I want an iPad to draw...but I am not rich.

[FallenLegend]

I want an iPad to draw an paint on the go and I don't have any tablet to rely on.


My issue is that the iPad pro is way to expensive for me right now specially because it's more expensive in my country (like 250 more dollars than in the US) . But I will have the money to buy something with the same prices as an air 2 soonish (but the air 2 isn't compatible with any pressure sensitive stylus worth it's salt).

My issue is that I don't know if I should buy an older iPad compatible with waco,'s stylus or wait until they air 3 is released as it MAY be pencil compatible.


What would you advice me?

 

[ZombiePete]

If drawing/painting is what you want, then wait. Either the Air 3 will have Pencil support (I personally doubt it will, though) or you'll maybe have saved up enough to get an iPad Pro by then.

 

[Macalway]

Wait a month, by that time, used may be an option (Ebay, etc.)

 

[CE3]

Wait to see if the Air 3 has pencil support. I personally think it's very likely. Also, iPad Pro prices will drop in the next 6-12 months.

 

[FrancoRumors]

I want an iPad to draw an paint on the go and I don't have any tablet to rely on.


My issue is that the iPad pro is way to expensive for me right now specially because it's more expensive in my country (like 250 more dollars than in the US) .



What would you advice me?

What country? - do they have AT&T next or similar where you live - it's interest free financing through your cellular provider.

 

[StoneJack]

You can also use any iPad with non-Pencil styluses, like Paper pencil by company called FiftyThree.
The experience will not be as good as iPP, but you can draw well nevertheless.

 

[Serban]

OP wait to get a refurbished one, buy the standard 32 gb+ Apple Pencil

 

[yalag]

You can just draw on paper for money and then use that to buy ipad? Seems straight forward

 

[bensisko]

There are a lot of good reasons to wait for an Air 3 vs. an Air 2, but I wouldn't say holding hope for Pencil compatibility is one of them.

I would second the Pencil by 53. There are some others that are 'decent' but not nearly as good as either Pencil.

If it's REALLY that important, save up for a Pro - there's no comparison.

 

[aevan]

I want an iPad to draw an paint on the go and I don't have any tablet to rely on.


My issue is that the iPad pro is way to expensive for me right now specially because it's more expensive in my country (like 250 more dollars than in the US) . But I will have the money to buy something with the same prices as an air 2 soonish (but the air 2 isn't compatible with any pressure sensitive stylus worth it's salt).

My issue is that I don't know if I should buy an older iPad compatible with waco,'s stylus or wait until they air 3 is released as it MAY be pencil compatible.


What would you advice me?

If you want to draw on an iPad - you need an Apple Pencil. I tried a lot of styluses - 53's Pencil, Wacom Intuos Creative Stylus, Adonit Jot Touch - none of them even come even close. I know some people have been using them to get some great results, but some people just find a way to make even the difficult things work. Some people can create art with just their fingers - that doesn't mean it's a good way to do it. It's not a small difference - like a difference between Intuos and Intuos Pro on Wacom desktop tablets (where the Pro is better, but you can certainly work fine on an ordinary Intuos).

So, if you want to draw on an iPad, you want an Apple Pencil - whether on an iPad Pro, or on some hypothetical iPad Air 3.

Now, I agree - it IS expensive for a lot of people. So, there are alternatives. Perhaps you can get an older Surface Pro for less money, not sure - but it too is a lot better for drawing than any non-Pencil iPad. Also, you can get a Wacom tablet and hook it up to a PC/Mac for much less money and do some pro-level work on it. I know, it's not a tablet - but it will be a few years before drawing on tablets become cheaper.

 

[zhenya]

If an iPad Pro is 'way' too expensive for you, I would not consider it. It's a convenience and a luxury, nothing that is going to fundamentally change your life. Save your money and buy a paper notebook.

If you have to have a digital drawing tablet, I'd consider the Surface 3 which can be bought with a stylus for about half the cost of the iPad Pro and stylus.

 

[highlystrange]

Personally, I think the drawing software is the big deal--more so than the brand of stylus or even the tablet. In my drawing I use a Mac Mini running Pixelmator. I haven't found the perfect stylus yet, so I've ended up using a range of styli for most of the drawing. It all works well in the end, though your mileage will vary.

 

[aevan]

Personally, I think the drawing software is the big deal--more so than the brand of stylus or even the tablet. In my drawing I use a Mac Mini running Pixelmator. I haven't found the perfect stylus yet, so I've ended up using a range of styli for most of the drawing. It all works well in the end, though your mileage will vary.

I disagree. True, the software is very important - but there is a lot of quality choice in this area and you can get great results with almost any of them if you learn them well. Pixelmator is great, sure, and you also have Photoshop, Sketchbook, Corel Painter, Affinity Photo, ArtRage, Krita, MediBang Paint, Mischief, Manga Studio, Paint Tools Sai, MyPaint, etc.

On the iPad side, there is less choice, but it's still good. Procreate is by far the best, and there are some other nice illustration apps too.

However, none of that software matters if the stylus gets in your way. You only have a few choices here, really. On a PC/Mac it's Wacom Intuos, Intuos Pro and Cintiq tablets with their styluses. You can also choose the Surface Pro line and now, you can go for the iPad Pro + Pencil (which can also work surprisingly good on a Mac/OS X apps via Astropad app). There are a couple of Chinese clones of Wacom tablets but don't risk getting them as their support can be very limited with new OS releases.

 

[FallenLegend]

I live in Mexico (sadly the surface 3 (not four) is also as expensive as an ipadpro) and thank you everyone, I guess I'll wait.

 

[businezguy]

I have a feeling if you wait six months to a year you'll find iPad Pro pricing will be more competitive with refurbished models and sales. The current price is very high and likely not sustainable.

 

[ozaz]

@FallenLegend,

Unless you need a specific iPad app or for your tablet to be in the iOS ecosystem, you might want to consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab A (S-Pen version), at least until iPad Air gets Apple Pencil support. It's a cheap tablet and the S-Pen is a league above any non-Apple stylus you will find for iPad. The main downside is it has a low res screen (comparable to the iPad 1), a trade-off for the low cost.

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab/SM-P550NZAAXAR

 

[ozaz]

I live in Mexico (sadly the surface 3 (not four) is also as expensive as an ipadpro) and thank you everyone, I guess I'll wait.

Surprising. Are you sure you're looking at the Surface 3 and not Surface Pro 3?

I would expect Surface 3 to be similar price to iPad Air 2.

 

[zhenya]

Same question - make sure you are looking at the Surface 3 NOT the Pro model. Still has the same stylus and digitizer but starts at about $500.

 

[sracer]

I want an iPad to draw an paint on the go and I don't have any tablet to rely on.


My issue is that the iPad pro is way to expensive for me right now specially because it's more expensive in my country (like 250 more dollars than in the US) . But I will have the money to buy something with the same prices as an air 2 soonish (but the air 2 isn't compatible with any pressure sensitive stylus worth it's salt).

My issue is that I don't know if I should buy an older iPad compatible with waco,'s stylus or wait until they air 3 is released as it MAY be pencil compatible.


What would you advice me?

How important is an active stylus to you? If it is important, then you really have no other option than waiting to save up for an iPP or waiting to see if the Air 3 includes support for the Apple Pencil.

How important is the drawing/painting experience to you? Is this something for leisure and fun or for professional purposes? If it is for leisure and fun, then an Air 2 with virtually any of the styli on the market will be fine. The existing drawing/painting software available is quite excellent and have taken some innovative approaches to minimizing the effect of the limitations of the iPad hardware.

What percentage of usage of this tablet will be for drawing/painting? If the primary purpose for getting an iPad is for drawing, then you should probably wait.

Some things to consider.

For my purposes, I decided to give the iPad Pro a pass this go-round, picked up an Air 2 (at a bargain price) + Belkin Qode Ultimate Lite keyboard case + DotPen powered capacitive stylus. I'm extremely pleased with this setup.