Device question

lmrush

So I work on a large all in one PC. But sometimes I just want to curl up on the couch and color/paint on my lap. What small inexpensive device would allow me to have my adobeCS/PS program and work with my Wacom bamboo? Thanks!

RobinSlee

@lmrush it doesn't have to be a separate device and your bamboo, instead you could get an older model laptop with built in stylus. I'm out at the moment, but I will post a model number for you later as to what I have.

lmrush

@RobinSlee Thank you so much!

Kelly Lane

Im about to get one of these for just the purpose your describing, looks really convenient. If you have the funds I think it is the way to go for portable digital drawing capability.

lmrush

@Kelly-Lane sorry I am a little green on this issue can you use adobe PS on that? Sorry if that is a stupid question!

Kelly Lane

@lmrush you can use procreate http://procreate.si and then upload any files to photoshop on your laptop or main device to work on at home. not sure of photo shop has an iPad app. Watch Will's drawing/ painting with the iPad pro its very cool. https://www.svslearn.com/classDetail/-K6eC68B6sGMzD-GTTga
Learn how to use the iPad Pro to go from concept to drawing, to finished digital painting.
In this tutorial you will be shown the major tools in Procreate following the official Procreate PDF. Will Terry demonstrates how he uses some of the tools to create drawings and digital paintings. Then you will be guided through two very different demo approaches to create print ready illustrations.

Some of what you will learn:
How to navigate Procreate’s gallery and sharing tools
How to use layers, brushes, modifying brushes, perspective guides, smudge, straight line, color picker, swatches, - pressure curve, eye dropper, hue saturation, transform, lasso, masks, and much more.
How to choose a proper pixel size for your canvas
Digital pencil techniques.
Finishing an illustration with digital colored pencils.
Finishing a digital painterly painting.
What you need:
An iPad Pro
Apple pencil
Procreate app. (You can still benefit if you have a regular iPad but will have a harder time getting the same results...other pressure sensitive tablets will work if you can get the Procreate app on them) If you have any questions for Will about this class, email him at: will@willterry.com

Kelly Lane

from what Ive seen you can create finished images with procreate as well. I plan on using the iPad for convenient mobile drawing. I have a wacom cintique 13" that I use with my laptop also, but its a bit clunky to carry around.

smceccarelli

The iPadPro with ProCreate and the Apple Pencil allows you to do finished artwork with a device that fits in a handbag. I cannot recommend it enough - for me it surpasses any other mobile solution for convenience. Will Terry has a video where it compares it with the Surface and with the Cintiq Companion, he does a very extensive review of the three.
The files can be exported in Photoshop format with all the layers. You cannot however import Photoshop files, so it works only one way. ProCreate is an exceptionally good painting and drawing software, but it is important to keep in mind that it is not Photoshop and never will be. I have done a video about the differences between the two softwares here: ProCreate Illustration

There is no Photoshop mobile version - it only works on laptops or desktops, or devices with an equivalent processor (like the Surface). You can theoretically connect the iPad with a desktop via Bluetooth and mirror the computer´s screen on the iPad - but I have never tried it, so I am not sure how well that works....

evilrobot

I guess I'll be the odd man out on the Ipad pro...I could never get use to the rubber tip on the pencil and the fact I couldn't use photoshop on it was pretty much a deal breaker for me. I paid around $1150.00 for mine when it came out and I ended up trading it for a cintiq because I just couldn't get a feel for it. The cheapest route is probably what has already been suggested a small laptop and wacom tablet...but also you can get good deals on used devices if you keep your eye out.

lmrush

@Kelly-Lane Thank you thank you!

lmrush

@smceccarelli Awesome thanks!

lmrush

@evilrobot Thanks for that I will have to do some soul searching.....

RobinSlee

@lmrush HI, I have a Fujistsu Lifebook T5010. I bought it second hand on ebay for around £100 (GBP). I have photoshop cs2 installed, along with a couple of other light weight painting programs. The screen can swivel around and lie flat over the keyboard. It comes with its own stylus that has 256 levels of pressure sensitivity. It works great for sketching and moderately sized images. It has 4gb of ram and the battery life is pretty decent considering. Being a laptop, it is heavier than an ipad, but as it is running windows 7 I am able to do most of my normal stuff too (web browsing, office stuff, etc). Importantly it is the non-touch version. This means that only the pen will register on the screen, not the palm of my hand or my fingers resting on the screen. Depending on your budget, and you needs, it might be worth looking into one of these? Heres an amazon listing, but they no longer sell them. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujitsu-VFY-T5010MF031FR-Lifebook-FPCM11323/dp/B001LNN7UA and some ebay listings. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xfujitsu+lifebook+t5010.TRS0&_nkw=fujitsu+lifebook+t5010&_sacat=0 I hope it helps?

lmrush

@RobinSlee Thanks so much!

corykerr

@lmrush I just got back from Adobe Max and got to try out a few of the devices coming out soon. If you can swing it, the new portable Wacom cintiq coming out is absolutely phenomenal. I hated the surface pro for a number of reasons (no tilt recognition, rubber tip, 1/8 of,the pressure sensativity of Wacom, etc). The iPad Pro seems cool, but doesn't run PS and has a rubber tipped stylus.

There are a few things that claim to track your pen/pencil on paper and digitize it, but I haven't seen decent/accurate results on any of those yet (I haven tried them all)

lmrush

@corykerr Sounds awesome! Do you mind sharing how much?

lmrush

@corykerr It is ok just googled the price around $800-when does the new one come out?

corykerr

@lmrush I didn't catch a price and they just said "soon" for a release. Wacom is in the higher end of the market for sure. I was ruined for low end stuff when I picked up a used Cintiq on ebay. Everything else I've tried seems vastly inferior, but maybe I wouldn't notice if I hadn't tried the top of the line first?

I've found that a good way to get a cheaper version of a wacom is wait until they release something new and shiney and then jump on ebay to buy the slightly used "outdated" model from all the people who have to have the newest stuff.

lmrush

@corykerr That is a fantastic idea, thank you so much for your time!

nicklewis750

@lmrush I also have the iPad Pro 12.9 and have really liked it so far! Most of the issues for me has just been the finding what style I like to render color in digitally.

Another thing to consider: While I really like the Procreate app everyone is mentioning, there is also an app called Astropad. What that does is mirror your desktop/laptops screen on to your iPad (only for iOS) and allows your to use your computer's Adobe programs with your iPad screen with the Pencil's pressure sensitivity and all. The app can work with a USB cord or over WiFi.

Check it out here. http://astropad.com/