The Background
As an artist, sketching, doodling and so on are a huge part of my creative expression outlet. Since tablets came into existence, I have always been a more paper and #2 pencil kind of person. The first tablet I tried was a Samsung that came with a stylist specifically for drawing, I fell in love. However, after a couple years it starts to lag due to upgrades past it’s capabilities. Long story short, I decided to try the iPad for the first time when they came out with the Apple Pencil, specifically for university and sketching.
The Apple Pencil makes me feel as if I am truly using a real pencil, well as close as a tech can get. It is weighted to mock the feel of a pencil and except instead of sharpening, it must be charged. I was skeptical at first with the whole charging thing, as when you get into a creative flow it is quite annoying to put it on pause. With that being said the pencil takes no longer then it would to sharpen a wooden pencil.
The Specs
The 15 second charge lasts about 30 minutes by directly plugging the pencil straight into the iPad itself. A full charge through the iPad takes about 15 minutes, however, plugging it into an outlet takes a little over an hour. Apple includes the connecting device to charge the pencil to the wall as well as an additional nib with the purchase of the pencil. One cool fact is that the pencil is in fact circular, yet it will not roll off of a desk as it is weighted to stop itself on a flat surface. Unless you use the force of the hulk and are intentionally trying to roll it off.
The Details
Drawing is smooth and it actually recognizes pressure as if you were actually drawing with a #2 pencil. I’ve been using the pencil since late August of 2017 and have been pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoy using it. There are many apps that can be purchased to use the pencil, however, I have been using the free app Adobe Illustrator. Next I will probably purchase Procreate.
(Front & Back sketches of a skirt and crop top. Dog and words by my friend Jess, as he tested out the pencil for the first time.)
MaddieAutumn 