I spent a bit of time playing with my new iPad, an iPad Air 3, and Apple Pencil (1st generation). Actually, I spent tons of time comparing models, assessing my needs, evaluating the best discount options, talking with friends about their experiences, and test driving the iPad Pro and Air, with Pencils 1 and 2, in store, before I finally made my decision. So while it may look like I was decisive when I finally knew what I wanted, I certainly did my due diligence.
There wasn’t a whole lot of difference between Pencils 1 and 2, after trying each for a few minutes. I do find the Pencil 1 to be a bit heavy, but I figure I’ll just get used to it. The responsiveness is just fine, and I’m really enjoying trying it out in Procreate.
I did get an Apple cover for it, which will make it light to carry when I don’t need the Pencil, and then I have a Galaxy-print Fentie cover with magnetic keyboard and slot for Pencil for when I’m on the go with my gear. (Thanks to Dani Jones @danidraws for the tip–she uses a Fentie too, which I saw on Twitter.)
I did a bunch of testing of the sketching and inking tools, which I figure I’ll use most often. I like the Derwent pencil best for sketching, because it feels most like a real pencil, and I love the Studio pen for inking–so fluid, and responsive to pressure! It’s probably my favourite inking tool to date, across all mediums. For painting, I tried out gouache, airbrush, and Studio pen (for solid colours).
It’ll take some practice and fine-tuning, of course, but I think I’m really going to enjoy drawing digitally with the Pencil. It’s certainly a lot faster than using my Wacom tablet, and more fun (faster even than using a pen with traditional media, and I love the brush-like quality of the Studio pen).
I still use my Wacom tablet for Illustrator, and Photoshop for editing and file manipulation. It’s lovely to have a new tool to do work on the go, for when I’m traveling, away from my desktop, or really just need to get out of the house.
Let me know what you think, if you have any comments or questions.
