The first beta of Drawpile version 2.3.0 is out now. It has many new features, such as layer clipping, lasso fills, a gradient tool, realistic pigment blending, OKLAB mode, pixel-perfect mode, a new file format that's 3000% faster and much more. There is also a version for Windows on ARM now, if you have such a device. And of course numerous fixes and stability improvements. It is backward-compatible, so you can join sessions hosted with the previous version.

Click here to download and install it. You can use both the current and the beta version side by side, the beta uses a different icon so you can tell them apart. See here for how to that.

To find out what's new, take a look at this page. It has videos and pictures showing everything off.

You can also now donate to the project! Drawpile is largely developed by only a single person, donations let me spend more time working on it and helps pay to keep the servers running.

If you have questions, feedback or trouble using the new version – especially if it breaks your workflow – take a look at the help page on how to get in contact! Almost every feature is added because it was requested by an artist and bugs can only be fixed if they are reported, you can see everyone that contributed in the list of changes below.

Updating or Installing Side by Side

You can download Drawpile from here and simply install it over the current version. This will update it. The new version is backward-compatible, so you can still join sessions hosted with the previous version.

Alternatively, you can run both versions side-by-side. The beta uses a different icon so that you can tell the two apart. See here for how to do that on different operating systems.

On the server side, everything is both back- and forward-compatible. Server owners can update if they want, but it's not necessary, people can use any version they wish to host sessions.

Changes in this Release

Drawpile 2.3.0-beta.1 represents a bit over 4 months of development since version 2.2.2. Many people contributed with suggestions and bug reports and are listed below. If you find any issues, please report them!

For an illustrated list of the major changes, take a look at this page.

Read more...

Drawpile version 2.2.2 is out now. It brings numerous new features, fixes and performance improvements.

• Click here to download and install the new version. You just install the new Drawpile over the old one to update.

• For an overview of all the stuff that changed, take a look at this illustrated guide. It's got a bunch of videos and pictures showing off the new features.

• If you have trouble installing, problems or questions with the new version take a look at the help page on how to get in contact.

This version is fully compatible with the previous one. You can continue to draw with anyone that's using the previous version. If you're already on the latest beta version, not much has changed, but there's still been a few more bugfixes in there that you'll probably want to update anyway.

How to Update

Go to the downloads page, download the new version and install it. This will update Drawpile.

If you're getting Drawpile via F-Droid on Android or Flatpak on Linux, you'll get the updated version as normal once those platforms have it available.

Server owners should update their servers by upgrading their containers when using Docker or grabbing the new version and replacing the old one by hand.

Changes in this Release

Drawpile 2.2.2 represents just over a year of development since version 2.2.1. Much work and testing has gone into it to make sure that it's stable. If you find any problems anyway, please report them!

For an illustrated list of the major changes, take a look at this page. But in short:

• Disruptive session autoresets are gone. The canvas now gets compressed on the fly instead.
• Tablet support has been much improved and many problems with weird tablet drivers worked around.
• Touch gestures have been added: two-finger tap to undo, three-finger tap to redo, one-finger tap and hold to summon a color picker.
• Selections and transforms are now much better. There's now a magic wand tool too.
• You can now select multiple layers to rearrange, group, move or transform them all at once.
• Brushes now remember changes automatically, you can assign shortcuts directly to brushes and can change the number of brush slots.
• The fill tool no longer has a size limit by default, it instead previews fills for you only to avoid "flashbanging" other people.
• You can now export animations in MP4, WEBM and animated WEBP formats, the GIF export has also been improved. You can also import animations from separate frames or the layers of PSD files now.
• Over 100 bugs were fixed and performance has been much improved.

For a full list of changes, since the last beta release, read on below. To see the changes since 2.2.1, take a look at the announcements of the first, the second and the third 2.2.2 betas.

Read more...

Update on February 19, 2025: you can now host personal sessions on the public Drawpile server using the web browser version of Drawpile. Previously it only allowed you to join sessions.

Update on February 15, 2025: there's a bug in Safari 18 that prevented the web version of Drawpile from working on iPads. That's been worked around now and it should run again. Thanks grimsley and lunashadowbane for reporting and testing.

The third and, if everything goes to plan, final public beta of Drawpile 2.2.2 is out. You can download it in the Beta section on the downloads page. If you're updating from an earlier version, simply install the new one over it.

Everything in this beta is compatible. You can update to it and still draw with everyone that's on older versions, you'll just get to use all the new features and fixes. For example:

• Multi-layer selection, letting you rearrange, group, merge etc. many layers at once.
• New color cicle and reference image docks.
• A sketch mode for layers, letting you change the opacity and tint of a layer. This is only visible to you, so you can use it even on shared layers.
• Quick drag for selections, letting you move stuff quickly without entering into a full transform.
• A much expanded host session page, with more sensible defaults and more options that previously you had to change in the session settings after hosting.
• Better tablet support, especially for Huion and Gaomon tablets.
• And much more, see below the fold for a full list. And of course everything that was introduced in previous betas, like reworked selections and transforms, getting rid of session autoresets and more.

If you find any issues, have questions or suggestions, take a look at the help page on how to get in contact.

Changes in this Release

Drawpile 2.2.2-beta.5 represents about three months of development since Drawpile 2.2.2-beta.4. Numerous new features and fixes have been added during that time and, unless any issues are found, the next version should be the final 2.2.2.

Read more...

The second public beta of Drawpile 2.2.2 is out. You can download it in the Beta section on the downloads page. If you're updating from an earlier version, simply install the new one over it.

This beta is fully compatible. You can update to it and still draw with everyone on the main version and the previous beta, you'll just have more features than them, such as:

• Brushes now remember changes, your current brush shows up in the tool dock and you can make shortcuts to brushes directly.
• More touch gestures: two-finger tap to undo, three-finger tap to redo, holding down with one finger for a color picker.
• Faster fill and magic wand tool. They also no longer require a second click to confirm.
• Better tablet support, particularly for Huion tablets.
• If you're drawing on an updated server and your operator(s) are using this version, you will no longer get session autoresets interrupting the drawing. The canvas is compressed on the fly instead.

And many more fixes and features. See below the fold for a full list!

If you find any issues, have questions or suggestions or need any help, take a look at the help page on how to get in contact.

Changes in this Release

Drawpile 2.2.2-beta.4 represents about three months of development since Drawpile 2.2.2-beta.4. Many features were added and bugs fixed.

Read more...

The first public beta of Drawpile 2.2.2 is out. You can download it in the Beta section on the downloads page. If you're updating from an earlier version, simply install the new one over it.

This beta is fully compatible with the previous version. You can update to it and still draw with people that are using the main version, you'll just have more features than them. For example, better selections, the ability to transform multiple layers and groups simultaneously, better tablet support and more. Here's some illustrations and videos about what's new.

If you find any issues, have questions or suggestions or need any help, take a look at the help page on how to get in contact.

Also, if you're wondering, the version number is beta.3 because 1 and 2 were not announced publicly, they were used for preliminary testing. So you didn't miss anything in that regard.

Changes in this Release

Drawpile 2.2.2-beta.3 represents about six months of development since Drawpile 2.2.1. There's been lots of new features added and bugs fixed.

Read more...