How To Use an iPad as a Drawing Tablet with a PC

Most of the people who use ipad usually wonder and think how to use an iPad as a drawing tablet with a PC. You will be surprised to know that there are many options.

Most of the Apple products are well known for doesn’t playing well with others, and Microsoft is also not in a hurry to make Windows more compatible with the iPad.

But the things become complicated when a user has an Apple iPad and a Windows PC at least the PC’s of MacBooks.

And in this situation most of the people think if there’s a way to get the two to talk to each other, and the good news is that there is certainly a way.

How To Use an iPad as a Drawing Tablet with a PC

When it comes to digital art tools then iPads make them really great you can easily say that an iPad Pro is the best drawing tablet you can get without going near to a computer.

But, you might want to attach it to your PC for workflow reasons, or have a Windows Drawing app handy on your iPad – and that’s where we will guide you.

We have gathered some of the better ways to make your iPad work as a drawing pad with your Windows PC. But keep in mind that when using an iPad and a PC in this way, you may face problems like apparent latency – delay between your pen strokes, and a visible mark on the screen. It won’t be awful but it will be notable.

Now let’s look at the three easy ways we compiled to use your iPad with a PC. This is definitely not a complete list, but these three are tested and well known methods that are quite easy to set up.

How To Use an iPad as a Drawing Tablet with a PC: AstroPad Project Blue

This one has been around for years in the form of an iPad app, it was used as a best method to change an iPad into the Wacom Cintiq identical by joining it to a MacBook.

AstroPad Project Blue is a latest venture a method to transform an iPad into a drawing tablet that interfaces with a PC.

It’s still in a public beta, so it will be easy for you now to download it for free, you have to download two applications, one for the iPad and another one for the PC.

After downloading them, you are good to go. The AstroPad Project Blue allows you to physically attach the iPad and PC via Wi-Fi or via USB. When you have a setup that can take in a physical connection it’s much better with lower latency.

After you load AstroPad Project Blue on iPad it will mirror or expand your PC’s desktop, with a workspace sidebar that provide you swift way in to nifty tools like brush, pencil, undo/redo etc.

Project Blue supports the Apple Pencil, and gives pressure sensitivity in a number of applications like Blender, Clip Studio Paint and ZBrush.

It makes use of the Windows Ink Tablet Driver API to keep up pressure sensitivity so when a program does not support this API, it will not keep up pressure sensitivity. And regrettably this also includes Adobe Photoshop CS6.

How To Use an iPad as a Drawing Tablet with a PC

How To use iPad with PC: Duet Display

Created by former Apple engineers, Duet Display is a desktop-mirroring/extending iPad tool that supports Windows computers and Apple also.

It’s a download for windows and iPad ; after you get it and launch the apps, you just have to attach the iPad to your PC via USB.

After this, Duet will boot up mechanically and begin to mirror or expand your desktop. You may need to tune the resolutions in your PC settings if your monitor resolution dissent wildly from your iPad’s, but otherwise, you’re good to go.

The application is regularly updated by its team, and they are continuously adding all types of improvements.

If you go for for the Duet Pro version, then you will certainly get responsive Apple Pencil performance, pressure sensitivity, tilt sensitivity, palm rejection and more of such latest features.

As we have discussed above with any of these PC/iPad solutions, there is a notable latency between the pen stroke and its appearance on the screen, but it is not major, and more than acceptable.

The Duet Display is developed to run with minimum drain on the CPU and battery, so you can easily keep drawing for longer without running out and finding a power socket.

There is also a team available that is highly responsive, so if you do have some issues getting the software to work, they will help you by troubleshooting.

You can get Duet Display easily under twenty dollars on the App Store. There are subscription models available for increased functionality,

And when you look at the Duet Air price it will be above twenty dollars a year but adds wireless connectivity, and if you are interested in using your iPad as a digital drawing pad, then it’s better to go with the Duet Pro.

It will cost you above thirty dollars per year, but provides most of the features you require, like analog drawing algorithms, pressure sensitivity, tilt sensitivity, multi-touch gestures, zoom/pan, hover, line smoothing, color calibration and more .

How to Use iPad with PC: EasyCanvas

EasyCanvas is very simple and easy to use, this is like one-size-fits-all program that will permit any iPad to mirror or expand the desktop of most PCs.

The app is at hand to download for both PC and iPad, keep it in mind that it comes with a cost – you have the option of paying $11.99, or subscribe for $4.99 annually – which cheaper deals than Duet Display Pro.

Other than this there is no other difference between the two options; you get same functionality with the pricing format.

Anyone can use EasyCanvas it’s very simple you just have to plug and play. Latency is visible but not much, and the desktop display is sharply presented.

On Windows, it’s also possible for you to connect wirelessly, which is quite handy. The app keeps up pressure sensitivity on the Apple Pencil, but sometimes it may or may not work with your selected drawing app.

If you want to use a Photoshop, the makers suggest you to dive into the settings and changing the pen input from WinTab to a tablet PC as a way to get the pressure sensitivity working, and also to ensure you use brushes. This keeps up pressure sensitivity.

It’s not as smooth as compared to the Duet Display Pro, without a dedicated support team, but the EasyCanvas is quite affordable and does a really good job.

Conclusion:

Hope the methods that we have shown you will help you when you want to Use an iPad as a Drawing Tablet with a PC. Just take your time and do this these are simple and practical ways of using an ipad as a drawing tablet with a PC.

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