Well, let me provide you a background of who I am. I am an artist who specializes in drawing portraits, illustrations and comics using traditional materials such as pencils, paints etc. on paper. I run my own Social Media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Website) to promote my artworks and spread creativity and happiness to the world around me. I always wanted to take my artworks into the next level i.e. Digital.
Flashback
When Samsung released and did a heavy advertising (I must say they did a wonderful job at it) of their Samsung Galaxy Note (first version) that came with an S-Pen, I was just amazed. Wow! Finally, someone had the guts to come up with a big screen smartphone that lets you take draw and take notes with a stylus. Note started the trend of big-screen mobile devices and it was way ahead of its time. Apple at that time sold their iPhones with 4’ screens and Samsung had clearly disrupted the smartphone market with large-screen phones.
I never owned a smartphone before and after a careful review for over a month, I finally took the plunge. I drew cartoons, rough sketches, took notes, caricatures etc. and used it heavily for 1.5 years before it got stolen and left me heartbroken. This was in 2014. After that I never owned a phone that big, and moreover not with a stylus.
Treading into Apple
I got my first Apple product, an iPhone SE last December 2017 after using various branded phones (BlackBerry, Samsung, Nokia Lumia, Xiaomi) across Android and Windows OS. I realized I wanted a small-screen phone for one-handed operability (though I have huge hands). Slowly, I became an Apple fanboy and started scouring for a product that will help me quench my long-lost thirst of owning a big screen device with a stylus. iPad Pro was out of my reach. I didn’t want to get back to Samsung considering the enormous bloatware they stuff into their devices. Android tablets were a definite no-no. I didn’t lose patience (although I was tempted to, started scouring for a second-hand Samsung Galaxy Note phone and almost bought one.) and constantly researched of alternatives that might fit my budget.
When Apple announced the new affordable iPad 2018 compatible with Apple Pencil and aimed at students and individuals, I was delighted. 15 days later, I had a brand-new iPad 2018 and an Apple Pencil in my hands. Well, what does an artist do with it? Start sketching immediately. The experience is truly surreal. There are many posts comparing iPad 2018 and iPad Pro but that’s not even a fair fight and I have never used an iPad Pro in my life. Therefore, iPad 2018 gave my first true experience of drawing on a digital platform.
I have used Wacom Bamboo graphic tablet before but I never got used to the experience of looking at the monitor and drawing on an enlarged trackpad with a stylus. Being a traditional artist all my life, I am more used to the pencil on paper experience. Plus, my wrists started aching on using Wacom over a prolonged period of time.
iPad 2018 and Apple Pencil doesn’t disappoint at all. The Apple Pencil feels fluid and great on the iPad’s surface. There are tons of free apps to begin with. I have started using the Adobe Photoshop Sketch, Tayasui Sketches and Adobe Illustrator Draw apart from the native Note app. If you are not used to the digital media, it will take a couple of days or even a day to get used to it. It took me a day’s time to get used to the workflow i.e. selecting brushes, adjusting the tip size, erasing, layers etc. It was a breeze once I got used to it.
The Apple Pencil feels like a real pencil on paper. There is a very minute lag (milliseconds) that is negligible and can be completely ignored. The A10 Fusion chip does a beautiful job of processing your rapid pencil movements and workflows in the background. The pressure sensitivity of the Apple Pencil is commendable and works flawlessly. In a couple of days, I was able to churn out my first cartoon strip on funny life experiences completely drawn on iPad 2018 using Apple Pencil. Since then, I have been sketching on it with a vengeance. It is very addictive and I have to remind myself to actually finish unfinished portrait (pencil on paper) that I have been doing since some time.
The battery life of both devices is very impressive. Continuous drawing on it for more than 2 hours and still the Apple Pencil and iPad had plenty of juice to carry on. For an average daily usage of 1.5-2 hours, I have charged just twice since getting them both and its been 10 days now.
Conclusion
If you are an artist and want to get into digital media without bombing your pockets, I will definitely recommend iPad 2018 and the Apple Pencil. For $429 dollars (Wifi, 32 Gb storage, inclusive of Apple Pencil price and exclusive of taxes) i.e. roughly Rs. 30000, you get a robust tablet device and an equally impressive stylus. I wouldn’t call it a stylus but an almost full-fledged digital pencil. Almost because I expected a functionality of using the back of the pencil as an eraser. Hmmph!
In India the iPad 2018 would cost around Rs. 28,000 and an additional Rs. 7000 for the Apple Pencil. Blame it on the import-duty. You cannot compare iPad 2018 with the iPad Pro. iPad Pro boasts of a more superior screen refresh rate, enhanced A10X Chip plus comes at a price double the iPad 2018.
Therefore, if you are a hobbyist, or a part-time freelance artist, or a aspiring professional artist, or someone like me who has done traditional art all my life and want to venture into digital art, I would definitely recommend the 6th generation iPad 2018 and the Apple Pencil. Period.
VarTOONS - Varun's Art & Toons 