iPad VS Wacom... (Professional Advice - I Own Both)

What's best? What's best for you...?

I think a lot is made of VS videos and I think the overall message is 'which new toy should you buy'... when really the question should be 'should you waste your time on new shiny tech FOMO videos...or should you go draw some cool stuff with what you have'.

iPads are good, Wacom's are good, and also that pencil and paper you have lying around is good too... despite being centuries old tech!

But with all that said I still think this question is worth discussing (hence the video!!)

When I started out in digital art I was an avant-garde maverick... an advanced team paving the way for what would be possible.

I started drawing my comics digitally way before it was cool. You could probably count on one hand the number of other's who were doing it back then. (mostly because it sucked drawing lines with an old digital tablet!!)

Now I'm more like that old guy telling people to get off my photoshop lawn.

The skills that have traveled with me are the core drawing skills, visual library, art foundation, etc etc. If you understand how to get good results with one tool... you should be able to find good results with a different tool (maybe slightly different... but still good!)

Which just goes to show that the new tech is not always that important (not at this stage when everything is kinda pretty good).

Happy Drawing!

Tim Mcburnie

[gundamo_creates]

I've been an artist in the games industry for over 25 years now and used all Wacom products. Used to love having the large setup....but now my body just can't handle sitting at my desk for 10+ hours. I really loving these new portable options like ipad pro or s7+. They get me 80% of the way, great for leisure and coffee shop use. If I get to the point I need to finalize I'll bring it to the PC. Try them out and see which workflow is the best for you....ultimately you should focus on your skills. Technology won't make you a better artist.

[abiwhite]

As a left handed artist, the iPad takes the cake. I was so frustrated having to deal with mirroring and flipping my pen display upside down and having to switch controls and recalibrate the pen. The iPad Pro has been such a blessing for me.

[Slurgical_D_Terrain_Channel]

My first tablet was a Wacom UD1212. I absolutely love it. I recently came back to the artistic craft with an iPad Pro 2nd gen. I do CAD design for tabletop gaming terrain to 3D print. I’m physically disabled and this is my chance to reinvent myself professionally. It has saved my life since it is physically manageable for me. I still dream about my Wacom UD1212 lol

[Wolfswind]

I think the ipad is a better option for people who do art more as a hobby. They also are a great device to have for professionals additionally to the cinteq. The great thing about an iPad is that they are an 'all in one portable' product. If you're a professional and have a big wacom at home or in an office, that's great... but you can't take it with you during travels. If you have an hour-long train ride you can easily sketch on the iPad, but carrying a huge screen+ PC? That's not practical. You can also take the iPad outside if you're tired of working indoors all the time. For people who do art as a hobby, I don't think a big screen is a good option. It's nice being able to take a device to the park and sketch, rather than being chained to a desk.

[AGoodJoe]

As a disabled professional artist, the iPad Pro has been an absolute savior. I have a Huion i like too, but as you said, it's really just making use of what works for you. I think if you can afford both, get both. The wacom or huion tabs are far more affordable if you have a pic.
These days there are some great apple pencil nibs that give a great feeling accuracy. Great video.

[bunobeatz]

I own both been an artist for 15 years. The cintiq is absolutely the best feeling drawing tablet period. The stylus on the screen is just perfect. However you get the best resolution with the ipad pro. But the ipad pro is no where close to how good the cintiq is. Any size of cintiq, 16 and up is just perfect. I have the 22 in but the 16 in honestly is all you will need.

[kronkilton]

I’ve tried iPad, Wacom Mobile studio pro and Cintiq 24’. For bigger projects like animation and comics Cintiq 24’ allowed me to do everything so much faster. IPad is actually good for illustrations anywhere anytime you want. And MSP… it didn’t explode and I’m thankful for that…

[mvpracing]

Thank you for the critique. I haven't done ANY digital art and trying to figure out what the best way to start digital art is overwhelming.

[icedoc]

THIS pro review is the most significant video in helping me make a decision between these two. Thank you for your insight!

[catherinekasper]

I just have to jump in here. Years ago when I was still teaching elementary school Art, I BOUGHT Adobe CS3 which included Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. and I had the discs. Even with the educator's discount, it was a great deal of money since I was a single mom and my salary was super low. Over time, I learned to use Photoshop very well, I put it onto every computer I owned since then. I drew and painted as often as I could, learned as I went along. I started a shop on Etsy, sold that artwork and I still sell it today. When I look back, I'm amazed that little side gig brought in so much money and every penny helped.

CS3 still runs well on my Windows 10 computer. It does everything I need it to and I have never had any need or desire to upgrade it. In fact, when I view art tutorials on you tube or take a class, the artist/teacher never uses any feature of the current program that I don't have in CS 3! That's hilarious.

My beef with Adobe is that over the course of those years, they disabled the ability to use the discs. They demanded that I download it again from their servers and check to see if I paid for the program every single time I open it up. Now, they have deleted CS3 completely from their servers. I found that out after I upgraded the RAM on my laptop and tried to reinstall it later. One day in the far future, when I have to get rid of my excellent desktop, I'll be unable to ever use it again.

I bought that program. I didn't rent it. How is this OK? Why should Adobe have any say in how long I get to use it if my computers will still run it? I'll NEVER pay them for any subscription of theirs and I am extremely glad there are excellent programs to replace it.

I do use a Wacom Intuos tablet. It's basic and annoying to have to use both that and the keyboard but, whatever. It works. I ordered a refurbished Ipad Pro 3rd Generation 2 days ago and am looking forward to this upgrade. I will never use Adobe programs on it though, you can count on that.

Also, what many people do not know is that Photoshop was originally built on open source software. By now, there might be something proprietary about it, I suppose but I'll bet any money that the competing programs that are so similar are built upon that same (now advanced) code. I'll bet some of them are excellent replacements.

I'll spend this summer of my retirement in my shady back yard, drawing with that Ipad. If I can't see the screen even in the shade, my favorite arm chair will simply have to do. hahahaha. Of course, I can hole up in the studio with the Wacom

[jekalambert]

The main considerations for me in choosing iPad over Wacom were #1, $$$, and #2, space. I'm starting out. Locking into a costly Adobe subscription for software that I found extremely difficult to use and that constantly crashed my computer although my computer meets Adobe specs, was for me unnecessarily frustrating and a huge financial drain. #2, I live in a small space. A Cintiq is not only a HUGE investment on top of the expensive Adobe subscription, but I would have needed to devote a large portion of my workspace to the Cintiq system at the expense of having space to create analogue art. I find using the Wacom stylus to be challenging. I just don't feel comfortable drawing while looking in a different direction to see what I've drawn. My iPad allows me to see what I'm drawing as I draw it, just like when I create analogue art.

I love my iPad 6 and consider it one of the best investments I've ever made. Procreate is totally accessible. Within a couple of months, I'd mastered most of the functions I needed to create my artwork. I'm still expanding and exploring. Despite Procreate's limitations, I can do everything I want to do with it, and it's not wrecking my budget every month, nor is it causing all the other programs on my machine to slow to the point of barely functioning. I'm about to purchase Affinity Photo to do the photo editing functions I cannot do in Procreate - at around $20 one time fee for iPad, this is another financially sound decision for me. For vector illustrations, Vectornator works great! I find it easier to use than Ai. It has an image trace program that's superior to Adobe Capture. Vectornator doesn't have all the bells and whistles Ai has, but it does everything I need it to do. Besides, it's FREE! It doesn't get cheaper than that. I did install an iCarez paperlike screen protector on my iPad because I found drawing on the slippery glass screen to be very challenging. Now, with the paperlike, I have absolutely no problems with slipping or accuracy.

I attempted to learn Adobe Fresco on my iPad, but was stymied by Adobe sponsored tutorials that spent hours talking about how wonderful Adobe is because of the way the programs interface with each other, yet wouldn't execute the functions that were supposed to help me learn via the online tutorial. (BTW, I find the Fresco live brushes to be a gimmick. You can achieve the same effects with Procreate brushes, plus, Vectornator has both vector and raster functions.) No going back to Adobe for me.

Like you, I wish that the iPad had a larger screen, but that's my only regret. Given the huge financial advantages associated with an abundance of free or low cost software, as well as the portability of my iPad that allows me to use it in any room in my house, outside on my covered porch, or on the go, this is a small tradeoff. I'm seriously considering upgrading to an iPad Pro. I would LOVE it if Apple introduced a larger version of the iPad in response to artists and designers who want a larger drawing surface.


Thanks for your balanced comments about iPad vs Wacom. Your views are thought provoking and appreciated.

[LifeLongArtist]

I have a MacBook Air and I can connect my cheap iPad to it and work on programs that only run on Mac. So, that means you can totally use full Photoshop on iPad. I use that feature to sculpt 3d models in Blender with my iPad instead of a mouse. Even used it on zoom calls when writing or drawing something in meetings. It’s incredibly versatile and can be used in many areas other than just art

[skypilgrim]

One thing I feel is really important that I found is this:

I work primarily on PC with a display tablet and it's, as you stated, very accurate and, in turn, makes it the better choice for actual production. However, I also find myself finding my art stale or I fall into a rhythm of art that isn't satisfying. I got an ipad exprecting it to be similar to a portable art station but was surprised at how much more loose and painterly most of the programs felt. it forced me to be less worried about detail and to worry more about shape since I couldn't do my fine 0.3 type ink drawings as reliably on the device. ultimately, I find it a great tool for forcing yourself to think differently as an artist.

[modern_clancyboyer]

I do hope that you start sharing more iPad/Procreate work. I share your videos with my students and all of them are on iPads and Procreate. I love your work and even though I've been in the industry for over 30 years, I find your work excellent and inspiring. Thank you!

[UpstageBeast]

my biggest reason for considering an ipad is that it does not require wires or a pc to run. You have everything available to you in one device that you can pick up whenever you feel like being creative [given that it's in the 2d plane as you say].
Does anyone else know of a graphic table with the os built in like an ipad ?

[SinaTalebazadeh]

ok ive been watching A LOT OF REVIEWS and this is probably the most honest one and real one and it kinda made me decide right now 8 minutes in if you catch my drift
love the way he put it and its awesome

[jayanimations]

The smoothest experience I’ve ever felt with digital art is with the iPad

[epicsseven]

There's a company in my old home State, Michigan that custom make matt screens for touchscreen devices. I own the Lenovo Yoga A940 computer. It has a glossy screen. I'd purchased the 27 inch matt screen. It's awesome. It feels like you're drawing on paper. For iPad users, a matt screen cover would be useful in bright conditions.

[carmenibanezsimorte]

Hi! Reeally really thank you for the video!! I am an illustrator starter designer, and now as my work have been increasing I had a lot of doubts about if I rather buy a wacom tablet or an ipad pro. This has been really helpful and it answers all my questions!

[zeroman]

Cintiq wins hands down for me. The ability to have real “from the shoulder” gestures really makes my work much better. That said, My iPad Pro is usually where I start my sketching, thumbnails, and color studies.