Smarty Paints

• Free to download
• In-app purchases

Last verified 31 Jul 2026

4.7 38 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5Unbelievable, more info than I even expected

   I’ve been painting with watercolor long enough to know what I’m doing but still have areas where I’d like to learn more. This app is WILD with so much information! I’m seeing swatches of a paint pigment from 10+ manufacturers, making it easier to see whose version I like more. You’re shown the pigments in a specific paint so you can mix it yourself. And if you don’t have the specific paint to mix with? They give you DUPES for colors! I’m making an inventory of the paints l already own and saving the paints I want. As if there could be more, there are a LOT of painting tutorials. I haven’t watched one yet because I’m obsessed with the swatches and mixing info, but if it performs like it seems it should (the videos), it takes this app from 100% to 110% awesome. I have the free version but to subscribe is like, $13 a YEAR. I’ll be subbing soon

   Bedtime listener · 31 Jul 2026

2. 3/5Cannot search by color, cannot buy app

   I had high hopes for this, but after purchasing on my iPad, the developer did not create an iPad version, so it’s in a vertical orientation and not landscape, so you can’t use a keyboard. I tried to purchase on my iPhone anyway, hoping that updates would come, but the app crashes immediately. There is good information in the app, but I would like to retain the brands I choose in a search…I’ve never heard of most of these. I would also like to add paints to my “personal collection” that I can choose from to create a palette, but then be able to “shop” for other paints, looking through the entire catalog. It’s nice that I can choose by transparency and granulation, but I’d also like to be able to choose by a color family. Like maybe I want to find a new transparent, non-granulating pink that’s from Daniel Smith. There is no option to choose only pink paints, so you have to view every paint in a catalog, and they’re pretty mixed up. I expected this to be a way that I could keep track of what paints I’ve purchased, but I don’t think that’s what the app is meant to do.

   Bad Kitty · 31 Jul 2026

3. 5/5Saves me time and money!!

   I just learned about this app! Nearly immediately it provided me more efficiency when choosing a color, prepping for a workshop, and ordering more tube stock. The ability to create a palette for any groups of paints is lifesaving. I made a palette for my paints by manufacturer. The sorting options within a palette are great; transparent, pigment, reds, etc. While reviewing a workshops supply list I encountered colors unknown to me. So on the app I looked up the formula, searched for similar formulas that I own (via the manufacturer palettes I created) and found that mixing two of my owned paints kept me from needing to buy any paint for the workshop!

   Praying Painter CHI · 31 Jul 2026

4. 2/5Beware, you can't sync data between your iPhone and iPad

   This will maybe someday be a great app, maybe, but for now it has some serious limitations. Here are the 3 I've discovered so far. You can't sync data between devices (I confirmed this w customer support who is basically the app developer herself?) This means that any palette you create on your phone, will not appear on your iPad. It also doesn't seem to recognize on my other device that I bought the "pro" version. Using this on my iPhone means the color swatches are teeny tiny. To drag and move a square around a palette, you'd have to tap an even tinier little "=" icon at the top of each square. If you don't hit the icon JUST right, you can't drag that swatch. If could go the moving around on my iPad, life would be less frustrating. To do so now means recreating all my palettes AGAIN, and paying for the the pro version AGAIN. No, thanks. My favorite palette is 9 columns across and 4 rows down. The app only allows max of 8 columns across, so I had to build it sideways, if that makes sense. Not ideal. My workspace is such that pivoting my palette 90 degrees is not an option. The watercolor enthusiast world is HUGE! I belong to many Facebook groups, one of which has over 44,000 members. The market for a GOOD palette database is enormous. And we share our great finds. I can't say this is one of them yet.

   Papa Guerilla · 31 Jul 2026

5. 5/5Incredibly useful

   I love how I can search by one or several different brands or by other characteristics, like lightfastness, transparency, staining, and granularity. I also enjoy the fact that it allows me to find replacement pigments. It also ensures that I know what pains I already have in my collection. And lastly, I can create and store groupings by color, brand, or purpose. I recommended it to several of my artist friends.

   Karelles · 31 Jul 2026

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