Here is one of my first sketches on the iPad Pro and I must say I am hooked! Right out of the box this sucker performs really well. I immediately jumped on Procreate because I had used it a few times in the past on my iPad Air but felt it was still a bit too rough with the plain stylus or my finger. But the new iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil makes all the difference in the world. I truly see myself switching this this device for at least 50% of my work flow. Let me explain why. To start I want to first say that I was saving up to get a Cintiq Companion 2 because I am huge Wacom fan which you probably already know if you watch my Youtube channel. I love their devices BUT after reading tons of reviews I was a bit skeptical on buying the Companion. ( Which you should never buy a companion. You should fall in love with someone and have a meaning relationship.....oh, sorry. That is a different type of Companion. lol ) Anyways, I am sure they are still amazing devices that will run full sized applications like Photoshop, Zbrush, Manga Studio, etc but I really just wanted portability and speed which the iPad Pro delivers all the way!
The other amazing thing about the iPad Pro is the long battery life. I can draw all day on that device without charging. You get a full 10 hours of battery life with a full charge and the Apple Pencil charges really fast! If you plug it into the iPad Pro for 15 seconds it gives you an immediate 30 minutes of use. How cool is that!?! It also runs flawless with no lag. None that I can find anyways and I work with pretty large files when I draw or paint. The other nice feature is that it is so quick to jump in and start working. No boot up times and no wait. That is huge when you are multi tasking like I am. And very important when you are drawing comics and what to quickly sketch an idea down so you don't lose it.
Now most professional artist will say, "That all sounds great but I need a full working system to do what I do." And for the most part you are probably correct. But think of it like this, if you have to lug around a full computer to do every aspect of your work then you may need to trim some fat. Drawing and painting should be a fluid process. You don't want all this other stuff in the way of your creativity and that is what the portable devices are all about. Not to mention, Procreate does an amazing job at being as powerful as Photoshop in a lot of ways. It even saves out your work in a time lapse video, so for someone like me who likes to share his work on Youtube almost daily that is a HUGE plus!
Another thing that they got right is the Apple pencil's feel. It handles like a real pencil. One of the things that I never fully enjoyed about the Wacom devices was the larger stylus. They just feel too bulky for a natural drawing experience. The Apple Pencil feels just about right.
So can I see myself drawing my comics on this device. Yep! The inking is even awesome on this device. ( That will be in an upcoming video so be sure to stop by the channel. )
I am already drawing panels from my comic on this beast and then transferring them over to my desktop to compile them in Manga Studio 5.
In closing - Will this tablet replace my Cintiq and desktop, probably not. Does it add a huge dynamic and functionality to my work flow. Damn straight skippy! If you are like me and you draw for 12 hours a day then you would love the idea of taking some of that show on the road. And this device is perfect for that! ;)
This was my very first sketch on the iPad Pro with Procreate. Just under 2 hours.
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