Do you feel like a dinosaur at times when it comes to the digital world and all the slick flashy technology? It seems almost impossible to keep up with the latest apps, cameras, iPads and gadgets flooding the market. Do you buy a smart phone, an iPad, a DSLR or Point and Shoot Camera? If all this makes your head spin….. you are not alone.
No one wants to get left behind. Keeping up with the latest technology can be exhausting and expensive. So how do you figure it all out?
I am an Apple kind of girl. I started with Apple and continue with it for its “User” Friendly platform. Here is my top 7 list of the digital products I use in creating my art.
- The iPhone- I currently have the iPhone 7 Plus. I used to think I had to upgrade every time Apple came out with a new model. This phone has a great Portrait Feature which allows me to take photos with the background blurred. I use it as a fabulous on the “go” tool from note taking, , landscape as well as macro photography. It does a good job at video recording too.
- The iPad Pro- This is my 3rd iPad and by far Apple has come up with a wonderful iPad for artists. I download all my digital pictures onto it. It comes with iCloud storage so my photos stay backed up. It allows me to do a lot of things on the go and comes with some great features for creating art…. more about that in the Apps section.
- Cameras- If you are looking to photograph birds or animals in the wild from a distance, you will need a camera with a zoom lens. The zoom lens can be fixed on a point and shoot or it can be detachable from a DSLR camera. I have a Canon DSLR and an assortment of lens for different subjects. I started with a fixed lens and upgraded as I learned more about taking research photographs for my art.
- Adobe Photoshop- Photoshop used to cost about $1200. It is now available in different bundles with other Adobe Software but you can pay a monthly fee of about $10 a month for Photoshop only. This makes it super affordable. I use it for many things: scanning my art, creating fine art reproductions and products, book design, photo editing and more.
- Apps- Procreate is an app for drawing on the iPad Pro. You need an Apple pencil to do the drawing. Procreate has a ton of different digital brushes that assimilate different textures like ink, graphite, pastel, watercolor, charcoal and a whole lot more. This amazing app is under $20 and this is not a monthly fee. This is a STEAL!
- Apple computer- I have a laptop and a HUGE 24 inch Mac Book Pro. I use the Mac Book Pro for all my video editing and mostly everything else. I started out with a Laptop, MacBook Pro. I still have it 6 years later and it works great. I needed a lot more speed, memory and space to create my videos for my online classes. I also needed it for when I was writing my book. I invested in the big guy last year and now I use the laptop when I travel.
- Epson Scanner- I bought my Epson scanner about 11 years ago. I think I paid about
$200 for it. It is still working great!!!! I scan all my art including the art for my books into the computer and color correct everything in Photoshop.
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Fabulous article Mindy; Thank You! I will be upgrading my iPhone soon and looking to get an iPad Pro, for all of the various tools, using my photos along with the drawing capability.What size do you have? Do you use a telephoto with macro capability? My system is Nikon, first DSLR in 2002, with a shorter zoom/macro; 85/24. Looking for a longer zoom with macro. Thank You!
Hi OC! Great to hear from you. I LOVE my iPad Pro. I have the largest format size along with the Apple pencil. I use it with Procreate and do a lot of composing of paintings on it. It is GREAT!!!! I have a Canon Rebel with a 18-55mm lens and Tamaron 18-400mm lens. I went with the Tamaron because it was more affordable than the Canon version. The zoom lens are a bit heavy but for birds it has been excellent to get good research photos to work wither my paintings.