iPad as a sketchbook?

One of my new year resolutions was to start an iPad sketchbook. Back in the day I may have said I would fill a sketchbook but a digital sketchbook is...well...endless.

First task was to find the right app.

The first one I downloaded was Art Set. It was free although now seems to be £0.69. I  wasn't expecting much and started using it for playing hangman with my friends on the plane to Mykonos last summer. However, I did take it a bit more seriously when I used it to paint my first picture. I was pretty impressed. It takes a bit of time getting used to the brushes, the finger pressure and the clever/odd way the colours mix but I really started to enjoy it and the result wasn't too dreadful. In fact it was far better than had I been using oils on canvas. And a lot less messy.

Being able to 'undo' a brush stroke is just genius although in the end I did that less and less as I saw how the colours mixed and merged to create some interesting results.

On the downside, the app design is pretty drab and clunky. Trying to find a new bit of paper, change colour, texture is a bit of an ordeal but there is lots to choose from. 

I would certainly recommend this app for a beginner iPad painter.

But what I was really looking for was to turn my iPad into a sketchbook. Recently I've noticed a couple of very neat apps popping up and my favourite by far is Paper. First off, its beautifully designed and bases its sketchbook visuals on the Moleskin design. Very user friendly, simple tools (only one comes free with the app - the others you need to buy) really satisfying watercolour textures, the pens write beautifully so you actually can use this in a sketchbook style. I took it to work and sketched a few logo ideas:

And I really started to put it too the test with some sketches from photos that I took of London over the last couple of weeks.

This one of the Gherkin was done just with my finger and although it lacks quite a bit of detail it was quick and it still manages to get the essential detail of the buildings. 

Then I thought...its time for a stylus. So I bought a Bamboo pocket stylus and so far, I'm loving it. Here's the Millennium bridge

I can now get much more detail in the image but it doesn't loose its fluidity. I have now also taken the final plunge and bought the full colour mixer so future sketchbook posts should be a bit more colourful.

More coming soon...