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Created page with "==Article Transcript== It is a very exciting time to be a digital artist! There was a time, not long ago, when it was difficult to find a decent stylus for your tablet device,..."
==Article Transcript==
It is a very exciting
time to be a digital
artist! There was a
time, not long ago,
when it was difficult
to find a decent stylus
for your tablet device,
let alone have
more than one option
for a tablet to work
with. Now we face
a wealth of choices.
For the casual point
and swipe user, any
of these will work as
well or better than
your fingertip. But as
artists we prefer a
little more control.
As with any tool,
your mileage
may vary.
The Apple family of products has never embraced active digital
interfaces. The capacitive touch technology necessitates a larger
surface contact, and this provides a problem of precision and
supplies zero pressure sensitivity. The only advantage to early
styluses was that they didn’t leave fingerprints on the glass.
My testing regime for each pen was to draw a variety of short
strokes, long strokes, letter forms and curved shapes and attempt
to match up lines as my “warm up” with these styluses. When testing
them, I try them in Zen Brush, Art Studio, and Bamboo Paper
on my iPad1. Then I take about a half hour to an hour to draw a
cartoon in Art Studio.
====Basic Rubber Trip====
The most popular option for
styluses are ones that use a
rubbery tip. Not all tips are
the same by a long shot! The
Wacom Bamboo is a favorite
of many artists (including me)
for it’s bouncy response and
low friction when drawing
(www.wacom.com/en/products/
stylus/bamboo-stylus).
If you prefer a little more drag
to your tool, a good Targus
pen may serve you better.
Pogo also makes a couple of
good options, with the Pogo
Sketch or Sketch Pro, which
are longer models that fit the
hand better than the stubby
“golf pencils” (tenonedesign.
com).
I’m also fond of the AluPen,
which had a fatter hexagonal
body, like a big crayon.
I find it very comfortable in
my meaty man paws. The
tip of the AluPen is very
nice. Slightly firmer than the
Wacom but as responsive for
drawing. (www.just-mobile.
com/ipad/alupen.html)
====Kickstarter====
The More/Real Stylus Cap was an early
Kickstarter which replaces a Sharpie or
Pilot pen cap with a stylus tipped cap. I
found this tip very firm with a high drag.
For basic stylus usage, light notetaking
and app manipulation, I think this is a fine
stylus. It’s a great company that you can
order replacement tips from if one wears
out, meaning that there will be less overall
heading to landfills. As I tend to have
a Sharpie in my computer bag when I
travel, this is a handy addition, but I can’t
see myself using it on any regular basis.
(more-real.com)
The Cosmonaut was another Kickstarter
success with a body shaped to model after
a fat marker body. While comfortable
to hold, it has a solid silicon tip that gives
it an advantage of creating a superb
drawing angle experience, but the tip
itself demonstrates a poor response time.
It needs a fairly firm pressure to register,
and lighter strokes and taps often fail to
register. (www.studioneat.com/products/
cosmonaut)
The Estylo was an interesting experiment
in conductive wood. This very pencil-
like stylus feels like a nice art pencil
but instead of a tip has an angled edge
that must be held in contact with the
screen to register. If you naturally fall into
that drawing angle it’s fine but there is
very little room for varying your drawing
angle and it was easy to lose contact with
the screen. (www.plai.tv)
The iFaraday substitutes the rubber tip with a conductive
mesh. This gives it a very nice glide across
the screen. The company was an early leader in
the stylus market and has a number of models and
colours available to choose from at a range of affordable
prices. They tend to be a nice, long, comfortable
length and very lightweight. (www.ifaraday.com)
====Precisely my point====
The oStylus, Adonit Jot and GoSmart
are styluses that offer a better degree of
precision due to their tip solutions.
The oStylus features a round disk with a
empty center, meant to give you a cross
hair to view the cursor in the center. In
practical use though, this is less than
ideal as the disk partially obscures the
lines drawn. Still it’s very responsive
and does deliver a slightly more precise
experience. (ostylus.com)
The Adonit Jot has a clear plastic disc
balanced on its tip. The disc swivels
freely, offering a great drawing range,
and when it works, it works great.
Unfortunately the discs aren’t always
as conductive (due to a manufacturing
error), but the company appears to have
addressed that issue by now. Still the
disc can lose contact with tip from time
to time, making the experience inconsistent.
Once again, your mileage may
vary. They are widely available in a great
range of colours. (adonit.net)
The GoSmart is the latest (and my favourite) conductive
stylus. It employs a Teflon-coated wire tip,
molded into a short springy disc shape. The wire is
all but invisible as you work, providing minimal visual
distraction, and allows for the best precision I’ve yet
experienced. The metal tip also appears to be most
responsive material. Some may not trust the wire to
not scratch the glass but it must be remembered that
tablets and phones now use Gorilla Glass, which is
a high-tech solution that makes it nigh impervious to
casual scratches and marks. The tactile experience
is quite different from rubber tips and may not be for
everyone. (justgosmart.com/)
====Pressure sensitivity====
Finally, there are three high-tech options
for iOS that promise pressure sensitivity.
All three are supported by most of
the popular art apps and require you to
activate them in the individual settings for
each program. Full Disclosure: I stopped
using the iPad as soon as I got my Samsung
Note 10.1, so it’s quite possible that
updates to drivers and programs have
fixed any issues I may list here.
The Adonit Jot Touch is a Bluetooth 4.0
solution (meaning it doesn’t work with
older iPads so I haven’t had a chance to
extensively test it). It charges with a USB
cradle and promises over 2000 levels
of sensitivity. Since it’s Bluetooth, you
are not allowed to use it on airplanes.
(adonit.net)
The Pogo Connect is another Bluetooth
4.0 solution. I’m leery of this
pen since it only promises “hundreds”
and has the same large rubber tip as
any other non powered stylus, which
defeats the goal of precision. It is powered
by a single AAA battery. An added
benefit is a free app which allows you
to track your pen if you misplace it!
(Tenonedesign.com)
The Jaja by Hex3 is powered by a single AAA
battery and uses a sonic interface. Theoretically
this pen operates at a frequency that should be
unaffected by environmental noise and is safe to
use on airplanes. In practice I found my experience
inconsistent and the signal frequently dropped,
causing the line to skip. Whether this was due to
sound, or possibly my hand blocking the sensor I
could not determine. The pen features 1024 levels
of sensitivity. (hex3.co/products/jaja)
{{2013.2Navbox}}
It is a very exciting
time to be a digital
artist! There was a
time, not long ago,
when it was difficult
to find a decent stylus
for your tablet device,
let alone have
more than one option
for a tablet to work
with. Now we face
a wealth of choices.
For the casual point
and swipe user, any
of these will work as
well or better than
your fingertip. But as
artists we prefer a
little more control.
As with any tool,
your mileage
may vary.
The Apple family of products has never embraced active digital
interfaces. The capacitive touch technology necessitates a larger
surface contact, and this provides a problem of precision and
supplies zero pressure sensitivity. The only advantage to early
styluses was that they didn’t leave fingerprints on the glass.
My testing regime for each pen was to draw a variety of short
strokes, long strokes, letter forms and curved shapes and attempt
to match up lines as my “warm up” with these styluses. When testing
them, I try them in Zen Brush, Art Studio, and Bamboo Paper
on my iPad1. Then I take about a half hour to an hour to draw a
cartoon in Art Studio.
====Basic Rubber Trip====
The most popular option for
styluses are ones that use a
rubbery tip. Not all tips are
the same by a long shot! The
Wacom Bamboo is a favorite
of many artists (including me)
for it’s bouncy response and
low friction when drawing
(www.wacom.com/en/products/
stylus/bamboo-stylus).
If you prefer a little more drag
to your tool, a good Targus
pen may serve you better.
Pogo also makes a couple of
good options, with the Pogo
Sketch or Sketch Pro, which
are longer models that fit the
hand better than the stubby
“golf pencils” (tenonedesign.
com).
I’m also fond of the AluPen,
which had a fatter hexagonal
body, like a big crayon.
I find it very comfortable in
my meaty man paws. The
tip of the AluPen is very
nice. Slightly firmer than the
Wacom but as responsive for
drawing. (www.just-mobile.
com/ipad/alupen.html)
====Kickstarter====
The More/Real Stylus Cap was an early
Kickstarter which replaces a Sharpie or
Pilot pen cap with a stylus tipped cap. I
found this tip very firm with a high drag.
For basic stylus usage, light notetaking
and app manipulation, I think this is a fine
stylus. It’s a great company that you can
order replacement tips from if one wears
out, meaning that there will be less overall
heading to landfills. As I tend to have
a Sharpie in my computer bag when I
travel, this is a handy addition, but I can’t
see myself using it on any regular basis.
(more-real.com)
The Cosmonaut was another Kickstarter
success with a body shaped to model after
a fat marker body. While comfortable
to hold, it has a solid silicon tip that gives
it an advantage of creating a superb
drawing angle experience, but the tip
itself demonstrates a poor response time.
It needs a fairly firm pressure to register,
and lighter strokes and taps often fail to
register. (www.studioneat.com/products/
cosmonaut)
The Estylo was an interesting experiment
in conductive wood. This very pencil-
like stylus feels like a nice art pencil
but instead of a tip has an angled edge
that must be held in contact with the
screen to register. If you naturally fall into
that drawing angle it’s fine but there is
very little room for varying your drawing
angle and it was easy to lose contact with
the screen. (www.plai.tv)
The iFaraday substitutes the rubber tip with a conductive
mesh. This gives it a very nice glide across
the screen. The company was an early leader in
the stylus market and has a number of models and
colours available to choose from at a range of affordable
prices. They tend to be a nice, long, comfortable
length and very lightweight. (www.ifaraday.com)
====Precisely my point====
The oStylus, Adonit Jot and GoSmart
are styluses that offer a better degree of
precision due to their tip solutions.
The oStylus features a round disk with a
empty center, meant to give you a cross
hair to view the cursor in the center. In
practical use though, this is less than
ideal as the disk partially obscures the
lines drawn. Still it’s very responsive
and does deliver a slightly more precise
experience. (ostylus.com)
The Adonit Jot has a clear plastic disc
balanced on its tip. The disc swivels
freely, offering a great drawing range,
and when it works, it works great.
Unfortunately the discs aren’t always
as conductive (due to a manufacturing
error), but the company appears to have
addressed that issue by now. Still the
disc can lose contact with tip from time
to time, making the experience inconsistent.
Once again, your mileage may
vary. They are widely available in a great
range of colours. (adonit.net)
The GoSmart is the latest (and my favourite) conductive
stylus. It employs a Teflon-coated wire tip,
molded into a short springy disc shape. The wire is
all but invisible as you work, providing minimal visual
distraction, and allows for the best precision I’ve yet
experienced. The metal tip also appears to be most
responsive material. Some may not trust the wire to
not scratch the glass but it must be remembered that
tablets and phones now use Gorilla Glass, which is
a high-tech solution that makes it nigh impervious to
casual scratches and marks. The tactile experience
is quite different from rubber tips and may not be for
everyone. (justgosmart.com/)
====Pressure sensitivity====
Finally, there are three high-tech options
for iOS that promise pressure sensitivity.
All three are supported by most of
the popular art apps and require you to
activate them in the individual settings for
each program. Full Disclosure: I stopped
using the iPad as soon as I got my Samsung
Note 10.1, so it’s quite possible that
updates to drivers and programs have
fixed any issues I may list here.
The Adonit Jot Touch is a Bluetooth 4.0
solution (meaning it doesn’t work with
older iPads so I haven’t had a chance to
extensively test it). It charges with a USB
cradle and promises over 2000 levels
of sensitivity. Since it’s Bluetooth, you
are not allowed to use it on airplanes.
(adonit.net)
The Pogo Connect is another Bluetooth
4.0 solution. I’m leery of this
pen since it only promises “hundreds”
and has the same large rubber tip as
any other non powered stylus, which
defeats the goal of precision. It is powered
by a single AAA battery. An added
benefit is a free app which allows you
to track your pen if you misplace it!
(Tenonedesign.com)
The Jaja by Hex3 is powered by a single AAA
battery and uses a sonic interface. Theoretically
this pen operates at a frequency that should be
unaffected by environmental noise and is safe to
use on airplanes. In practice I found my experience
inconsistent and the signal frequently dropped,
causing the line to skip. Whether this was due to
sound, or possibly my hand blocking the sensor I
could not determine. The pen features 1024 levels
of sensitivity. (hex3.co/products/jaja)
{{2013.2Navbox}}
