I recently had a chance to try out the Apple Pencil for the first time. I expected to enjoy the experience; I did not expect to be tempted to buy the iPad Pro because of the Apple Pencil. I cannot express how glorious it was in words, even simply taking notes felt natural. I had the chance to play with some apps using the Apple Pencil and discovered a few that were superb. I’ve included staple drawing apps such as Procreate and Paper in past roundups; here are seven a little more off the beaten path.
Zen Brush 2 ($2.99)
I had a chance to try Zen Brush with the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro. I’ve been studying Japanese, and it was immensely satisfying to practice my Kanji with this app. Drawing feels superbly smooth and the brush strokes are beautiful, as well as varied with over 92 background style templates.
Evernote (Free)
An extremely popular app, I think it’s worth an extra mention with the Apple Pencil in hand. Evernote is a fantastic notes app all its own, but with the Apple Pencil you can create notebooks and use them as such. Want even more handwriting features? Check out Penultimate(free) by Evernote; the two apps sync for easy organization.
Graphic ($8.99)
Graphic is a fully-featured graphic design and illustration app with professional vector editing for iPad. The newest version has pressure-sensitive drawing support, updated for the Apple Pencil. You can export layered Photoshop files and syncs with iCloud or Dropbox for easily sharing designs.
Liquid Text (Free)
Named most innovative app of 2015 by the Apple App Store, LiquidText is your one-stop app for viewing, annotating, and sharing PDF docs. The lastest version was reimagined specifically for the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. LiquidText provides countless options for working with your documents with reviewers noting they would have paid ten dollars for the free app.
TouchCast Studio (Free)
TouchCast Studio is a free, powerful video creation tool that allows you to edit videos and add interactive layers. TouchCast videos are fully responsive, meaning you can add webpages or downloads to your videos as well as markups, visual filters, and sound effects.
Assembly (Free)
Assembly is a free, easy to use vector art creation app made for beginners and designers alike. Choose from various shapes, change their size and color, layer the shapes and create whatever you can imagine. The app has free tutorials for getting started and is overall a lot of fun. Great with or without the Apple Pencil, utilizing the stylus would make adjusting shapes even smoother.
Pigment (Free)
Coloring books are all the rage; adults are getting back to coloring for the easy relaxation and general fun of it. Pigment is the only app currently available that actually lets you color. Other color apps have you select a space and fill it in with a color, but with Pigment, you can use the Apple Pencil like a coloring pencil, a marker, or a paint brush. Want access to even more features? Pigment offers a premium service as well.
