SketchAR
More actions
| SketchAR | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Type | Drawing application |
| Industry | Augmented reality, art education |
| Developer | SketchAR (Sketchar UAB) |
| Operating System | iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android |
| License | Proprietary (freemium) |
| Supported Devices | iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Microsoft HoloLens (2017 version), Meta Quest headsets, Pico 4 Ultra |
| Release Date | 2017 (iOS); by May 2017 (Tango phones); July 2017 (HoloLens); May 2025 (Meta Quest); January 2026 (Pico 4 Ultra) |
| Website | https://sketchar.io |
SketchAR (styled Sketchar in the company's current branding) is an augmented reality drawing application that overlays a virtual sketch on a real surface, such as a sheet of paper, a canvas or a wall, so that the user can trace it by hand. It is developed by a start-up of the same name based in Vilnius, Lithuania, co-founded by the artist Andrey Drobitko and Alexander Danilin.[1][2] The app began on smartphones, was released for Microsoft HoloLens in July 2017, and has run as a mixed reality mural-projection app on Meta Quest headsets since 2025 and on Pico headsets since 2026.[3][4]
SketchAR won the 2018 Webby Award for Best Use of Augmented Reality.[5] Alongside AR tracing, the current apps include step-by-step drawing lessons, a digital canvas and tools aimed at mural painters.[6]
History
Origins and first versions
According to Drobitko, the original idea was a tool that would let artists like himself trace sketches onto large surfaces; the founders later found that "learn to draw" was one of the most frequently searched topics online and shifted the product toward beginners.[2][5] The Webby Awards profile says the project was inspired by an AR app idea from 2012, and the App Store listing repeats the claim that the company "invented" its AR approach that year.[5][7] Silicon Republic gives 2016 as the year the company was co-founded, and the company dates its first AR drawing app to 2016.[1][6]
The first public version ran on iOS. UploadVR, which had reported in January 2017 that the app was due on Tango and iOS in the first quarter of the year, wrote in an 18 April 2017 update that it was officially available for free on the iOS App Store.[8] Next Reality described it as available on iOS, with Google Play and HoloLens versions coming, and a planned release for the Tango-equipped Lenovo Phab 2 Pro. The user chose a preloaded sketch or a personal photo, which the app turned into a traceable line image, and then drew small circles near the edges of an A4 sheet that the camera used to align the image.[9] Next Reality counted three circles; a May 2017 ArchDaily article described five.[9][10] By May 2017 the app was available for iPhone and for Android phones with Google's Tango technology. On the iPhone it worked on A4 paper, while on Tango devices it could use any flat surface, including whole walls.[10] SketchAR later wrote that its first version was limited to A4 and A5 paper because the technology was not yet ready for larger surfaces, and that Tango had been a key part of the product.[11]
HoloLens and ARKit
The HoloLens version was released as a free download in July 2017.[3] On the headset, hand movements guide the sketch to a position on a real surface and lock it there, and the user can adjust its size, color, orientation and position. Because the image is shown in the headset, both hands stay free for drawing or painting.[12] In its coverage, UploadVR noted that a headset frees one hand compared with holding a phone over the paper.[3] Next Reality pointed out that a similar HoloLens tracing app, Muralize by Sally Slade, had been available for months, but that SketchAR was better known because it had started on smartphones.[12]
In January 2018 the company described an update that used Apple's ARKit to let iPhone users draw on walls and canvases. It wrote that ARKit approximated Tango's approach in software, without dedicated depth sensors, and that the team was waiting for vertical plane detection in a future ARKit release.[11] In March 2018 Android Headlines described SketchAR as available for iOS, Android and HoloLens. The developers' "Progressive Markers" method had to separate the user's new lines from marks already on the paper, and tell the hand, pencil or marker apart from the sheet itself.[13]
Markerless tracking and partnerships
In its 2019 year-end post, SketchAR said it had achieved markerless computer vision tracking of blank white surfaces, so that users could start drawing without first marking the paper.[14] Drobitko told Innovation Origins that the tracking was powered by machine learning and neural networks, that the team had analyzed hundreds of thousands of videos from its users, with their permission, while building its computer vision core, and that wall drawing required phones supporting ARKit or ARCore.[2] The method is described in US patent 11,307,731, "Computer implemented platform, software, and method for drawing using augmented reality", by Drobitko, Danilin, Mikhail Kopeliovich and Mikhail Petrushan. Filed on 31 May 2020 with a priority date of 15 May 2019 and granted on 19 April 2022, it describes markerless tracking of template patches across the video stream to estimate the perspective of the paper, adaptive binarization to keep contrast under shadows, and the exclusion of patches obscured by a hand or pen.[15]
The company ran a joint booth with Huawei at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, where visitors drew on a shared wall with SketchAR and a Huawei Mate 20 Pro, and it says it was featured with a video on the main stage of the 2019 Huawei Developer Conference in Dongguan, China.[14] Silicon Republic reported in 2020 that SketchAR had partnered with Huawei, Samsung and Honor, and served consumers, businesses, agencies and education services.[1]
Headset versions
On 2 May 2025 the company announced a Meta Quest version that projects images, sketches or photos onto walls or canvases through the headset, listing support for Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S and Meta Quest Pro.[4] A Pico version for the Pico 4 Ultra followed in January 2026.[16] An April 2026 Quest update added automatic surface detection and placement, a collage mode for several images, 3D rotation, an outline filter that turns color images into contour guides, and pairing with the phone app.[17]
Features
On phones and tablets, the camera view shows a sketch on the surface in front of the user, who traces it on paper. The mobile app also has drawing lessons, a personalized plan and a drawing toolset.[7] In October 2026 the official website lists more than 1,000 lessons, a Wall View mode, a digital canvas with brushes and layers, real-time multiplayer drawing on iOS and Android, and cross-device sync under one account.[6]
The headset apps use passthrough to place a sketch on a real wall. The user can scale it by dragging or by entering exact dimensions, bend it around columns and curved walls, and share one sketch between two headsets on the same wall. The image stays anchored while the app runs, including when the headset is taken off and sleeps, but a full power-off resets the alignment. Uploading one's own images requires the Pro subscription.[18] The Meta Quest store lists the app as "SketchAR: MuralArt Drawing Projector".[19]
Supported devices
| Platform | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | By April 2017 | First release; early version worked on A4 paper[8][9][10] |
| Android (Tango phones) | By May 2017 | Allowed drawing on any flat surface, including walls[10] |
| Microsoft HoloLens | July 2017 | Free download[3] |
| iPhone with ARKit | January 2018 | Wall and canvas drawing[11] |
| Meta Quest | May 2025 | Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest 3S and Quest Pro listed at launch; the October 2026 headset page lists Quest 3, 3S and Pro[4][18] |
| Pico 4 Ultra | January 2026 | Also listed with Pico 4 on the headset page[16][18] |
The current App Store listing requires iOS 16.0 or later on iPhone, iPadOS 16.0 or later on iPad, and macOS 13.0 or later on Macs with an Apple M1 chip or later; it also lists Apple Vision compatibility with visionOS 1.0 or later.[7] The company's headset page lists the Apple Vision Pro version of the headset app as coming soon.[18]
Pricing
The free tier includes AR drawing with more than 1,000 built-in templates, step-by-step lessons and a basic canvas. In October 2026 the website lists a Pro tier at US$24.99 per month or US$79.99 per year, with a seven-day free trial; Pro adds the user's own images as AR projections, the full course library and advanced canvas tools.[6][18] The App Store listing shows different subscription prices and notes that prices vary by country.[7]
Reception
SketchAR won the Webby Award for Best Use of Augmented Reality at the 22nd Webby Awards in 2018.[5][2] The company also says Analytics Insight listed it among its "Top 10 Revolutionary Companies in AR/VR 2019".[14] As of October 2026, the iOS app holds 4.2 out of 5 from about 9,800 App Store ratings, and the Meta Quest app 3.0 out of 5 from 239 reviews.[7][19]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kelly Earley (2020-04-30). "6 Lithuanian start-ups worth keeping an eye on". Silicon Republic. https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/lithuanian-startups-to-watch-2020. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Giacinto Bottone (2019-09-05). "Start-up of the day: drawing with augmented reality". Innovation Origins. https://ioplus.nl/archive/en/start-up-of-the-day-drawing-with-augmented-reality/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jamie Feltham (2017-07-24). "SketchAR Brings AR Art To Microsoft's HoloLens". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/sketchar-comes-microsofts-hololens/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "XR Drawing: Meet Sketchar for Meta Quest". Sketchar Blog. Sketchar. 2025-05-02. https://sketchar.io/blog/xr-drawing-meet-sketchar-for-meta-quest. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Winner Highlights: Learn to Draw with SketchAR". The Webby Awards. 2018-05-08. https://webbyawards.com/winner-highlights-learn-draw-sketchar. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Sketchar: AR drawing app". Sketchar. https://sketchar.io/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Sketchar: AR Drawing App". App Store. Apple. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/-/id1221482822. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Charles Singletary (2017-01-06). "SketchAR Lets You Trace Over AR Images To Become The Artist You've Aspired To Be". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/sketchar-trace-ar-images/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Audrey O'Brien. "New App Lets Your Trace Drawings from Your Phone onto Paper". Next Reality. https://mobile-ar.reality.news/news/new-app-lets-your-trace-drawings-from-your-phone-onto-paper-0177174/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Rory Stott (2017-05-24). "Draw Perfectly At Any Scale With This Augmented Reality App". ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/en/872089/draw-perfectly-at-any-scale-with-this-augmented-reality-app. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "ARKit for drawing on large surfaces using SketchAR". Sketchar Blog. Sketchar. 2018-01-25. https://sketchar.io/blog/arkit-for-drawing-on-large-surfaces-using-sketchar. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Juliet Gallagher. "HoloLens Continues to Make the World Your Canvas with Inclusion of SketchAR". Next Reality. https://hololens.reality.news/news/hololens-continues-make-world-your-canvas-with-inclusion-sketchar-0179029. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ Majeed Mokhtari (2018-03-05). "SketchAR App Uses Augmented Reality To Improve Your Drawing". Android Headlines. https://www.androidheadlines.com/?p=732863. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "The greatest things that hit us in 2019". Sketchar Blog. Sketchar. 2019-12-25. https://sketchar.io/blog/the-greatest-things-that-hit-us-in-2019. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ "US11307731B2 - Computer implemented platform, software, and method for drawing using augmented reality". Google Patents. https://patents.google.com/patent/US11307731B2/en. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Sketchar is now on PICO 4 Ultra - the moment VR becomes a real mural tool". Sketchar Blog. Sketchar. 2026-01-29. https://sketchar.io/blog/sketchar-is-now-on-pico-4-ultra-the-moment-vr-becomes-a-real-mural-tool. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ "The Most Advanced Mural Planning App on Meta Quest Just Got a Major Upgrade". Sketchar Blog. Sketchar. 2026-04-06. https://sketchar.io/blog/the-most-advanced-mural-planning-app-on-meta-quest-just-got-a-major-upgrade. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 "Draw murals faster with Sketchar and VR Headset". Sketchar. https://sketchar.io/vr-headset. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "SketchAR: MuralArt Drawing Projector". Meta Quest Store. Meta. https://www.meta.com/experiences/sketchar-muralart-drawing-projector/9003180923141086/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.