Oh, the places you’ll go with Adobe Touch Apps… literally. For Matt Maughan (@somemattpaint), Touch Apps have transformed not only his creative process, but also his life, as his digital portfolio full of Adobe Ideas creations helped him score commissions and a gallery exhibition!

We connected with Matt over Twitter after coming across some of his creations including video game artwork in the style of a Chinese shadow puppet show. Take a closer look at his creative workflow, learn about some of his favorite features found in the Adobe Ideas v2.5 release, and pick up some tips and tricks.

Also, remember to visit our Facebook and Twitter channels to see Matt’s work featured.

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 Adobe: Describe a favorite creation you’ve created with Touch Apps

Matt: That’s a tough one. Maybe the Charles Bukowski portrait which was a commissioned piece, as I enjoyed doing the shadows and detail and I seemed to make use of all of Adobe Ideas’ features to create it.

What role do Adobe Touch Apps play in your creative process?
They are integral, completely and utterly – I can’t stress that enough. I create solely on the iPad and both Ideas and PS Touch are my primary apps for creation. Adobe Ideas has all the bases covered from sketching out ideas right through to full projects. PS Touch is most used as a ‘finishing school’ where projects go to become refined!

How has the integrationof Touch Apps and the Creative Cloud features changed your creative workflow?

The Touch Apps have revolutionized my creative workflow! The simplicity of them, the similarities in the UI which make it incredibly easy to switch between them, the tools offered and ultimately the fact that anything that I create in one app can be progressed, enhanced and polished in another. I’m forever switching between Adobe Ideas and Ps Touch. The Creative Cloud keeps all my artwork safe and allows me to access files quickly, as well as manage them either on my iPad or on my PC.

What are your favorite Adobe Ideas v2.5 features?

Top of the list has to be the new brushes – the tapering paint brush especially. It’s just perfect and adds a real artistry to projects. Lines have a fluid, natural look to them and results in a final image that looks more organic than digital. It’s also possible to add really fine detail especially for faces and hair!

I’m also a huge fan of the ‘fill’ function. So much time is saved now that I can fill specific areas with color just with a simple touch.

Next is the ability to merge layers. This essentially allows for unlimited layers so when a project becomes more complex you can merge together finished layers to create new blank layers for additional content. You can just keep going and going. One of the things I love about Adobe Ideas is that it’s as simple or complex as the user requires. I can do simple sketches like it’s a digital pad and pen or full on, multilayer projects that require duplicated layers, resizing, mirrored layers and varying opacity levels.

What tips/suggestions do you have for creative individuals thinking about getting into Adobe Ideas?

If you want to create digital art on a tablet I personally think Adobe Ideas is a ‘must have’. Then experiment and play with it. Play with the brushes, play with the opacity levels, play with everything. Import a photo and create a unique and accurate color palette with the eyedropper. See what happens when you select a layer and resize it, it may just make your artwork more striking. You can’t mess up so just experiment.

For veteran users like yourself, what tips and/or techniques can you offer them to improve their creative workflow?

Between Adobe Ideas and PS Touch and any other apps you may have, you have a whole array of tools that can help refine your work. Would shadowing look better if you adjusted the opacity level? Would the background work better if you moved its layer to the left? Is there an effect or feature in PS Touch that would really make your Ideas project pop out? I think it’s very easy after working on a project for hours to sit back and say finished! It’s always worth giving it a critical eye and remembering that you are working on an incredibly powerful tablet with incredibly powerful apps that just might make a good image wonderful.

Can’t get enough of Matt’s work? Head over to www.somemattpaint.com to see more creations!

Walk, shoot, create. The three components required to execute a proper photowalk.

Recently, Adobe Touch user Chana Messer (@Chanam), and the Las Vegas Adobe User Group embarked on a “Neon Photowalk.” The goal: to stroll through downtown Las Vegas, snap creative photos and create great compositions. While attendees used a wide variety of tools such as DSLR cameras and smartphones to capture inspirational content, Chana’s “weapon of choice” was her iPad, loaded with Photoshop Touch.

Utilizing Ps Touch, Chana was able to capture and create on-the-go effortlessly. “I wanted to capture the immediate value of colors and turn them into a composition. I had my iPad with me, and while we were walking, I was able to upload [photos] to Adobe Creative Cloud, and then alter the images with Ps Touch to create interesting creations,” said Chana.

After the walk concluded, attendees uploaded their images to the Las Vegas Adobe User Group Facebook Page. Chana was kind enough to provide us with not only her own creations, which we’ve compiled into an album found below, but also to share some of her go-to features/tools and tips for new users.

Adobe: What are some of your favorite features in Ps Touch?

Chana: I love the Scratches, Color Drops, Pencil and Graphic Pen Artistic Effects. Usually, I apply these effects on a new layer and then blend in to the original to achieve my desired effect. Also, I like using the Lasso Tool to create simple selections. Additionally, I use the Magic Wand Tool and the Feathering Effect to select certain portions of images with high contrasts.

Have any tips/suggestions for creative individuals thinking about getting Ps Touch?

This app comes with tutorials – listen and try to follow. Try to work on one tool. Also, don’t forget to have fun!

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Want to participate in your very own Adobe Touch photowalk? Gather some friends, your Touch Apps-enabled tablet and get out there to create! Be sure to share your creations for a chance to have your work featured here, as well as the Adobe Touch Apps Facebook and Twitter channels.

The first time we discovered Jordan L. Rodgers, we were impressed by his ability to create with Adobe Touch Apps. We were blown away after stumbling upon his Adobe Ideas sketch of the RIBA façade via Twitter. We reached out to him, to learn more about his creative process – and of course, see more of his work!

Jordan was kind enough to discuss how Touch Apps have revolutionized his creative process. Check out what he shared with us below and then be sure to head over to our Adobe Touch Twitter channel to see the new background we’ve created from his sketches.

Jordan L. Rodgers

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Adobe: When were you first introduced to Adobe Touch Apps?

Jordan Rodgers: As an artist I make use of the iPad as a tool to explore the comparisons between traditional drawing on paper and digital drawing applications. Since discovering Adobe Ideas, I have embarked on further research and exploration between art and technology as a means to record everyday journeys, drawn in the evolution of a Modern Metropolis.

How has Adobe Touch Apps improved your ability to create?

The ability to draw on a hand held tablet in any location allows one to document in new ways. The Adobe Ideas app provides the ability to zoom in and out while restricting oneself to 0.5 fine line and working from one’s finger touch for greater rhythm and flow while drawing the lines. I also tend to do a lot of building up and then undo lines I don’t feel reflect the scene adequately.

How much of a difference has direct touch input made to your creations?

Touch screens are revolutionizing the process of creation and represent a new perspective in drawing. Direct touch input has made a significant difference to my pieces.

How has the integration from Touch Apps through to the Creative Cloud features changed your workflow?

The integration from Touch Apps through to the Creative Cloud features has changed my work workflow in allowing the drawing to be kinetic and mobile from other devices (iPad, iPhone, Desktop). By utilizing this form of modern technology, I am then in a position to share my works via social media – from hosting a portfolio on my own website to using Twitter (@jordanlrodgers) as a means to engage with a diverse range of practitioners.

Which pairing of the Touch Apps and the applications within Creative Cloud is most instrumental to your creative process?

The pairing of Adobe Ideas and Photoshop CS6 application within Creative Cloud has proven to be most instrumental to my creative process when drawing traditional Arch-viz. I have also taken the initiative and paired up the use of Adobe Ideas app and explored visual effects, motion graphics in After Effects software with the purpose of creating depth by essentially projecting flat images onto some 3D geometry or AE 3D cards.

To see other projects from Jordan, visit www.jordanlrodgers.com. Also, reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or even here if you’d like to have your work featured. We’re always on the lookout for talented Touch Apps users to feature!

Note: All images featured are the property of Jordan L. Rodgers.

Like a superhero, Eric Merced possesses a special power – the ability to unleash creativity. With his trusty iPad loaded with Adobe Touch Apps, along with access to Creative Cloud and the Creative Suite 6 applications, there is no project too big for Eric to tackle.

We sat down with Eric to learn how these Adobe products have improved his workflow capabilities, given him the ability to seamlessly transfer his work between technologies and helped him become the illustrator he is today. Read our Q&A with Eric below and be sure to check out the new hero-themed Twitter background we created to celebrate his work.

Adobe: When were you first introduced to Adobe Touch Apps?

Eric Merced: It was with my first generation iPad (I currently own the iPad 2) and Adobe Ideas. There was a lot of complaining going on about how the iPad was not ideal for creating high-resolution art and Ideas was the first app that made me think otherwise.

What was the very first creation you made with Touch Apps?

Even though I had already used Ideas to dabble in creating art on the iPad, my first “wow” moment that cemented my desire to create illustrations and comics, was when I used Creative Cloud to upload an image of The Dark Knight Rises’ character, Bane. The idea of being able to back up my work directly from the iPad and have it available on my iPhone or desktop was thrilling. I later took that image into Photoshop Touch and added textures, which brought the image and my workflow to another level.

How has the integration from Touch Apps through to the Creative Cloud features changed your creative workflow?

It has simplified everything. I feel good knowing that I have a powerful mobile studio with Ideas and Creative Cloud.  The iPad’s feature of allowing apps to store files in iTunes is good, but I feel Creative Cloud is a step up because it allows you to access those files from other devices (i.e., iPod, iPhone, desktop). That’s true integration right there, and it’s also essential for a true mobile studio experience.

Summer is the perfect time to untether yourself from the wired-world and create outside with Adobe Touch Apps, and no one knows this better than digital artist, Kevin Spear (@speartoons). After stumbling on his summer creations, we reached out to see how he utilized the creative combination of Touch Apps, Creative Suite 6 and Creative Cloud to come up with some “fun in the sun” art work.

Find out where Kevin’s summertime spot to create with Touch Apps is (hint – it’s not indoors), why the grouping of Adobe Ideas and Illustrator is a match made in heaven for him, plus much more in the full Q&A below. Also, don’t forget to see his summer-themed art on display on our new Twitter background.

Are you ready to be our next featured artist? Send your Adobe Touch creations our way via Twitter, Facebook, or simply link us in the comments below. 

Adobe: When were you first introduced to Adobe Touch Apps?

Kevin Spear: I got an iPad in the winter of 2011. I was looking for a good drawing program when I came across Adobe Ideas. I was very excited when I discovered it was a vector-based app. I also loved how it allowed me to draw naturally in a way I hadn’t done in Adobe Illustrator.

What was the very first creation you made with Touch Apps?

I drew a profile of my wife. I was excited that I could finally draw a quick sketch with my finger on the iPad, take it into Adobe Illustrator and keep the vectors.

How has the integration from Touch Apps through to the Creative Cloud features changed your creative workflow?

It has made drawing digitally while mobile easy. Before, I’d test things out on the sketchbook, and then hope I could keep the same spontaneity when I made it back to the desktop. Now, I can draw it digitally from the very beginning.

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I’m excited to show you new features and enhanced features in version 1.5 of Adobe Proto. V1.0 was just porting Android version to iOS native version and this time we could implement new feature sets based on user’s feedback.

Mainly, we focused on easy to share files, copy & paste workflow. Here is the new feature sets.

 Sharing zipped file easily

“Email” interactive wireframe (html.zip) as attachment

You can now email your interactive wireframe directly from Proto. Just attach html.zip file onto email and send it to your co-worker or client. The attachment is a zipped file and easily uncompressed and ready to use in Dreamweaver or any other HTML/CSS editor.

“Share” interactive wireframe via Dropbox and other Apps

If you have Dropbox application installed on your iPad, you can share your interactive wireframe zipped file right away.

Copy & Paste improvements

Copy & Paste objects to different pages

We added a clipboard icon in editor. Now you can copy & paste your object form one page to another from the clipboard menu, top navigation or context menu.

Paste and Pin objects across selected pages (i.e. share objects across pages)

Not only can you paste objects to a different page, we added a new function “Paste and Pin.”

Pin across pages

Select object and from context menu, you can set to paste the current object across all the pages.  Once you did this, the object will show up to all the pages and whatever you modify this object will reflect change across all pages.

Global Menu (By default, Menu bar objects are pinned across all pages)

When you create menu and create multiple pages, the menu will automatically carry over all the pages.  When you edit text inside menu, edit links to pages, the change will reflect across all the pages. There is another improvement for code generation for the global menu. Proto generate common.css that is used for all the pages.

“Bring Forward” “Move Backward” Z-order change via Context Menu

You can manage z-index order for overlapped objects from context menu.

Lock and Unlock object for editing

You can lock & unlock object. This helps you to avoid mistakenly moving object while editing another object closed by.

Show current page name while previewing a project in the App

At preview mode, you can see current page name in title bar right next to project name.

Rename project name in the action bar (title) of the editor

You can rename project name in organizer mode. You can now edit project name while in editor mode. Simply tap project name on top left corner to edit current working project.

Show undo/redo count

As same as Adobe Ideas, you can see the number of undo/redo count when you perform undo/redo

Other Enhancements

Objects should snap to both CSS Column and Design Grid

Now, it’s much easily and precisely snap object onto grid.

Better Code Generation

Code generated is now ordered according to the appearance in the page and so is now more structured hierarchically V1.0 generated divs based on the order of the object modification. V1.5 generates divs based on top to bottom order in the screen.

All pinned objects generate a separate common CSS file (common.css)

Since pinned objects are used in multiple pages, having separate common CSS make you easy to manage code.

We hope those new feature sets and enhancement feature sets will help you boost up your creative workflow.

Words can’t describe how excited we were after Michael Startzman (@startzman) announced that he was going to create an eBook for Adobe Touch Apps users, highlighting techniques and tips for creating in Adobe Ideas. For the past few months we’ve been in contact with Michael, checking in on the process and teasing his work to our Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers. We’re so very pleased to announce that Michael’s “How to Use Adobe Ideas” eBook is complete, and believe us when we say it’s a must have for any Adobe Touch user.

With all of the hard work behind him, we sat down with Michael to learn how his love for the Adobe Touch Apps began and how the combination of Creative Cloud, Creative Suite 6 and Touch Apps have changed the way he creates. Check out the full Q&A below and be sure to visit our Twitter channel to see his work displayed on our background.

Whether you’re working on an Adobe Touch Apps project or simply just capturing ideas as they hit you, we want to see and hear about it! Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter  or even in the comments below.

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When we found out that Grovemade – a mobile device product design company based out of Portland, Oregon – tapped designer, illustrator and all-around creative, Brian Yap (@BrianKYap) to create a design for their iPad and iPhone cases, we knew everyone would be in for a treat. We caught up with Brian to get the inside scoop on his approach to designing the cases, and how Adobe Touch Apps, Creative Cloud and various Creative Suite 6 products simplified his creative workflow and more. Check out our Q&A below to see how these stunning cases came to be.

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Today we are excited to announce that Photoshop Touch is now available for iPad 2, via the iTunes App Store. Adobe Photoshop Touch offers core Photoshop features, as well as new capabilities for creating and sharing in an app custom-built for tablets. You can find more information on the Photoshop.com Blog. read more…

Chevon Hicks is a Creative Director at Heavenspot , an independent digital creative agency that works closely with consumer brands, movie studios and ad agencies. Chevon not only runs this insane creative agency, but he also happens to be a very talented illustrator.
 

Recently, he created the gorgeous illustration (above) of Italian soccer player Mario Balotelli completely in Adobe Ideas on his iPad and a Wacom Bamboo stylus, all while away from his desktop. Adobe Ideas allowed Hicks to design anywhere using vectors, layers, and color themes. Although Chevon didn’t use desktop software in this case, Adobe Ideas allows you to put the finishing ‘touches’ (excuse the pun) on your work in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.
 
“For the first time in years, I felt like I was really ‘painting’ with vectors,” explained Chevon.
 
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