TWCL

[Luvz]

I am planning on starting a webcomic soon. I have an iPad and am wondering what are generally considered to be the best styli for drawing webcomics.

Thanks in advance.

[Eve Z.]

There is no such thing as a 'best' style to draw in. I'd say go with your own style and it will work as long as you draw it well.

Also: go with a style that would match the story line. Or are you doing a gag-a-day?(if so, go with something that is simpler, cartoony and less serious)
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[mcmasters]

He means the actual tool. And I have no idea, I'm still in the dark ages of pencil and pad.

[Luvz]

Eve Z. wrote:

There is no such thing as a 'best' style to draw in. I'd say go with your own style and it will work as long as you draw it well. Also: go with a style that would match the story line. Or are you doing a gag-a-day?(if so, go with something that is simpler, cartoony and less serious)

A stylus as in:

https://www.google.com/search?q=stylus&aq=f&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D5&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=VffkUJLjHaO1iwLt1ICQCg&biw=1866&bih=1017&sei=V_fkULOXC8PfiAKm4IGICw

It's a very important tool and the reviews are usually mixed so I'd like to hear some first-hand experiences if possible.

[Traegorn]

I use a decent Targus one on my iPad (with Adobe Ideas). I've been happy with it.

http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Generation-Motorola-BlackBerry-AMM0101US/dp/B004JU1MN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1357186266&sr=8-4&keywords=Targus+stylus+ipad

It's what I use to draw both of my comics with. ( http://www.crosarth.com and http://unconventional.trhonline.com )

[vulpeslibertas]

I've never used an iPad stylus, so I can't recommend anything. I would recommend you go try a few out, if you can. See what works for you if you can demo a stylus.

Art skill is more important than technology. Beware of the idea that the tools make the artist. If you can't draw now, a fancy piece of equipment won't make you Michelangelo. On the other hand, unless you get a really crappy stylus, I can't imagine it's going to ruin your art, either.

I hate to see people waste good money on unnecessary equipment.

If you don't have a stylus now, it suggests to me that you probably haven't spent a lot of time practicing art, leastways not on your iPad. Practice seems, to me, to be a lot more important than gadgetry. Most styli will probably do as much as you need them to, until you get a year or two of solid art practice under your belt. It's a great personal investment to practice drawing, and you can find a lot of great places to critique your art skill (this forum is one of them). Leave the fancy-schmancy technology choices for when you know what you want, and get drawing already.

I hate to sound crotchety, but a lot of people get on the idea that buying tools is more important than practicing skill. This idea ought to be stamped out. I've got a tablet, which I dearly love, but then I've leveled up my drawing skill to the point where it makes something of a difference. I can get my work into the computer faster and cleaner, but it doesn't necessarily make my work better.

[/crochety]

PS -
If you've got a particular art software, you might hang out on that software's forum and see what styli those artists use on their iPads. Or try out an iPad forum and see what you can get there.
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[Eve Z.]

Ah, my bad. I thought you meant 'style'.
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[Luvz]

Traegorn wrote:

I use a decent Targus one on my iPad (with Adobe Ideas). I've been happy with it. http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Generation-Motorola-BlackBerry-AMM0101US/dp/B004JU1MN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1357186266&sr=8-4&keywords=Targus+stylus+ipad It's what I use to draw both of my comics with. ( http://www.crosarth.com and http://unconventional.trhonline.com )

Looks good. Solid reviews. Did you buy yours from that link though? Some of the one star reviews say they didn't get a real Targus, but rather a cheap Hong Kong imitation. I don't know if those are flukes though since most of the reviews are quite positive.

Do you like the wide circular tip?

[Luvz]

vulpeslibertas wrote:

I've never used an iPad stylus, so I can't recommend anything. I would recommend you go try a few out, if you can. See what works for you if you can demo a stylus. Art skill is more important than technology. Beware of the idea that the tools make the artist. If you can't draw now, a fancy piece of equipment won't make you Michelangelo. On the other hand, unless you get a really crappy stylus, I can't imagine it's going to ruin your art, either. I hate to see people waste good money on unnecessary equipment. If you don't have a stylus now, it suggests to me that you probably haven't spent a lot of time practicing art, leastways not on your iPad. Practice seems, to me, to be a lot more important than gadgetry. Most styli will probably do as much as you need them to, until you get a year or two of solid art practice under your belt. It's a great personal investment to practice drawing, and you can find a lot of great places to critique your art skill (this forum is one of them). Leave the fancy-schmancy technology choices for when you know what you want, and get drawing already. I hate to sound crotchety, but a lot of people get on the idea that buying tools is more important than practicing skill. This idea ought to be stamped out. I've got a tablet, which I dearly love, but then I've leveled up my drawing skill to the point where it makes something of a difference. I can get my work into the computer faster and cleaner, but it doesn't necessarily make my work better. [/crochety] PS - If you've got a particular art software, you might hang out on that software's forum and see what styli those artists use on their iPads. Or try out an iPad forum and see what you can get there.

I've been an artist all my life, but don't have much experience with drawing on tablets so I'm interested in what others have had success with.

I don't necessarily need something tailor-made for an iPad. I just happen to have an iPad.

[Traegorn]

Luvz wrote:

Traegorn wrote: I use a decent Targus one on my iPad (with Adobe Ideas). I've been happy with it. http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Generation-Motorola-BlackBerry-AMM0101US/dp/B004JU1MN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1357186266&sr=8-4&keywords=Targus+stylus+ipad It's what I use to draw both of my comics with. ( http://www.crosarth.com and http://unconventional.trhonline.com ) Looks good. Solid reviews. Did you buy yours from that link though? Some of the one star reviews say they didn't get a real Targus, but rather a cheap Hong Kong imitation. I don't know if those are flukes though since most of the reviews are quite positive. Do you like the wide circular tip?

That's Amazon's general page - there are multiple sellers listedon it. I bought it through that particular link, and have the genuine article. Just make sure Amazon is the one doing fullfillment (which means it come out of an Amazon warehouse regardless of the seller)

The circular rubber tip works well - the tip isn't actually all that big -- just the diameter of a pen really.

I seriously recommend using it with Adobe Ideas, as it does some decent error correcting on lines.

What I do is draw the initial art on my iPad, then export it and open it on my mac to add speech bubbles, do layouts, etc.

[Luvz]

Traegorn wrote:

Luvz wrote: Traegorn wrote: I use a decent Targus one on my iPad (with Adobe Ideas). I've been happy with it. http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Generation-Motorola-BlackBerry-AMM0101US/dp/B004JU1MN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1357186266&sr=8-4&keywords=Targus+stylus+ipad It's what I use to draw both of my comics with. ( http://www.crosarth.com and http://unconventional.trhonline.com ) Looks good. Solid reviews. Did you buy yours from that link though? Some of the one star reviews say they didn't get a real Targus, but rather a cheap Hong Kong imitation. I don't know if those are flukes though since most of the reviews are quite positive. Do you like the wide circular tip? That's Amazon's general page - there are multiple sellers listedon it. I bought it through that particular link, and have the genuine article. Just make sure Amazon is the one doing fullfillment (which means it come out of an Amazon warehouse regardless of the seller) The circular rubber tip works well - the tip isn't actually all that big -- just the diameter of a pen really. I seriously recommend using it with Adobe Ideas, as it does some decent error correcting on lines. What I do is draw the initial art on my iPad, then export it and open it on my mac to add speech bubbles, do layouts, etc.

Thanks. Sounds good. I'll try it.

[ttallan]

Last time I went to my local Staples, they had a selection of styluses out on display with a tablet (which had a basic art app loaded on it) on which customers were able to try them out. Perhaps you have a store near you which has a similar display?

Although I initially bought a fancier stylus, I ended up returning it because it didn't work as well as their demo, and I chose instead one very similar to the stylus linked to above. (Full disclosure: I don't actually draw much on my iPad. My webcomic is all drawn on paper.)
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[n9uxu]

I like the Jot Pro by Adonit, though having said that, I hate trying to draw anything useful on my ipad.

[afterthedream]

I have a Wacom Bamboo with a 4.5" x 6" drawing surface. It is fine for coloring work, which is what I bought it for, but I wouldn't recommend it for actual line drawing. Because the drawing surface is so small, curved lines tend to come out rather jagged. If money is no object, I recommend getting a stylus pad with the largest drawing surface possible. A former housemate was a professional artist who also used a (much larger and more expensive) Wacom and he seemed to like it quite a bit.
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[Marscaleb]

afterthedream wrote:

I have a Wacom Bamboo with a 4.5" x 6" drawing surface. It is fine for coloring work, which is what I bought it for, but I wouldn't recommend it for actual line drawing. Because the drawing surface is so small, curved lines tend to come out rather jagged. If money is no object, I recommend getting a stylus pad with the largest drawing surface possible. A former housemate was a professional artist who also used a (much larger and more expensive) Wacom and he seemed to like it quite a bit.

I got one like that too, but I have no problems with its size. IT all depends on how big of a stroke you are drawing, I guess, but I never draw a line that's longer than four inches, I suspect not even ones longer than three.

I THOUGHT I was having problems with lines coming out super-jagged if I was zoomed out too far on the image, but it turns out this was just software. Sometimes GIMP won't use the tablet properly; it reacts as if it were the mouse. When this happens I don't get pressure sensitivity and the lines have tremendous stepping. But when the tablet is working properly it smooths the lines out and I don't have stepping.
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My webcomic: Mischief in Maytia
http://maytiacomic.com/