Graphic Artists...need advice on graphics tablets

[Hector]

I'm shopping for a graphics/drawing tablet.

Already had a couple of Intuos...I'm done with those. I even have a new unsued Intuos 4 in its original box with case...and accessories...I'm going to list that for sale soon.

I want to be able to directly draw on the tablet.

Many good ones out there, the Wacom Cintiq, Surface Pro 4, iPad Pro, Yiynova, etc...

Even after watching dozens of YouTube videos of them, comparing them, pros and cons, etc...I'm still confused...

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Cintiq+vs+surface+pro+vs+iPad+vs+yiynova

I'm hoping some of the pros here can chime in.

I will mostly be working developing comic strips, children's illustrations, logos, etc...

Here are my needs:

1. Portability is preferred, but not a deal breaker
2. Be able to trace scanned artwork, photographs
3. Be able to transfer to Photoshop and Illustrator
4. Advise on the feel of the tablet, example, Cintiq's more textured surface as opposed to the glassy screens of both the Surface Pro and iPad Pro. How they lag. Palm rejection
5. Best bang for the buck...but again, not a deal breaker

I have a suped up Mac Mini...want to see if a Cintiq and Surface Pro works well with my Mini. Obviously the iPad does. But what worries me about the iPad is the iOS system. Why can't Apple just equip their tablets with their bloody OS X system? I don't think iOS works well the full Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator programs, doesn't support Flash, that's for sure.

Please guide me and help me decide which one to get.

Thanks!

[Hector]

Many artists say the iPad Pro trumps both the Cintiq and Surface Pro in pure pencil drawing and sketching.

Here's one of those reviews:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMA25CqKcn8

That's pretty amazing.

But according to that artist, the Cintiq is better for painting.

My question...can I transfer an iPad Pro drawing into my computer's Photoshop and Illustrator?

[megoapesnut]

This isn't going to help you much Hec, but I gotta shamefully admit that I like the Surface Pro 4 and even the Surface Book better than the iPad. I tried an iPad Pro and it was too big for a tablet only device. The iPad Air is a bit too small. I mostly use tablets for reading books, email and internet. The Surface Pro 4 is actually the perfect tablet for me. This size and shape is exactly what I want. I love the kickstand for reading books. However, this left me with 3 devices. I have a tricked out 15" Macbook Pro that I use for all my heavy duty work (photoshop, video editing, etc.). I had a 12" Macbook that I take with me to work for email, internet, note taking, etc. And I had a Surface Pro for book reading and other tablet stuff. So I gave it some thought and decided to get a Surface Book which is a laptop AND a tablet. I can use it in laptop mode for my note taking, etc. And then I can disconnect the tablet portion for tablet stuff and I can also spin the tablet part around and use the keyboard part as a kickstand for reading. It's a decent compromise and now I only have 2 devices. The problem is that I have to use Windows (Arghhhh), which isn't a big deal in tablet mode but it's a bit buggy in laptop mode. Having said all of that, I did hear that the iPad Pro was awesome for sketching.

[Hector]

Since you are a Mac user. Have you ever done artwork on the Surface Pro, them transfer the files to a Mac?

Can you download the Adobe software like Photoshop and Illustrator into the Surface Pro? And if yes. Would they be compatible with the Mac's Adobe software?

So many questions...

[Hector]

New gathered information...

Mmm, just found this bit of information from a youtuber poster...

You can add an app called Astropad for the iPad Pro. it will mirror the screen on your Mac, which bypasses the limitations of iOS software and enables you to use the full versions of desktop programs on iPad Pro. it will replace the Cintiq 13...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_y6XVlm3I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoVgZGKZOzE&ebc=ANyPxKrJwQZO6M49-db7elfUVoIPjpmi9rHkokuB2fOzMwrhDd4jEO6hCXYYCWg1LI3F7iXJNgqTiYljDzBtmo0Vs3igI50k4A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsxcPKb9-CM

Comparison of all three tablets...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlspvcF-DKs&ebc=ANyPxKrWe0XWkQ6d05LOJjoHb3Zs2l7P91syOde3u9oBbCVBAgU3nHlDIZmJNzrf4nNvnyjfMCBC6OAvKKAgjcemYRxq1eXckQ

Also, to rid of the slick glass surface...You can get a screen protector that is designed to make the iPad screen to feel like paper.

Man, I think I'm just going to get the iPad Pro...since I already have a Mac desktop.

Damn, I just learned all this in a couple of day...

[Hector]

Check out this artist sketch a David Lynch portrait on an iPad Pro...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNMaN_Hli_U

Dude is good...I'm more of a cartoonist myself...

[megoapesnut]

Man, I think I'm just going to get the iPad Pro...since I already have a Mac desktop.

Damn, I just learned all this in a couple of day...

I think that is the best bet for you. If I had any art talent besides stick figures, I would be all over it.

[megoapesnut]

Since you are a Mac user. Have you ever done artwork on the Surface Pro, them transfer the files to a Mac?

Can you download the Adobe software like Photoshop and Illustrator into the Surface Pro? And if yes. Would they be compatible with the Mac's Adobe software?

So many questions...

Yes, I downloaded the entire creative suite to both my Surface Pro and my Surface Book. They run just like the Mac version and files are completely compatible. Had this not been the case, I would not have gone with the Book. I still think you are better off with the iPad Pro. You are looking for different functions than I was.

[johnmiic]

Guys, if you do a drawing and just save it as a .jpg or .png shouldn't it go cross platform? Also I could use some recommendations for a photo-scanner for my MacBook Pro.

[chunky B]

I have worked on wacom tablets since around 1996, both on Windows and Mac OS machines. Currently I have a intros pro and a cintiq 13 HD at home and have worked on ipad2/ipad air 2 with different styluses. At work we switched from intros to cintiq 22 HD for everything from photo clean up to illustration and I can say without a doubt I prefer the cintiqs, the combination of the pad and stylus on the cintiq gives it it's responsive feeling to the different levels of pressure you use naturally to draw, much like the newer inruos, but it is so much like drawing on paper. Plus you can find amazing brushes out there like the brushes by Kyle Webster that work flawlessly with the cintiq. The bonus is the cintiq can also act as a second monitor. I plan on replacing my inputs at home with a larger cintiq and use my cintiq 13 HD exclusively on my laptop. I have also used the cintiq with and without the gestures, I prefer without, since I tend to drag my hand.

As far as the iPads I have worked on you cannot re create that feeling that you get from working on a cintiq. I am curious about the iPad pro though, but I have a feeling it works about like what I have experienced, the stylus is trying to do all the heavy lifting of emulating the levels of pressure. You never do get that feeling of paper. I have taken sketches from the iPad to my Adobe CC apps, and if the iPad app you are using does not export directly in a format that your desktop suite reads, there is always a work around by going through the photos app or similar. On my iPad air 2 I am currently using the 53 Pencil stylus and app, mainly just for roughing out ideas, I then take that to the desktop and clean up with the cintiq. The palm rejection works fairly well when the proper stylus is paired with the app.

I would suggest, if you are near an Apple store go try out the iPad pro and their stylus, and I have seen some stores that have the surface pro set up, go give them a try, I am actually curious about those myself. In the end I think you will have a better idea of what feels right to you and then it's just coming up with a work flow you are happy with. johnmiic is correct most apps save in a .jpg, .png format so you should be good once you figure a way to transfer from pad to desktop.

Just my two cents.

[Hector]

Thanks for posting, awesome.

I've worked with Cintiqs, they are awesome graphic tablets. However, unless you get a Companion, they are not portable (and that's what I want)...and the Companion is too bulky and heavy to make it a true effective portable tablet. Plus it has poor battery life, only up to four hours max. Both the Surface Pro and iPad Pro can get you up to ten hours.

My main question and concern was if the apps were good enough to produce decent stuff...and through research, Astropad is a great way to mirror the iPad Pro to a Mac, thus making it possible for the iPad to have full Photoshop and Illustrator programs. The Surface Pro already has its proper operating system.

As far as the feel of the tablets, I know the Cintiq feels great, paper like experience...as opposed to the glassy slick surfaces of both the Surface Pro and iPad Pro. But there are specific screen protectors that will give it a textured surface...that could give it the Cintiq experience.

Anyway, sadly, I'm ruling out the Cintiq, it's just not portable, unless I go for the Companion (Cintiq Companion 2 Intel® Core™ i7 512 GB), .but at a whopping $2500 for a 13" screen, plus bulky and poor battery life, its a pass for me. I could get a Companion with lower specs cheaper...or a used model though, so price would drastically go down, but again, perhaps I could live with it being bulkier, but that darn short battery life, sort of defeats the purpose.

It's going to be between the Surface Pro and iPad Pro...and yes, I'm planning to test them both out.

Thanks, guys...much appreciated...

[Hector]

I played and tested both the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro 4 (no need for the Cintiq, as Ive already worked on that tablet before).

The iPad Pro won.

Not putting down the Surface Pro 4, it's a wonderful machine too. But the actual drawing area on the iPad was a little bigger...



And while the Surface Pro 4 has more functionality...where the iPad Pro shines is in pure drawing and illustrating...the iPencil is just flawless...and depending on the app, like Procreate, no lag whatsoever. I found the Surface Pro' stylus lagging just a tad, which annoyed me just a bit...perhaps I didn't find the right program for it. Also, using Adtropad, I can mirror the iPad Pro to my Mac desktop...take advantage of full Adobe software programs.

Again, not dissing the Surface Pro 4, great tablet. If you are not an Apple person, go for the Surface Pro.

Anyway, I almost never buy them new, especially from the Apple Store, nothing know-it-all millennial pretentious hipsters in there anyway, lol. I tested the tablets at Best Buy. I won a 20 bid auction on eBay...got a package for $450 less than at the Apple Store...still with the Apple service protection warranty, 21 out of 24 months left, yeah, baby.

I won the auction Friday, and it was in my hands the next day, Saturday.

How, you may ask? This is not a local Craigslist transaction? It was world wide eBay.

Well, the seller turned out to be from Berkeley...I live in Oakland...a 15 minute ride, lol.

Made the transaction at his home (awesome house by the way)...money had already wired through PayPal...we exchanged ID's...then proceeded to feedback one another right there, what a trip, lol. Anybody done that before? I found the experience of leaving feedback in person very strange, yet super cool as well.

Anyway, I've been playing with my new iPad Pro the last few days, what a beast, I love it.

I'm going to be selling my iPad Air soon, 32GB, cellular capable, really nice. Has never been exposed to scratches or anything, as it always has been protected by an OtterBox casing.

I'll show some pics later...

Thanks for reading...



P.S. I was also bidding on another iPad Pro auction, that one ended up $130 cheaper than mine, but I stopped bidding on that one, because it was silver with a white bezel...I wanted the space gray with the black surface, lol.

[Hector]

I'm having no issues with the glossy glass surface. I'm sketching in peace, however, a little more "toothy" textured surface might make the drawing experience even better, so I ordered a couple of anti-glare matte screen protectors. They should be arriving soon...

[Hector]

It came with the Smart keyboard and Smart Cover. No Smart back silicone casing though, but I just bought on off eBay...my iPad Pro will be well protected.

I'm not sure if I'm going to use the keyboard though...I might sell it...let me play with it more...the idea of a touch tablet with an external keyboard sounds overkill...we shall see...

[Hector]

Scott aka megoapesnut...please clear your PMs...