Help transitioning to digital please! Best tablets to use?

jaq

@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!!

jaq

@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!

jaq

@NoWayMe lol you definitely need to start earning commissions!! How could anyone argue with a review THAT good? Thanks for the feedback

DOTTYP

@jaq Sorry to hear that it is very expensive anyway,i dont know if I can justify the expense out of my own budget.

jaq

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smceccarelli

I wanted to update this thread with some information I had recently. I was experiencing serious issues with a book project I’ve 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 ProCreate’s new and shiny CYMK profiles. There’s also no way to change the color profile of an image in ProCreate once you’ve 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, there’s 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 you’re dealing with a team including an art director, book designer, pre-press expert in printer on the other side, you’ll need to anchor to Photoshop at some point or other.
It remains a great digital painting tool, and as long as you’re not dealing with transferring your files for print, it’s 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?

Coley

@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

sigross

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.

demotlj

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?

smceccarelli

@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, you’d 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.
I’d also say it’s not an issue if you’re doing digital prints, for example for an Etsy shop. It becomes limiting only if you need to create CYMK files for a publisher.

smceccarelli

@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 they’re just “simulations” - they don’t compare 1:1 with the “proper” CYMK profiles used by Photoshop and by printing presses.
Simply put: don’t work in CYMK on ProCreate: it’s 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.

smceccarelli

@carolinedrawing I still work extensively in ProCreate -whenever I know I will be doing part of a project while not in my studio. You can transfer to Photoshop at the very end (with RGB files) without issues. This project was just unfortunate because I set up the files in CYMK on ProCreate, believing that would work out.
I have a workaround to the current issue and, while time-consuming, it’s going to be ok in the end.

demotlj

@smceccarelli Thanks. That's very helpful.

@smceccarelli Ok, I think it's possible there's is something I'm doing with the file resolution that has me disappointed in the final image, so it would be good for me to troubleshoot instead of changing my process entirely yet again. Can't thank you enough for sharing this, it's really good to know the limits of tools when I can't quite reach them myself yet.
Also, I'm sure you're helping everyone out when you give the people at ProCreate all this info, so thanks for that too.

sigross

@smceccarelli yes you can install ICC profiles on the ipad. It does AdobeRGB, sRGB and ProPhotoRGB.

smceccarelli

@sigross That’s cool...but what about the different CYMK profiles printers use?
The ProCreate’s team response to avoid the issue was to “print directly from ProCreate”...I’ll try telling that the pre-press team and the printer that they simply have to change their whole process to use my files

Nyrryl Cadiz

@smceccarelli good point

Kim Hunter

AFter reading this, I googled it. I found this printing business with a how-to. I'm exploring the cost of sending printing out compared to buying my own high end printer. https://web.printingcenterusa.com/blog/how-to-convert-rgb-to-cmyk

@smceccarelli This response makes me think they don't WANT to turn it into a professional tool...