Wacom App Turns iPad into Sketchpad

Wacom is famous among artists and designers for its drawing tablets, but those devices only work with computers. Now Wacom has come to another type of tablet in the form of an iPad app that's perfect for taking notes and light sketching.

The Wacom Bamboo Paper app works like a big sheet of paper that can be panned and zoomed freely, all while registering touch as a pen. Wacom has included three types of pages, three pen widths, six ink colors, multiple kinds of erasers and more customization options into a "notebook" in the app.

The Bamboo Paper app is designed to work with the Wacom Bamboo Stylus, a type of digital pen that works with the iPad screen for more accuracy. However, users can use a finger in a pinch, or even if they don't like using or carrying a stylus. Early reviews indicate many users are perfectly content just using a finger to draw because the interface is accurate and responsive.

There are built-in tools for emailing or sharing notes and designs directly from the app itself, and it's easy to bookmark pages in your notebook to be easily found later.

While the Bamboo Paper app can be used for sketching , it's primarily intended for taking notes, organizing ideas and creating preliminary design concepts. If you want to do full sketching , the options may be a little restrictive. Regardless, Bamboo Paper is a useful app and — even better — it's free in Apple's App Store until June 30, after which time it will cost $2.

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