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melantye

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 9, 2009
15
0
I know this might be off, but in the future is it possible for iPad to connect with photoshop on ur mac and act like a wacom tablet? This will be so cool
 
Yeah that would have been killer. I was hoping the iPad would quell my lust for a cintiq but it did not. Shame.
 
We can pray that some industrious fellows break the thing apart Apple TV style, and actually make it a useful device!
 
Jaadu VNC maybe? It's a remote screen sharing (and controlling!) application for the iPhone, and I've heard they're coming out with an iPad version. I know I'm planning on experimenting with it in terms of digital art applications. With programs like photoshop, there will probably be some lag. But that might not be as bad using the Vine-Jaadu server, which supposedly allows for a faster refresh rate than using the Mac OS screen sharing feature.
 
There are already drawing apps for the iPhone that are pretty amazing. I can imagine that one optimized for the iPads increased pixels and touchscreen sensitivity will be even better.

My guess is that Adobe will make some version of Photoshop Lite for the iPad. I don't think the iPad replace a wacom tablet (not yet at least) but I do think its a great cheap way to get into digital drawing.

a decent wacom tablet will cost you like 250 bucks, plus you still need a decent computer and pshop. you're looking easily at a 2k investment. For $500 bucks you can get a pretty darn good drawing tablet that you can take anywhere.

Heres a vid of a drawing App for iPhone. Can't wait to see versions for iPad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ogvN3nNBa8
 
Jaadu VNC maybe? It's a remote screen sharing (and controlling!) application for the iPhone, and I've heard they're coming out with an iPad version. I know I'm planning on experimenting with it in terms of digital art applications. With programs like photoshop, there will probably be some lag. But that might not be as bad using the Vine-Jaadu server, which supposedly allows for a faster refresh rate than using the Mac OS screen sharing feature.

I LOVE JAADU VNC!!! ive posted a few topics on their products and the FUTURE iPad App !!!! :! :! :) :)
 
In a nutshell... no. At least not until some future version of the iPad. The key for the wacom tablet is that it's pressure sensitive (actually, the pen is pressure sensitive). The iPad works via capacitive touch. These are two very different technologies. You'd have to add some technology to the ipad that could sense how hard you're pressing. Such things do exist, but my guess is that we won't see it anytime soon in an ipad.
 
But the Wacom tablet is pressure sensitive, and designed for a pen. The iPad is neither.You need very fine pressure sensitivity to make a line drawn on a computer look anything like a line drawn with a pencil.

Because of that I don't think you could ever get the kind of subtle effects in your lines drawing on an iPad that you can drawing on even the cheapest Wacom tablet. Paint programs on the iPhone are kind of smudgy watercolor looking things, which work well, but lack strong drawn lines.

So if you mean will the iPad develop into something that could replace even a cheap drawing tablet, no. If you mean can the iPad develop into something that you can draw on, it already is.
 
In a nutshell... no. At least not until some future version of the iPad. The key for the wacom tablet is that it's pressure sensitive (actually, the pen is pressure sensitive). The iPad works via capacitive touch. These are two very different technologies. You'd have to add some technology to the ipad that could sense how hard you're pressing. Such things do exist, but my guess is that we won't see it anytime soon in an ipad.

But the Wacom tablet is pressure sensitive, and designed for a pen. The iPad is neither.You need very fine pressure sensitivity to make a line drawn on a computer look anything like a line drawn with a pencil.

Because of that I don't think you could ever get the kind of subtle effects in your lines drawing on an iPad that you can drawing on even the cheapest Wacom tablet. Paint programs on the iPhone are kind of smudgy watercolor looking things, which work well, but lack strong drawn lines.

So if you mean will the iPad develop into something that could replace even a cheap drawing tablet, no. If you mean can the iPad develop into something that you can draw on, it already is.

I think we have cause to hope that this may not be the case. Ten One Design successfully made a program called Inklet that registers pressure sensitivity with the Pogo Sketch on a Macbook trackpad. Not sure how it works, but the pressure sensitivity is definitely there. I wrote about it here. The company is working on something for the iPad, though they're not telling what yet.

ETA: Now, because the Pogo Sketch is blunt and nubby, I know it isn't going to have the same accuracy as writing with a Wacom stylus, probably. Just wanted to point out that we don't need to rule out pressure sensitivity for the iPad, at least not if 3rd party developers can help it. I really think they'll do it! There's way too much demand for it for them to ignore it.
 
Why would you want to connect it to a Mac to use as a tablet? Wouldn't it be better to have a streamlined version of Photoshop for the iPad itself, so you can look directly down at where you're drawing? — That's what I want.
 
Why would you want to connect it to a Mac to use as a tablet? Wouldn't it be better to have a streamlined version of Photoshop for the iPad itself, so you can look directly down at where you're drawing? — That's what I want.

If you connect it to a Mac using a VNC w/ a screen viewer, then you CAN look directly down at where you're drawing. And you don't have to use a cut-down version of Photoshop - you can use the full program via iPad - if, of course (and that's a big if) the refresh via VNC is fast enough to be functional for that purpose.
 
I think we have cause to hope that this may not be the case. Ten One Design successfully made a program called Inklet that registers pressure sensitivity with the Pogo Sketch on a Macbook trackpad. Not sure how it works, but the pressure sensitivity is definitely there. I wrote about it here. The company is working on something for the iPad, though they're not telling what yet.

ETA: Now, because the Pogo Sketch is blunt and nubby, I know it isn't going to have the same accuracy as writing with a Wacom stylus, probably. Just wanted to point out that we don't need to rule out pressure sensitivity for the iPad, at least not if 3rd party developers can help it. I really think they'll do it! There's way too much demand for it for them to ignore it.

How do they implement pressure sensitivity on a pressure insensitive device? Some clever area algorithm should be at play I would think.
 
Probably, yes. I don't pretend to know how it works, but I suspect that it has something to do with detecting how much of the Pogo tip is in contact with the trackpad, or the increase or decrease of conductivity from the tip.
 
I regularily use a number of painting apps on my iPhone - mostly Autodesk Sketchbook Mobile and Brushes. The fact that these apps will be available on the iPad is the number one reason I'm buying one. I like some of the features in Sketchbook, but Brushes has an unmatched UI and workflow.

I think people overestimate the importance of pressure sensitivity in well designed art software. In many ways I prefer drawing on my iPhone than my big Intuos. Just being able to draw right on the sreen surface is a huge advantage. Plus, I find that many times I end up tinkering with the tracking and sensitivity options on my intuos to get the right feel depending on the software and what brush I'm using. It adds a layer of complexity that hinders rather than assists my creative process.

The thing I like about Sketchbook the most is the customizable min/max line radius. This is most useful when using a pencil or pen style brush to draw fine lines. Based on the speed and length of your brush stroke, the line starts out thin, widens toward the middle, and thins out again at the end. Opacity can also be adjusted so that the line has a slight fade in and out. The iPhone implemenation is a bit basic, but with the added processing power of the iPad, I could see more complex software rendering which takes into account the curve of the line, etc.

The biggest drawback to iPhone drawing is, as others have mentioned, the somewhat nubby and inaccurate nature of the Pogo stylus. Again, this is less a problem with painting than line drawing. However, I'm hoping the better touch matrix and larger screen size of the iPad will alleviate this a bit.

But really, I can't wait to have a fully featured digital sketchbook with me at all times. Of course I already do with the iPhone, but I think the larger and improved capacitive touch screen will make it much more natural and fun.
 
How do they implement pressure sensitivity on a pressure insensitive device? Some clever area algorithm should be at play I would think.
Not really. On a Wacom tablet, it's the pen that is pressure sensitive. The tablet surface itself just has the pen support EMR layer.

So with another capacitive, pressure sensitive stylus, an iPad would essentially be the same as the pad on a Wacom tablet. The problem is that the stylus would need to have a battery and a wireless radio to communicate pressure data and button click events, along with orientation detection if it offered an eraser. This adds a lot of bulk, which throws off grip and balance.
I think people overestimate the importance of pressure sensitivity in well designed art software.
I agree, especially given the motor-coordination advantages of being able to see your work in real-time on the surface of the pad.

The iPad is no Cintiq, but I see it as easily complementary (and largely superior) to the Bamboo line. You get nearly 3 times the surface area, with the live screen beneath, for the cost of losing built-in pressure sensitivity.

With proper software support, I can see many users of the Bamboo line or older Intuos/Graphire products buying an iPad just for use as an art tablet, especially since it can double as a sketch book and a demo portfolio totally independent of a computer.

The Pogo stylus is designed for the iPhone UI, which is itself designed around a human finger. A different stylus would be necessary for artwork purposes.
 
With proper software support, I can see many users of the Bamboo line or older Intuos/Graphire products buying an iPad just for use as an art tablet, especially since it can double as a sketch book and a demo portfolio totally independent of a computer.

This. I'm planning on using my iPad in class to do quick sketches and as a portfolio to show off the work that I do on my Mac. We do a lot of rough comps in class, and it would be a lot more convenient to pass around my iPad than my MBP during midway critique. Those are only two of my many reasons.

I remember reading somewhere (I think Gizmodo) that some scientists had developed a capacitive touch screen that uses these tubes to detect pressure sensitivity. I believe they said it can be easily adapted to current tech and at a decent price. I full expect pressure sensitivity by iPad 3 or 4. Until then, I hope that some company will make a bluetooth pen that can accomplish much of the same thing for simple sketches and the like.
 
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