Thread "Best iPad drawing app" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 5:06AM, Jun. 5, 2013

So finally I got an iPad.Even though I am an 'apple faithful', or was until relatively recently, I didn't even get an iPhone until 2009, even though I worked in an apple shop.(Don't get me started on apple's corporate mentality destroying all the resellers who built the brand for them during the 80s, 90s and early noughties)

It was either buy an iPad or buy another old 17 MacBook Pro (my wife's died). So I thought, I don't really need my own 17 MBP as I do almost all of my graphics work on my iMac.

Which brings me to this post…. Which drawing app is the best for iPads? I use photoshop personally and would like something with a similar feel if possible. Any suggestions?

Thanks,CP

Posted at 6:06AM, Jun. 5, 2013

I use Sketchbook pro by Autodesk on my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. It works with the presure sensitive pen beautifully.
They make a great version of the same app for iOS devices. Even without preasure sensitivity it's still an excelent, intuative program for drawing. Photoshop on touch devices is horrible when it comes to real artwork, my advice is to avoid it.
Sketchbook pro has layers, kayer settings like multiply, you can control brush size and opacity and there are many custom brushes, you can set things so if you hold your finger on the screen it'll sample the colour from there so you can get the same on screen colour mixing you can in normal photoshop… It's pretty awesome. :)

Posted at 6:06PM, Jun. 5, 2013

G'day Ozone,
Thanks for your answer. Can you export sketchbook pro files with layers intact to tidy up in photoshop?

Posted at 9:06PM, Jun. 5, 2013

Yep you surely can! It exports a choice of PSD, JPG, and PNG files.
Very useful in that regard.
You're only limited by its max resolution. I don't know what the highest res it does for ipads.
On my tablet it's 2560 x 2560, and only 4 layers at that res. For lower resoltions you get more layers, of course.

Posted at 2:06PM, Jun. 8, 2013

I use SketchBook Pro on an iPad.
There's a lesser free version you can trial if you're unsure.
Max resolution is 1800 x 2400 with 4 layers for the pro version, and it has a good range of pens and so forth. i like it, but then I'm new to this whole drawing thing.
Here's a picture I doodled on the iPad using SketchBook Pro while manning a booth at a convention last weekend … this was my boothmate and one of his comic creations, Fungus Boy. We were selling NZ independent comics on behalf of a collective, or at least trying to sell them.

Posted at 7:06AM, Jun. 28, 2013

I'm in exactly the same boat here, so thanks for the tips! Between friends letting me try out theirs and my wife convincing me it would be the next step for my art stuff, I finally made the plunge.
I've heard that sketchbook pro does not have a magic wand tool, which if you're used to working in GIMP or photoshop sounds a little like a deal breaker to me-
I found this list of some recommended art apps, and I'll prolly cycle through them till I find my best fit. Good luck with your ipad adventures!
http://www.creativebloq.com/digital-art/art-on-the-ipad-1232669

Posted at 6:06PM, Jun. 13, 2016

Re-awakening another old thread…

After much experimentation I have settled on ProCreate. It has layers and a great range of brush tools.

When used with a Wacom stylus (hacked with special nibs) the pressure control is pretty good too. For an axample, here is a job I did for a business promoting how to defeat bacteria. You will see you can get nice line variation…

Posted at 8:06PM, Jun. 13, 2016

My tool of choice is a first gen Samsung Note tablet. It's getting long in the tooth now but I still use it for comic layouts and drawings.
This is a pic I drew on it last year:
http://ozoneocean.deviantart.com/art/Hussar-finne-521555522