Drawing on the Surface Pro

Since the beginning of computing, there has been a disagreement between advocates for the products sold for the PC and for Apple computers. The discussion back in the earlier days of personal computing was that the Mac (and now the iPad) were more intuitive, more geared for the non-computer savvy, and had better graphics to boot. In the years that follows, Macintosh became for many the go-to device for graphic design and even fine art.

A few months ago I was in the market for a good graphics machine for my new studio, so I took some time to study reviews and search. Today there are quite a number of computer choices available but the landscape has shifted. Microsoft released their new machine, the Surface, and now the Surface Pro in part as more advanced graphics computers. The Pro is a kind of combination notebook/tablet that's a response to smartphones and tablets from Apple. The Pro is often mentioned these days as a good to excellent graphics machine. Given the need for a fully-functional computer in the studio, I opted for a Surface Pro (SP) . That way I could not only have a fully functioning PC but also the option of using the machine as a tablet, similar to the iPad. I already had an iPad, but the smaller screen and other issues have kept me from using it as a full-featured device.

The Surface Pro is indeed a powerful notebook computer, but it isn't yet so popular as a graphics machine. (The Surface Studio, a more expensive desktop machine, is an alternative, but I wanted portability. I went all-in and bought the smart stylus for SP, the Surface Pen. Like Apple, Microsoft sells the stylus separately. I've also done a bit of searching for more art apps, but alas, the number of art apps available for the SP are fewer than those for iPad and Mac. Sketchbook (my favored digital art app) is available for both, which swayed my decision. In addition, ArtRage, another full-featured digital art app that I use occasionally, is also available for Windows 10. Of course you could use Photoshop or Corel Paint, two pricey but full-featured pro apps. So far, in the past several months, I've tried Sketchbook and ArtRage on the SP in an exploratory way. In addition, there are other programs available which may become important.

This is a head study done on the Surface Pro, employing the new Bluetooth stylus that's mated to the SP.  Like Apple and others, the Bluetooth capability with the Surface Pen (which like the Apple Pencil must be purchased separately) allows pressure-sensitive drawing to vary line weight--both darkness and width. The mating of the tablet/notebook to a pressure-sensitive stylus makes the Surface Pro a powerful tool for sketching. The particular sketch to the right is a caricature of Carl Bernstein, the famous investigative journalist and the Sketchbook app. The Surface Pen works smoothly and flawlessly.

SP comes with an interesting app, the new Paint 3D, which took the place of the legacy app called Paint. Paint 3D allows the the user to make three-dimensional images using a fairly intuitive interface, but I used it first as a drawing program. Although I never used Paint because many other apps have more feature, I find that Paint 3D works quite well for drawing. This is a simple imaginary head, done with the pencil tool. Again the SP and Pen together made doing this one almost like drawing on a paper sketchpad.



In general, the reviews of the SP as a graphics tablet have been very positive, and I will add my own kudos. The hardware is responsive, easy to use, free of trouble and complications. When using known apps like Sketchbook (and ArtRage) you will be very pleased with the results.