Artists & photographers hopeful but skeptical about prospects of full-scale Photoshop on A...

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in iPad
Professionals working with Adobe Photoshop on desktops appear to be eager that the full-scale software will translate well to the iPad Pro, but skeptical about whether Adobe will handle the port properly.

iPad Pro and Apple Pencil


"If the iPad was able to faithfully replicate what it's like to use Photoshop on my Mac with a Cintiq, then I would most likely use the iPad much more than my [Wacom] Cintiq Companion," visual development artist Lizzie Nichols said in a Macworld interview. Nichols has worked on a number of prominent projects in movies and TV, such as "Futurama" and most recently "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation."

She does the vast majority of her work on a Mac Pro with the connected Cintiq display, which is aimed at professional artists.

"Photoshop is the main way I get all of my artwork done, so the more ways I can access it, the better," she continued. "The ideal thing would be to be able to take Photoshop out into the world with my iPad and be able to work away from my office or home studio, without losing the functionality of Photoshop on my desktop setup."

The problem for her is that she wants as much of the software to translate as possible, including keyboard shortcuts. While iPad apps can certainly support Mac-style shortcuts, developers have sometimes been slow to add them, treating them as a low priority.

Nichols said that until now, she's seen the iPad Pro as a "fancy toy with some potentially fun painting apps on it, with which I could maybe get some digital plein air painting done." There are various Photoshop-branded apps on the iPad, but none of them are anywhere near as powerful as Photoshop for Mac or Windows.

Other people in the artistic world at communities like Fstoppers have complained that even the 12.9-inch iPad Pro may simply be too small for editing, given that professionals are used to working on larger monitors and tablets in many cases. There's also the concern that Adobe will charge too much, presumably tying the upcoming app to an expensive Creative Cloud subscription.

Many artists are already forced to use Creative Cloud however, and subscription-based work apps are nothing new on the iPad. Microsoft requires an Office 365 subscription to get full functionality out of its Office for iOS suite.

There are other hardware issues to consider, according to Nichols.

"It would be fantastic if the Apple Pencil had some kind of clickable button on it -- like the Wacom stylus -- that I could set to whatever function I wanted," she said. "I always have my Wacom stylus buttons set to Option and Right Click. This saves me tons of time on my Cintiq and currently there isn't really a way to do that with the Apple Pencil."

She also describes the iPad Pro's glassy surface as minor issue, since her Cintiq has more "tooth" that can make it easier to draw. But she added that it's good that Adobe and Apple are "listening to the people that use their products to make a living," and she's "cautiously optimistic" the two companies will score a victory.

Adobe announced plans to bring full-scale Photoshop to the iPad on Friday. More details should emerge at a conference in October, setting the stage for a launch in 2019.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    From my limited experience with photo editing, I can't imagine doing it without the fine control of a cursor.  (My) Fingers are just too fat.
    Perhaps the pencil could be used instead?
    edited July 2018 watto_cobramaciekskontakt
  • Reply 2 of 24
    Based on her extensive wishlist, she either better be prepared for utter disappointment or just not bother at all. 
    JWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 24
    foljsfoljs Posts: 390member
    From my limited experience with photo editing, I can't imagine doing it without the fine control of a cursor.  (My) Fingers are just too fat.
    Perhaps the pencil could be used instead?
    For one, the UI will be scaled appropriately for touch UI.

    Second, photo editing is about changing some settings and re-touching some areas, not about fine painting work. Fingers are more than enough for most things one does in PS or Lightroom when it comes to photo editing. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 24
    nunzynunzy Posts: 662member
    Adobe is lazy.
  • Reply 5 of 24
    Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer are great tools for the iPad.
    JWSCwatto_cobrafotoformatRayz2016Sezwhut
  • Reply 6 of 24
    gerry ggerry g Posts: 39member
    it'e either this or porting some 3D app that appears to be the holy grail for the techno dreamers.........get real the iPad Pro is great but it's too small and the pencil too skiddy to offer the kind of fine control needed, thats why there are Wacoms and a desktop machines with lots and lots of monitor real estate
  • Reply 7 of 24
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    gerry g said:
    it'e either this or porting some 3D app that appears to be the holy grail for the techno dreamers.........get real the iPad Pro is great but it's too small and the pencil too skiddy to offer the kind of fine control needed, thats why there are Wacoms and a desktop machines with lots and lots of monitor real estate
    The Pencil is skiddy? What does that mean?
    watto_cobrapscooter63
  • Reply 8 of 24
    The problem for her is that she wants as much of the software to translate as possible, including keyboard shortcuts.

    The reason why the Microsoft Surface (and other Windows "tablets") are horrible to use as tablets is precisely because of this attitude. People are stuck with the idea you need to use keyboard shortcuts (or the same menu structures) as a normal desktop App without trying to imagine different ways of interacting on a touch device.

    In her example, she uses Option and Right Click (this seems to be common as people often use Shift, Right Click or Option in combination with other actions in Photoshop).

    So why not have the keys she uses the most appear on the screen when she selects a tool to use? They can stay hidden most of the time (keeping your screen clear) and appear only when needed. Further, you don't even need to have the virtual "key" work as a standard key (meaning you press and hold when performing an action - like dragging). You could tap once to turn it on and then tap again to turn it off when finished. So instead of having one hand tied up on your keyboard holding a single key down you can now use that hand for others tasks (gestures with your fingers while also using the stylus).

    A well-designed tablet App will have a UI that dynamically changes under your fingers as you use the device. Not being constrained to keeping one hand on a keyboard opens up all sorts of possibilities for interaction. 


    tmayspliff monkeyJWSCwatto_cobracreateriopscooter63fastasleep
  • Reply 9 of 24
    I don't think a 15" iPad Pro is out of the question in the future. Reduction of bezels and the continued drop in weight for the product could make it possible, and increasing the size is always going to be good for art related functions and apps.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 24
    People are unrealistically expecting the iPad to be a fully self contained desktop replacement by simply duplicating the desktop experience, but a LOT can be achieved by re-thinking the interface and using the multi-touch option. Tablet display is at your fingertips, at the keyboard distance, with even more dynamic and context sensitive functionallity. Just cleverly lay the action keys along the edge and open the menus on the fly as needed, but use the touch gestures as much as possible, so not to eat up the screen real estate. In that case, a regular tablet display becomes rather large. As an example, Lightroom Classic on a 21" desktop monitor uses so much space for the persistent interface that the actual image area is equivalent to the 12.9" iPad Pro. So a 15" tablet, while by no means ultra portable, could replace a 24" monitor with some clever dynamic interface design. Actually, due to the distance at which we use out devices, a 12.9" Pro could be sufficient for most pro users, as long as the interface is cleverly done. Perhaps we'll be also able to use Siri to run app specific actions, it would add a whole new layer to the user interface.

    Being a long time Adobe Illustrator user I have recently installed Affinity Designer on my 10.5" iPad pro and am delighted at how much can be done using the combination of finger gestures and the Apple Pencil; I sincerely do not miss the keyboard. Or for that matter, Adobe's own Lightroom Mobile getting up to speed and becoming useful as of lately. I still wouldn't tackle any major large-scale projects on the tablet, rather work on bits and pieces while on the go, then finish off when back at the desktop, but at least I feel I could travel only with a tablet. Almost: what I really miss on the iPad to make it a viable desktop/ laptop replacement at this point is a no-frills external storage/ backup option. Cloud doesn't cut it when for example traveling for three weeks in countries with spotty internet speeds (or on a 19-hour flight for that matter), trying to back up lots of video footage or very large layered photos. I have just ordered a SunDisk Wireless Stick, I am curious to see how much it can do in terms of copying the flies from the iPad, but I am still dreaming of built-in automatic or at least one-click effortless backup to an external drive.
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 11 of 24
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    foljs said:
    [...] photo editing is about changing some settings and re-touching some areas, not about fine painting work. Fingers are more than enough for most things one does in PS or Lightroom when it comes to photo editing. 
    What you describe is one kind of photo editing. There's also the kind that involves making the photo into something it wasn't when it came out of the camera, and that absolutely can require pin-point precision control. Masking springs to mind as one obvious example. Drawing and painting, too.
  • Reply 12 of 24
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    gerry g said:
    it'e either this or porting some 3D app that appears to be the holy grail for the techno dreamers.........get real the iPad Pro is great but it's too small and the pencil too skiddy to offer the kind of fine control needed, thats why there are Wacoms and a desktop machines with lots and lots of monitor real estate
    The Pencil is skiddy? What does that mean?
    It means he hasn’t used it. 
    fastasleepStrangeDays
  • Reply 13 of 24
    KITAKITA Posts: 392member
    The problem for her is that she wants as much of the software to translate as possible, including keyboard shortcuts.

    The reason why the Microsoft Surface (and other Windows "tablets") are horrible to use as tablets is precisely because of this attitude. People are stuck with the idea you need to use keyboard shortcuts (or the same menu structures) as a normal desktop App without trying to imagine different ways of interacting on a touch device.

    In her example, she uses Option and Right Click (this seems to be common as people often use Shift, Right Click or Option in combination with other actions in Photoshop).

    So why not have the keys she uses the most appear on the screen when she selects a tool to use? They can stay hidden most of the time (keeping your screen clear) and appear only when needed. Further, you don't even need to have the virtual "key" work as a standard key (meaning you press and hold when performing an action - like dragging). You could tap once to turn it on and then tap again to turn it off when finished. So instead of having one hand tied up on your keyboard holding a single key down you can now use that hand for others tasks (gestures with your fingers while also using the stylus).

    A well-designed tablet App will have a UI that dynamically changes under your fingers as you use the device. Not being constrained to keeping one hand on a keyboard opens up all sorts of possibilities for interaction. 


    That's the wrong way to look at it. All you're doing is forcing the use of a touch screen when it's not necessarily the best option, but the only option Apple offers.

    Buttons on the stylus and keyboard shortcuts are far quicker in a work flow than having to find on screen buttons with NO tactile feedback.

    In the case of a Surface, you can use the Surface Pen (or any other compatible 3rd party active stylus), which has two buttons (side and top) and an eraser. You can also use any wireless accessory or remote, such as these:



    Image result for wacom remote

    IreneW
  • Reply 14 of 24
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Sadly you see this sort of attitude from many professionals when it comes to software.   I can understand it to an extent as people dont want to screw with what pays the bills.   On the other hand you can quickly end up hungry if you dont adapt to advancements in the industry.  

    An example here is in the mechanical industries where AutoCAD and two D drafting was king.   The industry moved along for years with the AutoCad ""standard"" and the along came solid modeling.   That created a lot of grief for people stuck in the "drafting" world that where not able or willing to adapt to new ways of doing things.  Now we are at the stage where solid modeling is done by makers in their garages.  

    In the end i dont see Adobe making an exact copy of Photoshop as it wouldnt play to the strength of the device.  Frankly to move forward they have to leave something behind.   So im hoping Adobe is of the mind set that they want to move their professional tools forward on iPad.    That means a unique intereface to the apps that leverage iPad and dont copy the desktop interface verbatim. 

    Speaking of RAM upgrades i really wish that Apple would double the RAM in the high end iPad with its SSD upgrade.  It would make a huge difference for a array of professional users.  
  • Reply 15 of 24
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    You just cannot expect an iOS application to have the UI of a Mac application. It does NOT work that way!
  • Reply 16 of 24
    KITA said:
    The problem for her is that she wants as much of the software to translate as possible, including keyboard shortcuts.

    The reason why the Microsoft Surface (and other Windows "tablets") are horrible to use as tablets is precisely because of this attitude. People are stuck with the idea you need to use keyboard shortcuts (or the same menu structures) as a normal desktop App without trying to imagine different ways of interacting on a touch device.

    In her example, she uses Option and Right Click (this seems to be common as people often use Shift, Right Click or Option in combination with other actions in Photoshop).

    So why not have the keys she uses the most appear on the screen when she selects a tool to use? They can stay hidden most of the time (keeping your screen clear) and appear only when needed. Further, you don't even need to have the virtual "key" work as a standard key (meaning you press and hold when performing an action - like dragging). You could tap once to turn it on and then tap again to turn it off when finished. So instead of having one hand tied up on your keyboard holding a single key down you can now use that hand for others tasks (gestures with your fingers while also using the stylus).

    A well-designed tablet App will have a UI that dynamically changes under your fingers as you use the device. Not being constrained to keeping one hand on a keyboard opens up all sorts of possibilities for interaction. 


    That's the wrong way to look at it. All you're doing is forcing the use of a touch screen when it's not necessarily the best option, but the only option Apple offers.

    Buttons on the stylus and keyboard shortcuts are far quicker in a work flow than having to find on screen buttons with NO tactile feedback.

    In the case of a Surface, you can use the Surface Pen (or any other compatible 3rd party active stylus), which has two buttons (side and top) and an eraser. You can also use any wireless accessory or remote, such as these:



    Image result for wacom remote


    Bullshit.
    fastasleepbestkeptsecret
  • Reply 17 of 24
    foljs said:
    From my limited experience with photo editing, I can't imagine doing it without the fine control of a cursor.  (My) Fingers are just too fat.
    Perhaps the pencil could be used instead?
    For one, the UI will be scaled appropriately for touch UI.

    Second, photo editing is about changing some settings and re-touching some areas, not about fine painting work. Fingers are more than enough for most things one does in PS or Lightroom when it comes to photo editing. 
    Scale to what? Finger size squares representing pixels? I already have too much trouble with tiny keyboards on smart devices designed to idea one-size-fits-all and not scaling to people's needs (we are much different and when you lost tactile devices your vision and finger sensitivity that are different for all of us is our limits in using devices for professional purposes like this.
  • Reply 18 of 24
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    21" iPad Pro, here we come.
    polymniatallest skil
  • Reply 19 of 24
    netrox said:
    You just cannot expect an iOS application to have the UI of a Mac application. It does NOT work that way!
    Clip Studio (the pro level comic art app) was ported to the iPad with its UI (keyboard shortcuts and all) intact and a lot of people switched to it straight away. It's not "beautiful" in the way, say, Procreate is, but you can get your work done at a speed and quality that doesn't feel like you are making concessions just to get to use your iPad Pro. A few concessions were made to to keyboard-less users (a swipe in hotkey bar, intelligent use of iOS touch) but everything is there that is meant to be. I found I didn't bother with the keyboard after a couple of sessions, and now tap two fingers to undo on my Cintiq even when I'm working at my desk to undo. Nothing happens of course. Cintiq touch is terrible. The iOS touch, easy screen rotation, and easy use of portrait mode enhance what you get with the desktop app. 

    If you're drawing a standing figure on the iPad, being able to quickly rotate for longer strokes opens out your real estate in a way you can't easily do on the smaller portable Cintiqs. Plus they're all 16.9, so if you put the 16" Companion in portrait mode, it's like drawing on the obelisk from 2001 A Space Odyssey.
  • Reply 20 of 24
    IreneWIreneW Posts: 303member
    KITA said:
    The problem for her is that she wants as much of the software to translate as possible, including keyboard shortcuts.

    The reason why the Microsoft Surface (and other Windows "tablets") are horrible to use as tablets is precisely because of this attitude. People are stuck with the idea you need to use keyboard shortcuts (or the same menu structures) as a normal desktop App without trying to imagine different ways of interacting on a touch device.

    In her example, she uses Option and Right Click (this seems to be common as people often use Shift, Right Click or Option in combination with other actions in Photoshop).

    So why not have the keys she uses the most appear on the screen when she selects a tool to use? They can stay hidden most of the time (keeping your screen clear) and appear only when needed. Further, you don't even need to have the virtual "key" work as a standard key (meaning you press and hold when performing an action - like dragging). You could tap once to turn it on and then tap again to turn it off when finished. So instead of having one hand tied up on your keyboard holding a single key down you can now use that hand for others tasks (gestures with your fingers while also using the stylus).

    A well-designed tablet App will have a UI that dynamically changes under your fingers as you use the device. Not being constrained to keeping one hand on a keyboard opens up all sorts of possibilities for interaction. 


    That's the wrong way to look at it. All you're doing is forcing the use of a touch screen when it's not necessarily the best option, but the only option Apple offers.

    Buttons on the stylus and keyboard shortcuts are far quicker in a work flow than having to find on screen buttons with NO tactile feedback.

    In the case of a Surface, you can use the Surface Pen (or any other compatible 3rd party active stylus), which has two buttons (side and top) and an eraser. You can also use any wireless accessory or remote, such as these:



    Image result for wacom remote


    Bullshit.
     No, absolutely not. @KITA is spot on, you cannot expect a graphics designer to hunt around in the GUI for tools, when using the left hand for keyboard shortcuts and modifyer keys are so much more efficient?

    That is like asking a pro programmer to not use any keyboard shortcuts, just the drop down menus... You know that some of the best and most productive programmers still swears by vi and Emacs, right?

    Welcome to the real world.
    KITAgatorguy
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