Tayasui Sketches for iPad 8.0

Tayasui Sketches is a free application for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that lets you draw freely using a number of virtual utensils and featuring things like pressure sensitivity, layering, opacity settings, and much more.

It’s an incredibly simple drawing tool for use on-the-go, but it’s also complex enough to be adopted by professionals and experienced creatives.

iPad version rules

Last week, we’ve had the pleasure of testing the iPhone version of Tayasui Sketches and we were very impressed by the overall functionality. The graphics are slick, the tools respond well to touch (though not always), and the 1-hour-try-for-free option really knocked us off our feet. The iPad version has all this, plus a number of extras.

For example, the iPad version actually bothers to teach the user how to use the dang thing. It goes into file management too. There are visual guides for every action, and so we finally learned how to use the app without hiccups. Best of all, the bigger interface allows for much more usability.

Tools

Unlike other painting / drawing apps, Tayasui Sketches doesn’t flood the screen with tool options and all sorts of potential actions. Instead, it lets the user focus on the sheet of paper in front of him / her. The drawing tools are found in a dock-of-sorts over to the left side of the screen, and in the pro version you can add a few more. Also in the pro version you can bring out various options for each tool in part, such as opacity, brush size, pressure, and more.

Built inside the app are a few drawings made by amateur artists, as well as some works by people with a proven track record. All of them are just awesome.

The interface has been updated to match the iOS 7 and 8 look and feel, which makes the app seem more integrated with the operating system. This also enables some new, larger, animations to be fitted in the app.

Stylus support

While Tayasui Sketches asks for a Bluetooth-enabled stylus, you can trick the app and just go ahead and use one of those traditional rubber-pointed pens for digital drawing. They work perfectly, pressure and everything (though it does take some getting used to). Some touch controls are a little strange, though. For example, to delete a drawing all you have to do is double tap the eraser. Knowing that double tapping the eraser will delete my drawing makes me approach the eraser with a very shaky hand, which can ultimately result in even more error. Good thing it has undo.

The Wacom and Adonit Styluses should work better, thanks to a recent driver update.

File management

Tayasui Sketches permits folder creation with the ability to choose various designs, and even a drawing as the cover of that particular stack. Managing files can be done by gestures, but this also takes some getting used to. Sharing includes email, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Tumblr, Flickr, Picasa, and Sketched. You can also save every drawing to the camera roll, of course.

The import/export feature for pictures to and from other apps through the iCloud drive has been enabled following the iOS 8 release, while the sharing feature has been greatly expanded to include more services.

Add to watchlist:

Drawing

• Autodesk SketchBook 3.1.2
• Adobe Ideas 2.9.2
• Pic2Comic 1.2.2