For some time now, Paul Kercal (@Kercal) has been sharing his Adobe Ideas creations with us. Whether they have been doodles from a bus ride or sketchnotes from interesting events he has attended, we’re always excited to see what he will send us next. So, to pay tribute to this devoted Adobe Touch Apps fan, we decided to feature his work as our next Twitter background.

In our exchanges with Paul on Twitter, we were able to learn how our Touch App has changed his creative process and workflow for the better. Read what he had to say by checking out the full Q&A below.

Are you working on an Adobe Touch Apps project that you would like to share with us? Get in touch with us on Twitter, Facebook, or in the comments below!

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

Paul Kercal: The introduction to Adobe Ideas came at the hands of another talented mobile digital artist, the marvelous Mr. Stefan Marjoram (@stefanmarjoram). We met at a conference I had organized on behalf of my college. Since then I’ve followed all apps with more interest, the variety of tools available on tablet devices is staggering.

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

It’s difficult to point to the first picture as, with any new app, I’ll create three of four pictures quickly to get to grips with the UI and canvas. The first thing I remember creating is this image, which introduced me to a lovely way of working I hadn’t used before, zooming in, drawing a face and zooming out to add another, then another until I ran out of zoom. It was either the second or third piece I worked on as the UI to Ideas became familiar and natural very quickly indeed.

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

Touch input has made the world of difference to the way I create imagery. My primary tools had been pencils, inks and desktop computers but these have faded a significant amount from my daily efforts. Now it’s all about the glass screen and the speed at which my fingers can dance on it.

When I’m doing youth work or working in schools, I often talk about the difference between a tablet and a piece of paper. A piece of paper is wonderful and I certainly don’t want to see traditional art ever disappear, but a tablet will allow you to undo, expand and edit in ways that traditional art cannot achieve and, most importantly, it’s all about the speed, the flow and the lack of resistance you are confronted with. With all forms of traditional art, you are faced with pushing something against something else: a chisel collides with stone, a pencil is scraped against what is basically softened sandpaper. Clay is pushed and pulled, canvas strains against a frame. A mobile device? When speaking to children I often say the screen is like the surface of a very still pond. All you have to do is touch it to coax a variety of beautiful pixels, swimming and dancing around your gestures like koi carp. It’s a very poetic process.

How have the Adobe Touch Apps changed your creative workflow?

Speed…glorious speed. Between a computer and the image is a mouse. Maybe a screen mimicking tablet and pen, rarely a distance than you can reach across. With a phone or a tablet, the brain and the screen you are accessing is a hand clap away. With a slight slice of computer power you can create artwork as good as the largest of drab boxes, just quicker. I love it.

Of the different Touch Apps, which one is instrumental to your creative process and why?

I LOVE Adobe Ideas and find it’s the first app I reach for in everything from meetings to life drawing sessions. It is an app that truly feels written for the glass screen and makes me happy in the second between icon and loaded app and happier when I get into the drawing process.

Touch Apps gives you the freedom to create anytime, anywhere. Where is your favorite place to create?

It’s an honorable tie between the number 34 bus between Guildford and Camberley and the Chin Chin Labs ice cream parlor in central London. I can happily create artwork in either venue, but only one offers me ice cream as a reward for my doodling.

Take a look at some additional projects that Paul has created by visiting his Adobe Ideas dedicated Flickr album and blog, The Librarian’s Tangents.

Recently, we discovered an Adobe Ideas fan that incorporates the app into his creative workflow to publish an entertaining web comic series. This fan, who prefers to go by an alias of one of his creations – “pete the duck” – uses the Touch Apps throughout his comic creation process.

We caught up with him to better understand his creative process and learn how Adobe Ideas plays a role in his comic-creation development. See his responses in the full Q&A below, and check out our new Twitter background featuring his work.

Creative Layer: When were you first introduced to Adobe Touch Apps? What was your very first creation?

pete the duck: Last Fall, I was directed to Adobe Ideas after searching online reviews of the best drawing apps for the iPad. Since then, I’ve tried other drawing applications, including some that even cost more than Adobe Ideas, but none have had the quality and ease of use of Adobe Ideas. I primarily have used Adobe Ideas to create comics based around the Halo video game franchise that feature a character of my own creation, pete the duck.

How have the Adobe Touch Apps change your creative workflow?

In short, Adobe Ideas has made my creative workflow possible. I would not be creating the work that I create without this tool.

Where’s your favorite location to create? Outside? Inside? On the go?

As my work is very casual, I enjoy a casual environment to draw in. I create most of my art while relaxing on my couch.

What time of day do you find yourself creating with Adobe Touch Apps? Morning? Afternoon? Night?

I use it throughout the day. It’s easy to pick up Adobe Ideas and sketch an idea in the morning and then come back and compete it in the afternoon or evening.

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

Although I am not a professional artist, I have always had an interest in drawing. Several years ago, I purchased an art tablet and professional graphics program for my computer. I used them for months, but I could never overcome the disconnect that occurs when you draw on a tablet while the image appears not where you are drawing, but on a monitor several inches away. I have always been better with paper and pencil, where there is no disconnect and you have a precise and tangible connection with your drawing as you create it. I resorted to drawing in pencil, scanning the image, and attempting to enhance and color the image digitally–often with poor results. Adobe Ideas has let me retain that real connection with my work that you get from paper and pencil while gaining all of the quality advantages of fully digital drawing.

Of the different Touch Apps, which is most instrumental to your creative process and why?

The only Adobe Touch App that I use is Adobe Ideas – but it is a powerful drawing App and is the only tool that I need to express my creativity!

If you had the opportunity to travel to anywhere in the world with your Touch Apps, where would it be and why?

I would love to visit Japan and use Adobe Ideas in studying their calligraphy.

What are the top three sources you look to for inspiration?

I have always had an interest in art in general and I especially enjoy natural landscapes and skies. I am a fan of science fiction, which is a great source of inspiration as well. I also have a one-year old daughter who has given me much lighthearted inspiration that I can’t resist instilling in my work.

Architect by day and artist by night, Doug Wittnebel incorporates the use of the Adobe Touch Apps in his daily routine, and we’re convinced the tablet never leaves his side. His dedication to creating has really inspired us, so we’re featuring his work as our new Adobe Touch Apps Twitter background.

It’s that time again! We’re proud to show off some more creations that our Adobe Touch Apps users have shared with us on our Facebook and/or Twitter profiles. This week, we’re delighted to showcase the work of Heidi Schwoerer (a.k.a. “2CuteInk”). This individual’s imaginative and adorable creations made the decision for our next Adobe Touch Apps Twitter background that much easier.

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There’s no denying how excited we get when our Adobe Touch Apps fans submit their work to either our Facebook or Twitter channels. Needless to say, when we saw the creations that Chris Landau shared with us, featuring one of his pieces as our new Adobe Touch Apps Twitter background was a no brainer!

We connected with Chris on Twitter and asked him about his day-to-day experiences with the Touch Apps and how they factor into his overall creative process. Find out what he had to say below. And, if you have some work you would like to share with us, definitely do so here, on Facebook or through Twitter. You may be next!

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Our team will be heading to Austin for SXSW Interactive later this week (Mar. 9-13), but before they take off, check out this preview from Evangelist Paul Trani and get a look at all things web, including news around Adobe Edge Preview, sneak peeks and much more. read more…

We’ve just wrapped up at the 2012 Mobile World Congress, an international conference for everything mobile, in Barcelona, Spain.

This year, Adobe Touch Apps were the lead story for Adobe, with two big announcements:  the launch of Adobe Photoshop Touch for iPad 2, and the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 featuring pressure sensitivity with its S pen and preloaded Adobe Photoshop Touch and Adobe Ideas.

Photoshop Touch went live in the iTunes App Store for $9.99 on February 27th. The app is also available in the Android Market at the same price, along with the other five Touch Apps for creativity.  At the show, attendees had the chance to try out the apps in the Adobe device bars and learn more from live theater presentations. read more…

We’re very excited to announce that the Adobe Touch Apps are now available worldwide from the Android Market! The Adobe Touch Apps, first debuted at Adobe MAX last month, are a family of six intuitive touch-screen applications, inspired by Adobe Creative Suite software, to bring professional-level creativity to tablet users. Capture ideas wherever creativity strikes – even sync and store them to the Adobe Creative Cloud.
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