a basic sketchpad.
• Pros: Web, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux availability gives users several ways to access the app.
• Cons: Pressure response varies by browser, brush settings, and operating system, and may not work on Windows 7 or earlier.
• Cons: Finished images can be saved only as PNG or JPG, despite support for opening and importing more formats.
• Cons: Settings and presets are stored in the browser cache, making the migration tools relevant for users moving environments.

Alternatives

Drawpile is another free option, with official community servers available free and support for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, Windows, and self-hosted use. Choose it if those server and platform options better match your needs.

ibisPaint offers a free version with unlimited usage time, 64MB of cloud storage, and advertisements, as well as a premium membership. It is worth considering if that free-plan structure suits you better.

Krita is free and open source, with desktop support for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Choose it if you prefer an open-source desktop option.

Pixia is free software for Android, iOS, Linux, and Windows; its free software does not include user support.

Sketchbook has a free mobile application with brushes, layers, guides, rulers, and stroke tools, alongside a Premium Bundle with custom brush creation. It may suit artists focused on those mobile drawing tools.

Tux Paint is free and open source under GPL v2 and can be installed on as many machines as you wish. Choose it if those terms and broad installation rights are a priority.

FireAlpaca is a free option with customizable brushes, layered artwork, animation tools, and CMYK display. Consider it if those specific capabilities matter more to your workflow.

GrafX2 is free software for Linux and Windows under the GNU General Public License version 2.

Browse more options in Digital Painting Software.

Verdict

Choose Light Brush if you want broad platform access to a free painting app with customizable brushes, masks, and layered editing. Its main advantage is full feature access at no cost; its clearest drawbacks are variable pressure behavior and image exports limited to PNG and JPG. Artists who need predictable pressure across setups or different output formats should look elsewhere.