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Advent of the iPad and Illustration

Written on July 13th 2011

Hype about gadgets that can transform your life have been around for years. (I thought, briefly and perhaps a tad creepily, that the x-ray specs found in the back of my Spider-Man comics would change my adolescent life.) Hype that transforms into practical application? The rarest of finds. Hype that has the power to re-build hope in an industry that is cynical and all too often scared? Amazing. That's been my opinion sitting in the back of the room watching the dance between the iPad and the illustration field unfold.

My first experience with the iPad as a medium for meaningful work has been a good experience. Last year, I was contacted by Matt of Windup Rockets to help him realize an iPad app idea called Puzzld. He saw my illustration work on dribbble and contacted me on a whim (read a more in depth interview about this process on Veerle Pieter’s blog). Why did I say yes, when he had very little to offer up front? Don’t I have bills to pay and a family to help support and a growing obsession with Apple to feed?

The simple answer is that the iPad is new frontier and I wanted to be a part of the flag planting. So much has been written about how the iPad will or will not solve the print v. web conundrum in the publishing world, but I’m not talking about that. Well not directly. Have you seen a two year old play with one of these things? That gets closer. How about played a truly beautiful app from a indie game designer? How about a game-book-animation that captures a two year old’s smile? That’s really close.

The truth is that it’s a frontier for illustrative exploration, not because of it being a new medium for consumption and creation, and it is that — but because it’s the perfect storm of gorgeous display, intuitive interaction, an audience that appreciates quality, and a marketplace you can access easily.

This point can’t be undersold. It’s not just another quarter for the old players on the same old field. It’s a new game. We haven’t had “Angry Birds” success with Puzzld! yet, but it’s enough success to begin work on another app (and Apple has enough faith in us to have our app in their Apple stores, on their display iPads across the country). It’s opportunity.

Another Reason to Be Excited

Unlike the major battle of the past (see illustration v. photography), there is ample space for both traditions to thrive on the same device. Instagram is a new way to use a camera and share photos. It’s not for illustration. Check out the apps for kids section of the app store, though. Illustration has always reigned with kids and it’s all over the app store. The iPad looks like it can carve out room for both traditions to be honored and loved, equally.

Yet Another Reason to Be Excited

The semi-removal of the middle-man — publishers, game companies, etc — provides really creative people free reign to play and see what happens. This is best-case scenario for every designer and illustrator I’ve ever met. My dream client is someone who gives me a problem and then gives me the freedom to solve it. What if that client is you? That’s the thing that I literally dream about. I wake up in the morning with app ideas.

This device has the power to elevate illustration. It’s a good time to be a creative. The age of the iPad is here. Sounds like a flag planting.

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