PENUP – Drawing-sharing SNS

Review by eFreeware

PENUP is a drawing-based social network from Samsung Electronics, built around the idea that people can communicate through sketches rather than text. It is free to install, carries a Teen content rating and shows no advertising, and the scale is substantial: over 100 million installs and a 4.5 average across more than 223,000 ratings. The app has been on Google Play since September 2013, which says something about staying power in a category where many drawing apps fade quickly.

The main reason to consider it is the combination of a creative toolkit and a public feed in one place. You can draw, color, follow along with video lessons, and then post the result where other users can see and comment on it. If you have ever wanted a low-pressure place to share doodles without turning it into a portfolio, this is what PENUP is set up to provide.

It is worth being clear that this is not a professional illustration suite. It is an SNS where users communicate through drawings, with coloring pages, templates, follow-along videos, photo aids and challenges. The emphasis is on participation and sharing rather than on precise, layer-heavy artwork.

What drawing on PENUP actually involves

The drawing side of the app covers a few different ways to get started, depending on how much guidance you want. Coloring book pages let you fill in existing line art, which is the simplest entry point. Templates give you a starting shape or scene to build on. Live Drawing offers video follow-along sessions where you copy along with someone else's process, and Photo Drawing lets you use a photograph as an aid while you sketch. Together these cover a range from pure coloring to drawing from reference.

The most recent update added a new brush to the drawing tools, which suggests the developer is still refining the core experience rather than only the social side. Drawing challenges give the toolkit a purpose beyond free sketching: you test your skills against a prompt rather than staring at a blank canvas.

What appeals to me here is that none of these features assume prior training. You do not need to know how to draw from scratch to use the coloring pages, and you do not need to invent a subject for the challenges. The app supplies the starting point, and you supply the effort.

The social layer: Trending Works and comments

PENUP's social side is built around Trending Works, a feed where users' creations are surfaced for others to appreciate. You can browse what other people have drawn, leave comments on their work, and receive comments on your own posts. The app is meant as a place to post sketches of daily moments and ideas and to reach people around the world, so the feed is broad and international rather than a private gallery.

The interaction model is familiar if you have used any social app: post, browse, comment, respond. The difference is that the content is drawings rather than photos or short text. That changes the tone considerably. A comment on a sketch tends to be about technique, subject or encouragement, and the barrier to posting is low because a rough drawing is still a valid post.

Notifications are part of this loop. On Android 13 and above, the app asks for notification permission so it can alert you about activity related to your drawings, your followers and the people you follow. If you would rather not be pulled back in constantly, that permission is optional and the default service still works without it.

Permissions and practical requirements

PENUP's permission requests are explained before you grant them. On Android 9 or lower, storage access is needed to upload a drawing to the service or download one from it. On Android 13 or above, notification permission handles activity alerts. The developer notes that optional permissions can be left off, with the default functionality still turned on, and that previously granted permissions can be reset from the device's Apps menu after a software update.

There is also a version floor to be aware of. If your system software is older than Android 6.0, the developer asks you to update before configuring app permissions. That is a reasonable requirement for a service that has been running since 2013.

The financial side is simple: the app is free, there are no ads, and there are no in-app purchases. There is no paid tier, subscription or way to spend money inside PENUP. For a social drawing app with this install base, that is worth noting.

Who PENUP is built for

The clearest fit is someone who draws casually and wants an audience without the pressure of a professional platform. The coloring pages, templates and challenges all lower the barrier to producing something postable, and the Trending Works feed gives that output somewhere to go. A teenager who likes doodling and wants feedback from strangers would find the whole loop makes sense.

It also works for people who want to draw alongside others rather than alone. Live Drawing is a video follow-along, and the comment system turns individual posts into conversations. If your motivation comes from seeing what other people are making, the social layer is the point rather than an add-on.

Where it is less suited is to anyone who needs precise control over their artwork. The feature set is oriented toward accessible drawing and sharing, not toward advanced illustration workflows. Someone producing detailed digital paintings for print or commission would likely find the toolkit here too limited for their needs, and the social feed irrelevant to their process.

The verdict on PENUP

PENUP is a well-established, free drawing community with a genuine creative toolkit behind it. The absence of ads and in-app purchases keeps the experience clean, and the install base and rating suggest the formula has held up.

The trade-offs are the ones the app itself implies. It is a social drawing service first, so the drawing tools are geared toward accessibility rather than professional depth, and it asks for storage or notification permissions depending on your Android version. Very old devices below Android 6.0 are asked to update before permissions can be configured.

If you want a friendly place to sketch, color and share with other people, PENUP is a strong candidate. If you need a serious illustration tool, the focus here is elsewhere. For the casual and intermediate artist who wants company while drawing, it is easy to recommend.

What's new

• New brush added as drawing tool