iDraw: replacing pen and paper with stylus and tablet

Of course, all of these tools are useless without the right app.

Luckily, there are loads of choices available, including Autodesk’s Sketchbook, a portable version of the company’s drawing application available on Windows and Mac OS. Sketchbook is available for Android and iOS devices, meaning it can be brought with you on practically any smartphone or tablet.

Another app – “Procreate” – promises a high definition canvas on the Apple iPad 2, layers, and the creation of brushes. What’s more, it’s also made by an Australian company and automatically saves your images.

Sketchbook is available for Android mobile phones, allowing you to digitally paint and draw on your smartphone whenever you want.

Other drawing and painting apps include the ink-inspired ZenBrush, ArtRage, Sketch Rolls, and even Adobe Photoshop Touch.

With all of these artistic uses for tablets, we thought of students studying art at both high school and university. We wondered whether the traditional Visual Art Process Diary – the book where students scrawled their ideas on over a long period – could be made in a digital form.

The Nomad Brush up close.

After all, a digital VAPD would not only make for a lighter backpack and more portable diary, it would also save paper and help the environment.

One NSW teacher told GadgetGuy that she couldn’t “see why they [students] couldn’t do it via a tablet; as long as all the sketches and ideas were there.”

Another told us that “as long as it documents what they’re doing and can be accessed by those who need to see it, it would be fine.”

Brushes aren't the only way to go. The rubber tipped stylus can be an effective digital drawing tool, as seen here in the Pogo Stylus Pro.

The situation may be different for every school, but if you’re considering dropping the paper diary this year and giving it a shot on a tablet or mobile phone, check with your art teacher first.

Explain to them what you’re thinking of doing and say that you’ll export the results into a PDF or image selection when it’s grading time.