As the few readers who have paid any attention will know I produce a significant of ‘art’ using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and app Procreate. One the years I have used this combination to produce some of my better pieces (other views may vary). However, over the past couple of months I have noticed that I don’t seem able to make anything of the standard I did before. Somewhere along my journey I appeared to have jettisoned some part of what talent I might possess.

In a twisted inversion of the nature/nurture conundrum: Its not me its you. To add a new layer of complexity Apple introduced iPad OS 26.x in the middle of this existential crises (artistic hyperbole you may well think, probably correctly) which lead me to question whether it was me or the software? Still my problems with material produced using Procreate/Apple Pencil etc continued.

Then yet another possible solution came to mind: how about changing the tip on the Apple Pencil? The pencil is nearly 5 years old so it won’t hurt. Next problem where is the spare tip that comes with the pencil? Thankfully, my ever efficient wife came to the rescue and quickly found the tip. It seems to have made a significant difference and I have gained most of the control of the medium I had before. (1)

I’m still not sure it is exactly the same feel that I had before iPad OS 26.x and conspiratorial side of my personality suggests that this is Apple forcing me too replace my aging and very well used iPad Pro. That is another story.

However, at the moment I can say with no confidence that it was the hardware – not me… ish.

What will my next excuse be when I continue to produce crap (Again your mileage may vary)? The options are as limitless as talent is limiting.

Fn

(1) Out of interest I have just asked Google AI how frequently should the tip be replaced? The answer as of the time of publishing this post was:

Apple Pencil tips can last from a few months to several years, depending heavily on usage and screen protector type, with heavy users on matte/paper-like protectors needing replacements every few months, while light users on glass screens might go years, but generally, replacing every 1-2 years is a good rule of thumb, watch for jaggedness, reduced smoothness, or screen unresponsiveness to know it’s time.

So let that be a lesson for all of you.