Is the Apple Pencil Pro good enough for professionals?

The new Apple Pencil Pro has a lot of amazing new features that should be a big boon for artists. However we learned that, professionally, artists stick with their Wacom displays. Jonathan met with an artist to find out why, and see if the new Pencil Pro can win them over.

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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
0:44 Meet Elizabeth, the professional artist
1:48 Getting started on the iPad
2:29 The best of what artists use... The Cintiq Pro
3:09 All the customizability
3:41 What Elizabeth is drawing
5:05 The Cintiq Pro's quality
5:46 What Elizabeth thinks of the Cintiq
6:42 Thanks PaperLike!
7:09 Getting into the new Apple Pencil Pro
8:38 Squeeze and Barrel Roll
10:14 There is Photoshop on iPad...
11:26 Sidecar is an option
12:23 The Wacom Movink is a portable iPad alternative
13:31 The Movink's quality
13:45 Elizabeth's thoughts

[Kytetiger]

I really like when you bring guests.
It also shows that you know you can get additional relevant opinions from outside LMG

[kizuati]

Still absolutely the different vibe Mac Address has from the rest of LMG & YouTube generally.

Great narrativizing and has such a lovely tone.

[SarahKchannel]

I think Apple needs to start to understand that "Pro" does not mean more gimmicks in places nobody is looking for it, but rather reduce the gimmicks to maximum.
Just the features that are really required - like 2-3 actually buttons that can be remapped when needed.

A thing that rarely gets mentioned is, that the Wacom pens do not need to be charged like the Apple ones. My Apple ones seem to die always when I need them the most.

[iamthatakhil]

Basically, the reason why professionals do not use the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro for their work is not because of the pencil. It's because of the iPadOS and its apps. Most professionals don't use Procreate for their work and iPad's Photoshop isn't the same as the desktop one. As long as Apple keeps gatekeeping Mac apps from iPad, Apple Pencil and Procreate will remain as tools used only by hobby artists, not professionals in film and media.

[konachi]

I'm a concept artist in game dev and film industries. Mainly I use the cintiq 24 when I'm in my office but for the on the go I tried using ipads. I had three ipad pros over the years and they were nice but recently I switched to samsung due to the larger size screen and buttons on the pens and better secondary screen support. For me the killer feature of the samsung is the ability to connect the wacom movink to it and use the pro pen on the go, it's just the best feeling pen for me.
I don't use procreate so I didn't miss it switching from the ipad. If anybody is looking for the photoshop experience on the ipad get Art studio pro, it's as close as it gets imo and I was able to use it for pro work. Currently I'm using clip studio paint on the samsung and it's incredibly capable too.
So depending on what your workflow is ipad might work for you or it might not. I paint more then draw\do line art so I preferer apps like artstudio pro and clipstudio that support the brushes I'm used to.
Hope this helps somebody)

[kaifengwu]

I’m an architect and industrial designer. My 2018 iPad Pro carried me through my masters degree and I still use it regularly to do sketches for clients. I must have made thousands of drawings over the years. Nothing is as portable, nice to draw on, while being an incredible screen for in person presentations.

[joelmulder]

I really like this concept of having an actual pro look at the iPads "Pro" features!

Also, the Paperlike really is great. Far better than any cheaper alternative I've tried, and they have great customer support. Good way to support Mac Address if you so happen to be in the market for a tactile screen protector!

Also also, just wanted to say the iPad version of Photoshop sucks ass. I made a request on their forums for a basic alignment tool over half a DECADE ago, it got a lot of traction, and the fuckers at Adobe still haven't implemented it. It doesn't even have a freakin' alignment tool.

[FreshApplePie]

I've been mainly an iPad artist working professionally for 4+ years, and recently purchased a large tablet for PC. I have yet to learn it, and I got it for access to more software on windows and being able to do more work, but I have no doubt about the iPad Pro being a very capable piece of hardware.

One thing that I feel like it's important to mention is that there is always a cost to changing hardware. While I appreciate Elizabeth's input, you should also be aware that a lot of artists, even digitally, do things differently, whether that's due to their hardware, habits, or preferences, I feel like the biggest flaw with this video is the lack of perspective from artists who use different software, hardware, even things like seating position and drawing angle matter too. While I appreciate that you have a professional's input for this, there's also some things you really appreciate about the iPad once you really start to get used to it.

I get that this channel comes from a perspective not of digital artists, but as someone who works freelance and does this as my main income, and using an iPad Pro as my main device I've been in a unique position to compare my workflow to others. I'm glad Elizabeth understands that she's not as used to the Procreate software or pencil, both which definitely has some issues, the iPad Pro isn't perfect, but again there's definitely what you're used to, for example, I would not dream of drawing on my iPad without at least a stand that is able to prop my iPad up at an angle, which keeps me from getting fatigued from drawing and allows me to use more of the screen at once, as well as a drawing glove. One unpopular opinion I have is that I personally don't mind drawing on glass at all, I'm very used to the glide. I also think the glob on the screen might be specific to adobe on the iPad. I have not had this issue in Procreate.

Definitely 200% agree with her on the 20 inch iPad. I would buy an iPad Studio type professional product in a heartbeat if it was announced! I never take this thing outside since it's pretty much only for work.

[TehBrian]

why is the MA logo at 0:42 so badly stabilized 😂

[Yarnooee]

13:06 she point out Apple Pencil's jittering problem. not many artist's notices it, but after you find out, that thing really bugs you out. especially if your work is focused on linework like comics, or manga.

[MilesRCH]

As a Professional I switched a few years ago from Photoshop with a mid-sized Wacom tablet, to iPad and Procreate. I don't have the new iPads with the Pro pencil, but I haven't missed Photoshop at all.

[tjadejoh]

It’s funny. I study industrial design and we gave to draw a lot of product renders. For the last couple of years, more and more students are beginning to use iPads. Right now it’s 50/50 between iPad and Wacom, where it used to be just Wacom. As they get older and get in the professional field, iPads might become more and more common for professionals

[Tajjoku]

The Wacom art pen got discontinued to due not being able to produce some components, and Wacom Europe has the only remaining stock (sold out everywhere else). Reliable supply for any 14 year old tech product is hard, so hopefully they are able to produce a new pen with barrel rotation within a few years! The art pen works on the cintiq/pro lines which includes the movink (the intuos/one lines aren't compatible)

[lumapmeow]

how did apple screw up their pencils line? it’s so confusing

[xero]

She is a stunning choice for an artist. She delivered a great argument on the topic and was very poignant. I love her energy when talking about art.

[greyareaRK]

Art includes a very broad spectrum of media and technique. Some can be very technical and unlikely to use much expression in the brush, while others can be 'naturalistic' and rely on a lot of expression as you apply media. Brushes in most applications are defined based on their real world counterpoints. A brush that typically doesn't use tilt in practice won't have tilt in digital media; ones that do (say, a pencil) will already have it turned on and adjusted. Elizabeth does a fairly technical style of art for her work. A concept artist, for instance, might use more expressive brushes. There are brands that compete favourably with Wacom these days, while the iPad, though good, is limited by its OS.

[Joeysmith_]

I love how Jonathan sounds so disappointed while taking about the customizability of the pen at 3:22

[turtledovechen]

My girlfriend is a professional photo editor and graphic designer, some time ago she got a iPad but get ready annoyed by how different IOS is, return the iPad and go back to her wacom on Windows
But at the same time, my ant who is a professional illustrator love her iPad, she say she really enjoy how it is very simple, just like drawing with pen and paper
So I think it is just personal preference
With that said, in many school and professional environment, wacom is just the standard, you don't even have to pay for it, I been to my girlfriend's art school and the classroom are equip with wacom. When she started working every place she work at just come with a wacom
So she been working with wacom all her career but never have to pay for one

[flyinggreenbee]

It has been a long time where companies slap on the word "pro" but most of the pros don't use that product for their work. But love seeing the comparison between the what apple has to offer vs what they're trying to achieve.

[oreowiskers]

Haven't seen it yet, but as an animator, apple is a complete non option for me. there's zero software for ipads/ tablets that's anywhere near what you need for real projects ^_^; i use a screenless tablet which you can get for like $130 and that's the larger size they offer!

Also, as an illustrator & animator & designer, I much prefer screenless over screen tablets; it saves my neck from having to hunch over, and once I got over the initial hand-eye coordination bit, I don't even think about it when I draw anymore :o) The other thing is that CSP (very common art program for illustrators who don't want to use Photoshop) is a subscription on an Ipad and only a single time purchase on computer loool

I've tried to Sidecar things (maybe it's better now?) and it's always been so laggy that brushstrokes come out janky </3 A video on Sidecar would actually be super interesting, I'd love to see its capabilities and maybe on older/ newer devices as well!