Inkpad + iPad = Happy Vectoring

My March 23 was magical. Ok, not really, but getting a new "toy" is always fun and when it's an iPad 2, it's more than cool. I've been lusting after one since they came out last year, but until I could make a case for it for business purposes, one wasn't going to come my way. In fact, for a while I thought I was going to be getting an Android device, figuring someone had to come out with a pressure sensitive stylus. Well, I didn't. You can read more about that choice here.

One of the reasons was that I found out about Inkpad for iPad. (I have since found out about iDraw and will give that a try as well) While I don't love creating vector art for the projects I'm working on, a lot of the reason is that I don't like creating images directly into the computer via the mouse. Up until now, I have done my ideation sketching with paper and pen and scanned the work before making corrections in Photoshop. I was banking ($500+) on the fact that the allegedly intuitive interface of Inkpad would make the process of vector work more enjoyable. I spent some time this playing with it and walked away with a very favorable impression. This isn't intended to be a full review of all the features, but only a quick review of my first experiences with Inkpad.

The path options serve the same purpose as Illustrator's Pathfinder menu. While the functions are very similar, they have names instead of icons. It took some getting used to and plenty of undos until I got those down... which I mostly do now.

Anchor point addition/deletion is menu based. This is a little odd for me because I seem to like working with the iPad on a flat surface where I can spin it like a piece of paper to get the angle I want for drawing. This leaves my menus in the wrong place, as with the device flat, the accelerometers don't know to change the view. This is not a deal breaker.

The are definitely fewer tools than I'm used to, but that simplicity is actually a plus in a lot of ways. Honestly, for what I do, which is simply presentation images, sticking to basics works really well. I wouldn't try to do a full layout for print with this, but that isn't why I bought any of this.

Once I figured out where things were hiding, like the group command, the workflow smoothed out pretty well. Grabbing a single anchor point handle is easy. After you start moving it, you simple touch the screen anywhere else with your other hand and the other handle snaps back to it's original spot. Rotating and scaling are nice, too. You select the tool, choose the center/focal point and then just slide you finger on the screen in a very intuitive way.

The colors are a little simplified, but eventually I got used to setting up my pallet and actually may prefer the simplicity of having fewer options. There only two types of gradients, but I sorta feel that might help people stop overusing them as well.

What's that? Layers? Oh, right. It's got layers, too. And, unlike SketchBook Pro, which I'll write about soon, it isn't a limited number. This is great. As just a basic Illustrator user, I gotta say, the layers are nice and easy to use. Not too many options to accidentally select. (yeah, I just totally put myself into the novice category)

There is one last thing that probably explains why this interface worked for me so much better than a mouse/monitor or even Wacom/monitor set up. Your control of the viewing area is simply intuitive and fast. You want to work up close? It's the same controls that you've been using since you got your first iOS device. It's amazing how something so simple transformed the entire process for me. Sure, working directly on the screen has a lot to do with it, too, but the zoom controls are my favorite aspect.

One last thing to note is that I spent most of the time working with the Stylus Socks Pro stylus, but I did try out using my fingers and it works pretty well that way, too. I seem to use the stylus when I'm in drawing mode, so it will likely stick as my way to do it.

In summation, Inkpad is a well-written app that is well thought out, supports DropBox, .svg file format, and utilizes an intuitive interface. Will it replace Illustrator for you? I don't know. That depends on how you use illustrator. It will for me. I don't need most of the features that Illustrator has. More important than anything else, I enjoy working in Inkpad where working in Illustrator feels like a burden. Perhaps I'll feel differently when the shine starts to wear off of the iPad...