Adobe MAX 2018: Pick Up An iPad And Get Artsy On The Go

While professional artists out there may be pretty used to being permanently tethered to their workstations by their sizeable Wacom tablets, Adobe and Apple are hoping to change that with the full-course, undiluted, uncompromised Photoshop application set to bring a new brand of mobility to digital illustrators on the iPad in 2019.

In their latest keynote at Adobe MAX 2018 (watch it in full above), Adobe demonstrates just how versatile and fully-loaded the iPad’s Photoshop application will be. With an easily customisable workspace, intuitive adjustment layers, context-aware panels that appear only when you need them to and the ever-nifty touch modifier that allows you to switch between tools (let’s say, the brush and eraser) while in the midst of editing, Photoshop can now deliver complete functionality on the go.

You’ll also be able to bounce between your iPad and traditional workstation via Adobe’s cloud services, so you won’t have to worry about importing, exporting and keeping track of latest copies via naming conventions such as — projectfinalfinal3REALFINAL.psd.

In terms of performance and minimum iPad specs required to run Photoshop on iPad smoothly, Adobe is currently still working on determining it, with details to be shared in the coming months.

Beyond Photoshop, iPad users can also look forward to the brand new Project Gemini, also slated for release in 2019.

In the words of Eric Snowden, Design Leader for Adobe Creative Cloud, “Gemini is a dedicated painting and drawing application that takes Adobe’s decades of experience across multiple tools in this field and brings it into a single application that is powerful enough for professionals but easy enough for anyone to pick up and start using.”

Sharing Photoshop’s touch modifier and cloud-syncing capabilities, Project Gemini features a cleaner layout designed with an illustrator’s workflow in mind, with a full-screen mode for those who really aren’t a big fan of clutter.

But the best part of it? The brushes. With designer Kyle Webster on board, Project Gemini will give illustrators three different brush options: Raster (what we’re used to in Photoshop), Vector (infinitely scalable brushes for those familiar with Illustrator) and the all-new Live brushes — which are well capable of recreating the texture and viscosity of oil paints and watercolour to an amazingly life-like degree.

While these are geared towards the iPad, Scott Belsky, Chief Product Officer, has noted that they’ll kick off a new generation of applications transcending multiple platforms, including Windows, iOS and Android, so there may be hope yet of getting Photoshop and Project Gemini on other portable devices.

And for video editors, whether you’re a professional or a hobbyist, you’ll be excited to know Adobe’s Premiere Rush CC has finally launched after all the hype it’s garnered since its sneak preview at VidCon. Now, you’ll be able to work on your videos simultaneously and seamlessly on your desktops, tablets, and phones. It’s the perfect app for the modern day video content creator to churn out videos on-the-fly and posting them directly to social media.

Considering the direction Adobe’s taking, it’s clear digital artists are becoming increasingly empowered with the freedom to create and innovate beyond their home and office — which is just perfect. After all, inspiration can happen anyplace, anytime.