Designing with a digital pen on iPad
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External devices are a key feature we want to support in the best way possible for our iPad users. This includes a range of digital styluses that can be used for drawing, writing, vector design, and animation.
We chatted with our VP of Engineering, Alessio Mesio, on Linearity’s recent pen integration revamp.
“In the past few months, we’ve been working on rewriting our input system architecture to provide you with more digital pen integrations—with the Apple Pencil Pro and other digital styluses,” Alessio says. “When LAMY reached out to us with their Safari Note+ digital pen, we were already halfway through our rework, so the collaboration came at just the right time.”
With the new infrastructure, we focused on improving stylus latency and customization. We want to ensure that when you’re designing in the zone, your digital pen becomes a natural extension of your hand and not a clumsy tool. We made several optimizations to ensure the canvas in Linearity reacts immediately to Apple Pencils and the LAMY Safari Note+.
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Image source: LAMY Shop
Digital pen support challenges
Linearity Curve and Linearity Move are advanced applications that offer a blank canvas for many different features to interact with each other. Even in ways we may never have imagined. This means we need to ensure all possible combinations of features and gestures work well.
“Our input management engine allows us to offer an **incredibly smooth experience ** regardless of whether you’re using your fingers, a digital stylus, or a mouse, and we do this on all platforms.”—Alessio Mesio, VP of Engineering at Linearity
Designing such an architecture meant that we needed to make changes thoughtfully to ensure we keep the response quick and snappy. “While integrating the LAMY stylus has been a breeze, we spent a significant amount of time at the quality assurance (QA) step to ensure a great experience, whether you’re drawing or animating,” Alessio says.
Besides the Apple Pencil and LAMY Safari Note+, many other generic styluses can be used with Linearity on iPad. Follow our easy steps below to learn how to set up a non-Apple digital pen on your iPad.
How to set up your digital pen
Connecting the LAMY Safari Note+ and other generic styluses follows the same procedure on both Linearity Curve and Move:
Step 1
Open Linearity Settings
First, make sure you have the latest version of your Linearity software installed. On your iPad, go to the App Store and tap on your profile icon at the top right corner. Then, tap Apps and check if any Updates are pending.
Next, open Linearity Curve or Move and navigate to Settings. Select Input.
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Step 2
Connect your digital pen
By default, all iPads are configured to use the Apple Pencil. Tap on “Apple Pencil” to switch to the LAMY Safari Note+.
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The platform will prompt you to give Bluetooth permission and display a pulsating circle.
Turn on your digital stylus. Depending on the brand and type, turning it on may require a different action. On the LAMY Safari Note+, press the function button near the end of the pen.
Hold the tip of the stylus still over the pulsating circle and wait for it to disappear.
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That’s it! You’ve successfully set up your digital pen.
Next time you open Linearity Curve or Move, the stylus will automatically be recognized and connected when turned on.
If you forgot to connect the stylus and you already have a document open, you can do the same procedure by opening the Settings window from the “…” button within the document toolbar.
Every time you turn it on, the LAMY stylus will automatically reconnect to the last device you used it with. If you want to connect it to another iPad, just navigate back to Input and tap Disconnect.
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Image source: LAMY Shop
Quality-of-life (QoL) digital pen features we added
The LAMY stylus now integrates seamlessly with Linearity Curve and Linearity Move. You benefit from having the same level of customization as the Apple Pencil, even though it’s not an Apple product. Within the Linearity software suite, you can check the battery state and change what each button on the digital pen does.
“This customization empowers you to design even faster, with actions such as switching between tools, undoing/redoing the last action, and more.”—Alessio Mesio, VP of Engineering at Linearity
So, whether you’re using the Pen Tool to manipulate vector shapes or the Brush Tool to add detail to illustrations, you’ll feel the same smooth handling.
Our new infrastructure means we can now offer the same level of features to all supported devices. This is also a commitment to our users: digital styluses are first-class citizens in the Linearity software suite. As we add more features to this area (such as Quick Actions), you’ll be able to use them with all supported styluses.
Put your pen to good use
While you can design and animate on Linearity Curve and Move using your fingers, nothing beats a digital pen's precision and natural feeling.
Using a digital pen makes your canvas area more visible, enabling you to draw more accurately. The extra buttons on the LAMY Safari Note+ also offer you more shortcut options for quicker design turnaround.
Get creative using a digital stylus on your iPad and see how much more intuitive it is compared to a trackpad or mouse and keyboard.
For more design tutorials on iPad, check out our Academy. If you haven’t signed up for your Linearity account just yet, get started for free below or check out our Pro, Org, and Education pricing.
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Sharné McDonald
Contributing Writer
Sharné is a contributing writer to the Linearity Blog. She has 10+ years' experience in graphic design and marketing and holds a Master's degree in Art Education.
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