Along with the announcement of Adobe's massive Creative Cloud 2014 update came new mobile apps, updates, and hardware. Read on for information about Line, Sketch, Photoshop Mix, Ideas, Adobe Ink & Slide, and more.
New Mobile Apps
Adobe Sketch
Adobe Sketch, created for the iPad, is a social drawing app that gives the user well-designed, responsive tools for drawing, doodling, and creating, with quick access to Creative Cloud and Behance. Draw with pencils, pens, markers, and erasers that all mimic real-world media. Collage or trace other images and incorporate them into full drawings. The app is compatible with the Ink & Slide, featured below.
Sketch stores projects within the app and on your iPad so they can be revisited later, emailed, and shared. Additionally, files created within the app can be grouped together for optimal organization within the app itself or for sharing purposes.
Adobe Line
Adobe Line, created for the iPad, is a drafting app that allows the user to play with straight lines, French curves, and shapes from templates that can be drawn in plan view, elevation view, or in perspective. Control line quality and color with a finger or stylus. Stamp packs are available featuring geometric shapes, figures, and more. Once again, Adobe Ink & Slide works wonderfully with Line, giving users the freedom of bringing a drafting program on the go, and creating creative or technical drawings as needed. Creative Cloud is integrated into the app so work is never lost as it's automatically backed up into the user's cloud account.
Photoshop Mix
Photoshop Mix, created for the iPad, brings the technology of Photoshop into an easy-to-use format. Simplifying complex actions, the app allows users to edit photos on their iPads or within cloud storage with a finger or stylus. Scale images with a pinching motion, combine multiple images, edit color, levels, and other image attributes.
The app features Looks options (seen above), which are similar to those found in Lightroom, and are non-destructive to the image itself. Aside from scrolling through Looks and applying one, users can edit the chosen Look to customize their images.
Since this app is integrated into Creative Cloud, files can be sent to Photoshop and Lightroom on a user's laptop or desktop, allowing for further editing or control with an image. Additionally, Photoshop-only features like Content-Aware Fill, Upright, and Shake Reduction are all available within the Mix app so long as its connected to Creative Cloud.
Adobe Creative Cloud (App)
The Creative Cloud app allows subscription users to access and organize everything within their account's cloud storage. Especially useful for sending files to clients, receiving files from others, and syncing with other Adobe mobile and desktop applications.
Updated Mobile Apps
Adobe Voice
Adobe Voice is a unique app that allows the user to tell a story by recording their words, choosing from a library of over 100,000 images, and the program animates said story, bringing it to life. It's a simple way to create a video to communicate ideas or pitch information, especially useful for small businesses, classrooms, and creative pursuits. You can add music, change the style, and quickly share your creations online.
The latest update includes Lightroom Mobile sync, so your own photos can be included within your storytelling. Perfect for adding quick videos to your portfolio featuring your own work.
Adobe Lightroom Mobile
Adobe Lightroom Mobile brings the features of Lightroom to the user's fingertips, wherever they need to go. Users can edit, organize, and share images quickly and conveniently as they would in the desktop program by syncing with Lightroom 5 through iPads or iPhones. This app also syncs up with other Adobe mobile apps like Photoshop Mix and Voice.
The latest update to the app brought the addition of adding star ratings to photos and allowing users to view and sort photos in any order. Both features can be synced with Lightroom desktop (version 5.5 or later).
Adobe Ideas
Adobe Ideas is a vector drawing app for the iPad and iPhone. It allows users to create freeform vector drawings, manipulating strokes, anchor points, and paths. Use a pressure sensitive stylus, or create with a finger.
In this update, users can hit Tap Send to Illustrator and receive their Ideas artwork on their desktop within Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe Kuler
Adobe Kuler is a color app and website that allows users to create color themes from existing photos or with Kuler's tools. Create theme sets, share with other users, and access through other Adobe applications like Illustrator where those themes can be applied into artwork. For more, check out this comprehensive guide to Adobe Kuler here on Tuts+.
Behance (App)
This app, for the iPad and iPhone, allows users to fully access their Behance accounts, interact with other users, and post portfolio projects or works in progress directly from the Creative Cloud. Paired with the other Adobe apps listed above, having Behance on a mobile device speeds up the process of creating artwork and sharing it with the masses.
Adobe Hardware
Ink & Slide
The Adobe Ink is a Creative Cloud connected pen, and the Adobe Slide is a digital ruler. Together, these tools go hand in hand with Adobe Sketch and Line, the two drawing apps listed above. Created for the iPad, these tools allow pressure-sensitive control over each app's drawing tools, especially Sketch whose tools mimic real-life media.
Adobe Ink has a fine, pressure sensitive, Pixelpoint tip for precision on the iPad's surface. This gives the user control over precise drawings versus a simple stylus or finger. You can personalize the end of Ink by choosing from hundreds of LED colors.
Adobe Slide immediately places trace guides within Sketch or Line's interface when placed on the iPad surface. This allows users to create perfect straight lines in both programs. The button on Slide cycles through trace guide shapes such as lines, circles, French curves, and other shape templates put into place with Slide and manipulated tactically with the tool on top of the tablet.
All Apps Listed Are Free
All of the apps listed above are free, available in the iTunes App Store from Adobe. The Ink & Slide runs for $199.99 (not including tax and shipping) and is currently only available to ship within the US from Adonit. Considering that this is launch day, availability is sure to widen in the future.
Having Adobe products at your fingertips while traveling for business or on holiday, while out at the store, or simply at the coffee shop makes integration with the Creative Cloud and a user's portfolio instantly more accessible. While they're limited to iOS mobile devices at this time, expansion in the future could very well occur. With all of the updates brought today with Creative Cloud 2014 there's no telling where Adobe will take us next.