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After getting our hands on Photoshop Touch for iPad a while back, we decided it was time to revisit the Adobe mobile app range. This time, we put Adobe Ideas in the hands of our Senior Designer, Paul. Adobe Ideas is a great little tool for putting together rough vector-based drawings on iPad, so we asked Paul to tell us what he thinks!
"While we'll always have a fondness for pen and paper, there's no denying that iPad gives designers and artists a freedom to experiment with ideas like never before. That's where Adobe Ideas comes into play. It lets you create freeform vector illustrations absolutely anywhere (anywhere you have your iPad, that is...). And while it's not without its limitations, we've got to say we love it!
"The app itself is very easy to use, and there's very little learning time needed to be able to get cracking. While I hadn't really used any of the Adobe iPad apps before, I didn't find it difficult to pick up the user interface - mainly because it was based on the functionality you expect from iPad. To give you an idea of how it works, the video below summarises the new features:
"From the get-go, I loved the drawing tools available within the app. You get both pressure and stroke control, so you can be quite expressive in the drawings you put together. That might sound like a basic thing, but it gives it an advantage over a lot of the alternative drawing apps out there. I've only had the opportunity to use my fingers to draw in the app, but I'd quite like to have a go with a stylus to see the level of control that you can achieve!
"There are also nice touches for filling in block colour; the fill tool works as you would expect, but you can also draw a closed shape then tap and hold within that shape to apply a colour. This could be taken from one of your colour themes - a great feature that allows you to create a colour palette from another drawing or an imported photo.
"Another bonus Adobe Ideas has over a lot of the competition is the layering. You can have up to 10 layers in your drawings, which you can scale or change the opacity of. It's also really easy to flip, rotate and reorder layers, and as you'd expect those layers make it far easier to edit the drawing once it has been transferred to Illustrator.
"The navigation of designs itself is an easy process. Adobe Ideas puts the iPad's multitouch functionality to full use. As well as being able to manipulate layers and make it acceptable for adults to do finger painting, you can use the standard pinch to zoom gesture to get into the finer details of your work.
"If you don't have a Wacom then this really opens up options in terms of creating beautifully flowing type strokes. You can use the pen or brush tool to hand draw and then take it into Illustrator to apply to other artwork. This doesn't just apply to type but any hand drawn element you need.
"One thing I would say is that you'll need to ensure you have an Adobe Creative Cloud account if you want to get the most from Ideas! While you can use the app to do drawings regardless, an account will be needed if you want to import to Illustator to continue working."
Adobe Ideas is available from the App Store for free. Get in touch with us to find out more about the Adobe Creative workflow and about making the move to Adobe Creative Cloud. Call us on 03332 409 251 or email Adobe@Jigsaw24.com.