Pencil
Mighty fine Paper, meet Pencil. FiftyThree’s stunning new stylus enables you to capture ideas in style
the iPad has become the digital sketchbook of choice for many artists and FiftyThree’s Paper is right up there with the best apps to use for quickly getting down a concept or even finishing a piece, be it on the move or in the studio. The elegance and simplicity of Paper, which combines a number of refined art tools along with an innovative sketchbook-like interface, has made it a firm favourite among artists. And now, with the appropriately named companion stylus – Pencil – there’s even more reason to love the app.
Pencil is a beautiful device. Square and angular yet ergonomic, it takes the tried-and-tested form of a carpenter pencil. And it feels wonderful. In fact, it’s as if you’re holding a real pencil rather than a Bluetooth-enabled digital device. After putting Pencil’s tip to the screen in Paper, the device is paired. You can sketch, scribble and then flip it over to erase without changing tools – just like you would with your Wacom stylus. We couldn’t test all the features because we don’t have iOS 8 yet, but Apple promises it will add surface pressure, meaning you can use the fine tip of Pencil for details and the angled edge for broader strokes. Also neat is the fact that it knows whether Pencil or your hand is touching the screen.
Pencil is tool-sensitive in Savage Interactive’s Procreate 2.1, with other apps coming soon. And of course it will work as a normal stylus with any art app; you just won’t be making the most of it. Charge-wise, you simply pop out the battery and plug it into a USB port. Ninety minutes will give you about a month of use. We’re impressed.