iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Illustration

I decided to do a little write up about the iPad Pro and Apple pencil because its really changed my process of working. Before I start I want to stress that this isn't really a review of the iPad itself but more of my reasons for getting the iPad and Apple pencil and how its integrated with my illustration practice. So anybody looking for a reliable review on the pencil calibration or how it matches up to the Wacom or similar, Google is your friend :)

So for quite a while I felt as if I needed to make more of a switch to digital work, there's a number of reasons for this:

1. The industry as a whole is progressively becoming more digital and I want to remain current
2. It's cleaner. Working in collage is great but boy can it be really annoying when you're trying to get a flat colour and then you smear it with glue marks
3. Mistakes, there's no backspace in real life guys
4. Resolution, integrating digital elements means I can work on a much greater scale and ensure that my files are at the highest resolution. If anyone has ever scanned in a magazine print, then you'll see that even if its scanned to the highest quality, if the pixels aren't there then the image just becomes stripey and pixelated.
5. Ease of use. Collage is so tricky to work with in different environments, going outside in the sunshine seems like a great idea to make work but then along comes a gust of wind and the idea suddenly become terrible. I also find it really hard to figure out colour palettes by sifting through piles and piles of papers. Some quick tests on the iPad are so much easier. And it means I can pick up my ipad and go where ever, whenever without having to plan or pack up all my stuff. I love working downstairs with my boyfriend and I can do this with my ipad without having to lumber all of my papers and collage and laptop and everything else (or have to clean up after myself!).

My work has always involved digital techniques; I clean up smears and paper joins, add various layers of more collage, draw elements using my wacom, but the iPad has taken it to a different level and made it that much easier. This doesn't mean that I'm dropping collage either, the main medium of my work is still collage, I'm just adding more digital elements and using the iPad to experiment. 

I'd previously tried to work with an older iPad model and a generic compatible stylus but the results weren't great. The new Apple pencil is a dream to work with. Its so accurate and is pressure sensitive so its super easy to achieve natural looking lines and paint strokes. The dual sensors in the tip of the pencil and the surface of the iPad pick up not only on the pressure but also the angle at which you're holding the pencil so you can shade with the side of a pencil or create different thicknesses with the marker pen. The grip feels great and I like that its weighted, it feels solid but glides really easily and smoothly. I was worried about the friction, or lack of, between the pencil tip and iPad surface as this was something I really disliked when using a generic stylus but I was presently surprised. The matte tip of the pencil helps to give more of a resistance against the tablet surface. It's still not quite the sensation of a pencil over the grain of paper but I know there are a lot of matte screen protectors available at a relatively small price. 

So far its made a great impact on my my work and my process of creating work so keep your eyes peeled for an influx of new work!

Rouleur issue 17.6

Latest set of illustrations for Rouleur, looking at the growing use of social media among road cyclists and the effects that it has had on the sport. I think I must have said it quite a lot before, but I really love working with these guys. The briefs are super fun and interesting and the images just come really easily.

Below are the final pieces. I'll also include a few of the roughs at the end. Before I've been a bit reluctant to share any rough work just because there may be the chance to recycle the idea or composition with another brief, but these are pretty specific so should be safe. My process of work took a bit of a dramatic shift from my usual approach and the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil were the only materials I used to create the roughs. As I mentioned before, I'm going to do a little write up on the iPad and my practice, but the benefit of using them meant that I was able to focus solely on the ideas and just pick up and create, rather than having to split my time between ideation and sifting through papers, for textures, colours, scanning, working up the roughs slightly etc.

Drought

Over 20 million people are facing severe famine and starvation due to drought. Climate change is a huge aggravating factor scorching harvests and ruining livelihoods, but we can all help change this!

Like the Wind

Here's a recent piece I did for Like the Wind magazine #13. I got to illustrate a really great article by James Dunn (instagram) about using memory and music to help him run and train further. I wanted to convey the solitariness of his process, lost in his own head but enforce he was by no means alone or lonely. The illustration ended up being really striking and quite graphic which I really like, whilst keeping texture and plenty of depth.

Some things I've been working on

As well as working on commissions I've been trying to improve my shop game! So I've been creating a few prints in order to boost my passive income and also just switch gear and try a few new things. A few months ago I got an ipad pro for a number of different reasons (I'm actually going to do a little post/review of this real soon) and creating these prints is just a way of me experimenting with the mix of collage and digital to see how I my illustrations can retain that tangible, textured depth and be digital at the same time.

Here are a few

      

All prints are available to buy either through Facebook (please like and share if you're into that :) ) or you can shoot me an email Grace01_25@hotmail.com

Tablet Magazine

Keeping the updates coming, here's an illustration I did to accompany another really beautiful personal essay for Tablet Magazine. It discusses a woman's experience of holding her first dinner party since separating from her husband, helping her to understand what freedom really means. 

I really love working with the people at Tablet magazine because they understand illustration, the idea of making reference to the parting of the red sea in the illustration came from the Art Director. I played on this a little further to create the waves out of curtains, towering around the dinner party, revealing the light shining through the window at the end of the table, portraying the safe passage of living a newly single life.

Rouleur Magazine

Here's a recent commission for Rouleur Magazine. It was three full page illustrations to accompany a humorous look at the diet of a cyclist, which is apparently a lot of pasta! I've worked with the Cycling magazine before and they are one of my favourite clients to work with, not only because I love sport and illustrating it but because their articles always bring out some really great and unusual imagery. 

Here are the illustrations.

 

They'd used a square format previously before which had worked quite well so I decided to play with this a little and have elements spilling out of the square to create an illusion of perspective and also step into the viewers space, drawing them in and capturing their attention.