The App That Every iPad Pro Artist Needs-- Discussion

Everybody knows about Procreate, possibly because the App Store has featured it like CRAZY ever since the iPad Pro came out. It was and still is easily the best iOS art app. There are lots of reasons why-- here are just a few of them.

1. Workflow

Procreate is super special because it was not only built specifically for the iPad, but it was also designed specifically for the iPad. You'd think that is pretty fundamental, but you might be surprised at how many art apps on the App Store miss the target by a long shot. Their problem is usually that they are trying to replicate standard desktop apps like photoshop, and think that the more like photoshop it is the better. Procreate knew that the workflow would be completely different on an iPad, and figured out how to make that experience the best one possible.

2. Pro Features

Custom brushes, advanced layer options, and humongous canvas possibilities-- Procreate clearly has the professional digital painter in mind.

3. Community

An active community is key, I think, to a good program. From collecting helpful tips and tricks for using some procreate, to suggesting ideas for improvements, Procreate's forums are just wonderful.

And yet, there seems to be a trend within the suggestions section, that I don't think Procreate is recognizing, nor do I think they neccassarily should. This trend goes something like this:

1. Please make a text tool

2. Please make a text tool

And, last but not least:

3: PLEASE MAKE A TEXT TOOL! PS. HOW HARD WOULD IT BE?

The problem with these complaints- I mean, suggestions- are that they don't really stand with Procreate's foundation. As is, Procreate has a very specific customer in mind: a digital painter. They don't want to clutter up their amazingly simple interface with tools that not every single one of their customers will use. And I agree with that completely, except for one problem-- There isn't an app as good as Procreate for the group of artists that need a text tool, aka the comic artists. To make a comic on the iPad pro you have to use multiple apps to get what you want and those apps just aren't as well designed as Procreate. 

Whoever creates an amazing app that makes creating comics on the iPad even more of a joy than using a desktop app will be a very very rich person indeed. And so, obviously, I am trying to figure out ways to do just that. The point of this post is to start up a discussion with the comic artists out there about what they would like to see in an app specifically designed for making comics. Also, I have a few fairly revolutionary ideas of my own, and want to see what you guys think. Here they are:

Layers

Sketching Layer

When you open a new canvas, you are already on a sketching layer. The basic idea of a sketching layer would be that when you are on it, it automatically hides all the layers above it, but when you are on a layer above it, wether it be another sketch layer or not, it's opacity is automatically lowered by 50 percent. This is also helpful if you want to import a sketch, or if you want to make an animation.

Inking Layer

When you are finished with your sketch, you can make a new "inking" layer. This layer is an automatic reference layer for the layers above, and just like a sketch layer, it has its own pen tool and color that you set when you first make the layer.

Regular Layer

Just a normal layer, and even if you have multiple the color stays the same throughout switches.

Tools

Eraser - Tap and hold to clear layer/selected (Also have an block eraser option for removing whole lines/segments at once while inking)

Smudge - Tap and hold to blur layer/selected

Paint - Tap and hold to fill/gradient layer/selected

Select - Tap and hold to select layer contents

Text - Tap and hold to edit text on layer (?)

Gestures

Double tap on tools to bring up options for those tools. Double tap on layers to bring up layer options. Tap and hold on tools also does an action (such as clearing the layer/deleting selected if you tap and hold the eraser.) Tap and hold layers to move and group them. Two finger tap to undo, three fingers to redo. Two finger swipe up/down to move up/down a layer.

Exporting

The option to export all layers as separate images at once. This would be helpful for animation and I am sure a bunch of other things.

Misc. Stuff That Procreate Doesn't Have

Unlimited canvas

Lazy mouse

LAYER GROUPING

Bluetooth keyboard support??

Voice commands?????

Easy/quick horizontal flip access

Go wild! Throw out your craziest ideas! This is a community brainstorm session.

5 Reasons Why Highschoolers Should Start Their Own Business

Most of you probably don't know this, but I am a home schooled highschooler. Mind blowing, right? But, what made me want to start my art career this early? What made me think I was ready, when I hadn't gone to art school and mostly just doodled in my spare time? Why would I be willing to dive into this scary business of illustrating a children's book? Well, to be honest, I didn't think I was ready, not even in the slightest. It was super scary getting started, and it will continue to be scary until I am done with the illustrations for this book. After all, I'm only fifteen. How could I possibly satisfy this person's needs?

But here are the reasons why I will never ever regret getting a head start on my illustrating career in highschool, and you won't either.

1. Highschoolers have time

Now, I realize that a lot of highschoolers really don't feel like they have time, between classes and homework and socializing, but don't you think that you'll have even less time to start your dream career while having to work full time or even part time at a job you hate? If you start up your dream business in highschool, maybe you won't ever need to work at McDonald's!

2. They aren't under pressure to support themselves

This sort of goes along with the last one, but seriously. In highschool you really can afford to mess up! You don't have to have two jobs just in case one doesn't work out.

3. The experience gained is priceless

By making mistakes, you gain experience that you can't get anywhere else. What better time to do that than when you are in highschool and don't have to support yourself? Also, what if you decide you want to do something different with your life? Rather than changing majors in the middle of college and wasting a bunch of time and money, why not really test your limits in highschool?

4. Old people love to see young people do just about anything

Since not a lot of highschoolers start their own business, if yours does end up doing well, there is a lot of potential for getting out there in the media, just for being young. It's crazy, and not fully fair, but hey, take whatever you can get. Plus, your parents will be supah pwoud of you.

5. It will set you in the right direction

I don't know about other highschoolers, but I happen to be scared out of my mind of the idea of growing up and having responsibilities. So, what do I do? I throw a ton of responsibilities onto my shoulders and hope for the best! Logical. Right. But actually, in the midst of this hulabaloo, I seem to have found a light. I can't even believe how privileged I am for having such a head start on my dream career. I am comforted by the knowledge that I have a few years to grow even more, and get even better jobs, before I even have to worry about finances and money. No matter what your dream is, fellow highschoolers, I encourage you to find a way to make it a reality even in highschool. Or, if you don't know what you want to do, I would have to tell you that now is the time for experimenting! If you are thinking of getting a job at McDonalds, I hope that you might reconsider following your passion while you can, because it will be so gratifying to actually make money by doing what you love, no matter if it is the same amount that you would make working at a fast food joint.

If I can do it, you can too! I wish you luck on this incredible, mind numbing, awful, terrifying, wonderful journey, where you will get even less sleep than you are getting now. But in the end, you can thank me. Because following your dream is the most amazing thing, no matter the consequences.

Leave your thoughts in the comments, and make sure to tell me what to talk about next.

How to Punch Through Artist's Block

As most of you know, I recently got a job illustrating a children's book for someone. See here.

After I finish that, I will be full on helping my mother make a project that she's been working on for YEARS, and that she is counting on me to illustrate as well.

Not only is all this a lot of pressure for a highschooler, but I also haven't been able to work on my own projects, like, at all. Not that I don't have time, but that I only feel like I have so much creative energy in a day. Maybe that is just me, or maybe it is partly (or all) stress, but I've recently just felt tired all the time.

This begs the question... How do adults do it? How do full time artists manage to get through this kind of exhausting artist's block, to be able to support themselves by doing art?

The trick that works, in my research and experience, is taking breaks. I think they say something like taking a five-ten minute break every half hour. But it is important what you do during those breaks. Here are some suggestions:

Take a walk.

I know you have most definitely heard of this one before, and maybe you think it only applies to someone who is fortunate enough to live near someplace pretty. I happen to be one of these people, and I am grateful for that. But just getting away from your computer for five minutes is what we are trying to accomplish here, so that isn't necessary. All you really need is to get the blood back into your brain again so you can think more clearly, and so any kind of light exercise should work.

Eat.

Now, I am not encouraging obesity or anything, but if it possible for you to break up your daily meals into healthy snacks to give you a boost throughout the day, go for it. For me, eating even a small amount just gives me an energy boost, and so if I can get six energy boosts rather than three, all the better. I would highly reccomend cheese and apples, they are fabulous together.

Drink water.

I don't drink nearly enough water during the day, which is scientifically proven to cause headaches and brain malfunctions. And you do not need brain malfunctions when you are scrambling to finish a big project.

Nap.

You most likely aren't getting enough sleep. 'Nuff said.

I hope this was helpful to all of you struggling with artist's block, but don't be selfish! Share your own tips for how to cope with this monster in the comments, because I need the help just as much as you. Also, if you want me to blog about something particular related to illustrating or drawing on the iPad Pro, make sure to tell me! I am always looking for suggestions.

The Psychology Behind Writing/Illustrating a Children's Book

Part 1: Picture books

Why do most adults assume that children are satisfied with simplicity? Because from and adult's perspective, the things that children are interested in seem very simple and uncomplicated. Why do babies stare at ceiling fans all day long? Is it because they are simple? No. It is because fans are super interesting.

But that doesn't mean that everything that is ordinary to an adult is intriguing to a child! Some stuff is just plain stupid, from both perspectives. The problem is that a lot of adults can't differentiate what might be interesting to a child and what might be boring to a child.

This is where I come in. I was a child not long ago, and, paired with a good memory and great imagination, I can help you grown ups get back into a child's brain.

This section will be about picture books, because that is what I am illustrating at the moment. It is also more relevant to this blog, because in my mind the pictures in picture books are FAR more important than the words.

Why are pictures more important than words in picture books?

1. There are only so many words you have to work with while writing a children's book. Pictures are universal, and can include all of the details that you cannot explain with simple language.

2. Imagine that you are a young child who cannot read, sitting in your mother's lap while she reads you a story. Would it really be an enjoyable experience if you have nothing to look at while she reads?

This brings me to explain what makes for good illustrations in a picture book. I've seen a lot of children's books that are absolutely gorgeous, each illustration a literal oil painting that probably took a billion years to paint. But these are more enjoyable to look at for adults. In fact, I remember being almost intimidated by these books. Maybe that was just me, but I'd rather have had clear line drawings with simple filled in color. To me those were easier to look at, and often times more fun. Beauty has almost nothing to do with the level of worth that an illustration has, not from a kid's perspective.

The very best example that I can give of a great children's book is 'Go, Dog, Go!' By P.D. Eastman. It was my favorite as a child, and now it is my niece's favorite.

This book's illustrations are vibrant and full of life. The words act as props for the illustrations, which keeps it fast and easy to read. Let me take you through this book and show you what P.D. Eastman did right.

1. The more words, the more complicated the illustration.

The first page of this book has one word on it. 'Dog.' Then it shows a dog. 

There are two words on the next page, and more words on the next page. But as there are more words, there are more things to look at. Why is this so important? Timing. The time it takes the mother to read the page is the same time the child has to stare and wait for the next page to come. It only makes sense that a page that takes longer to read would have more things for the child to look at.

2. The pictures are more than just the words visualized.

On that first page, it would have been just as easy to show a dog sitting down. But no, the dog is skating. How much more interesting is this? It gets the child right into the action, even if it doesn't seem relevant from an adult's perspective. From a child's perspective, the words are the add-ons. Keep that in mind while illustrating or working with your illustrator.

3. It has interesting characters and conflicts.

This 'conflict' that occurs throughout the book gives just the right amount of consistency. The rest of the book is mostly just dogs doing different things, but these two characters keep reappearing, and every time they appear they talk about hats. It always gave me the sense that this is what they do, and this is who they are. Even just the fact that he always says goodbye right after offending her gave away so much of his personality to me. You wouldn't think that kids pick up on these subtleties, but they do! Obviously they don't try to analyze everything like I am doing now, but they do recognize these kinds of things without even realizing that they do. I can't even tell you what mixed feelings I had towards these characters, and yet how I reveled in these mixed feelings! Hardly any children's book is like this. Adults assume they have to be so obvious and blunt to get something across to a kid, but this is the opposite of the  case. In reality, kids actually exaggerate all emotions and subtleties, because they have such vast imaginations. And so characters and conflicts that leave no room for imagination are just boring. Speaking of leaving room for the imagination...

4. Makes the child think.

There is this one page of this book that always got me. It is the page where all the dogs go to bed, but one dog has his eyes wide open.

It never explains why that dog is awake. It never explains why that dog looks so scared.  It leaves these things for the child to question. This goes along with the words being add-ons. You wanna know why kids always want to read this book again and again the moment after you finish reading it to them? Because they want to figure out the answers to these questions. At least, that was my reason for it... I hope it isn't creepy how much I remember being a two year old. Please don't judge me.

Conclusion

Children aren't stupid or even simple. Their brains just work differently because they have different stuff to base their logic and feelings off of. Being a children's book author doesn't mean dumbing things down, it means working with what you've got. And in some ways that is harder than writing novels for adults.

I hope this was helpful! Leave a comment wether you agree or disagree about the thought process of a child, because I could very well be misrepresenting the kid community, seeing as I was only one little girl. I may or may not make a part two about writing for older kids, because while I am just as passionate on that subject, I am not sure how to make it relate to this blog. Perhaps I'll eventually put both parts onto my other blog, http://thezozozone.blogspot.com/ . Let me know what you want in the comments, and happy sketching to you all!