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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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The verdict on

Drawing Desk:Learn How to Draw

30
User verdict / 100 High confidence In trouble

Drawing Desk offers step-by-step drawing lessons, but recent reviews overwhelmingly criticize its aggressive paywall, making most content inaccessible without a premium subscription.

4.4★ lifetime (230,195) Free + in-app purchases since 2013 by 4Axis Technologies Pte. Ltd. updated 0.1 mo ago recent negative 51% 120 reviews across 4 regions
Paywall/Subscription Limited Free Content Glitches and Performance Learning Experience Ads
5★259
4★83
3★99
2★95
1★364
recent reviews across 4 regions, vs the 4.4★ lifetime average

Drawing Desk aims to teach drawing skills through guided lessons, with some users appreciating its step-by-step approach. However, a significant number of recent reviews highlight a shift towards a subscription model, locking most features behind a paywall and limiting free content to a single daily lesson or a short trial.

What users like

  • Provides step-by-step drawing instructions that help users learn and improve skillsR7R28R41R77
  • Engaging and fun for some users, including childrenR4R15R34R48

What users complain about

  • Nearly all content, including lessons and drawing options, requires a paid subscription or 'Pro' accessR1R2R5R8
  • Limited free content, often restricted to one daily lesson or a short free trial that automatically converts to a paid subscriptionR13R20R27R31
  • Users report glitches, freezing, and deleted progress, contradicting developer claims of improved performanceR21R54R87R88
  • Frequent and intrusive ads, even for basic functions like using brushes, are present in the free versionR20R55R79R82
  • Some users feel the app's drawing method is more tracing than actual learning, and lacks flexibility in content choiceR248R331

Latest update · v11.0.4

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

Hi Creative Folks, Hope you are having fun with Drawing Desk! In this update, we’ve fixed an issue where some drawing lessons were not loading correctly for certain users and improved overall lesson performance for a smoother learning experience. Now you can access your lessons more reliably without interruptions. As always, we couldn’t thank you enough for all your love and support! We would definitely love to hear your feedback on this update! We hope you could take a minute of your precious time to drop us a quick review!

Recurring themes

Paywall/Subscription negative
The most prominent complaint is that almost all features, lessons, and drawing options are locked behind a mandatory paid subscription or 'Pro' version, making the app effectively unusable for free users. Many feel misled by ads suggesting it's a free app.R1R5R8R11
Limited Free Content negative
Free users are typically restricted to a single daily lesson or a very short trial period, which often leads directly to a payment prompt. This severely limits the ability to explore the app or learn effectively without paying.R13R20R27R31
Glitches and Performance negative
Despite recent developer notes claiming performance improvements and bug fixes, users still report frequent glitches, freezing, and issues with progress being deleted or lines not appearing correctly, making the drawing experience frustrating.R21R54R87R88
Learning Experience mixed
While some users praise the app for its step-by-step guidance and ability to help them learn drawing skills, others argue that it's more about tracing than actual learning and lacks the flexibility to choose desired content.R7R28R41R77
Ads negative
Users of the free version complain about an excessive number of ads, sometimes appearing for every drawing or even when trying to select a brush, disrupting the creative flow.R20R55R79R82

Who it's for

This app is for users who are willing to pay for a subscription to access guided, step-by-step drawing lessons R7R28R41. It is not for users seeking a free drawing app, those who want to draw freely without restrictions, or those who are easily frustrated by paywalls and technical glitches R1R5R11R21.

Evidence note: The recent reviews are heavily skewed towards negative feedback regarding the paywall, making it the most prominent theme. Positive reviews often mention the app's effectiveness in teaching drawing but are less frequent and sometimes appear to be older or less detailed.

Frequently asked

Is Drawing Desk a free app?
No, Drawing Desk is not truly free; while it can be downloaded for free, nearly all drawing lessons and features require a paid 'Pro' subscription or a free trial that converts to a paid plan R1R5R8R11.
What kind of content is available for free?
Free content is very limited, often restricted to a single daily lesson or a short, time-bound free trial R13R20R27R31.
Are there many ads in the app?
Yes, users report frequent and intrusive ads, even for basic functions like selecting brushes, which can disrupt the drawing experience in the free version R20R55R79R82.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R7] 5/5 · US Lucinda: I love the features that they have and how it really helps with drawing skills
  2. [R28] 5/5 · US Love it: I love this game I love the way it shows you step by step on how to draw something u really want to draw but I love it a lot keep it going!!
  3. [R41] 5/5 · US Awesome: I love this app you get to use your creative skills it shows you step-by-step. How to draw the picture it’s already done so much to teach me.
  4. [R77] 5/5 · US Drawing desk: This game is soo fun it teaches me so many small details and things to draw
  5. [R4] 5/5 · US …I’m speechless: Wow, this app is very good. I mean I know that I normally I’m not saying it doesn’t teach you, but it is a very good way of having fun ways to like copy drawings and this is coming for an eight year-old artist and I make very realistic, and I make very digital art, and I make a lot of real art and very hard to impress so you’re getting five stars wow I’m really happy with this app
  6. [R15] 5/5 · US Fun for kids!: This app is so funny you should use it like every day!
  7. [R34] 5/5 · US 🌸Jaime🎀: Good for kids easy drawing rating it 5 stars awesome
  8. [R48] 5/5 · US Okay: This is fun and amazing but I wish that u did not have to pay
  9. [R1] 5/5 · US I don’t like this game: I don’t like this game bc you have to pay to draw worst game ever 1 star but there is another game that is called art workout ind art work out is better than this trash but I put five stars so it could show so don’t buy this game please don’t play this game play art work out it is sooooo fun 🤩 but this game is trash one star I hate this game
  10. [R2] 3/5 · US Little drawings: There are too little drawings and for the others you need to buy premium which some people don’t want to buy. Furthermore many categories which include how to draw anime for example needs premium, so you aren’t learning anything.
  11. [R5] 1/5 · US U HAVE TO GET PRO: I try to pick a picture but every single picture has to have pro…WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD DRAWING DESK
  12. [R8] 1/5 · US 1 stars you know why?: So here’s the thing I’ve seen a lot of drawing apps and they have been fake! Fake I tell u and I feel like finally something that is normal so I look and I say “here it comes just one sec” and zero dollars then I click the button and it says for me to subscribe to them I’m like well here I hope you guys can understand me
  13. [R13] 3/5 · US Fun, but immediately there is a FREE TRIAL THEN YOU HAVE TO PAY…: So I saw this app and I was like oh yeah this is an app that’s free and I can draw for free and have fun really of course I understand that people are trying to make money for the ad thingamajigy but I really hoped they wouldn’t bother me with a free trial thing every literal time that I try to click on a drawing. I think this app i
  14. [R20] 4/5 · US Love and hate this app: I like it, but it won’t let me draw another drawing until tomorrow just like the other person said why the freak won’t let me cause I’m **** trying to find it and why cause when I or I had to go on a free trial and I hate **** when it makes me try to have a free trial and I hate watching that cause it made me watch an ad before I could drop my picture
  15. [R27] 2/5 · US 2 star: It’s great to draw for a week but you have to money just to draw. All I wanted was to learn some digital art bro 😭.
  16. [R31] 1/5 · US READ BEFORE GETTING!!!!: I put it at 5 stars so everyone can see it. It logs you in after picking a Character,Age limit, and why you picked the app. After it does all of that, it asks you to pay for a FREE trial!!!!!!!! FREE!!!!! So if you’re looking to pay for something, here’s your app.
  17. [R21] 1/5 · US BAD GAME🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬🤬🤬🤬 funde: This game has to many gliches and I’m mad
  18. [R54] 5/5 · US Hate: I only gave it 5 stars so you guys can see,to many glitches happened when I was trying to save onetime it deleted and almost everything is on a pay wall I do not recommend this app for you if you want a free app and spend no money on it
  19. [R87] 1/5 · US CREATOR YOU BETTER READ MY REPORT ABOUT YOUR STUPID AND HORRIBLE GAME: You have to pay very glitchy and now dumb ai adds do not get this game 🎮🫦😡🤬👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
  20. [R88] 2/5 · US DEVELOPER PLEASE READ!: Ok so this app is fun. I love using it,I think it has a very nice concept and you really get comfortable using it. But there are a few things that make it extremely hard to enjoy. First, sometimes when you first try to draw, the lines don’t appear and the guide keeps repeating over and over. Second, I feel for the amount of money this costs to play is unnecessary for the am
  21. [R55] 4/5 · US A: To many addS and you have to pay
  22. [R79] 1/5 · US Horrible game: Every drawing you do has a ad every drawing is not free and the worst of all no one did learn drawings
  23. [R82] 1/5 · US Worst day ever: So I wanted to play mythical mixing and then this app ripped up I could not get the ad to stop and I did not want to watch movies or anything so I couldn’t do really basically anything so stop with this ad
  24. [R248] 3/5 · US Tracing not learning: You have to buy a subscription and it’s really just tracing. You’re not actually learning how to draw. Also, you cannot go at your own pace. You have to pick goals and then if you pick a different drawing on a different day, you have to change your goals. It’s kind of ridiculous. I get it you could argue that tracing will help you learn that’s fair but if I have to pay for an
  25. [R331] 3/5 · GB Don’t buy: I bought it for my daughter and she said that it didn’t even teach her to draw 😒😒😒😠😠😠😡😡😡
  26. [R11] 1/5 · US Not a fan: I don’t really like this app because I have to pay to even do anything! Not cool.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store