I might have forgotten to mention: I drink many flavors of Kool-Aid.

Last summer, I went crazy trying to print and format art for a last minute portfolio. That was the last straw to drop analog portfolios altogether and try something new: The magical iPad. I rounded up all of my old cellphones, and had myself a Craigslist garage sale.

(Photo from my actual ad.)

With all sales, I had enough to buy a used iPad in excellent condition off of Craigslist. While I was skeptical at first, I’ve really grown to love it. Not only is it the greatest demo machine imaginable, but it’s ultra portable with great battery life. Believe it or not, but it also makes for a nice little digital painting notebook.

I’ve been thinking about background painting styles recently, and decided to give a retro 60’s cartoon era style a shot. Using the great program Brushes and a Pogo stylus, I was able to paint something I actually liked. (I’ve since switched to the MUCH superior Griffin stylus. I can’t recommend it enough. Pogo started falling apart after minimal light use– Griffin is much smoother and sturdier. Target has them in stock.)

Brushes even has the ability to export images as PNG files with transparency. Instant multi-plane background! Even cooler: It can export video of your painting from start to finish.