So i got my pencil the other day and after 2 days using it, i can honestly say i kind of hate it! Now, before everyone gets the pitchforks and hangman's noose ready, give me a moment to explain.
The soul reason i purchased the iPad pro was to get into digital artwork. I used to do a lot of sketching and have some minor training from back in high school (class of 2001) in commercial arts, and id love to draw and ink stuff all day long in class.
Ive been told I'm a great sketch artist (although i think I'm average at best) and being a fan of movies and games and comics, I've always loved seeing the design and concept art to those things and would love to try my hand at it, even if it was just a hobby.
For years, I've searched high and low for the perfect device to use for it. I purchased a compaq tablet laptop years before the first iPad thinking it would work, it didn't. I went though several Wacom bamboo tablets, and they all worked fine, i just couldn't get comfortable as hard as i tried to draw and look at a screen as i did it, there was way to much of a disconnect for me to do much of anything.
I looked at multiple tablets across the whole range of platforms (Microsoft surface, android, iPads) and for media consumption i always stuck with the iPad line and had almost every iteration of them since the beginning.
In my mind, they were the best tablets despite others offering more features, and i always stuck it out with them.
Early this year, i purchased an iPhone 6plus and to be honest, it basically replaced my IPad Mini 2 32gig. So all year i followed the rumors of an IPad pro, expecting id be happier with a bigger screen and the capability to draw on it.
I saved up for months and when the time came, i was eager to click that purchase button the moment i could.
The iPad pro came, i unboxed it on youtube and for the most part really like it, but i have to be honest, its not really doing much more then my current iPhone 6 does with the exception of split screen apps, the drawing stuff, and of course a bigger better screen and processor.
So i figured, ok, this will really come to life when i finally get my pencil, and it finally arrived, and within 20 minuets of using it...I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT!
Dont get me wrong. Its easily the best stylus I've ever used. It feels good in the hand, it has no real lag time that i can tell, The tilt to shade thing is what sold me over what Microsoft was offering, etc.
I hated the way it charges. I think that was beyond stupid and personally i think Johnny Ives should be ashamed of himself for that one! Thats a huge accident waiting to happen! Also the lack of an eraser and on the Pro itself lack of force touch wreaks of pure "Save it until the next one to sell even more" greed on apples part.
Whats worse, and this is no fault of the tablet or the pencils, is drawing on glass feels so weird, such a huge disconnect that its in a way repulsing and even on some level nauseating to me personally.
I dont know what it is! Maybe its such a strong muscle memory or subconscious thing, but the more i force myself to use it the more i absolutely loath the experience and its such a disappointment to me!
It really feels like I'm trying to draw on ice, and no matter how hard i try i cant control it like i can with good old fashion pen and paper and there is just this disconnect between me and the art if that makes any sense.
Its like no matter how good the app, I'm fighting the program to convey the image from my brain through my hand through the tablet, and it just feels so unnatural it really is somewhat repulsing to me on some level.
It makes me not want to do digital art at all outside of light photoshop touch ups or what have you and sure as hell cant justified spending over $1100 for something i hate using for the reason i bought it for.
It even makes me not want to really get a standard iPad at all either yet. My phone (the 6plus, not the s model) handles everything fine. I can lay in bed with it, i can read with it, i can bring it with me, etc.
The pro just seems overkill to me, and most people at this point and price, especially without the force touch feature the 6s line has and the lack of an eraser if you can actually use the pencil without it feeling so awkward.
I hate to do it, and i love apple, i still think they make the best computers around, but this whole thing was a huge letdown.
it doesn't do much better then a standard iPad in terms of apps or functionality, and in no way will it ever replace a full fledge pc, and having learned the hard way, digital artwork while amazing to look at and opens so many more possibilities, to me just still feels too much of a disconnect for me to do with any comfort or confidence in it.
There is just something about a Pencil on paper that just feels right to me!
Anyhow after the crowds die down this weekend I'm going to trek on up to the apple store for a refund! Its a shame, as the pro has a lot of potential, and in a few generations i might try it again, but for now, its too little for too much money!
Let me know what you guys think
-Al
