All lovers of digital drawing would have liked to start drawing directly on a screen. There are devices for this purpose, however, their price is very high. But what if you could use your iPad to draw professionally today?
iPad or graphics tablet, the big question
Anyone who is in the world of illustration surely has in mind the purchase of a graphics tablet. These have an exclusive function focused on helping the artist to capture a digital drawing offering an experience very similar to when drawing on paper in a classic way. This is one of the great attractions that graphics tablets have, but working on iPad can offer a fairly similar experience. Everything is getting used to and the experience of using an Apple Pencil on the screen of an iPad, although it is not the same as in the graphic tablet, is not at all negative.
One of the negative points that the iPad and also the Apple Pencil can have, is that when applying pressure it simply releases much more ink. In the case of graphics tablets, it responds to more pressure levels and offers a much more pen-like experience depending on the angle. But what the iPad wins resoundingly is that it is a fully portable computer and that performs many other functions in addition to drawing. This is something that cannot be achieved with a graphics tablet, since its size and also because of its dependence on other equipment is difficult to transport. This makes it a great attraction for illustrators who must carry out their professional activity away from home and always in mobility.
You always have to assess case by case which is the product that can come best. And obviously try both, since both the iPad and the graphics tablet can make authentic works of art.
Draw with Apple Pencil on iPad Pro
As a digital illustrator for years, and after owning all kinds of devices for illustration…. such as XPPen Artist 24 Pro 24-inch drawing monitor, Surface Pro 6, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1″ and the latest acquisition the 12.9″ iPad Pro. I will give you my opinion on the iPad Pro that is the one I have.
Ipad Pro HARDWARE:
– Display (the best screen I’ve seen so far)
– The reduced frames is the best, larger screen with the same size as the previous one
– Size (12.9″ are perfect, not too big or too small)
– Weight (iPad is lighter than it looks)
– Design / finishes (perfect, everything is perfectly polished to detail)
– The speed is just amazing
– The camera is great, I make a lot of video calls and it looks great. The external also of 10.
I have the 64GB and the system occupies 8GB, maybe that’s the only bad thing about the product but hey, my fault for not buying the 256GB. But capacity can be any, you can use the cloud GoogleDrive and One Drive to save your files without having to cram files on the iPad.
I have an Ipad pro for a year and although I do not use it exclusively for drawing, it is true that the Apple Pencil is very accurate, much more than any other touch pencil, even to take notes, scan documents, modify, underline or make corrections.
Apple pencil has the function of tilting to make shading. Regarding the pressure levels, it would actually matter if instead of having 2048 I had 1024, because a person in the end, no matter how much he wants to, is unable to control such precision with one hand, the important thing is that he is sensitive to pressure because that does help a lot.
You can practically do the same thing you do on paper… So if you can invest (since it is veneer) and you need precision to make illustrations I think you will do very well.
Best iPad Apps for Drawing and Painting
Thinking of drawing exclusively I would say iPad Pro because it has more interesting applications than Android: ProCreate, Affinity Photo, affinity designer (vector drawings, graphic design), clip studio paint, Sketchbook, Paper, Astropad or Duet Display…
In the creative field, the possibilities opened up by drawing apps are immense. You have in your hand, and without having to walk with drawing material on your back, all kinds of tools: watercolor, oil paint, charcoal (and without getting your hands dirty!), colored pencils, markers, fine tips of all sizes, aerosols, etc. With the availability and ease of use of all these resources we can combine several in the same document, we can mix them, try them and get very creative effects at the same time fun.
The iPad itself goes like lightning, super fluid and drawing on it is very comfortable, I would say more than on paper. As soon as I arrived I bought the Procreate app and I recommend it if you are going to use it to draw, it is only 11 euros and I will get a lot out of it. This is one of the so-called essential apps for any user with an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil.
Procreate is the application par excellence to draw on the iPad in a professional way. It has hundreds of handmade brushes, a collection with innovative artistic tools, an advanced layering system and the ultra-fast graphics engine. Procreate gives you everything you need to create sketches, paintings, illustrations and animations. It is a full-fledged artistic studio, complete, and that you can also take anywhere. It has it all!
The Paper program For sketches, to write, paint and draw whatever your thought, you can capture it in Paper. With fast, gesture-based navigation, it’s easy and natural to use. You can create different notebooks and within it add as many sheets as you need. You have several brushes at your disposal and tools for drawing and writing. Everything you need! In addition, there is a color mixer to customize the shades to your liking.
Autodesk’s Sketchbook app is a tool for drawing, sketching, and painting on your iPad. It started as an App idea to take sketches quickly, but then evolved into a complete application even to finish drawings. It’s totally free. Possibly the best App for free.
Clip Studio Paint is the most used software in the professional manga drawing industry and now it finally arrives as an iPhone and iPad app. This application offers a workspace in which the user can draw assisted by all kinds of tools. Thanks to an intuitive interface you can access different menus that cover the different needs that arise on the fly: brushes, pencils, colors, layers, strokes… Everything that is needed so that the author can give his work the approach he prefers, prepared even for drawing comics.
How to use an iPad as a graphics tablet
Connect the iPad to the MAC: to use it as a second monitor of this to use Photoshop other advanced photo editing programs, just as we do with a normal graphics tablet. Having the hardware potential of a MAC (which an iPad alone will never give you) and using the iPad as an extension as if it were a graphics tablet is the ultimate expression of an artist.
Best programs to turn an iPad into a Wacom or XP-PEN : Astropad and Duet Display. For me the best program I tested for this is the Astropad, which is both in MAC and PC version. The Duet Pro (formerly Duet Display), is powerful and works quite well, but perhaps lacks more options. Both are paid with Duet Pro being the cheaper of the two.
For me the biggest advantage of the iPad Pro is to be able to draw wherever I want without being tied to a computer. That’s for sure. And if you want to use it as a 2nd monitor of a PC or a MAC it can also be used as a graphics tablet. At the level of design and drawing apps you have a wide range of options that work very well and there are people who make totally professional designs and sketches. Like everything, there is a period of adaptation in doing with it and with the programs. Many illustrators who have become accustomed to it say not to go back to a normal or crazy graphics tablet.