Microsoft Garage's SketchPal combines modern inking with classic layers
SketchPal is a sketching app from Microsoft Garage with ink and touch in mind.
What you need to know
- SketchPal, a new sketching app, is now available from Microsoft Garage.
- The app focuses on using touch and pen input to create artwork on the go.
- The app is available for free through the Microsoft Store.
The Microsoft Garage provides a space for Microsoft employees to create and grow projects. Microsoft Launcher is probably the Microsoft Garage's best-known success story, but it has a wide range of apps and projects in it. Now, the Microsoft Garage has released another project, SketchPal, a sketching app that focuses on using touch and pen inputs to create artwork. The app is available for free through the Microsoft Store starting today.
Arcadio Garcia, the man behind SketchPal, announced the app's availability and shared some insights regarding the app on Twitter. One of his Tweets emphasizes how SketchPal focuses on touch and pen input.
SketchPal is an attempt at creating a different experience tailored for small devices that support both touch and pen input. It doesn't try to check all the boxes in a feature list or compete directly with any existing app.SketchPal is an attempt at creating a different experience tailored for small devices that support both touch and pen input. It doesn't try to check all the boxes in a feature list or compete directly with any existing app.— Arcadio "HalloWin32" García 🎃 (@arcadio_g_s) October 10, 2019October 10, 2019
Garcia points out that SketchPal works well with smaller Windows 10 devices like the Surface Go and will also fit naturally on the upcoming Surface Neo. The app has a reference mode that makes it easy to have a reference image next to a sketch. That mode was inspired by Garcia trying out a dual-screen device.
In terms of features, SketchPal supports touch, pen, tilt support for pens, Surface Dial integration, and support for multiple screens.
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Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.
He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.
Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.
