Adobe have recently extended Photoshop for the iPad and introduced Fresco, their first drawing and painting app on the iPad. And finally, at Adobe Max they have announced Illustrator for the iPad is to be released in 2020.
Full Synchronization
Similarly to other apps for the iPad, Adobe Illustrator grants a seamless connection across all devices. With all the files synced across Creative Cloud, the designer can start illustrating on the iPad and finish on desktop. Yet this feature isn’t new, the freedom of creativity and synchronization still make us think of the entire graphic design industry to be reimagined.
Along with a range of all-new capabilities of the app, Adobe Illustrator comes not just a mobile creative medium, bit a smart, intuitive tool for digital artists and designers.
The Pen Tool
Adobe have rethought and reinvented the pen tool from scratch. As a desktop tool, it is quite challenging to use, since it requires holding down certain keys for fine-tuning points and lines. On the iPad version, it goes possible to obtain really smooth curves without dragging anchor points. Now, there is an on-screen button, the touch modifier, which acts as a keyboard shortcut and allows the designer to produce both straight lines and perfect the curves.
The Text Tool
With the new type tool, the designer can adjust size and spacing with a few moves — or by accessing the properties panel, which is as intuitive as never before. Along with multiple text-editing controls, it also brings over 17,000 fonts from Adobe’s fonts library, so to work over typography becomes as simple as on desktop (or even more).
Construction Guides
The Construction Guide is similar to the tracing feature in the desktop version — however, more intuitive and captivating. With the help of Adobe’s AI Sensei platform, it “scans” the hand-drawn sketch, detects the underlying shapes and automatically traces the lines. The new function saves lots of time and still doesn’t take control away from the creator.
Pattern and Radial Repeat
Illustrator for the iPad (as well as its desktop version) is the primary soft for making patterns, so there come dedicated tools for Pattern and Radial repetitions. Both processes can now be carried out in seconds, and with a Spacing Properties panel, the designer can customize the final image with different overrides for changing the size, shape and order.
I hope that the new app will play as smooth as it did at the presentation — however, many of us have faced some issues with Photoshop for the iPad, since not all of its functional worked properly on the oder versions. But one thing I can say for sure, get yourself the latest iPad Pro if you want to access all features of the new Illustrator.
