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Using iPad Pro / Pencil as a Cintiq for ZBrush?

Hi,
Has anyone attempted to use an iPad Pro / Pencil with AstroPad to mimic a Cintiq setup with ZBrush? Is there a fluid way to reasonably make up for the lack of stylus (-ahem- “Pencil”) buttons, like using capacitive touches? Is performance any good?

My impression is that the MS Surface is the straightforward superior choice for ZBrush given Apple’s face-palm inducing choice to limit everything to iOS software on the iPP, but I’m wondering if the Pencil/AstroPad combo is workable since I’d still like to work off my main OSX machine/licenses at my desk but could use a mobile sketching tool.

Thanks for any thoughts on this!

That AstroPad set up sounds cool, but I foresee a problem being hand contact with the iPad. I haven’t used the IPP, but all the videos I have seen show people drawing with their hand hovering above the screen. Not a very comfortable position for those all day epic ZB sessions. Another option you might look into is the Wacom Companion 2. It is a tablet computer that works in stand alone mode, and can connect to Mac or PC to work like a Cintiq. I find my Cintiq 13HD a bit too small to use with ZB since my hand covers too much of the screen. I generally use my old trusty Intuos 4 unless I need to work on fine details, then I will switch over to the Cintiq.

Hope that helps. GL!

Have you tried using something like a DualShock 3 or 4? Or even better the PlayStation Move or Navigation controllers? I mention these because they all work out of the box via bluetooth on OS X. You will of course also need some remapping software to map the buttons to various keypresses.

I have seen the Move controllers used several times with Surface Pros and they worked fine, apart from the additional program needed to make them work on Windows.

You could also use something like a Nostromo N52, which was wired the last time I used one, but perhaps there is something similar now in a wireless package?

What I would not do is use soft keys, they drive me crazy compared to a Wacom and a keyboard. But you might have the patience of a saint and be fine with them.

I have yet to see the performance of the AstroPad software so I would love to hear your impressions if you go that route.

Interesting idea to be make working this way more mobile! A few keys strapped to the back of the iPP might be all you need.

In my case I have a cintiq at work and would prefer my home setup be as similar as possible such that my working speed isn’t compromised. For that reason I’d probably stick with a bluetooth keyboard and maybe remap a key to the missing stylus button… that difference alone might be awkward for a while, though.

The iPP is so agonizingly close to being great… it’s just hard to see integrating it into a real 3D workflow. I guess there’s also the question of whether pressure sensitivity coming from an iPP would even be recognized by zbrush…

Well, I just bought the AstroPad app as it is currently on sale for 19.99$. I am such a sucker:D

I have not had much time to test, but forget what I said about soft keys as the on screen Ctrl, Shift, Alt and CMD keys work really well. I was probably thinking of my old Toshiba M200 tablet PC which was not multi touch and where soft keys sucked in ZBrush.

The app is very nicely designed and my first impression of using ZBrush with it is positive. I am running it on an iPad 4 and with the styli I was born with, so I can’t comment on pressure sensitivity.

The only thing that caught me of guard was the way updates to large areas of the screen are displayed on the iPad (such as when rotating a model). The ZBrush interface stays crisp while the model is shown in reduced resolution. I was in a noisy Wifi area and I am sure the Mac that processes the image plays a part as well (I was running on a 2012 MacBook Air) so you might have better results. But it is definitely usable and very snappy.

For that reason I’d probably stick with a bluetooth keyboard and maybe remap a key to the missing stylus button… that difference alone might be awkward for a while, though.

If the AstroPad allowed additional user configurable soft keys that could be positioned arbitrarily I could see myself using those instead. Although there are user defined buttons that trigger a shortcut on the Mac, they are all positioned in a slide out panel that obscures approx. 15% of the iPad screen. On the iPad Pro it would probably not be such a big deal but it would be nice if I just wanted 1 or 2 extra buttons, to be able to place them where I wanted.

Using my iPad pro now with an Apple Pencil, it would absolutely work. I want Zbrush on here so bad. Have they said if they’re looking into it?

That could be interesting actually. I personally gave up on Apple delivering a Mac solution for artists, and switched everything over to Surface Pro 3. It’s been wonderful for ZBrush.

The cool thing about Astropad is it has on screen hotkeys. I use something called RadialMenu on SP3, and it’s awesome.

However, RadialMenu supports simultaneous pen and touch, which is really important for ZBrush. Hard to tell if Astropad does, but if so it could be a winner! I do know the iPad Pro supports simultaneous pen(cil) and touch.

Here’s my simple set up. * is alt. You can make complex keypads with it though.

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James, that RadialMenu looks great. I just bought a surface pro 4 and am having no luck with pen pressure in ZBrush. I take it there’s no problem on the SP3?

@Cometsoft Just install wintab driver for SP4 and you’ll be good to go! Works just like a wacom. It won’t affect the pen for any other apps, it just enables sensitivity for those that use wintab.

Regarding Astropad, I browsed around to see if anyone was using it with ZBrush. Didn’t find anyone using pencil or pressure sensitive pen. One guy said there’s lag when using alt on the keyboard, which would definitely not work. Still an interesting concept. Will surely get a big update for ipad pro

I spent some time using Zbrush on a mac via Astropad on an iPad Pro with the Pencil.
It was better than I expected.
The ipad app version is in beta, and as pointed out, there is room to grow. It does seem to blur the whole screen while rotating the model, not just the changing part of the UI. I’m sure they’ll get that working.
I did not have a problem with my hand on the tablet. You can set it to Stylus or Finger and in my experience a single touch didn’t work. Pinch to zoom TRIES to work, but it’s not mapped to the Scale function of zbrush, so I have to use the scale button.

Button mapping is the thing I have not explored yet.
The command keys work fine.
The default button mapping is for Photoshop so I left it and did not specialize for Zbrush, but that would definitely be necessary.
All that said though, Zbrush is so stylus centric that it was very easy to use.

It worked very quickly over usb.
I then tried over wifi while some Netflix was also streaming in the house. We have bad wifi and it kept dropping out and was generally ‘not as good’ but it still worked in a way that I was able to get some zbrush happening on my living room couch.

No one needs to tell me how superior some other solution is. I’m sure they’re great.
Just gotta say I love that freaking iPad pro. I also did a few hours of For Real ™ work in Photoshop via Astropad. Worked freaking great. Better than the janksy old 13in Cintiq I tried before.

@SonOfWitz: Thanks for sharing your experience! Did the iPP’s pressure sensitivity work in zbrush?

Also, does anyone know if the AstroPad hotkeys horizontally compress the screen area, or just make less of it visible?

Can you simultaneously use the on screen hotkeys with the pen? For ex: hold alt/option and drag with pen to move the model?

Any lag with physical keyboard input?

If those things work, it could be a real solution for some, I guess depending on how bad the screen blur thing is.

But I wouldn’t want to only use the UI. There’s a button in there for most things, but it’s certainly not as efficient.

Hey James,

Thanks for the tip about Wintab. Worked great, had a little difficuly finding it though. In retrospect, doesn’t seem that hard. Was under Surface Pro 3 drivers on the MS site.

Yes, the pressure sensitivity worked.
(Astropad has been around for a while, but without pressure sensitivity, who cares?)

The hotkeys is a slide out panel that covers UI, and does not compress it.
Cool thing is the command keys are optional and work without the slide out panel. Thus you can have only the ctrl option shift command keys on screen.

I don’t want to oversell it. It’s in beta and at this point is not going to replace your cintiq, but it seems very robust already and I think it is going to be a capable tool for many use cases.

And yeah, I didn’t go crazy with the command keys but yeah, Shift strokes smoothed and I was able to Mask and Unmask, hide and unhide with the command keys. Pretty cool.

Awesome, thanks for being candid in your take on things!

So simultaneous pen + hotkey…that is slick! I prefer on-screen keys to the keyboard for general sculpting, like my set up above. Just feels more direct.

Fun to watch tech evolve. Especially with digital art increasingly becoming a first class citizen.

@Cometsoft No prob, enjoy!

For those interested in release updates, there’s a thread on AstroPad now as well

http://community.astropad.com/t/3d-apps-zbrush-maya/543/17

Simple answer is yes, the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil is definitely capable of creating professional quality digital art.

The ease of use, being able to draw in bed when you’re not feeling up to sit at a desk, is definitely a big factor in deciding if you want to take this route.

However, if you’re worried about being locked in to iOS and being unable to use specialized 3D modeling programs such as ZBrush, then you could always check into getting a new Microsoft Surface Pro, a Wacom Mobilestudio Pro, or something like the HP ZBook X2.

The whole reason for me wanting the XP-Pen Artist Drawing Tablet Monitor was having a nice sizeable area to work with as I was thinking about getting the Artist 22E Pro ( https://www.xp-pen.com/goods/show/id/342.html ) , but not having to have to get a new computer would be a huge relief. Plus the fact that it’s so easy to pick up and put down, I feel like I’d get lot more use out of it, just as you seem to be! Connecting the two screens would be amazing.

Hi all,

Try Duet display on your ipad pro, not perfect but for the small price works pretty good.