Different steps and slowly making progress…actually that sounds if I have an overall goal which couldn’t be further from the truth. That being said there is one over arching goal…have a great bank holiday and I can’t think of a better way of spending the bank holiday than creating art.
Mission Accomplished.
So two days have passed since starting my new life with my Fruit Based Pencil and a few things are starting to coalesce: Firstly the iPad Pro is huge in comparison to my old iPad. I know this should be filed under the ‘stating the bleeding obvious’ but it is a real culture shock. The one thing this has proven is that it you want to use the pencil then the small iPad just isn’t the way forward so the launch of the smaller iPad pro by Apple may well be a big mistake; Secondly, the pencil is just a little awkward to have around. It is great to use but then where do you put it when not using? One tip I have found is that as it is magnetic it can stick to the official iPad Pro cover. Whilst this works it is still a little precarious and this is, after all, an expensive pencil to replace. I have some ideas how to get around this but time will tell whether it works.
As for the drawing/art experience well I have spent most of the weekend trying to get my head around Procreate so I can only talk about that. (I did spend 5 minutes looking at the Adobe Illustrator App but as you can see this was only the most rudimentary of examination!)
Procreate is a really complicated package for the money you pay and you need to spend time to try and get the best from it. I really don’t intend to write a review of the software as that is really pointless as the only thing that really matters is whether you, as the user, can produce what you want with the app. To date I am still a little disappointed with what I have made but then again when isn’t that the case. If you want to use Procreate then be prepared to have to put the time in but it is worth it. As for the pencil, well they seem to have been made for one another. Again I am still learning my way around the best ways to use the pencil but I think these two are a marriage made in heaven – lets hope it doesn’t end a bitter divorce.
One final thing I want to mention and app I have discovered called Astropad. By the magic of Wifi connectivity it allows you to mirror your Mac on you iPad. This means you are able to get around one of the really frustrating things about the iPad, especially when compared to the Microsoft Surface Pro, you can’t run full blown programs, such as Illustrator or Photoshop on your iPad. With this app, I believe as I haven’t actually tried it out, you control you Mac from your iPad thus turning you iPad into a graphics tablet for your Mac. It sounds great but whether it works is another matter and I guess I won’t be trying it any time soon as already have a Wacom connected to the Mac but it is worth noting for future reference.
So two days in the pencil is great as is the hardware required to use it. I still have a great deal to learn about the pencil but I guess the more time I put into it the better things will come out…lets hope.
Happy Easter.
Practice makes perfect so the old wives or husband’s tail goes…well this is the result of today’s practice. One of the great features of Recreate is that it makes a little films of your progress…unfortunately I have yet to work out exactly how to post this into a WordPress blog…a bit of rummaging around in the Internet is required me thinks.
So just over 24 hours into my new love affair and how are things between me and my fruit based pencil? Well I’m still in the infatuation stage so things are just great. Each time I use the wonderful piece of kit I learn new things. For those of you who have used a stylus on an iPad you will know that they can be just a little tricky, although things have improved markedly since the iPad was first launched they do tend to be a little hit and miss. My new pencil just isn’t like that – but then again given the mount of money I have spent so that I can use the pencil it shouldn’t be!
I have also decided to take the plunge and teach myself how to use Procreate as this seems to be artists app of choice and so far after a few gremlins I have started to see the power of the app. I also have Adobe’s drawing apps on my iPad as well so it will be interesting to see how they compare once I start to fell I have a level of proficiency with Procreate.
Happy Days!
Try to understand Procreate and the pencil at the same time is pushing my little grey matter to the edge. The one thing that I do like is that you can start to experiment far more or perhaps I’m just feeling a little more adventurous?
There are sometimes when you just have to take the plunge and splash a bit of cash…this is the first painting I’ve made with my new pencil from you know who using Procreate. Like everything these things time to bed in but I have to say it’s an interesting start.
So just for a moment the real world gate crashed fantasy and Donald J. Trump’s reaction really wasn’t that good. I am not sure who is advising him, other than himself, but at times like this you have to remember that you are in some small way talking for the United States of America rather than some reality TV show on steroids. Instead of statesman’s like condolences he offered the thought that you should torture people or I think his actual words were “…do what it takes…” to get the information which just about sums up his understanding of how the real world works.
You can build as many walls as you like but you can’t stop the real world getting over them and I think Trump might be aware of this but he is seems to be stuck in permanent shout mode. What is the latest nonsensical thing can I say to get a headline or two? Well iff you are the President of the United States of America the world looks to you to be bigger and better than that or at least appear to be. On yesterday’s evidence Donald J. Trump failed that test by some wide margin.
You don’t mess with this girl…and this town really ain’t big enough for the both of us.
What I am about to ask is utter nonsense and frankly quite insulting to many Americans but is ‘the Donald’ the most dangerous man in the world? Of course he is not, at the moment, but before you dismiss this as a typical pieces of America bashing consider this…there is only one thing that the President of the United States can do without having to ask or consult anyone else – declare war. Now with that in your mind consider what Donald Trump is likely to do? Not scared enough yet? Well consider just one more thing…the President of the United States is the only person who can launch the vast array of nuclear weapons that the United States holds. Donald Trump with that power…that is the stuff of real nightmares.
Of course the Donald we have seen so far may be just an act designed to get him chosen by the Republicans and when it comes to the General Election he may well change his stripes. But I would bet that more than one leader of a country who is on friendly terms with the USA would be wondering where all this might end if there really is a President Donald J. Trump.
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