Our Verdict
In the month since its March release , FiftyThree ’s Paper has become my go - to sketching app for doodle , planning , or quick draftsmanship . I ’ve used it to design my new apartment , make a few Twitter avatar , and sketch away a few Saturday afternoons . But the first iteration of Paper , as beautiful as it was , had its flaw : fixed skirmish size , limited colour palette , and no soar . Wednesday ’s 1.2.1 update , which brings both colouration mixing and support for thePogo Connectpressure - sensitive Bluetooth stylus , does n’t fixeveryproblem I have — there ’s still no way of life to expound the canvas — but it ’s a wonderful footstep forward . I take the update for a brief twist , using the Pogo Connect as my chief drawing implement .
First things first : Though this update does give you several coloration palettes to choose from — including , thank good , several shades of pelt shade — you’ll need to make up an extra $ 2 if you want outright color choice . Along with the various brush you may buy , this brings the total monetary value for Paper to $ 9 , which I think is more than fairish for what the app can do .
Tap Mixer ’s white circle to get traditional color picking tool .
And what a color tool Paper has get off . sociable is both a colour picker and a palette social : you’re able to either pink the white circle inside the Mixer to bring up yellow-bellied terrapin that allow you to pick the right color tad , or you’re able to rely on sometime - school day color mixing to get what you desire . nibble an initial colour from the palette view and twirl the white circle clockwise until the color accept up the entireness of the black circle , then pick a lower-ranking color and swirl the white circle counter clockwise ( as if you were ruffle it into the circle ) . Your initial colouring material will change into the second colour , giving you all the hues in - between to pick from . you’re able to even go back and forth — clockwise and counter - clockwise — to see the full range between colors .
Much like the app ’s other features , the Mixer takes a few moments to get used to , but once you do , it ’s unbelievably cool and very useful . And once you find a color that you like , you’re able to either draw with it directly , or save the coloring material as a lasting subtlety . Paper gives you two empty palette sheets for storing custom colors ; you’re able to also overwrite system colors by drop new people of colour samples on top of them . ( To restore the app ’s original colors , tap on the FiftyThree logotype in the upper right corner of the notebook screen , then rap Tools . )
you may find background for the Pogo Connect by tap the FiftyThree logotype .
The other big addition in this update is support for the Pogo Connect , a revaluation unit of which I chance to have on hired man . work out with the Pogo ’s pressure support is a dream : It ’s well - balanced , and the software system carrying out in Paper is simple and easy to set up . If you have a Connect , go to the FiftyThree logo and tap on Pogo Connect , then flip the toggle to On ; the app recover the Pogo , then expose its condition , barrage fire level , firmware , and an option for toggle the Pen clit to use Undo .
factual utilization of that pressure predisposition in Paper varies depending on the dick you ’re using . The Draw ( fountain penitentiary ) , Outline ( marking ) , and Color ( watercolor brush ) tools translate imperativeness to business - width : They start off thin , then increase about three times in size . The Sketch ( pencil ) and Write ( felt pen ) tools , in demarcation , do n’t seem to take any press input at all . ( FiftyThree pen in after this clause was published to note that Sketch should vary in opacity and Write in both opacity and line width , though I ca n’t in person reproduce it . )
Unfortunately , there ’s no way to mark beginning size and end sizing , so you ca n’t customise how cock-a-hoop or humble you want your line to be — they’re pre - set . And because it does n’t look like Paper is converting the Pogo Connect ’s pressure into opacity for the Color tool , you still get unearthly outcome with watercolors ; the wickedness of the water-colour is still strung-out on f number , rather than pressure .
In truth , while the Pogo Connect is a nice addition for linework , I do n’t bed if I ’d use it as my exclusive Paper cock quite yet ; in accession to my tool trouble , the stylus ’s large rubber confidential information sometimes makes it challenge to work on detail ( a double trouble , when you consider Paper ’s lack of zoom support , too ) . But I hope for improvements . FiftyThree has been incredibly proactive in pushing out major updates in the last yr ; with any luck , zoom and expand stylus reenforcement is in the works .
Updated on 11/1 to add a affirmation from FiftyThree .
