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That's what we've done with Astropad. We've created a new way to work That turns the iPad Pro Into a drawing tablet for Mac. A way to work made for artists that is better, faster and works with any Mac app Including Adobe Photoshop. Built for the full power of iPad Pro and Apple Pencil it offers uncompromised image quality with virtually no lag. It would be great for games, but also as the standard for people to use the iPad pro as a touch screen for drawing and sculpting on their PC. Currently there is a mac app (Astropad) that does this between a mac and an iPad pro on the same home network, but it would be great to be able to use the ipad to sculpt and draw from anywhere! I show how I use Astropad Standard to turn my Ipad Pro into a fully functioning graphics tablet, similar to the Wacom Cintiq and my initial reactions to the. What you will need to use Astropad Standard. IPad Mini 2 (2013+), iPad Pro (2016+), iPad 5th generation (2017+), or iPad Air (2013+) with iPadOS 9.1 or later. For input and drawing, you can use your finger along with Apple Pencil. Mac and iPad can be connected by either USB cable or wirelessly with Wi-Fi. Luna fully integrates with Astropad — our award-winning drawing software that turns the iPad into a professional graphics tablet for Mac. Astropad offers absolute workflow customization, featuring a packed suite full of creatives tools like unlimited workflow shortcuts, Magic Gestures, and custom pressure curves.
What you will need to use Astropad Standard
Downloading and Installing the Apps
Accessibility in macOS Mojave and newer
Screen Recording in macOS Catalina and newer
USB and Wireless Connection
What you will need to use Astropad Standard
- Mac with OS 10.11 El Capitan or newer
- iPad Mini 2 (2013+), iPad Pro (2016+), iPad 5th generation (2017+), or iPad Air (2013+) with iPadOS 9.1 or later
- Apple Pencil
- Creative software on your Mac
For input and drawing, you can use your finger along with Apple Pencil. Mac and iPad can be connected by either USB cable or wirelessly with Wi-Fi.
Downloading and Installing Apps
Download the iPad App
Astropad Standard’s iPad app can be purchased on your iPad through the App Store, or by going to astropad.com/app
Download the Mac Companion App
After purchasing the iPad App, go to our Astropad Standard downloads page to download our free Mac companion app.
– Extract the .zip file and save the Mac app in “Applications” or your preferred download location.
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*For convenience, you can keep the Mac App in your dock. Click and hold on the Astropad icon, and go up to “Options”, then select “Keep in Dock”.
Open Both iPad and Mac Apps
On your Mac, open the Astropad Mac App.
– Click “Setup”
On your iPad, open the Astropad Standard iPad App.
– Tap “Get Started”
Instructions for setup and connection will appear on screen. When both apps are opened and past setup, tap “Next”.
If you are running macOS Mojave 10.14 or newer
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Unlike previous macOS versions, you will need to enable Accessibility to use Astropad Standard in macOS Mojave 10.14 or newer. There will be a message that prompts during initial setup with steps to Enable Accessibility from your Mac’s System Preferences.
You can also activate this manually by going to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab. Select Accessibility in the left side menu, then check the box next to Astropad Standard’s icon. If you don’t see Astropad Standard’s icon available, click the “+” button and directly add the application.
If you experience no pressure sensitivity with drawing / input, you may need to check whether the accompanied creative software in use requires this or a similar permissions under the Privacy tab.
If you are running macOS Catalina 10.15 or newer
Along with the enable Accessibility that was introduced with macOS Mojave, a new permission has been added. Screen Recording needs to be enabled to allow Astropad Standard to access the content on your screen. Astropad Standard does not record the contents of your screen.
There will be a message that prompts during initial setup, with steps to enable this from your Mac’s Systems Preferences.
USB and Wireless Connection
To use Astropad Standard, your iPad and Mac need to be connected by either USB or Wi-Fi connection.
To connect by USB:
Using your iPad’s corresponding USB cable (30-pin to USB, or Lightning to USB), connect iPad to your Mac.
To connect by Wi-Fi:
Make sure both Mac and iPad are on the same wireless network. If both iPad and Mac are on the same network with a good signal, they will connect automatically.
– Try Manual Wi-Fi Connection if you’re unable to connect automatically.
At the connection screen, click “Connect info” and a new window is shown with connection options. Click “Wi-Fi Manual Connect”, and a QR code opens on your Mac’s screen for your iPad to scan.
Take your iPad, making sure the Camera is “Enabled” for Astropad Standard, and allow it to scan the QR code. It will disappear entirely when you’re connected.
Astropad on Friday updated its Astropad and Luna Display apps to support Macs with Apple's new M1 chip.
The software company creates apps that allow users to leverage their iPads as drawing tablets or secondary devices for their macOS devices. Prior to the Sidecar feature in macOS Catalina, Luna Display was one of the more popular methods for extending a Mac's screen to an iPad.
Astropad's new update on Friday optimizes both apps to run smoother and with better performance on the M1 MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini.
Here in the Astropad labs, we're working on adding Apple Silicon support to our products and the results are phenomenal!
Check out this video of Luna Display running on the M1 MacBook Air streaming in Mac to Mac mode, it's like butter! pic.twitter.com/67i4uTgWQr
— Astropad (@Astropad) November 17, 2020The native Apple Silicon support is available in Astropad Studio version 3.6, Astropad Standard version 3.6, and Luna Display version 4.4.
New users can download the software from Astropad's website, while existing users should see the updates appear in their apps automatically.
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