Recently I’ve stumbled upon a couple of great apps on the iPhone that completely changes the way I think of my phone/iPod. I always thought that the iPhone was a neat little device that let me play some decent games, go online, and listen to music (oh yeah, and there’s that phone part too). Okay, so those are things I can just expect from phones these days, some being better at it than others.
Then I stumbled upon one app in particular that just blew my mind.
SketchBook Mobile by Autodesk Inc. ($2.99)
So, this really isn’t the first app of it’s kind. I’ve actually played with a primitive drawing app in the past. This one though surpasses it in so many ways. I’ve always wanted one of those screen tablets that let me draw on it, and of all things, a phone gave me a taste of that.
SketchBook Mobile is filled with so many features for a digital artist. Layering, undo, save, a bunch of brush options and color choices. It’s practically like using a program on a computer, just miniaturized for the device. Honestly, there’s a huge potential for amazing pieces of work given the right dedication.
Of course, being on the iPhone, it does have flaws. For one, you can only be so accurate with your drawings. I even bought a stylus for the phone, but it was difficult to use since you had to press hard, and you don’t get pinpoint accuracy like I was hoping. My finger does a better job in terms of control, but not that much better. Luckily, there’s a zoom feature that lets me get up close and personal. Secondly, I haven’t used the app too heavily yet, but I can’t imagine that this would be good for the battery. When I get drawing, I lose track of time. If I’m drawing on the bus, odds are I can see a significant decrease in battery life by the time I reach my stop.
But hell, I love the app despite the limitations. Can’t say that I have anything to post yet though. It’ll be awhile before I have time to draw anything satisfying.
Photoshop.com Mobile by Adobe (Free)
The real reason why I made this post in the first place though was for this little app. At first I thought, a free app from Adobe? Is this going to be a half-assed photo editing tool? I’ve seen my fair share of those too. Sadly, can’t say I’ve used any of them. But I wanted a new photo for Twitter and thought, hell, might as well see what this app can do. I wasn’t expecting a drawing program like SketchBook, but Adobe does know photos.
Before & After
Hell, it impressed me. I ended up using quite a few of the features that this app has. One is the change in exposure for the blacks, then toned down the contrast. Put a blue filter over it along with a soft focus as well a vignette. It also helped that the iPhone was surprising me with good quality pictures, though that could be because of the direct light I had on me.
It might not be the most in depth app, but what features it does have is nice. I was surprised that I could get something that looks like I used a standalone digital camera and played with Photoshop a bit. Though, I guess in a way that’s pretty much what I did.
Anyways, that’s it for the apps. Honestly, if Apple releases a Mac tablet, I’d take it into serious consideration, especially if I could run Photoshop with ample battery life. Make my day, Apple. I will be waiting.
