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Deaathtraap Reviews 💜 iPad + Procreate Thoughts So Far
2 years ago
So a few months ago I bought an iPad Air with the Apple Pencil 2 and Procreate, and I'm gonna give my thoughts on the setup.
Up until now I've used a Wacom Cintiq 13HD drawing tablet and Photoshop on a desktop Windows PC. This has basically been my setup even since before I joined FA under Deaathtraap 4-5 years ago, and I'm quite accustomed to it. Despite this, it was not without its flaws.
The main issues with my PC setup were:
- The obvious lack of portability. Besides being plugged into a big PC, the tablet has an octopus of cables sticking out of it that make it basically impossible to take anywhere, plus it needs to be powered so laptops are a no-go.
- Form factor/ergonomics. I basically had to rearrange my whole desk to draw, and the limited tilt range of the tablet meant I was more often than not hunched over as I worked. Plus I use more Photoshop keyboard shortcuts than I can map onto the tablet's side buttons, meaning I had to somehow use my keyboard AND tablet at the same time. This was pretty damn bad for my posture and I'd regularly experience pretty bad shoulder and back pain after a while.
Now onto the iPad setup. In case it wasn't obvious by my use of past-tense in describing the PC setup, I have basically completely transitioned into drawing on my iPad. It wasn't a conscious decision, I just literally have not drawn on my Wacom tablet once since I bought the iPad. Mainly I attribute this to how easy it is to use compared to my PC setup: I can get a random idea, and the iPad is right there, ready to use, pen charged, and Procreate open in seconds. I can draw sitting down, laying in bed, anywhere. I quite like it in this sense, because it has the simplicity of when I used to draw traditionally, as compared to the televised sport that is me dragging my tablet across my desk and waiting a whole minute for Photoshop to wake up, sometimes with a special guest appearance from Windows update as it either restarted my PC mid-drawing or broke my Wacom drivers.
Next, the actual drawing experience: it is taking some getting used to, to put it lightly. I feel that I'm improving, but in case it wasn't apparent from the fact that I've mainly posted sketches for the past few months, I am definitely not 100% back to where I felt I was on PC. The iPad Air has a slick glass screen and the pencil's tip is an equally slick silicone, leading to a very slippery-feeling drawing experience. My Wacom tablet has a matte finish, making it feel much closer to paper than the iPad does. This is by far the most cumbersome part of the experience in my opinion, and it is very difficult to get used to. I've even considered buying special tips or matte screen protectors to compensate for the feeling, but I'm trying to stick with it and hope that it clicks. I don't post everything I draw, but I feel I've improved a good deal since first starting.
Finally, Procreate. Procreate is an excellent drawing application with many well thought out features, and it surprises me with how advanced it can be in some areas. The brush settings are superior to Photoshop's for most uses, with every setting PS has and more. The editing and transform tools are also pretty intuitive and powerful, and I appreciate that unlike other mobile drawing apps, it doesn't hold back with giving you all the capability you expect from an artistic suite. However, as someone with a graphic design background and who uses nearly every Photoshop feature in my finished art, I find it lacking a few features I'm used to using. Among these are masks and clipping masks for groups, as well as some sort of non-destructive editing abilities like feathering and effects (glow, drop shadow, etc). Some of these I can admit are a crutch, but others I feel are essential. I think it'll be a while before I can really get my rendering game back up to where I started, but I'll keep trying.
So yeah, that's my review/feelings on this. Overall I'd say I do prefer the iPad to my PC, and I've actually found that I doodle more and use my PC less entirely now since I bought it. I would love to hear other artists' thoughts about drawing on an iPad or what setup you use.
Thanks for reading!
Up until now I've used a Wacom Cintiq 13HD drawing tablet and Photoshop on a desktop Windows PC. This has basically been my setup even since before I joined FA under Deaathtraap 4-5 years ago, and I'm quite accustomed to it. Despite this, it was not without its flaws.
The main issues with my PC setup were:
- The obvious lack of portability. Besides being plugged into a big PC, the tablet has an octopus of cables sticking out of it that make it basically impossible to take anywhere, plus it needs to be powered so laptops are a no-go.
- Form factor/ergonomics. I basically had to rearrange my whole desk to draw, and the limited tilt range of the tablet meant I was more often than not hunched over as I worked. Plus I use more Photoshop keyboard shortcuts than I can map onto the tablet's side buttons, meaning I had to somehow use my keyboard AND tablet at the same time. This was pretty damn bad for my posture and I'd regularly experience pretty bad shoulder and back pain after a while.
Now onto the iPad setup. In case it wasn't obvious by my use of past-tense in describing the PC setup, I have basically completely transitioned into drawing on my iPad. It wasn't a conscious decision, I just literally have not drawn on my Wacom tablet once since I bought the iPad. Mainly I attribute this to how easy it is to use compared to my PC setup: I can get a random idea, and the iPad is right there, ready to use, pen charged, and Procreate open in seconds. I can draw sitting down, laying in bed, anywhere. I quite like it in this sense, because it has the simplicity of when I used to draw traditionally, as compared to the televised sport that is me dragging my tablet across my desk and waiting a whole minute for Photoshop to wake up, sometimes with a special guest appearance from Windows update as it either restarted my PC mid-drawing or broke my Wacom drivers.
Next, the actual drawing experience: it is taking some getting used to, to put it lightly. I feel that I'm improving, but in case it wasn't apparent from the fact that I've mainly posted sketches for the past few months, I am definitely not 100% back to where I felt I was on PC. The iPad Air has a slick glass screen and the pencil's tip is an equally slick silicone, leading to a very slippery-feeling drawing experience. My Wacom tablet has a matte finish, making it feel much closer to paper than the iPad does. This is by far the most cumbersome part of the experience in my opinion, and it is very difficult to get used to. I've even considered buying special tips or matte screen protectors to compensate for the feeling, but I'm trying to stick with it and hope that it clicks. I don't post everything I draw, but I feel I've improved a good deal since first starting.
Finally, Procreate. Procreate is an excellent drawing application with many well thought out features, and it surprises me with how advanced it can be in some areas. The brush settings are superior to Photoshop's for most uses, with every setting PS has and more. The editing and transform tools are also pretty intuitive and powerful, and I appreciate that unlike other mobile drawing apps, it doesn't hold back with giving you all the capability you expect from an artistic suite. However, as someone with a graphic design background and who uses nearly every Photoshop feature in my finished art, I find it lacking a few features I'm used to using. Among these are masks and clipping masks for groups, as well as some sort of non-destructive editing abilities like feathering and effects (glow, drop shadow, etc). Some of these I can admit are a crutch, but others I feel are essential. I think it'll be a while before I can really get my rendering game back up to where I started, but I'll keep trying.
So yeah, that's my review/feelings on this. Overall I'd say I do prefer the iPad to my PC, and I've actually found that I doodle more and use my PC less entirely now since I bought it. I would love to hear other artists' thoughts about drawing on an iPad or what setup you use.
Thanks for reading!
I'm also using iPad (mini) for my pixelarts, utilizing Pixaki and Resprite to create them. I think it is very advantageous to actually be able to draw on the screen + the portability and usability of the tablet itself is vast :3
What would you say is the difference between those two apps? What do you use each one for?
Do you know if this works on the Apple Pencil 2? And is the metal tip safe to use on the screen without the protector (just in case I want to take it off temporarily)?