Malcolm Owen
Adobe has provided more information about an upcoming drawing and painting app it is developing for the iPad for release later in 2019, including replacing its 'Project Gemini' name with a proper release title — Adobe Fresco.
First teased by the company in October 2018 under the "Project Gemini" monicker, Adobe Fresco is an artistic creation app that can be used for drawing and painting, rather than for design work. Built for the iPad and for use with the Apple Pencil, with other platforms to follow, the app aims to offer an accurate painting and drawing experience to the tablet.
Key to the app is Live Brushes, which uses Adobe Sensei's artificial intelligence to recreate the behavior of oils and watercolors. For example, a watercolor Live Brush will show color bloom, blending of colors at a border, and the painting of just water allowing for colors to dilute and mix on the page.
An oil Live Brush will show ridges and brush strokes with thick coats, with colors also able to swirl together. Photoshop brushes can also be imported to Fresco, while thousands are also being offered, created by digital brush maker Kyle Webster.
There are also vector brushes for clean lines and scalable shapes, the ability to create brushes using Adobe Capture, and Photoshop-style tools including masking, layers, and selections. Artworks can also be moved between other Adobe apps, and even exported as PDF for editing within Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe has not advised exactly when Fresco will be available to use, but it is currently undergoing pre-release testing. The company hopes to pitch it towards a "broad spectrum of seasoned to novice artists," and that "anyone with the right hardware will be able to draw and paint in Fresco for free."
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22 Comments
I wonder if it will follow the current Adobe CC model: Release full of bugs, charge expensive subscription, ignore bug reports, add feature-bloat, ignore bug reports, shove Adobe Stock down users' throats, update with same old bugs and add NEW bugs, profit!
So obviously this is a reaction to Procreate on the iPad. Adobe rarely moves first, they usually react. But the examples they are showing don't look all that captivating, do they?
I'm trying to understand why this is: 1-only an ipad app, 2-has taken so long, 3-when they say 'professional level' does it support print resolutions or is this for on-screen only art production/production flows? I know a few illustrators who have done kid books on iPads. But for me, Photoshop still allows for the best paths in the process of getting work to art directors, making changes and dealing with trim size changes ETC. So is Fresco a 'doodle' app and perhaps for on-screen only art or not?
BTW I draw for a living, using Photoshop every day for illustrations for books and animation dev.
It looks like a good idea, it will have to see if adobe can launch this program without too many errors and bugs.
I have no connection to this developer, but I will again mention the terrific painting and drawing app called “Art Set”, which has some very convincing oil and watercolor painting effects.
Procreate appears, from these examples at least, to do more. Plus you won’t have to pay the monthly Adobe tax.