SketchBook Pro (Updated)

SketchBook Pro (Updated)
Version: 2.0
Compatible: iPad iOS 4.0
Price: $8

Unfortunate timing for the day before my review went up I didn’t know there was an update for SketchBook Pro. For the most part it’s still the same albeit with some new features (Dropbox support finally) however it’s not without the same problems I had before. One of the main things I didn’t touch upon in my original review however has now become one of its stronger points. I don’t know the specific name for it so I’ll call it Quick Brush.

In the bottom centre of whatever side you worship as up (I for one like to lock the rotation when I paint) is a circle. When you tap it, a new set of menu options go on screen and you can scroll to change the opacity and brush size via scrolling the large circle in the middle. I for one didn’t like this before because if you wanted to change only the size and not the opacity you had to be very, very specific with swiping to the point of begging and pleading only to have the thing go whatever way it pleases.

All that’s changed now with the Quick Brush button being improved upon in every single way. Now it brings up your brush options on the left and colour options to the right. Not that big a deal since it’s either the top or bottom that’d bring up brush options now however the big circle in the middle is now no longer a spoiled little brat. If you scroll to the left or right it won’t care anymore if you stray up or down slightly (and vice versa for the other directions.) This is a step in the right direction seeing as I’m a big fan of changing up brush options in a flash and want my way now without any of the interface getting in the way.

Still this doesn’t change the fact that I still have to go through just as many menus to get to the eraser as before, albeit it’s slightly more convenient now.

One other thing to note that they added (and I theorize they’ll expand upon in the future) is a brush downloads menu. A few brush packs are currently there (all free at the moment), some new, some old that were lost with the update such as the wacky brushes at the end which won’t be missed by me. I can see this as being an interesting development or something very tedious but for now it has a high amount of promise for me.

Finally, I can’t say this without smiling... Dropbox support. This is a big feature I’m thankful for because I was very tired of backing up in the old methods. In case you’re curious, let me elaborate. I had to go to each and every project or sketch I started and go to the export options menu while in the gallery. I then had to select ‘export to iTunes’ for each and every one in order to back it up otherwise it wouldn’t exist to iTunes when I synced it up. Then I had to add it to my back up folder on my Mac through iTunes. Overwrite each and every one of them with the new ones. Even the names of the sketches were just dates and I don’t remember my sketches by the time I started doodling them.

I gave it a whirl and I’m a little disappointed by it’s upload speed (maybe because it was in .psd I’m unsure.) But the option to name it as I upload it and the interface blending with the other menus made my heart warm up. I can pick up my work on my computer with little to no effort and I for one think this was the biggest plus of the new update. I have yet to test whether or not I can pull sketches through Dropbox yet and if I cannot, it’d be a huge shame since any changes I make on the computer will then have to be looped through iTunes again.

It’s good to know that the update it pushing Sketchbook into a better direction. However another sketching App that’s constantly being updated has stolen my heart and will be reviewed very shortly. It’s been through 3 updates since I bought it two months ago and I kid you not, I say ‘it’d be better if...’ and then the next update delivers. If you can guess which one it is, I’ll give you a cookie. Not a real one mind you, a virtual one... Which is just a jpeg... That I drew... On my iPad...

No comments:

Post a Comment