Introducing Paper, an iPad drawing and sketching app you’ve been clamoring for

Paper, a new iPad sketch app, launched last night with quite a bang. That’s not surprising when you consider it has a gorgeous UI, and the fact that many of its creators are ex-Microsoft employees, who once worked on the infamous Courier project.

I know what you’re thinking. “Great, exactly what the iPad needs, another sketch app.” But before you go writing this one off, you might want to see what all of the fuss is about…

From the moment you first open Paper, you can tell it’s well designed. You’re initially greeted with three interactive sketchbooks, with an option to create others. A majority of the app is run by swipes and pinch gestures — which makes it extremely easy to navigate.

But it’s not just Paper’s UI that sets it apart from the competition. It also features some great-looking drawing utensils including a felt-tipped pen, a pencil, a marker, a paint brush, and a tiny-tipped pen for writing text. Each one comes in 9 different colors.

The good news is that Paper is a free app. The bad news is, it only comes with the felt-tipped pen. It’ll cost you $1.99 per utensil to unlock the others — which is kind of a bummer. Nevertheless, if you own an iPad, this sketch app is definitely worth checking out.

Have you tried Paper yet? What’d you think?