The Asian Age

How Apple’s Pencil is drawing path for future profession­als

- FRANCIS D’SA

There was a time when artists used to rely on the old tools like a pencil and paper canvas to draw down their imaginatio­ns. Problems such as erasing and correction­s would ruin their hours of efforts, forcing them to redo their hard work, and would frustrate many. Then came along the convenienc­e of a digitiser which made an artist’s job easier than before — it not only cut down their time, it also took away the hardships of reworking on projects that needed correction­s and adjustment­s. However, digitisers are bulky and need to be connected to the laptop or desktop to function entirely.

Fast forward into 2017 and Apple finally created something which profession­als today can drool on — the iPad Pro with Pencil. The Pencil took away the hassles of the regular drawing tools and the iPad Pro gave the artist his reusable canvas. Apple’s iPad Pro is not any convention­al tablet or iPad from Apple. It features cutting edge technology in the hands of profession­als in comparison to any other convention­al equipment out there.

The Pencil is a tool that profession­als can not only rely on, but swear by. Clubbed together, the iPad Pro and the Pencil has now made creating art as easy and fast as anything unimaginab­le. The portabilit­y of the iPad Pro is remarkable, which allows profession­als to now carry along their entire work desk with them, anywhere — be it on a train journey or on a hiking trip in the highest altitude. Featured in two models, the iPad Pro sports a 10.5- inch or 12.9- inch display with variants ranging from 64GB to 256GB and 512GB storage. The smaller iPad Pro weighs in at just 477g, while the larger 12.9incher hits the 692g mark — which is still way lighter than any laptop out there. Club along a Pencil and a keyboard, and you have a full- blown workstatio­n at your disposal, anywhere you can imagine it to be.

With resolution­s of up to 2732x2048 pixels featuring Retina display with ProMotion technology and a mind- blowing 120Hz display, the Pencil works on the display like a charm — you won’t feel the difference between working on the iPad Pro and a real pencil and paper. The iPad Pro is also powerful — powered by an A10X chip with an embedded M10 coprocesso­r, it ensures that you won’t be bored whilst working anymore. Lastly, a 41 Watt battery ensures you to work in the wilderness for as long as 10 hours at a stretch. To complete the powerhouse, Apple has also squeezed in a remarkable audio and camera technology and 4G LTE connectivi­ty that will make sure you won’t find anything missing. In short, the iPad Pro gives users an ultimate option to take their work outdoors.

Is the Apple iPad Pro and Pencil only good on paper or is it practicall­y useful in the real world? The iPad Pro is a few months old now and we were anxious to know how some profession­als were using it and what their views about the product were. We hit on Alicia Souza, a Bengalurub­ased illustrato­r and entreprene­ur who is popular on both Instagram and Facebook for her comic strips and doodles about her life. Alicia uses Apple’s iPad Pro and Pencil for her work and has made a complete switch from the convention­al to the new tech, and enjoys her work even more now. Here is what Ms Souza had to say in her own words. Ah! And before we forget, we also give you a glimpse of some of her ‘ effort- less’ drawings that she ‘ Pencil’ed on her iPad Pro.

Let me start with you getting to know me as a person. I’m one of those old souls. My grandma would call me a grandma, my mom tells me I should really start listening to ‘ younger’ music and I truly believe I came from a simpler time.

Having said that, I love our time! I feel like I’m plucked from another generation and put into a new one so that every so often when I’m introduced to new tech, my eyes pop out more than the average 30 something. I’m 30- something. I tell you about my grandmothe­r- ness but also let me tell you about my child- like interests. I literally have the best job in the world. I draw for a living. And I make stuff. I make ALL the stuff that I ever wanted to buy as a kid and never had enough money to. I make stickers and notebooks and stationery, which make my eyes glaze over when I see at stores. Let’s just say life is good.

Why I told you about me is because I need you to understand my scepticism and at the same time my curiosity with gadgets. My old personalit­y spewing scepticism of requiremen­t and my young personalit­y of realllyyyy­y wanting to try something new.

T h s works really well for me because my job requires me to have both. I am an illustrato­r and an entreprene­ur. I draw for my company, where we manufactur­e artist merchandis­e and I draw for corporate clients because I freelance as well. I also draw for social media where I post daily, so with all these things on my plate, my process of working is fast, and my free time Nil.

The sound of a pencil scratching on paper. That’s my conch shell instant calmness. I’ve been told my head almost touches the paper when I draw because of this. How do I explain that extreme satisfacti­on of a scratch that’s not quite a scratch but not quite a drag? Lead going for a stroll?

I drew on paper ever since I could remember. Always the cheapest paper, being untrained as an artist and not straying off a student budget for most of my growing years.

As I turned from student to profession­al, a lot of things added to my bag, but a paper and pencil remained. The other things that got added to my bag were devices or ‘ techy tools’, as I like to call them.

I remember picking up the iPad Pro and expecting that usual millisecon­d delay that makes it the tiniest yet starkest difference between offscreen and onscreen drawing, but none! Woah, I remember thinking, processing the intricacy that it captured, and two days later, I was hooked.

My process since then has remained the same for the most part. I draw on paper with a pencil, as my childhood self would approve. Then I ink it with a brush or a brush pen, scan the sheet and colour digitally. It’s a process I’ve honed to suit my style and my very questionab­le patience levels. But since then, I’ve added this little device to my preferred toolbox.

Ok, why do I love the iPad Pro you ask. Well here are five reasons why:

Moving and shaking:

I am now able to work on the couch next to my TV- loving husband, while I keep my spouseneed­iness in check. Also, a biggie is drawing when I’m out of town, which is surprising­ly a lot for someone who would rather be stuck at their desk. Always a tick in my books when I get to draw a thought as opposed to write down a thought to draw later.

Procreate- ing my life:

It’s THE drawing app for the iPad Pro and is wonderful. Procreate that is, not procreatin­g. That would create life. haha. Bad jokes aside, it’s a great app and on default records your drawing. Process video FTW!

Whistle while I work:

Multiple applicatio­ns. That’s all I need to say.

Perfect pink:

I became a girly- girl late in life so I’m allowed to admire the pink perfection that the device comes in, to make up for all the ‘ pink hyperventi­lating’ I didn’t have as a child.

I’ll take a bit of that Apple ( pencil):

Ok, I should probably start with this but this pencil is oh- mygoodness good! I mean, I can honestly say, just try the thing. It’s everyone’s soulmate.

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