Sketching on the iPad

I have had an iPad mini for quite a few years, and last year my family upgraded me for my birthday as my old one wouldn't update some apps etc etc.  I use it constantly for emails, blogging, keynote presentations, note taking etc, but I know I've never explored it's full potential.

When I was away in Christchurch, I was pretty chocka luggage wise, and so I didn't risk packing a sketchbook.  And it was a pain, I was coming across lots of inspiration and getting heaps of new ideas - as you do when you travel - but I had no way to start processing them.  So I stuck with taking lots of photos, and hoped that I'd remember the ideas I had.

Then I thought about my iPad. That tends to go everywhere with me, and I know you can use it to make great art (check out Susie Monday, a textile artist who makes wonderful art inspired by and with her iPad, and teaches it too) so maybe it was time to have a play with some apps.

The one I've found that I'm enjoying playing with is Adobe Photoshop Sketch. I think it was free, and if it did cost, it wouldn't have been much. I don't mind paying a one off reasonable fee for an app, but I don't like to get hooked into monthly or yearly subscriptions!

Here is my first ever drawing using the app, trying to get used to the different tools:

And then I did this one:

Which I'm quite pleased with. I figured out how to import photographs, 'trace' them and then hide them again.  Which you can see in progress below. Yes, I made my daughter pose upsidedown on a chair for me! This is an idea for a quilt that's been floating (sorry!) around in my head for a while, so it was good to get it recorded.

My artist friend, Helen, says that when you record ideas in a sketchbook and then shut the pages, they all have 'idea sex' and when you open it up again, you'll get a whole lot of new ideas. I wonder if this will work with a virtual sketch book?!

Have you used your phone/tablet/device as an art tool? Found any apps that you love? Let us all know so we can share in the arty fun!