Artist Rob Zilla shows potential of iPad Pro with Adobe Illustrator Draw, Apple Pencil

Apple is showcasing illustrations of stars from the NBA created by artist Robert Generette III, also known as "Rob Zilla, showing off the high-quality artwork that can be created on the iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil and Adobe Illustrator Draw.

Sports fan Generette shared his latest basketball illustration of Kevin Durant with Apple, said to celebrate the player's return to the Golden State Warriors in time for the 2017 NBA playoffs, as well as the team achieving its best regular season record.

Generette, an art teacher as well as a sports fan, says he uses a combination of the iPad Pro, the Apple Pencil, and Adobe Illustrator Draw to create its work, described in a Mashable profile in February as "bright, arresting sports imagery." His work mostly takes place on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which he uses to show both the drawing app and the reference photo, with each piece taking between two and five hours to produce.

Originally Generette started drawing digitally with a MacBook Pro in Adobe Illustrator, before moving to the original iPad, later aided with a Wacom Bamboo stylus. Initial iPad illustrations were drawn in Sketchbook Pro, though soon started using Adobe Vector, which is now known as Adobe Illustrator Draw.

One other element of Rob Zilla's workflow is his iPad stand, with the Kolibri from Cremacaffe Design appearing prominently in Apple's photograph of the artist. Billed as an all-in-one laptop and tablet stand and made in Italy, the Kolibri allows for the iPad to be held in one of four different positions, including angles best suited for writing and drawing.

As part of the Golden State Warriors' regular Warriors Fan Night this evening, the team will be featuring Rob Zilla's illustrations, including players, legends, coaches, and fans during halftime, all designed on the iPad Pro. Others are also taking interest in Rob Zilla's work, with the Washington Wizards commissioning the artist to create portraits and murals of their own players.

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11 Comments

SpamSandwich 19 Years · 32917 comments

About 7 years ago

You can see this illustrator figured out that the software based palm rejection is inadequate. He's wearing part of a glove on his right hand to prevent accidental input, similar to what I found I had to do. This small, but important flaw prevents the iPad from becoming the ultimate choice for creating digital artwork. It's not the worst thing in the world, but in streamlining one's production process, annoyances like this are critical, so keep this limitation in mind when considering iPad vs. Cintiq (or even Surface Studio).

maciekskontakt 15 Years · 1168 comments

SpamSandwich said:

You can see this illustrator figured out that the software based palm rejection is inadequate. He's wearing part of a glove on his right hand to prevent accidental input, similar to what I found I had to do. This small, but important flaw prevents the iPad from becoming the ultimate choice for creating digital artwork. It's not the worst thing in the world, but in streamlining one's production process, annoyances like this are critical, so keep this limitation in mind when considering iPad vs. Cintiq (or even Surface Studio).

... or Wacom Intuos

maciekskontakt said:

SpamSandwich said:

You can see this illustrator figured out that the software based palm rejection is inadequate. He's wearing part of a glove on his right hand to prevent accidental input, similar to what I found I had to do. This small, but important flaw prevents the iPad from becoming the ultimate choice for creating digital artwork. It's not the worst thing in the world, but in streamlining one's production process, annoyances like this are critical, so keep this limitation in mind when considering iPad vs. Cintiq (or even Surface Studio).

... or Wacom Intuos

Yes.

melgross 20 Years · 33622 comments

SpamSandwich said:

maciekskontakt said:

SpamSandwich said:

You can see this illustrator figured out that the software based palm rejection is inadequate. He's wearing part of a glove on his right hand to prevent accidental input, similar to what I found I had to do. This small, but important flaw prevents the iPad from becoming the ultimate choice for creating digital artwork. It's not the worst thing in the world, but in streamlining one's production process, annoyances like this are critical, so keep this limitation in mind when considering iPad vs. Cintiq (or even Surface Studio).

... or Wacom Intuos

Yes.

I've been drawing and painting for most of my 67 years. I've NEVER placed my palm against the surface upon which I'm working. I don't know who ever had the idea that artists do that. If you do, you'll smudge your work, if it's with pencils, or other solid working tool, or totally smear if it's a painting. Somehow, it seems that just because we're not using "real" media, leaning against the page should be a priority. I learned in school, all those long years ago, not to do that. I had found out by myself even earlier.

i think it's lazy work. It's improper at the best of times. And the truth is that you lose control when you have your hand contact the surface, because you lose some freedom of movement. You end up moving the Pencil in an arc, instead of a straight line. And that's a natural consequence of having the heel of your hand down on the surface. It becomes a pivot around which your hand moves. It's a terrible practice to get into.

Rayz2016 8 Years · 6957 comments

melgross said:

SpamSandwich said:

maciekskontakt said:

SpamSandwich said:

You can see this illustrator figured out that the software based palm rejection is inadequate. He's wearing part of a glove on his right hand to prevent accidental input, similar to what I found I had to do. This small, but important flaw prevents the iPad from becoming the ultimate choice for creating digital artwork. It's not the worst thing in the world, but in streamlining one's production process, annoyances like this are critical, so keep this limitation in mind when considering iPad vs. Cintiq (or even Surface Studio).

... or Wacom Intuos

Yes.

I've been drawing and painting for most of my 67 years. I've NEVER placed my palm against the surface upon which I'm working. I don't know who ever had the idea that artists do that. If you do, you'll smudge your work, if it's with pencils, or other solid working tool, or totally smear if it's a painting. Somehow, it seems that just because we're not using "real" media, leaning against the page should be a priority. I learned in school, all those long years ago, not to do that. I had found out by myself even earlier.

i think it's lazy work. It's improper at the best of times. And the truth is that you lose control when you have your hand contact the surface, because you lose some freedom of movement. You end up moving the Pencil in an arc, instead of a straight line. And that's a natural consequence of having the heel of your hand down on the surface. It becomes a pivot around which your hand moves. It's a terrible practice to get into.

Strange. I remember my art teacher telling me something like that.
I asked her if that was why I couldn't draw, and she said no, that was just lack of talent; but your point still stands.