On the Wacom, it just works or doesn’t.Wacom Intuos* also Works With Chromebook. This program really spells out what is an active area. “I think I was slightly confused because I have not really used a Wacom tablet for a while. “I had a little bit of a time understanding what it was doing, what was an active area (on the iPad) and not,” Steinlicht said. Using Astropad effectively required a bit of practice, too. “But the lag is not that noticeable while using Astropad.”Īnd of course the iPad app’s controls can get out your way completely too.
“I feel the traditional Wacom input is a little more instantaneous,” he said. Steinlicht encountered minor performance issues, but said these weren’t deal breakers. Steinlicht has never used a Cintiq-style pen display, only a traditional Wacom graphics tablet with no screen, so “seeing the drawing appear on the iPad, right underneath the stylus, is sweet! That is the way it should be.” The small iPad felt a bit claustrophobic, he said, adding, “I wonder if it would have been a little more fun using a full-sized iPad.” But he found Astropad “very easy to get going.” With Astropad’s Mac app in the background, you just see your image being drawn right in Photoshop or whatever graphics app you’re using.
WACOM TABLET FOR MAC BOOK PRO SOFTWARE
First, images on the iPad have been “color-corrected to match what is on the Mac,” says Ronge, and the software aims for “really high image quality.” But Astro-HQ claims superiority over competing apps in a few key ways. Rival apps such as Air Stylus and Limner provide similar capabilities. The developers focused on image quality, so designers and artists can zoom way in when working on their images.Īstropad is not an entirely new idea. (So would a much-rumored 12-inch iPad Pro, they believe.) The developers are crossing their fingers at rumors of an imminent Apple-branded stylus, as well, since they think that would help put their apps on the map. Astropad even lets you program the buttons on such styluses for specific functions.
WACOM TABLET FOR MAC BOOK PRO PRO
Some styluses incorporate pressure sensitivity, which is important since iPads do not natively build in this capability the way pro graphics displays do. But the developers say the commands also work fine with other Mac graphics programs, and you can customize them as needed.Īstropad has been designed to work with popular stylus models such as Adonit’s $30 Jot Pro, Wacom’s Bamboo line, and FiftyThree’s $50 Pencil. You can zoom in with controls on the Mac or on the iPad.Ĭustomized Photoshop controls work well out of the gate, including a floating pallette with Adobe-specific tools on the right side of the iPad screen.
The Astropad software on the Mac shows which part of your image is editable on the iPad’s screen.
A set of buttons on the side of the iPad’s screen provides access to Mac commands and shortcuts, so you don’t have to switch to your computer as often. You can zoom and pan on the tablet to move around a graphics project in progress, glancing over to the Mac screen for reference. With the apps installed, the tablet links to the computer via Wi-Fi or a syncing cable to become a touchscreen editing surface for just about any Mac-based graphics program.Īstropad unifies the iPad and Mac screens into one mirrored interface, with the tablet typically zoomed in to a portion of a work area that is shown in its entirety on the Mac. Their product, Astropad, consists of companion apps for Mac and iPad. Founders Giovanni Donelli and Matt Ronge are even former Apple engineers.
What if graphic artists on a shoestring could simply use their iPads, at a fraction of the cost and with glorious portability? Astro-HQ wants to make that possible with software that transforms an iPad into a Mac graphics tablet. They’re amazing, but they’re pricey and not the most mobile. Heaven for a hardcore graphic artist or photo editor is a Wacom Cintiq, one of those fancy input devices that builds in a display and includes a pen stylus for drawing, painting, or retouching photos.
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