DES100 Technicals/Tools

The primary technique I use for my designs is a digital technique. I find this the most suitable method for me as it is easy to access across different devices and correct mistakes on the work very quickly (e.g. ctrl+z). Occasionally I would prefer to use traditional techniques since using digital tools can be limited, but most of the time for my personal and schoolwork I use digital tools.

iPad Pro + Apple Pencil

Before settling to iPad Pro to do my illustrations I used to draw on Photoshop using a Wacom pen tablet. This is the model I use: iPad Pro 2nd Generation 256GB. However, the biggest problem when drawing on PC was the reaction time.

As shown on the gif below, you can tell that the line being drawn is slower than the speed of the cursor.

The recent drawings I have made from 2019 to now, are all illustrated from the iPad Pro.

The best thing about iPad Pro would be the portability and the variety of design apps that are available at the app store.

List of design-related apps in the app store. Direct screenshot took from the app store (date and time in the photo)

Procreate

Procreate is a drawing app in the app store that is used worldwide by artists. It is the most popular and yet the best app for illustrating.

I find this app the best to use for digital illustration since it has so much variety of brushes to use, and you can even personalize and import brushes. Also, you don’t necessarily have to “save” all the time as it does that automatically. The best feature I love about this app would be “streamline” which allows the user to draw lines comfortably and clean. Previously when I did line arts on the computer, it was challenging to make smooth, clean lines since my hand is not entirely stable, but the streamline feature in Procreate allows the user to create clean lines.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is one of the apps that I often use on the computer, which I use to adjust colours and modify compositions. I used to use this tool to illustrate as well, but nowadays, I tend to use the iPad and the Procreate app.

Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator is an app that I use mainly to produce vector works or when I need to work with shapes to create clean vector-looking works. This tool, although I have been using for quite a while, I am still not ultimately used to so it is an app I use the least.

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