Pages for iPad

So, I'm glad I bought a word processing app for my iPad. Unfortunately I've run into problems. I'm trying to write some papers in Spanish, and even though I switched virtual keyboards to Spanish, it seems Pages has it's own dictionary. My entire page is in red, and it continually tries to auto correct words. It's a headache. Does anyone know how to change languages in Pages? Any help would be great!

iPad Sketcbook Pro tutorial coming soon!

So yesterday I broke down and bought a webcam off eBay. I've decided to make a tutorial of what I can do, maybe it will help others out. I'll be posting here and on twitter, so check for it in a week.

Okay, and as far as illustrations, I swear things just snowball with me. Ultron went from a simple sketch, and now I have redrawn it as a vector and now I'm coloring it... Crazy. Here's a side by side:


To the left is the original illustration, colored in Sketchbook Pro on iPad, and the right is the vector illustration thus far. Only flats here, but I'm already 30% done shading Ultron. I'll probably be done tonight and share once again.

More on Stylus, iPad, and Sketchbook Pro

So, has anyone else used the iPad for making art? I am, and I'm having a great time.

I've been using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro for my iPad, and it's really great. A lot like Photoshop, with layers, brushes, smear, plus you can do mirror drawing where it reverses everything you draw onto the opposite side of the canvas. This is really great for making front facing faces with ease.
The only features I am really wanting to see are layer masks and magic wand. Yesterday, when I was coloring an illustration, I had to color all my flats, then go back with an eraser to keep everything within the lines. A little bit of a pain, but it's really easy to clean up with a precise stylus and a lot of zooming in and out.
I am also using an iFaraday stylus, the tip is very soft so you can glide the stylus across the screen without sudden stops like many rubber tipped styli. I just saw that iFaraday now has an artist pack of styli that have different shaped tips. I might buy this in the future. From a review I saw on Youtube, the iFaraday stylus is much more precise than the Pogo stylus.

I've also tried Adobe Ideas. It's very cool because it turns all your marks into smooth vector strokes. Unfortunately, Adobe wants you to pay $4.99 for multiple layers on your project. No thanks!

I've also heard of Brushes, which is supposed to be really great, but I haven't bought the app yet.

At the college, I printed off some of the Sketchbook Pro manual for reference. This is really great, because most of my knowledge was learned via a short Youtube tutorial. I highly recommend checking out the manual, there are so many things I'm learning in it that I didn't quite know how to use.

Currently, I wish Autodesk Sketchbook Pro had two features: magic wand and layer masks. I would like to isolate a selection, then color within that, but without a magic wand or layer mask, that makes it a bit of work.

I'm still uncomfortable "sketching" on the iPad. I'm unsure why, maybe I just like the feel of pencils and pens in my hand. Maybe it's something I just have to train myself with. I'd like to draw right on it, then color like this guy on Youtube. For my last project, the Ultron:

This was originally a hand drawn illustration that I penciled, inked, then scanned onto my computer. From there I imported it into Sketchbook Pro and started coloring.

Ultron colored in Autodesk Sketchbook Pro on iPad

This is my first attempt at doing anything real on my new iPad. I colored this during my breaks at work today, about 40 minutes worth of work. I drew this Ultron sketch yesterday and scanned it in, then uploaded it to iPad where I used Autodesk Sketchbook Pro on the iPad to color.

I used an iFaraday stylus to draw with, I find it more accurate than my fingers. I heard in a Youtube video about Sketchbook Pro that the iFaraday is much better than other stylus that works for iPad. Autodesk Sketchbook pro is essentially a super light Photoshop. I can do layers with minimal blending modes, and several different kinds of brushes.

When I did this, it was originally just to play around with. I uploaded a low-res image of Ultron, and when I started getting into it, I was too involved to stop. I wanted to redraw him with better line art and on a higher resolution, but oh well. Next time I'll have to try working with a 150 or 300 dpi illustration and see how it handles it.

Is anyone else drawing on their iPad on DeviantArt? I haven't really sought it out yet, I hope so, I'm just going by my intuition from previous use with other graphics programs, so I'm kind of guessing how to do things. Maybe I should read a manual too, but that's the irrational man in me lol.

Does anyone want a tutorial in Sketchbook Pro for iPad? Does anyone think there is a better app than this for digitally illustrating on the iPad?

Still alive :)

Hey there! I'm still alive! It's been a busy winter, and I've got a lot going on!

First, let's pimp The Comic Smiths' Guild Anthology!

I've been madly at work since this summer, putting together this 40 page anthology with the Comic Smiths' Guild. Basically I was editor-in-chief on the project, plus I'm the third story in. It's a tale from Solar Flares. Click the comic to head to Indy Planet, and buy a copy, only $2.99! That's a deal compared to current 22-paged comics on the comic racks that cost $4!

and now, how about a sketch?



It's my interpretation of Ultron if he were in the Megaman Universe!

Okay, how about some more news? I might be attending RadCon in the Tri-Cities, Washington. Two hours away from my home, Spokane, WA. It will be February 18th-20th. I'm hoping to do some meet-n-greets and spread the word on the guild, as well as sell some paintings. Speaking of that, I sold the Super Mario 1-Up painting on Etsy!

Lastly, I got an iPad for Christmas! It's pretty slick, and I'm hoping to get some productivity out of it. I have Photoshop Express, and AutoDesk Sketchbook Pro for it right now, and I'm thinking about checking out Brushes. I'm also on the market for a word processing/Power Point app, not sure what to get yet. Currently, the majority of my iPad usage has been email, internet, and games... LOTS of games... specifically Nova 2. If you don't know it, it's essentially a really amazing Halo clone for iPad. Since I'm in college, I really would like to use this for school purposes as well. I've been toying with the idea of making a "How I use my iPad" blog, where I talk about what I want to do with the iPad, what software I've tried, accessories I like, and how I use them. For those who have interests similar to me, this might be a good resource. My major interests in conjunction with the iPad will be movies, Spanish, art, comics, word processing, college, and a little gaming.

Well, that's about it, I'll be updating more frequently, I promise.