You can import files from iCloud Drive and the Files app, too. Like all of the latest Adobe apps, Illustrator on the iPad uses cloud documents stored in your Creative Cloud account. Your iPad can go anywhere, so Illustrator should be optimized for quick turnaround projects. In testing these features, I set a challenge representative of a fast-paced, modern design environment: create a unique, eye-catching image in no more than about 45 minutes. Instead of sprinting through every feature, I decided to build a workflow around two areas of Illustrator that Adobe is especially proud of: the new Repeat tool and rich typography support with Adobe Fonts. Photoshop on iPad’s early reviews suffered at the hands of customers frustrated by its limited toolset, even though Adobe promised and delivered on frequent updates.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened Illustrator on the iPad to find that there were too many features for me to realistically assess in detail. This approach means that version 1.0 of each app will be missing some key features, but the long-term reward for users is greater. Instead of porting decades of legacy features and controls, each app is built from the ground up for touch input and progressive disclosure, allowing complex functionality to live inside an easy-to-use interface. Could an Apple Pencil and touch display provide the same level of precision as a keyboard and mouse? I’ve been testing Illustrator on the iPad for the past two weeks to find out.Īdobe’s strategy for bringing its desktop apps to the iPad crystalized with Lightroom and Photoshop. When Adobe announced last November that Illustrator was coming to iPad, I was both thrilled and a bit skeptical.

I use Adobe Illustrator almost every day on my Mac to create many of the graphics, podcast covers, and feature illustrations you see here on 9to5Mac.

Ipad for adobe illustrator