Help transitioning to digital please! Best tablets to use?
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@jaq As you have seen also from the responses, a lot of artists struggle with tablets without screen like the Intuos. So your best bet could be to avoid that and go for a Cintiq (or analogous from another brand) or take the path of the iPadPro.
It is worth remembering that Intuos tablets have been around for a long time before the Cintiqs came along (the Cintiq did not exist when I started drawing digitally), and at least a decade or more of digital art has been produced on the Intuos or other non-screen tablets.
So yes, you definitely can work with them and your brain does re-wire the hand-eye coordination. I would say it took for me about 40 hours of drawing concentrated in 6-7 days to achieve a natural drawing experience (I think it is important to train your brain in a concentrated effort rather than spread out over several days or weeks. The first impression is "This is impossible and all artists who do it come from Mars". If you get past it, then you are at the phase "Ok, it is possible but is mightily difficult and is going to take forever". And after some more time, you find out you actually can do it just fine.
I guess what helped me to stick it out is that the teacher who introduced me to digital drawing only used an Intuos and his work was awesome (Steven Player, if you want to check him out, but his recent art is rather edgy).
That said, it is also true that almost all digital artists I know switched to the Cintiq when it came out (me included!), so it is obviously a lot nicer to work on a screen-tablet. I would recommend to go for that if you find one at a price you can afford. -
@jaq Every time I talk about the Ipad pro on this forum, I feel like I am doing promotion for apple (maybe they should give me the Ipadpro 2 as a gift when it comes out!!
But seriously, the Ipadpro is AWESOME. And the procreate app is AWESOME too. And if you want to use photoshop, you can buy an app called astropad witch then let you use you ipad as a secondary monitor for your computer, so you can easily work on photoshop!
I actually sold my cintiq a few months after I bought my Ipadpro... I was never using it! I like working from anywhere in my house and from coffee shops and although I had the 13 inches cintiq which was supposed to be portable... It was NOT. So many wires and plugs, and you need your computer, so a lot of thing to carry. The Ipadpro on the other hand I carry everywhere! And I actually draw a lot more since buying it because as soon as I have a few spare minutes, I grab it and start drawing!
Anyway, there is probably other options out there too, the truth is I am so happy with my I pad that I don't look at what else is out there lol! But if you decide to go with it, I am sure you won't regret it!
(Ok Apple, I am ready for my free Ipadpro 2 now!)
noemiegionetlandry.squarespace.com
noemie_illustration on Instagram -
I had a Wacom that plugged into the computer and it was OK.
I also tried out a Yiynova (a lesser expensive Cintiq type tablet) and it was well worth the money ($400 us). But, I returned it after a month since for me it was cumbersome always connecting it and disconnecting it since I use my iMac for various types of work.
I'm going to go with an iPad pro. Not sure if I'll purchase the newest model that was released a week ago or the previous model.
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Affinity photo( photo shop alternative) just released a version specially built for ipad pro it is only Ā£19 at the minute.I used a bamboo for years and I was so used to looking at the computer screen I am still looking at it Instead of the cintque so it was a waste of money for me.
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@NoWayMe I feel exactly like you, and use my iPadPro a lot. However, there are a few things that prevent me from using it professionally.
- No CYMK mode in ProCreate. When you work for print, clients sometimes want the files in CYMK. Since CYMK handles color in such a different way, I then prefer to create the art directly in CYMK rather than convert at the end and have surprises;
- ProCreate is not Photoshop. When it comes to layer modes, adjustments and masking, it is just no match. I have never tried Astropad though (maybe I should!), but,
- The working area is just too small. Even without all the Photoshop menus, working on large images in an area of just 12 inches feels cramped.
- I often work with multiple software at the same time - the browser for references for example. The fact that the iPad does not support side-by-side applications (size aside) is a major drawback for me.
That said, I still use the iPadPro a lot for thumb-nailing, sketching and for nearly all of my non-client work - and it is an awesome tool!!
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I only use an Ipad Pro. Everything on my SVBWI profile is done with the pro outside of the violinist on the roof, which I am going to redo digitally.
I have never used photoshop, and really don't want to have to spend so much money just to try it out. At this time I do not even own a desktop, let alone a cintiq. However, I might be forced to do so in the near future.
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- The working area is just too small. Even without all the Photoshop menus, working on large images in an area of just 12 inches feels cramped.
That's legitimate but when i used my Yinova, the working area of a 20" screen, was almost the same area of an iPad pro.
- I often work with multiple software at the same time - the browser for references for example. The fact that the iPad does not support side-by-side applications (size aside) is a major drawback for me.
The iPad does support side by side application windows. In iOS 11 (beta right now) it will even support drag and drop from window to window.
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intous pro medium just take little bit of time to get use to but when used to it its the best
easy to carry around all day. full baterry doesnt spend your macbook's battery -
@TessW thanks, this was super helpful. I have a chronic pain condition and a muscle dysfunction disorder so I cramp up and can only do 10-15 minutes work at a time, and often if I overdo things I need to rest for days or weeks to recover. So this is definitely a factor I need to consider!!
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@DOTTYP thank you! I'm in Australia... the prices are so much higher here for everything thanks to our crappy exchange rate!! I will be looking at near on $1,500 for a new model pro and Apple Pencil
Big purchase! -
@NoWayMe lol you definitely need to start earning commissions!!
How could anyone argue with a review THAT good? Thanks for the feedback -
@jaq Sorry to hear that it is very expensive anyway,i dont know if I can justify the expense out of my own budget.
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I wanted to update this thread with some information I had recently. I was experiencing serious issues with a book project Iāve been doing in ProCreate - the psd files exported from ProCreate just did not look even remotely the same on my computer as they did on the iPad (strong loss of contrast).
I wrote to the ProCreate team and shared one of the files with them.It turns out, the CYMK profiles used by ProCreate do not compare with the CYMK profiles installed on a computer (the ones that drive the printers) and my files were set up in one of ProCreateās new and shiny CYMK profiles. Thereās also no way to change the color profile of an image in ProCreate once youāve decided it at the onset, so I cannot convert those images to a RGB profile to export the PSD files without damage.
I have a very lengthy workaround that allows me to preserve the image quality, although it will take me at least 10 hours to export, re-convert and color balance the images of that project. Obviously, thereās no way I can share them directly from ProCreate with the art director: he will end up with the same issue on her end: not pretty.
This confirms the point I mentioned above: ProCreate is not really a professional tool, and if youāre dealing with a team including an art director, book designer, pre-press expert in printer on the other side, youāll need to anchor to Photoshop at some point or other.
It remains a great digital painting tool, and as long as youāre not dealing with transferring your files for print, itās great to work with. If you need to create files to spec, you can still work in ProCreate, but you need Photoshop at the end to finalize. -
@smceccarelli I'm really sorry to hear you had so much trouble.
After seeing how bad my images look on my computer and any other device, I've decided to use procreate only as a sketchpad to work out ideas.
I'm curious about how you'll change your process in light of this? Moving to photoshop really early in the process? Have you gotten through the workaround yet?
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@smceccarelli man, this is super disappointing as I just bought an iPad and procreate. I have photoshop but only a plastic tablet to work on. At least I can work out my ideas and drawings on it.Thanks for posting this important information
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X-rite colorimeters work on iPad to calibrate the colour on your device using an app called ColorTRUE. Would that help get the colours to match your monitor? I haven't used it myself but I understand its possible to load up ICC profiling and print simulation. I was planning on buying one (x-rite) as I currently have a Spyder colorimeter but would like to have one that is compatible with my iPad.
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I've actually wondered about this with the contests and anything I post online. As an amateur, if I do anything digital, I work entirely in Procreate. If it looks ok on my Macbook, can I assume that the colors are going to be ok on everyone's computer? I know they may not be perfectly accurate, but are they good enough for SVS contests and instagram?
Laurie DeMott
instagram.com/demotlj -
@demotlj Yes. ProCreate, as I mentioned, is an exceptionally good and powerful digital painting tool, and perfectly good for anything that remains in the digital world. The issues concern exclusively projects that are intended for print and need to be transferred to a pre-press team. For that, youād still need Photoshop, though it can be a part of the process only: it does not mean that the images have to be done in Photoshop from start to finish.
Iād also say itās not an issue if youāre doing digital prints, for example for an Etsy shop. It becomes limiting only if you need to create CYMK files for a publisher. -
@sigross No, this has nothing to do with color calibration. You also cannot install ICC profiles on the iPad. ProCreate launched CYMK profiles on the new update, but it turns out theyāre just āsimulationsā - they donāt compare 1:1 with the āproperā CYMK profiles used by Photoshop and by printing presses.
Simply put: donāt work in CYMK on ProCreate: itās pointless. If you need to deliver CYMK profiles you need still to do the conversion on a computer in Photoshop (or equivalent).
Working in RGB is fine - and also transfers perfectly well to Photoshop.
