Adobe Illustrator: Graphic Art

I have been using Illustrator on desktop for years, and I love it. I more recently got an iPad for art purposes. Because I like to draw, I got Procreate, but my one frustration about Procreate is that there’s no way to work in vectors. When I learned that my beloved Adobe Illustrator was available on iPad, I got so excited… until I downloaded it and tried using it. The pen tool barely works and I can’t edit my points without major frustration. Many tools are missing, but there are so many lists about this that I won’t go into depth here. If I can’t even use basic tools like the pen without major upset, that’s just sad. I was really looking forward to working in a more hands on way, as I’ve always found mouse and keyboard to be unwieldy, but this crushed my hopes. After the initial frustration wore off, I decided to do some looking, and stumbled across Vectornator, which is exactly what I had hoped Illustrator’s IOS version would be. If anyone is looking for a art and design app that works in vectors, Vectornator is the one. It doesn’t have everything, but it’s pretty darn close, and it can export to an Illustrator file. This is perfect for me because I can do all the drawing and shaping in Vectornator, and finalize in Illustrator on my computer.

I’ve tried to give this time, but it’s almost like it’s spiraling and becoming worse with each update and ‘added’ features. Every time there is a small update for “bug fixes” and “stability,” it seems to only bug out worse than it did on the last update. You would think that Adobe, a billion dollar company noted as the leader for software and industry ‘standard’ for graphic design application tools, would be able to manage an at least semi-functioning iPad Pro application for one of their most used desktop apps. This (long anticipated) app was first launched nearly 6 months ago, and yet, you still are unable to export a high-resolution raster image (other than a PSD), one of the most, ummm, necessary features of any design software. The app has crashed on me or completely frozen *at least* 15 times today. AND did I forget to mention they make you pay a very hefty fee every month just to use something that works only half the time? I really wish somebody would scrub the entire software development department in charge of iPad applications and just start from scratch because this is ridiculous, and there are unfortunately no comparable alternatives other than affinity, but I don’t have time to learn an entirely new program in an industry that de facto requires you to be subservient to Adobe products. Sigh.

I’ve been so anxious for this to come out, but I also didn’t have high expectations. Most of the time, when computer softwares make an app, so many key features are missing; the apps feel clunky, and it’s always a pain to use and re-learn. I usually end up deleting the app and just sticking with the original. This is NOT the case here! It truly feels like an extension of AI, and working in it is like second nature. All the basics are there, and bouncing back and forth between my iPad and laptop is seamless. I LOVE that I don’t have to worry about saving or exporting, loading to a cloud, then converting my files. I’m literally drawing vector lines with my Apple Pencil from the get-go, already in the format I need. Game changer! No more having to trace and clean up later. Also, manipulating points with my pencil is sooo much easier than clicking with a mouse. Thank you guys for making such an incredible app, right out of the gate. Admittedly, I haven’t been in love with other iPad-version Adobe products, but this is truly amazing!!