The April 12, 2010 comparison examined Brushes, Sketchbook Pro and ArtStudio as drawing tools for iPad. Its observations concern those early versions, not the features or availability of products carrying similar names today.
The review highlighted Brushes’ approachable painting workflow and playback, ArtStudio’s varied tools and layer visibility, and Sketchbook Pro’s more extensive controls, including shape and mirroring options.
Compare one small project
A useful drawing-app comparison starts with the same task in each tool. Try a simple sketch, a color adjustment or an addition to an existing photograph. That makes differences in interaction easier to understand than comparing long feature lists.
Pay attention to how often a menu interrupts the drawing and whether the current tool is obvious. A large collection of controls can help a complex task while making a quick sketch take longer to begin.
Editing and finishing deserve their own test
After making a mark, change your mind. Check how readily you can revise the part you intended without disturbing the rest of the image. Then inspect the saved or exported result in the place where it will be used.
The historical review expressed a preference for Brushes’ simplicity while recognizing different strengths in the other apps. The useful question remains specific to the project: which workflow makes the intended image easiest to create, revise and finish? That does not require naming a universal winner from an old review.