paperlogoiPad sketchbook app Paper, an Apple Design Award winner, has been updated with a clever new color picker that lets users "mix" colors like they would mix different color paint together.

The app also adds support for the Pogo Connect stylus, an $80 drawing tool that uses Bluetooth 4.0 to determine how hard an artist is drawing and Paper adjusts accordingly.

The Verge has more on how the new color mixer works:

Paper now includes a circular color mixer that lets you tap to pick a color (using RGB sliders, if you'd like), then swipe in a circle clockwise to mix colors and counter-clockwise to unmix. A long press lets you save the color you've made to one of the many black color slots the app now provides. Color is a $1.99 in-app purchase, like many of the app's add-on brushes. If you don't choose to buy it, you still have access to the palette of colors that shipped with the free app.


Paper for iPad is a free download from the App Store, with additional drawing brushes and the color picker available as in-app purchases. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

APlotdevice Avatar
167 months ago
Ugh, I wish all these pressure sensitive stylus makers would come together and agree on an standard. It's such a mess right now.

(Either that or for Apple to get over their pen phobia and produce their own.)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zunjine Avatar
167 months ago
This is one of those apps that I love not only for what it is but for the philosophy behind it. To compare it to other art applications is to miss the point completely.

Powerful tools are often also very complex tools. While Paper is powerful, it isn't designed to be a complete art app and, frankly, that's a good thing. The vast majority of people won't ever use 90% of what the other more "fully featured" art apps can do. All those extra features serve only to add complexity to the app. Rather than empowering the user they slow him down, forcing him to wade through and manage fiddly sub screens and what-not.

Paper is designed to give you a large canvas, some simple but powerful tools and then to sod off out of your way and let you get on with sketching and jotting! No, you won't use this app to create a masterpiece (probably), nor will you use it to design professional quality graphics. You'll use Paper to create quick and beautiful images as part of your creative flow. It's a tool, and a toy. It's about expression, not mastery. I applaud 53 for daring to be different and happily pay for the IAP because I want to see more stuff like this.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HappyDude20 Avatar
167 months ago
One evening I purchased the complete in-app pack purchases and to this day i'm glad I did. It only cost me under $10 and it's worth it. I've always been on my iPad and notice I used it only when I'm outside. But being able to draw with more colors will be totally worth it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gobeatty Avatar
167 months ago
"Think it would be good for my little boy?"

Paper is my boy's (ages 7 and 9) favorite drawing app. Only feature they have ever asked for is more colors. "Daddy, I want make this Pokemon bright green. I can't get the colors I want!"

Beyond that, and now fixed, perfect app. Each boy has his own 'notebook' in the app with their own drawings as a cover. They love it and get annoyed at other apps when two-finger cirlces don't undo actions or a swipe up from the bottom doesn't bring up the tools!

And the app is FREE to download. You get the caligraphy pen and the eraser and you can create as many books/pages as you want. I used just these for months before springing for the other tools, so you CAN do a lot with the free version. It isn't 'hobbled' at all.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
everything-i Avatar
167 months ago
Looks fantastic, this is the kind of simple yet functional workflow that separates average UI design form really great UI design.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Summersify Avatar
167 months ago
An amazing addition to a brilliant app :)
Good job 53! Keep improving it!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Pro to Start at $1,049 With Doubled Base Storage

Wednesday August 13, 2025 1:45 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro will have a starting price that is $50 more than the iPhone 16 Pro but it will come with a minimum 256GB of storage, doubling the base capacity compared to last year's model. The information comes from Chinese leaker Instant Digital, posting on Weibo. The account, which has 1.5 million followers, has now made the claim three separate times in recent weeks....
Golden Apple Logo

Every Apple Secret That Leaked Yesterday

Thursday August 14, 2025 4:13 am PDT by
Apple made a major slip Wednesday when it accidentally included hardware identifiers in software code linking to numerous unannounced products. The leaked information provided MacRumors with concrete evidence of Apple's hardware development across multiple product categories. Here's everything that was confirmed through the code discoveries: New HomePod mini with updated chip – New...
ios 26 liquid glass lock screen beta 6

Apple Changes Liquid Glass Again in iOS 26 Beta 6

Monday August 11, 2025 12:09 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to tweak the way that the Liquid Glass design looks ahead of the iOS 26 launch, and the latest beta makes a change to the Lock Screen. The Lock Screen clock has been updated with additional transparency, allowing more of the background to peek through. Beta 6 on left, beta 5 on right The clock also has more of a 3D, floating look, which is in line with the rest of the ...
iPhone 17 Pro Feature Dual

When Will Apple Announce the iPhone 17 Event?

Tuesday August 12, 2025 12:46 pm PDT by
It is now mid-August, meaning that Apple's annual iPhone event is just around the corner. This year, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17, the all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Here are some of the key rumors for those devices:iPhone 17: Same design as iPhone 16, but with an A19 chip, a larger 6.3-inch display, an upgraded 24-megapixel front camera, ...
maxresdefault

Top 5 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday August 12, 2025 11:48 am PDT by
We're just about a month away from Apple's annual September event, and we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023. There are some useful new features rumored for the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which we've summarized below. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Satellite Connectivity - The Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be the first...
iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Chassis Offers First Look at All-Aluminum Body

Thursday August 14, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
An alleged iPhone 17 Pro production leak may provide a first look at the device's milled all-aluminum chassis, which this year includes the camera bump – in contrast to last year's iPhone 16 Pro model that features a glass camera module attached to an all-glass back panel. Originally shared by leaker Majin Bu, the image below could be of a moulding, but it still lines up with rumors that...
Apple TV 2025 Thumb 2

New Apple TV Coming Later This Year With A17 Pro Chip

Wednesday August 13, 2025 5:29 pm PDT by
Rumors suggest that Apple is working on an updated version of the Apple TV that's slated for launch later this year. Information about the upcoming device that was found in Apple code indicates that it will be equipped with the A17 Pro chip. There have been multiple rumors about a new Apple TV coming in 2025 with a new A-series processor, but it hasn't been clear which chip Apple would use...
Tim Cook Apple Park

Apple Launching These 10+ New Products Later This Year

Tuesday August 12, 2025 11:08 am PDT by
While the summer months are often relatively quiet for Apple, the company still has many new products coming later this year. Below, we have outlined at least 10 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. This article was originally published last month, and it has been updated with the latest rumors. iPhone 17 Series iPhon...