iPad and me for 14 years — my journey of illustration and changes in daily life
I have been using iPad since 2011. It’s 14 years now.
Before the emergence of tablets, I questioned why computers screen should be erected instead of lying down like a paper or book.
Why iPad?
After that, Microsoft and other brands introduced their own tablets, and Apple has iPad. Before buying my first iPad — iPad 2, I also considered other Android especially the one like a book by Sony.
Sony Tablet S
I opted for iPad, because the screen is portrait instead of landscape, which is a computer without a keyboard. The availability of sketching apps was also a key factor, as I hoped to do some illustration directly on the screen which would be much easier than Wacom tablet.
The old iOS
Draw Something app
The box of iPad 2
iPod touch 4 and iPad 2
iPad is also my dream computer, and I wished one day I could bring my lightweight (less than a kilogram) tablet anywhere covering tasks that computer is already able to, but it’s still a dream, although it is almost there. That said, I understand why Apple doesn’t act like Microsoft to install macOS on iPad. Technically it can come true but the experience can be frustrating at the beginning.
From stylus to Apple Pencil
My setting for more than a decade is to keep an iPad as an iPad: the enlarged iPod screen with its official case and a stylus. I tried fingers at first, followed by rubber-tip stylus. I once bought one made by my then favourite app called Paper, under a New York company 53 at that time.
Look at the walnut style on the left of iPad Air
Apple Pencil is a milestone for iPads because its tip is sharper with pressure so writing and sketching experience is closer as on papers. The second generation can even attach to the tablet so creation is more convenient now.
The first generation of Apple Pencil
I tried to add a pen folder for the Pencil, but failed.
The second generation
On sketching apps
Let’s talk about sketching apps. At the very first beginning I didn’t follow the trend to use Procreate, but instead I used Paper covering usage cases from visual thinking to doodling and simple sketching. I even continued paying when the app switched to subscription based (around £8 per year). As Apple Notes is more capable for some annotations and simple sketches for daily life, I gradually gave up, and the app was acquired by WeTransfer, which was bought by Bending Spoons later on.
Sketches on Paper
One of the visual explanations on Paper
My collection of visual thinking
Visual thinking on Apple Notes
Although I didn’t use Procreate frequently in my early days of iPad, I bought it at around £8 at that time. Until 2020 I realized I could do more complicated sketches for architecture or scenes like the follows.
Procreate illustration of a guesthouse in Japan
Besides Procreate and Paper, I also tried other apps like GoodNotes and Concepts, which are pretty good for learning and visual thinking. However I didn’t quite get used to those apps: I prefer linear note taking apps like Bear or Apple Notes so that I can revise and edit my content on iPhone, and Concepts’ way to include technical sketching (like architecture) does sacrifice the causal visual thinking experience, especially when Apple introduced its Freeform which can already be synced to all devices including Mac as well.
GoodNotes learning notes
Evernote and GoodNotes
Handwriting on GoodNotes
Sketches on Concepts app
I didn’t do quick sketches on my iPad until last year I started having more and more in portrait sessions every Sunday. There can be no reasons for using iPad instead of paper sketchbooks for portrait sketches, but if I need to, maybe I foresaw that I would need to use a lot of papers… Even though the experience is close to paper, there’s still a learning curve but I am increasingly getting used to it. Thankfully, the more I use, the more is the chances I can go back to see how I was from last year, not to mention that my pieces of sketches can easily be cropped to form a new artwork, or made use of to convert into a simple animation.
A 15-min sketch during Southbank Portrait Session
My 4 iPads
From left to right: iPad 2, iPad Air, iPad Pro (10.5-inch, 2017)
From left to right: iPad Pro (11-inch, M2, 2022), iPad Pro (10.5-inch, 2017)
I have used 4 iPads so far:
iPad 2 from 2011 to 2013
iPad Air (9.7-inch, A7) from 2013 to 2016
iPad Pro (10.5-inch, 2017 A10x) with 1st-generation Apple Pencil from 2017 to 2023
iPad Pro (11-inch, 2022 M2) with 2nd-generation Apple Pencil from 2023 (still using)
As I said before, I never buy a keyboard, also without any screen protectors.
Because it will be much heavier (more than a kilogram) meaning much less portable — I usually take it in my running backpack so that I can commute to run and work in a coffee shop. Using the virtual keyboard is not a big deal, and even easier than physical one somehow. I write more often on iPad including this article on Apple Notes too!
From my experiences of using many Apple devices, I don’t put a screen protector on them as the screens are more durable nowadays. I didn’t think of any paper like protectors because iPad will still be an iPad, and now I am okay with quick sketches on the device.
I even use iPad more than my MacBook Air (2018 model). Besides sketching and writing, I increasingly read ebooks from my library.
An iPad is still an iPad
That said, iPad still can’t totally replace any Mac or Microsoft or Linux computers. Some apps are still desktop-oriented (e.g. Evernote) so some functions are not available on tablets, and this will continue even when iPadOS 26 is out. And the inconvenient truth of iPadOS is that it’s an operating system dedicated for iPad, so some tasks like backup, or batch file organization may be more suitable on computers instead.
For me, I want a lightweight device replacing MacBook because I type and draw so I wish to not bring two devices (in total of 2kg) when traveling overseas. But for most people, they don’t have such need to replace computers with tablets, except saving money for one more device. Not to mention not many people sketch and the only thing they need is a classic laptop with a keyboard. Most of the cases we can live with the combination of iPad and computers, and that’s why iPad-only scenario remains a topic on YouTube which will never be practical.
But do I mean iPad is not for everyone? Yes or no. I saw many people in a cafe having a laptop with a paper notebook, and archiving it is possible when you take a photo and scan into your file system or note taking database. An alternative is to grab a cheaper iPad (or iPad Air or mini) with an Apple Pencil.
