Cintiq vs. Surface Pro vs. iPad Pro IMHO

(Spoiler alert: I am not trying to find an all-in-one to get digital drawing and a laptop in one. I do not own the iPad Pro yet.)

As an illustrator I use paper and pen virtually all day. 

I sketch my images first with a 2H Staedtler pencil, then go over the whole thing with a Micron, brush pen, or crow quill, dipping every 10 to 20 seconds--and praying that I do not mess up the entire time.

I love to draw, but inking is scary stuff.

A few years ago I got a 13 inch Cintiq and had big dreams of transitioning from pen and pencil at least part of the time. Fast forward to today, I still have issues.

But I am getting ahead of myself here--back to inking.

Sketching is great because of erasers. But inking makes things real, real fast.

I have screwed up too many images than I care to remember, and I DO NOT like to start over. Ink blotches, hand shakes, and just outright mess-ups are inevitable, but then some of the magic is gone and I am aggravated.

Thus the Cintiq.

In my head I could mess up all I wanted, correct it, start some areas over...you get the picture. The reality was a bit different. 

I love the actual drawing area of the Cintiq. The surface has a slightly scratchy feel, not unlike a piece of nice drawing paper. The pen itself has buttons on it that are supposed to reduce the back and forth motion of changing modes, pens, tips, etc., but I found then to be a bit cumbersome. I accidentally click them often and wish they were not so close to the tip. And speaking of the tip, there is a gap between where the tip touches the screen and the line or stroke created. My Cintiq connects with cables to my laptop and to a wall socket. Again, kind of cumbersome. Also, the 3 in 1 cord has died several times and when I try to repurchase it has been on back order for weeks and weeks, leaving me with no Cintiq. I use Photoshop with the Cintiq, and find it counter intuitive.  

I eventually went back to paper, pen, and pencil, but my original issues still bothered me.

Back to the store. I tried the Surface Pro after several designers told me it is what their companies supply them with to work. I found it similar to the Cintiq in drawing capability, but with a smaller screen. I also realized it is probably great for work because it is also usable as a laptop--no need to connect your device to another device with wires. It also uses Photoshop.

Then I tried the iPad Pro with the iPencil and it seems to be exactly what I was looking for. With many apps to make drawing, sketching, editing, and designing simple, it feels like this will be the answer to my Photoshop dislike.

There is no space between pencil tip and drawing mark. There is no lag and no visible pixels, even when I make images bigger to correct a mistake. I can easily smooth lines and correct. The iPencil, (although a separate purchase) is a great size, feel, and weight. It charges super fast. Be aware that the iPad Pro cannot handle tiffs, and has no place to store or connect the pencil. The surface is as smooth as glass, so there is no nice scratchy, paper kind of surface feel. It is light, super portable, and uses no cords. The 12 inch surface is big, and when I rested my hand there was no interference at all, the iPencil kept working fine.

I will purchase the iPad Pro today and do an updated review after I use it for a week. 

I have also discovered some very cool apps for creating and coloring. See you in a week!

xo

Rule Your Own Life

Change can be hard when you are used to living your life a certain way. Not only hard for you, but others also.

If you are used to doing everything for everyone and putting yourself on the back burner, it may come as a shock to them when they have to start putting away their own socks. Many times when we find ourselves angry and exhausted it is because we are doing things we no longer need to do. 

Yep, your 15 year old can do his own laundry.

So get used to it! 

The same goes for your art. It is your own world and you can make it any awesome way you like.

Little Ruby

 If you like black and white and red all over, go for it. Glorious colors are your thing? Don't hold back.

You do not have to try and follow someone else's style because they are popular. Make your own style, then find the people who like it. There are Facebook groups, Google hangouts, Meetups, and endless social media forms where you can find your people.

Ruby, grown up.

So stop conforming! 

Be like a comet and blaze your own trail. 

xo

Oh! Don't forget to enter the February Art Giveaway RIGHT HERE. Good luck!

(This blog was inspired by awesome art agent Lilla Rogers and her Monday Moments. You can find her HERE.)

Brush Pens--Comparing Zebra, Pentel, Kuretake, Pilot, and Tombow

As an I artist I love trying new pens and markers. 

I was looking for some brush pens because I was starting to practice script writing. I also read that many were using these brush pens to outline art or create beautiful pictures.

I Googled around and found that Jet Pens had a sample set of five brush pens, one each from Kuretake, Pilot, Pentel, Zebra, and Tombow. I've used the Pentel brush pen and have a colored marker set from Tombow, both of which I am very happy with. The other three will be new to me. (Love JetPens.com BTW. Easy ordering and super fast delivery--and no, they do not pay me.)

I was looking forward to trying the Kuretake pen because I heard it had a very springy tip and lasted a very long time. I was also excited to try a brush pen with a super fine  and hard tip like the Zebra because I'd had no experience with them at that point. 

Getting the delivery was exciting. All of the pens are made in Japan, and the packaging is different from what we are used to in the USA, and it made it very interesting to open and begin.

A big PLUS for me--all of the brush tips are made from felt or synthetic hair so NO animals are hurt in the process.

Below are writing samples from each pen.

Below is a video describing from Jet Pens describing each pen and showing it in action. 

The Kuretake pen had a nice solid tip. The ink flowed well but not too fast. It allowed for nice control. I like the feel of this pen.

The Pentel pocket pen is the most popular brush pen on the market. It is a refillable pen with a springy tip and a heavy flow. Although I loved writing with it, being a beginner it allowed for the least control of all the pens. That being said, I loved it and feel it will be worth it to continue using it and improving.

The Pilot soft brush pen is very interesting. The ink flowed very dark and nicely, but if too much pressure was applied on the down stroke the entire tip lifted, and the point of the tip would pop off the paper. BUT--that makes for very interesting lettering and the ability to stylize. It was the only pen that squeaked as I wrote.

The Tombow pen was an all-around nice pen. Good control and good ink flow. 

My favorite of the pens was the Zebra fine. To me it was the closest to a Crow Quill or calligraphy pen with a nib. It offers great control and the ink is very dense and black. It also makes a slight scratchy noise as you write. I like that.

Here's a short video of me using each pen. I've just started with script writing with a brush pen so my samples are not beautiful like some other videos out there.

I have a feeling that as I improve and get used to using these pens that I may change which is my favorite.

This drawing was done with the Pentel brush pen. 

If you would like to enter a giveaway to win the all the pens in a JETPENS sampler set, click HERE. All entries will be entered into Random.com on February 1st and the winner will receive the Brush Pen Sampler that I reviewed above! Winner will be notified by email and announced in a post on this blog. If there is no response from winner within one week, a new winner will be chosen. Brush pens will be sent to winner within thirty days.

So please follow my blog and enter the contest for more art, kid lit, pen addiction posts, and a chance to win!

Good luck! xo 

Thanksgiving Art for Kids

We all remember drawing turkeys when we were kids by tracing our hands on paper.

This Thanksgiving lets do it a little differently! Instead of tracing our hands onto paper, lets draw turkeys on our hands. :)

It's simple: You will need--

1 non-toxic marker~this is used for the outline (I do not recommend Sharpies--although they are a favorite for drawing on paper, even the Sharpie website does not recommend using them to draw on the skin.) Read about Sharpies HERE. 

OR a liquid or pencil eyeliner in a dark color. 

If you like,  you can trace your hand first first and figure out what your turkey will look like before you transfer it onto your hand. (Remember, if you are right handed you will be drawing the turkey onto your left hand, so your RIGHT hand will have to be traced onto the paper--palm DOWN.) But if you decide to just WING it (no pun intended--wink) don't worry if you make a mistake, you can wash with soap and water and start over!

Your fingers will be the tail feathers, your thumb will be the neck and head, and your palm will be the body and wing of the turkey, just like our turkey pics from back in the day.

When you are done with the outline, you can color it with non-toxic markers or even watercolor paint. 

Please send me pictures of your artwork--I love to post it on my ART BY YOU page. Kids love to see their art there, too.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

P.S. I do not eat turkey~I would be more likely to be found giving one a big HUG. 

Here's a more intricate for the older kids:

Five fat turkeys are we--

We slept all night in a tree--

When the cooks came around, we couldn't be found--

So that's why we're here you see.

Open Pillow

I am illustrating a book with a friend, David Rowinski, and would like you to see a few of the drawings.

The book should be available in about a month.

It is a bedtime story for children of any age :)

I hope you like them.

XO Dea