Testing the Clip Studio Paint App for the iPad Pro

Clip Studio Pro App for the iPad

Here is a quick demo of the inking and coloring from the Clip Studio Paint app on the iPad Pro. I must say it functions just as it should. ( so far! ) Everything is extremely similar to the desktop version. Probably the most difficult thing to figure out was the import/export of the files. ( Quick note - if you are running Manga Studio 5 EX you can open your files on the iPad but not from the Clip Studio Version back to MS5. Just use PSD's until you get the updated software for your desktop as a work around. )

Really nice to be able to sit back on the couch and work on any of my fully layered MS5 files. Will definitely help with the Blackstone comic. That alone will justify the monthly costs I guess but still not happy with it. I just feel too many of these companies are trying to justify monthly memberships. I don't want to get on a negative tangent about that but I think they should do a one time purchase where you would either pay for major updates or a monthly subscription where all updates and support is included. Just my 2 cents of course!

I will keep testing this app out and let you know what I find and videos will be on the way. I must admit I am pretty impressed with its ability to run like a full blown program on the iPad Pro. I imagine others such as Photoshop will follow soon. I will also say that Procreate does handle the sketching process a bit better in my opinion but it is still a bit early to be sure about that. The inking and watercolor brushes on Clip Studio Paint are just as amazing as they are on the desktop version so that is pretty freaking cool!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Good luck with your art and more on the way! ;)

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

http://www.ramstudioscomics.com

Want to learn how to draw and paint using Manga Studio 5 ( Clip Studio Paint )

Check out my Udemy course here - https://www.udemy.com/digitally-painting-amazing-fantasy-art-in-manga-studio-5/?couponCode=RAMCOMICSBLOGPOST

My Review of the FlexiSpot M2 35" Sit/Stand Desktop

My Review of the FlexiSpot M2 35" Sit/Stand Desktop

I am currently reviewing the FlexiSpot M2 35" Sit/Stand Desktop. It is an amazing product for people that are at their workstations for long hours. As artists and designers we find ourselves in this situation a lot.

I have been known to draw for 14 hours on some days when deadlines are looming and a setup like this can be a lifesaver. Whenever my lower back would start to hurt I would have to stop and walk around for a while before I could get back to drawing but now with this setup I can simply adjust it to stand up and alleviate my back pain. The health benefits to a product like this one are huge and the productivity is amazing as well because you stay in the moment of creating longer.

It has a huge range of lift to the unit and the real benefit is that it lifts everything together in one motion and it is completely stable so that you can draw and work without the distraction of your devices moving.

They also gave ample room to the work area and the keyboard tray to house multiple devices like you see here. I have my Mac keyboard, mouse, and Intuos 4 with room to spare. They even incorporated a slot for your phone or iPad to sit. Kudos! ;)

This is the FlexiSpot M2 35" Sit/Stand Desktop. They have larger and smaller unit to suit your needs. They are built well and there is only a small amount of assembly that took me about 15 minutes to complete. I give this product a 5 star review from my perspective as an artist/designer.

If you are interested in this device you can get yours here - 

http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B=943058&U=1489112&M=68890&urllink=

I am here if you have any questions about this product and good luck with your art!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.ramstudioscomics.com

Drawing Batman on the iPad Pro using Procreate

Here is a fan art piece of Batman that I did entirely on the iPad Pro with the software Procreate.  And I must tell you it feels very natural to traditional drawing methods.  I am now hooked with this device.  It follows me everywhere.  With the Apple Pencil I can sketch on the go and they did a great job with the battery life for both the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.

Plus Procreate is no slouch either.  It supports exporting to PSD's which keeps all your layers intact.  It has some of the best perspective drawing tools that I have found thus far.  And it even saves a time lapse video with every drawing that you create.  For an app it sure seems like a powerhouse of a program.

So now I am doing my best to create full comic pieces and I will even start drawing some of my panels to my Blackstone comic on here next.  I was really just looking for a way to do basic sketches on the go, but the more I use it the more I feel that it may be fully capable of completing finished works of art!

Probably the best thing about the entire process is that it is so responsive.  I don't feel any lag whatsoever and the Apple Pencil feels more natural than any other stylus I have tried.  It also feels like it is directly on the surface versus some tablets where the pen tip has a small gap from the drawing area because of the screen thickness.

All and all I must give this setup a 9 out of 10!  I would give it a perfect 10 but Procreate doesn't open PSD's yet and it doesn't have primitive shapes which I think is just a tiny bit silly.  You can create custom brushes to get around that issue or download them.  But I think it they add a few more features this will be a lot closer to a desktop experience on the go!

Thanks for reading and more on the way real soon!

Get Your iPad Pro here - http://amzn.to/2bFsSMK

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

http://www.robertmarzullo.com

http://www.patreon.com/robertmarzullo

http://www.youtube.com/c/robertmarzullo

Drawing Comics on the iPad Pro by Robert A. Marzullo

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.

You can use my affiliate link here to check out the iPad Pro on Amazon -

http://amzn.to/29I4VjG

For Video Tutorials and My Custom Brushes please visit -

http://www.gumroad.com/robertmarzullo

Manga Studio 5 EX Vs. Sketchbook Pro 7 - Review

I was asked to do a comparison between these two immensely powerful programs.  I have done plenty of videos on each of these and their usefulness to creating comics.  But now it is time to put them head to head and figure out which software will reign supreme in the ever changing apocalyptic    world of digital art!  Was that too intense?  Yeah, I think it was.  Let me take it down a notch or two. ;)

I think both of these programs are amazing in their own areas.  I actually feel like a wouldn't want to part with either one of them.  I love the fluidity of sketching in Sketchbook Pro 7.  It feels as if my digital pen has wings.  Gliding through the drawing process as if angels were guiding my every move.  Alright maybe not that nice but it works really well.  And the perspective tool in Sketchbook Pro 7 is pretty amazing.  It allows you to draw perspective in a more interactive way but does lack in the area of being able to change your perspective rulers from one to another.  You get the one and simply have to move it around.  Come on guys, you can do better than that.  Then the only other thing that Sketchbook Pro really needs is the ability to add separate windows to its interface.  As an artist that is very important to have and this program simply does not have it.  Other than those couple of things it is an awesome program.  It has the most streamline interface that allows you to get into the drawing process and stay there.  Your not busy trying to figure out complex software architecture.  You can simply create! ( Kudos! )

As far as Manga Studio 5 EX is concerned, it is loaded with everything and the kitchen sink.  No seriously, I think there is a kitchen sink in there somewhere.  It is probably in the 3D models portion of the program.  That program does more than I will probably ever find out but I will have lots of fun trying to learn it all.  Every time I turnaround I learn something new that it can do.  It is basically like if Photoshop and Sketchbook Pro got drunk one night and had a baby.  That baby would be Manga Studio 5 EX.  Sorry for the bad metaphor but its all I got. ;)

Manga Studio has a lot of the image editing capabilities that Photoshop has along with the drawing, inking, and perspective rulers that make for a great comic book creation software.  And lets not forget the ability to save out a single PDF file for an easy upload of your digital comic. ( Thanks Guys! )

So both of these programs have a lot of possibilities and to tell you the truth I need them both.  There are just certain aspects of each that won't allow me to kick the other one out of bed.  Not just yet anyways.  We will have to see what the updates bring us in the future.

If you are thinking about getting Manga Studio 5 here is my Amazon affiliate link....

http://amzn.to/1Vpzm2y

If you are thinking about getting Sketchbook Pro 7 here is my Amazon affiliate link....

http://amzn.to/1SMRAEt

To watch me review some of these features you can watch the video here......

https://youtu.be/5E7mIocKghk

As always, thanks for your time and keep drawing, keep having fun!

And for my Tutorials and Custom Brushes please visit my Gumroad Store here -

www.gumroad.com/robertmarzullo

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.robertmarzullo.com

www.youtube.com/c/robertmarzullo