Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

All iPads How is the iPad Air as a drawing tablet?

B

Bankaimadness

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
301
0
Compared to Wacom.

I am planning on doing some digital arts on my iPad air. :D I been interested in graphic tablets nowadays, and since my parents have an air I want use that tablet to draw on.


I was hoping that some of you artists (Assuming you guys are artists since you guys are mac fans :D) can help me out.


Also is a screen protector required for drawing tablets usually since it is easier to get scratches?
 
I do not have the Air, but I do use the mini retina to do many sketches, ideas, etc. I can imagine the extra space on the Air would be a plus, but the mini (using Sketchbook Pro) works for me. I do have a screen protector (now), but I used it for for a long time without problems without one. But having said that, I have grown accustom to using it without a stylus, and more often in a finger painting manner.
 
gflowers said:
I do not have the Air, but I do use the mini retina to do many sketches, ideas, etc. I can imagine the extra space on the Air would be a plus, but the mini (using Sketchbook Pro) works for me. I do have a screen protector (now), but I used it for for a long time without problems without one. But having said that, I have grown accustom to using it without a stylus, and more often in a finger painting manner.
Click to expand...

What stylus would you recommend though?
 
It's not a very good choice for drawing - not even close when compared to a Wacom tablet.

No pressure sensitivity, no palm rejection, no precision. While iPad does have plenty of good apps for drawing, like Paper by 53 which I use myself on my Mini, they really aren't a match to the power you'd have on something with a Wacom digitizer.

From what I heard so far the coolest stylus around, and the best one for the Paper app that I mentioned already is Pencil by 53, but with the cheapest version being $60, I think a much better investment would be getting an actual drawing tablet to use with a computer. Looking at the Wacom website they start at $80.
 
Ezhik said:
It's not a very good choice for drawing - not even close when compared to a Wacom tablet.

No pressure sensitivity, no palm rejection, no precision. While iPad does have plenty of good apps for drawing, like Paper by 53 which I use myself on my Mini, they really aren't a match to the power you'd have on something with a Wacom digitizer.

From what I heard so far the coolest stylus around, and the best one for the Paper app that I mentioned already is Pencil by 53, but with the cheapest version being $60, I think a much better investment would be getting an actual drawing tablet to use with a computer. Looking at the Wacom website they start at $80.
Click to expand...

Man I would thought an expensive device like the ipad air would have good pressure sensitivity and precision...... Considering most of their products are marketed towards artists.

What about for a basic noobie artists. Do you think an ipad air will suffice? I want to start out and try out with digital art before I become too committed/invested into it.
 
Last edited:
I suppose. I am a total noobie and use that Paper by 53 app I mentioned in the last post. I can't really recommend a stylus other than the expensive Pencil one.

You WILL need a stylus, and lack of palm rejection (where you can rest your palm on the screen without the screen doing any things and only reacting to the stylus) WILL annoy you.

Paper is a good app, but it's really there for the basic sketch part - the refinement would usually happen elsewhere, if you know what I mean.

So while an iPad might still work for drawing, I strongly recommend either a real drawing tablet or just using a paper sketchbook.
 
Ezhik said:
I suppose. I am a total noobie and use that Paper by 53 app I mentioned in the last post. I can't really recommend a stylus other than the expensive Pencil one.

You WILL need a stylus, and lack of palm rejection (where you can rest your palm on the screen without the screen doing any things and only reacting to the stylus) WILL annoy you.

Paper is a good app, but it's really there for the basic sketch part - the refinement would usually happen elsewhere, if you know what I mean.

So while an iPad might still work for drawing, I strongly recommend either a real drawing tablet or just using a paper sketchbook.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of a cheap stylus:

http://www.amazon.com/amPen-Hybrid-...F8&qid=1403403246&sr=8-3&keywords=ipad+stylus



I seen some really good art done with just fingers on the ipad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp9xebOHWuk
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Bankaimadness said:
Man I would thought an expensive device like the ipad air would have good pressure sensitivity and precision...... Considering most of their products are marketed towards artists.

What about for a basic noobie artists. Do you think an ipad air will suffice? I want to start out and try out with digital art before I become too committed/invested into it.
Click to expand...

If you want palm rejection and pressure sensitivity, you need a stylus that can connect with bluetooth. Adonit just released their new Jot Touch with pixelpoint technology. It comes at a high price though.
http://www.adonit.net/jot/touch/

Adonit also partnered with Adobe and Adobe came out with their own stylus combined with a ruler that can be used on an ipad.
http://www.adobe.com/ca/products/ink-and-slide.html

You have to be serious about art to justify buying an expensive stylus like this.

I have been looking on youtube and google for the past 3 days and I didn't find any review yet since it came out not a long time ago.

Edit: FYI, I just saw that the Adobe Ink and slide is only available in the US.
Edit2: just found a youtube review of the ink and slide http://youtu.be/qGMKRr89UtQ
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Fizza.m
I would only add this issue has been widely discussed in threads here--so you can find many excellent comments searching MR
 
The Wacom Creative stylus is Bluetooth powered and has pressure sensitivity. It works fantastic! http://www.wacom.com/en/us/creative/intuos-creative-stylus
 
Wow thread is moving so slowly. I would reckon a lot of people here are digital artists.. 0.0
 
Bankaimadness said:
Wow thread is moving so slowly. I would reckon a lot of people here are digital artists.. 0.0
Click to expand...

Not sure where the digital artists hang out, but I don't think there are too many of them here. Macs have become so widely used, that artists aren't the majority of Mac users anymore. And iOS devices are geared even more to the general population. You might have better luck by looking for a forum devoted to digital art.
 
There are some specialty forums where issues about using an iPad and stylus to make digital art are discussed in great detail. One of the best apps for an iPad is Procreate - it's easy to learn and yet has great depth, much greater depth than Paper by 53. They have an active forum where you can learn a lot about using the iPad for making art. The link is at

http://procreate.si/forums/

The stylus section is especially busy right now with the introduction of the new Jot Touch. The Jot Touch and the Wacom both use Bluetooth to provide pressure sensitivity and while the styluses theoretically support palm rejection very few apps implement it. You can learn a lot there that will apply to other iPad apps.

I use a Wacom Intuos Creative because I thought that was the best one available last January. I love the pressure sensitivity and the ability to customize the brushes. If I was buying one now I would probably go with the new Jot.
 
jrs22 said:
There are some specialty forums where issues about using an iPad and stylus to make digital art are discussed in great detail. One of the best apps for an iPad is Procreate - it's easy to learn and yet has great depth, much greater depth than Paper by 53. They have an active forum where you can learn a lot about using the iPad for making art. The link is at

http://procreate.si/forums/

The stylus section is especially busy right now with the introduction of the new Jot Touch. The Jot Touch and the Wacom both use Bluetooth to provide pressure sensitivity and while the styluses theoretically support palm rejection very few apps implement it. You can learn a lot there that will apply to other iPad apps.

I use a Wacom Intuos Creative because I thought that was the best one available last January. I love the pressure sensitivity and the ability to customize the brushes. If I was buying one now I would probably go with the new Jot.
Click to expand...

Wow... I was planning on getting the procreate app!
 
Bankaimadness said:
Wow... I was planning on getting the procreate app!
Click to expand...

Procreate works very well as installed, but then there are so many ways to customize or do interesting things. The forum members share brushes they e created, post tutorials and just generally help out. The developers are around also.
 
Unfortunately iPads are really optimized for content consumption, not creation.
This is precisely why I want Surface Pro like device from Apple!
 
Drawing on the ipad is awesome! Don't let these people get you down.

Everyone needs to stop obsessing over palm rest. With traditional art - you should never put your hand / wrist / palm on what you are drawing on. Most professional artists never place their hand on the medium.

If it really is that big of a deal - either cut a glove or buy an art glove. Both are a way better solution than hoping some stylus or some app solves it.

Pressure sensitivity - while nice is not necessary.

For a dumb stylus - I recommend either a
Wacom Bamboo or a Jot Pro.

Both are really good and plenty of people have made masterpieces with both. For Apps - I would recommend 53's Paper and Procreate. Both are good and I use both daily. I usually sketch things in Paper then import in Procreate and paint over.

Here is a good resource for how to use Paper - Made Mistakes.

Here is another great gallery using Procreate - Nikko.

Even though I own both - I would not fully recommend either the Jot Script or the new Jot Touch. Promising technology but not fully there yet.

Daily I use 53's Pencil (both in Paper and as a dumb stylus in Procreate), a Wacom Intuos Creative and the old Jot Touch 4.
 
I need help!!

So I been watching this video and was amazed at how he does the shadow and lightning. I was wondering if you guys can help me out at how he does all the lighting and stuff.

Apparently he is using an ipad add called brushed, but I just got the app Procreate and was wondering if I can do the same thing as he did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMOKSaq1DX0


Please artists....

I just tried out drawing on the ipad and it is pretty difficult. But it is kind of fun. :D
 
Bankaimadness said:
So I been watching this video and was amazed at how he does the shadow and lightning. I was wondering if you guys can help me out at how he does all the lighting and stuff.

Apparently he is using an ipad add called brushed, but I just got the app Procreate and was wondering if I can do the same thing as he did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMOKSaq1DX0


Please artists....

I just tried out drawing on the ipad and it is pretty difficult. But it is kind of fun. :D
Click to expand...

You can definitely do the same thing in Procreate. Don't worry about all the fancy lighting for now if you are new to drawing.

Just focus on getting lines down on how you want them since you are new to drawing on the iPad.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back