Inkwash, a watercolor sketching app and explanation
I've made a drawing app based on my physical sketching practice, using fluid sim and some shader tricks to mimic watercolor-style ink washes. Best used on iPad or with a drawing tablet. The linked article shows how the core engine works, with plenty of little interactive demos. It was fun to make, sharing in hopes others find it fun too :)
Inkwash, a watercolor sketching app and explanation launched on June 14, 2026 with 250 votes, #110 of 22,647 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches.
In plain words
Inkwash is a drawing app designed for digital watercolor sketching on iPad and drawing tablets. It uses fluid simulation and shader techniques to replicate the behavior of physical watercolor ink washes. The app is built from the creator's experience with traditional sketching practices, and includes an accompanying article with interactive demonstrations explaining how the core engine works.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
A watercolor simulator in one HTML file — the inspiration, the fluid dynamics, and the rendering tricks behind inkwash , with live demos throughout. Every figure on this page is the real engine, running in miniature. I love nature journaling . Over time I've developed a style and approach that I like for capturing sketches quickly, using a Pilot G2 pen in combination with a waterbrush. This lets me add linework and shading simultaneously (I dual wield with the brush in my left hand) and forces me not to be too precious about the final result - there will inevitably be smudges and imperfections, and there is no undo with pen! This project began as a test of Anthropic's new model Claude Fable…from johnowhitaker.github.io
Does a similar job
all alternatives →
Flow by Moleskine Studio2019 · apps.apple.com · ▲266Capture, create and share ideas in a digital Moleskine
Flow 2 by Moleskine Studio2020 · apps.apple.com · ▲120The first sketching app with realtime collaboration
More life & fun this month
the category →
A free city-building game in your browser. You are the mayor. You know what the city needs. Now get it past the zoning board, the neighbors, the appeals court and the next election.
Life & fun · 3d ago · permit.petercai.com
- IV
Life & fun · 15d ago · tanzaniaeducationproject.org
Turn a phone, tablet or TV into a sign. Type a message and it fills the screen: welcome signs, timers, Wi-Fi passwords and more. No app, no account, free.
Life & fun · 16d ago · bigwords.page
Play a free virtual guitar online with your keyboard or by touch. Slow songs down and see every chord, string and strum. Acoustic, classic, electric and bass.
Life & fun · 10d ago · guitoro.com
Carrier settings from iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy firmware, decoded and compared: APNs, VoLTE, 5G and Wi-Fi Calling per carrier, and what each build changed.
Life & fun · 14d ago · carrierexplode.com
Life & fun · 24d ago · space.bl2.net
Source: Show HN post ↗
Launched alongside, June 2026
the whole month →
Fundraisly▲1,537AI fundraising agent that finds investors and books meetings
AI · Jun 2026 · fundraisly.com
Homebrew 6.0.0▲1,481Today, I’m proud to announce Homebrew 6.0.0. The most significant changes since 5.1.0 are a new tap trust security mechanism, the new faster, smaller, default internal Homebrew JSON API, sandboxing on Linux, better defaults informed by our user survey, many brew bundle improvements, improved performance and initial support for macOS 27 (Golden Gate). Happy to discuss any questions here!
Dev tools · Jun 2026 · brew.sh
Hi HN! I was super frustrated at apps like tiktok and wechat preventing me from saving or downloading the animated gifs, so I made a little tool to turn a screen recording into a slack-sized emoji. Hope you get some value from this!
Life & fun · Jun 2026 · vorpus.github.io
Search 18 years of Hacker News and chart how any topic, tool, or person trended. Overlay terms to compare their rise and fall across 45M posts and comments.
Life & fun · Jun 2026 · hackernewstrends.com