What it does
Zen Brush 3 simulates an East Asian ink brush with water, colour and drying controls. It supports calligraphy and painted illustrations on iOS, Android and Windows.
The Water tool dilutes ink and spreads its edge. Blotting Paper absorbs water instead of simply erasing a mark. Compare dry, standard and wet brush behaviour to decide how much bleeding suits a wash or character stroke.
Fast Dry speeds the simulation while retaining its normal drying result. Instant Dry stops it at the current appearance, so the resulting edge can differ. Layers can combine painted marks with imported images, and guide overlays help arrange characters or divide a composition.
JPEG, PNG and transparent PNG exports move the result into other apps. Undo and redo retain only five levels, and the maximum canvas resolution depends on the device. The iOS app is sold as a one-time purchase.
Strengths
- Separate water and blotting tools shape the ink’s spread
- Drying modes distinguish faster simulation from freezing the current result
Watch out for
- Five undo levels leave little room to revisit a long sequence of marks
Best for
- Ink-wash studies and digital calligraphy
Sources
- Zen Brush 3 official features (Oct 27, 2026)
- Zen Brush 3 on the App Store (Oct 27, 2026)