A drawing apparatus is provided by which quality of a predetermined degree or higher can be preserved in cases of drawing a nail design on a nail; and a drawing method for the drawing apparatus.The drawing apparatus includes a reference plane on which a finger or toe having a nail is mounted; a drawing unit (40) that draws a nail design on a drawable area in the nail; a nail height detection portion (814) that detects a distribution of height from the reference plane within a surface of the nail, on the basis of an image obtained by imaging the nail; and a design determination portion (815) that determines the suitability of drawing the nail design on the surface of the nail by the drawing unit (40), on the basis of the drawable area based on the distribution by the nail height detection portion (814).