Adobe Takes Creativity Mobile With New Creative Cloud Connected Apps and Hardware

Sketching, Precision Drawing and Photography Apps Extend Creative Workflow to iPad; SDK Unlocks Over 30 Years of Adobe Innovation for Mobile App Developers

PRESS RELEASE

June 18, 2014 11:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today unveiled a new suite of mobile apps and complementary hardware that connect Adobe Creative Cloud, the company's flagship offering for creatives worldwide, to iPad. A digital pen, Adobe Ink, and a digital ruler, Adobe Slide, bring true creative freedom and functionality to mobile devices. Adobe Sketch and Adobe Line enable the next generation of sketching and precision drawing on iPad, and are both optimized to support the new hardware. A third app, Adobe Photoshop Mix, offers a new Creative Cloud connected mobile workflow for anyone who wants access to powerful creative imaging tools on their mobile device (see separate release). Finally, Lightroom mobile is now available for iPhone in addition to iPad, providing the most efficient way to manage and edit images across desktops, mobile devices and the Web.

“Today we’re introducing cutting-edge drawing tools that can carry the designer's Creative Cloud identity, provide access to favorite color themes, and can even copy and paste across devices. This is just one example of how our SDK will shake up the creative industry.”

Nearly half of creatives use their mobile devices to capture inspiration on-the-go and one in three would like to create more content on tablets, according to The New Creatives Report survey of 1,000 U.S. creatives (issued June 16).

Sketch, Line and Photoshop Mix pioneer new ways to create content on-the-go and connect to assets stored in Creative Cloud. They were created using a new Adobe Creative Software Development Kit (SDK), which will speed the development of third party mobile apps that access cloud-based Adobe technologies, forging frictionless creative workflows between device and desktop. Currently in private beta, the SDK will enable developers to include and edit Photoshop PSD files in their mobile apps, ensure compatibility between mobile apps and desktop tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator, and offer never-before-available image editing capabilities in the cloud.

"Adobe’s new mobile apps, hardware and Creative SDK are perfect for creative professionals but, equally importantly, are designed for anyone with a creative spark,” said Scott Belsky, vice president of product and creative community, Adobe. “Today we’re introducing cutting-edge drawing tools that can carry the designer's Creative Cloud identity, provide access to favorite color themes, and can even copy and paste across devices. This is just one example of how our SDK will shake up the creative industry.”

Adobe Sketch and Line are both “Ink and Slide aware”. They also work without a stylus and feature a highly innovative software version of the ruler (“Touch Slide”) for straight-line drawing without hardware. The apps are also connected to Behance, allowing designers to seamlessly share and get feedback on their work with a community of over 3 million creatives. Products introduced today include:

Mobile Apps

Adobe Sketch, a social sketching iPad app for free-form drawing. Sketch gives designers a connected creative process bringing inspiration, sketching and community together into one place. Create with essential drawing tools: a graphite pencil, an ink pen, two blending markers, (brush tip, chisel tip), and an eraser. Get live feedback from the creative community as you work.
Adobe Line, the world’s first iPad app for precision drawing and drafting. Line recreates the art of drafting, combining organic drawing with beautiful straight lines, French curves and perfect shapes that can be drawn in plan and elevation views or in perspective. Line can be used in conjunction with Slide and reimagines traditional drawing tools like rulers, T-squares and shape templates for the mobile world, as well as giving creatives access to assets, Kuler color themes, and the ability to share work.

Photoshop Mix, the most precise app for compositing and masking on iPad. Photoshop Mix also offers powerful cloud-based imaging technology on iPad for the first time, including Upright, Content Aware Fill, and Camera Shake Reduction. It offers non-destructive photo enhancements, selections, the ability to cut-out and mix images, and the ability to open and save PSD files enabling a continuous workflow with Photoshop CC on the desktop.

Lightroom for iPhone extends recently shipped Lightroom mobile capabilities to the iPhone. It provides the most efficient way to manage and edit images across desktops, mobile devices and the Web. Additionally, the recently announced Adobe Voice, a free animated video app for iPad, has also been updated to work with your Lightroom catalogs.

Creative Cloud for iPad and iPhone, a new app that allows Creative Cloud members to access and manage their files, assets, and more from their mobile device.
Creative Hardware

Adobe Ink, a beautiful three-sided hydro-formed aluminum stylus for iPad running iOS7. It enables controlled, expressive drawing and connects to Creative Cloud, giving users access to their creative assets – favorite drawings, photos, Adobe Kuler color themes and more – all at the tip of the pen. Built using the Adonit Pixelpoint™ technology, the fine-tipped, pressure sensitive pen is lightweight and balanced for a comfortable grip.

Adobe Slide, a category-defining digital ruler (and companion to Ink) for iPad running iOS7. Taking a modern twist on traditional tools used before computer graphics and desktop publishing, Slide enables precision sketching – straight lines, perfect circles, and balanced shapes – on iPad.

New SDK Lays Groundwork for Creative Cloud as a Platform

Adobe’s new Creative SDK is a software library that enables developers to tap into Adobe’s creative technologies to build mobile apps. Examples include, browsing files stored in Creative Cloud and extracting elements from PSD files; Adobe’s “Touch Slide” software for straight-line drawing; and cloud image editing services like Content-Aware Fill and Upright. Adobe Photoshop Mix utilizes these new APIs and offers some of Adobe’s best imaging technology for applying Photoshop looks and compositing images. Adobe Creative SDK is initially targeted at the delivery of iOS applications and is currently being tested by select developers. A beta launch is expected in the coming months.

Adobe also updated Adobe Voice, a free animated video storytelling app for iPad that gives anyone the ability to create and share engaging video stories. Over 50 thousand Adobe Voice videos have been shared since the debut of the app in May and, by leveraging Creative Cloud, Adobe Voice now seamlessly syncs with users’ Lightroom photo collections.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Sketch, Line and Photoshop Mix are free applications, available in English, French, German and Japanese in the Apple® App Store. Adobe Ink and Slide are available now via Adobe.com for US$199.99. The hardware is currently available in the US and is expected to ship in other regions later this year.

Helpful Links:

Blog post: http://adobe.ly/Empower2014
Learn more about Ink and Slide: https://www.adobe.com/products/ink-and-slide.html
Learn more about Adobe’s pro creative mobile apps: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/catalog/mobile.html
Creative SDK: creativesdk.adobe.com
Adobe Voice: http://getvoice.adobe.com/
Facebook: Facebook.com/AdobeDrawing
Twitter: Twitter.com/AdobeDrawing
Instagram: http://instagram.com/adobecreativecloud
About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

© 2014 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Creative Cloud, Illustrator, Ink, Lightroom, Line, Sketch and Slide are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Adobe Announces All New 2014 Release of Creative Cloud

Mobile Apps and New Hardware Extend Creative Cloud Workflow; All Major CC Desktop Apps Updated

PRESS RELEASE
June 18, 2014, 11:30 a.m. EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jun 18, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Adobe ADBE +7.85%  , the leader in creative software, today continued to drive Creative Cloud innovation by announcing 14 new versions of CC desktop applications, including essential tools such as Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe Dreamweaver CC and Adobe Premiere Pro CC. The biggest Adobe software release since CS6, it also includes four new mobile apps, the immediate availability of creative hardware, updates to Creative Cloud services and new offerings for enterprise, education and photography customers. Yesterday, Adobe announced that there are now over 2.3 million Creative Cloud subscriptions, far exceeding original projections when it was unveiled two years ago.

“Our shift to Creative Cloud has given us a broad canvas on which to innovate like never before,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president, Digital Media, Adobe. “We’ve taken bold steps with this milestone release, fast-tracking new features to industry-defining tools like Photoshop and InDesign, while introducing mobile apps that turn tablets into indispensable creative tools.”

The release serves a creative industry that is changing at a staggering pace: three in four creatives believe the industry has changed more in the past five years than the previous 50 and about two thirds believe their role will significantly change in the next 3 years (see The New Creatives Report , surveying 1,000 U.S. creatives, issued June 16). Creatives cited new technologies as the top driving force behind the rapid change.

Mobile Apps Extend CC Desktop Workflows

Delivering on mobile innovation, Adobe launched three new mobile apps for iPad – Adobe Sketch, Adobe Line, and Adobe Photoshop Mix; and began shipping new creative hardware called Adobe Ink, a new digital pen, and Adobe Slide, a new digital ruler ( see separate release ). The mobile apps were developed using a new Adobe Creative SDK that unlocks over 30 years of Adobe innovation and makes it available on mobile devices for the first time. These new apps are professional-grade quality but easy enough for anyone to use, similar to the recently launched Lightroom mobile for photographers and Adobe’s new animated video app for storytelling, Adobe Voice, which were also updated with this release. These powerful, yet easy-to-use apps add significant mobile capabilities to Creative Cloud, integrate workflows with the CC desktop apps and bring tablets into serious creative workflows for the first time.

New Versions of CC Desktop Apps

Beyond mobile innovation, the 2014 release of Creative Cloud delivers more Adobe magic, makes everyday tasks easier and faster, while delivering new support for cutting-edge hardware and standards. Highlights of top features in the 14 new desktop apps include:

Your Creative Assets and Your Creative Profile Anywhere

The new CC desktop apps, mobile apps, and hardware are tightly integrated through Creative Cloud services. This integration helps liberate the creative process by enabling users to access and manage everything that makes up their creative profile – their files, photos, fonts, colors, community and more – from wherever they work. Also introduced today is the new Creative Cloud app for iPhone and iPad that allows users to access and manage their files, assets, and more from their mobile device.

New Creative Cloud Offerings For Enterprises, Educational Institutions and Photographers

Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise is an offering designed specifically for large-scale software deployments that works with other Adobe enterprise offerings such as Adobe Marketing Cloud, Acrobat, Adobe Anywhere, and Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Updates include more services with collaboration and file storage, expanded options for deployment, and a new dashboard for managing users and entitlements. For education, Adobe now has a device-based licensing offer for classrooms and labs, which allows multiple users to access software on a single device rather than tying it to an individual with an Adobe ID, critical in an environment where students come and go. And for photography customers, Adobe has introduced a new Creative Cloud Photography Plan for $9.99 per month ( see separate press release ).

Pricing and Availability

Today’s updates to CC desktop tools are immediately available for download by Creative Cloud members as part of their membership at no additional cost. The new mobile apps are free to everyone. To join Creative Cloud, special promotional pricing is available to existing customers who own Adobe Creative Suite 3 or later. Membership plans are available for individuals, students, teams, educational institutions, government agencies and enterprises. To download free trials of any of the new Creative Cloud desktop apps, go to: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/catalog/desktop.html . For pricing details, visit: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html#buy .

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com .

© 2014 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Creative Cloud, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Ink, Line, Muse, Photoshop, Premiere, Sketch and Slide are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Microsoft discounts Surface Pro 2

If you're not sold by the Surface Pro 3 or just in the mood for a nice discount, check out Microsoft Store online, where discounts of up to $200 have finally appeared for the Surface Pro 2 in the U.S.

The 4GB RAM/64GB SSD model has been reduced $100 to $799. The price on the 128GB model has also been cut $100 to $899. The next models have both been discounted $200 to $1099 for 256GB and $1599 for 512GB. (As I was typing this, the 256GB model was listed as out of stock, but you may be able to find them at other retailers).

Finding the Surface Pro 2 on the Microsoft Store site wasn't easy. They're buried in the bundles section. But type covers are discounted there too ($20 off), so you might as well add one to your order.

Here's the link: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/DisplayProductPickerPage/offerID.42158491809/productID.292265900

---

ADVERTISEMENT

New Sketchbook Pro videos detail upcoming features

Photoshop isn't the only major application getting a big facelift this summer. A release date for Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro update hasn't been announced yet, but several of its new features have been leaked in tutorial videos.

First up is the program's new Perspective Guides tool. In the video below, you'll see how the tool is used to work up this city block scene. And below that, the same artist provides a technical walkthrough of the perspective tool.

We're fans of Paris Christou's work and his entertaining tutorials for Sketchbook Pro 6, so it's nice to see him getting into the act. In the video below, he walks through the software's new blending modes.

Paris Christou of ToonBoxStudio explains Sketchbook Pro's new expanded blending modes, coming this summer.

And lastly, the new version will feature animation capabilities. Here is a walk-through of how to work with Flipbook.

Sketchbook Pro's new Flipbook feature is used to create a walk cycle in this tutorial from Emmy award-winning animator Mike Milo.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

SketchBook Pro 6

$18.00

Autodesk PSG

Buy on Amazon

Photoshop CC enters touch era tomorrow, bids adieu to Wintab

Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft have had a troubled relationship when it comes to the Surface Pro.

When the first generation tablet first launched, it took a couple of months for pressure sensitivity to be available in Photoshop. Even though the program works relatively well, its crowded UI is so small that it took a hack to make it legible. And on Surface Pro 3 review units Microsoft issued to journalists, Photoshop runs sluggishly, with noticeable lag.

That should all change tomorrow, when Adobe will unveil the latest updates to its Creative Center suite of applications, including the long-awaited Photoshop 15.

We don't know too much about what's in this version, but we do know that it supports multi-touch gestures for zooming, panning and rotating. The interface has been redesigned with icons scaled 200% for touch. And perhaps, most significantly, this is the first generation of the program to adopt Microsoft's INK API, leaving behind Wintab.

This move means Photoshop users on all TabletPCs (regardless of digitizer tech) will benefit from pressure sensitivity without the need for additional driver support. With Corel rumored to be close behind with their upcoming Painter update, Wintab's days appear to be numbered.

To get you primed for what will be revealed tomorrow, below is the brief Adobe presentation from the Surface Pro 3 launch event last month.

Adobe Photoshop CC sneak peek from Surface Pro 3 launch event.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

Lenovo ThinkPad 10 reviews coming in

Still no word on availability from Lenovo, but reviewers have apparently had their hands on the new Thinkpad 10 tablet for a while.

Paul Thurrott published his first impressions earlier today and now Lisa Gade of Mobile Tech Review has posted a very informative video review.

The machine is probably under-powered for most art applications, but its Wacom digitizer nonetheless makes it an interesting competitor to the $799 Core i3 Surface Pro 3.

One of these days, Lenovo may add me to their reviewers list, but in the meantime, here is Lisa's video. She begins discussing the pen at around the 9 minute mark.

Lisa Gade reviews the Lenovo ThinkPad 10 tablet. This is a 1.3 lb., 10.1" Windows 8.1 tablet with a 1920 x 1200 IPS display and the Intel Atom Z3795 1.6GHz Bay Trail quad core CPU. The tablet runs full Windows and it has 2 gigs of RAM and 64 gigs of eMMC flash storage plus a microSD card slot.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

Penny Arcade Surface Pro 3 update

Mike Krahulik, Penny Arcade's Gabe, has published an update to his experiences with the Surface Pro 3 that is an absolute must-read for anyone concerned about the tablet's suitability for artists.

He has been shown updates that I haven't seen that will clearly make a positive difference to users.

After I was done drawing I went out to lunch with some of the people from the team. I said to them “listen, I am an edge case. I don’t use this machine the way most of your users will use it. I understand this thing isn’t going to do everything for everyone.” Their answer was basically “why not?”

It's a great post and well worth your time. Check it out here: http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2014/06/16/surface-pro-3-update

---

ADVERTISEMENT

Suface Pro 3 pen nib wear? No problem, says Microsoft

If you've used soft nibs on your Wacom pens, you know those suckers wear down quickly. But you also know that most pens ship with a few extras and that replacement nibs are easy to find.

Several folks who've trekked down to their nearest Best Buy or Microsoft Store have been expressing concern online about how worn the nibs on the Surface Pro 3 display pens have become after their first weekend in service.

As you can see in the image above, I've experienced this too.

Microsoft or N-Trig will eventually market nib replacements, but it's unclear how soon that will occur. Most other N-Trig OEMs do not. So what are users to do if their pen nibs deteriorate badly?

I reached out to Markus Weickenmeier of the official Surface Blog, who oversees Surface Audience Marketing for Creators, and received this encouraging response: "If you are experiencing nib wear you will be able to call the Microsoft Surface Support Center and they will send you replacement nibs.  They are free of charge and you simply remove the existing nib and replace it with the new one."

Sounds crazy and expensive to me (and I told Markus as much) but that's the current plan. I hope they'll eventually just throw five spares in every pen box or open up a self-service online ordering system soon. 

N-Trig told me most of their pens' nibs last a year, but the Surface Pro's is noticeably softer than the tip on the other N-Trig pens I've tested. Perhaps Redmond is underestimating how much you guys will chew through these nibs?

---

ADVERTISEMENT

Mudbox finally a reality on Surface Pro thanks to Intel update

UPDATE 6/10/14: And...no sooner do I publish this post but Microsoft decides to release a firmware update. Today's Patch Tuesday releases include a new display driver, but in my case, the updates offered were all security fixes. Windows Update promptly reverted my display driver with the March 11 Hardware Update and despite my repeated checks still hasn't offered the new firmware for download. So if you're using the latest Intel HD graphics driver, make sure to verify what Windows Update is installing. I'll update this post again once I confirm that the firmware does include the display driver Mudbox likes.

ORIGINAL POST

It's been a long time coming, but Autodesk Mudbox users can finally use the 3d sculpting and texturing application on the Surface Pro 1 and 2 thanks to a recently released display driver update from Intel.

Mudbox 2015, released in March, is the first multi-touch capable sculpting program to run on the Surface Pro. Unfortunately, Microsoft's official display drivers didn't work properly with the program's paintbrush tool, crippling its texture painting capabilities.

Although Mudbox runs a distant second to ZBrush and may even be outsold by upstart 3D-Coat, I've always thought it was a good choice for the Surface Pro and other small sized tablets because of its clean, orderly interface. Although Autodesk has sometimes seemed to neglect the software, it recently dramatically lowered its price to $495 or $10 per month subscription. http://www.autodesk.com/products/mudbox/buy This competitive pricing puts the software within reach of any artist.

The updated Intel HD driver can be found at the following link: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=23885&lang=eng It's likely that Microsoft will offer this or another compatible driver during an upcoming firmware update, but if you don't want to wait, you can follow the installation instructions below.

WARNING: This process is moderately advanced. If you're not accustomed to mucking around with your system, don't attempt this. You have been warned!

If you attempt to install the executable directly, you may not be able to do so. The installer will likely warn you that the driver is not certified for the Surface Pro.  

To work around this, download the .zip version. Unzip the archive. In Device Manager, find the Display adapters >> Intel HD Graphics Family Properties. In the Driver tab, select Update Driver. Tap on "Browse my computer for driver software" and then point it to the Graphics folder you just unzipped.

This should work for most of you but it's possible that Windows will notify you that the best drivers are already installed. That was the case for me, so I went back to the Properties >> Driver tab and Uninstalled the current driver. On the confirmation, select Delete the driver software for this device.

I'm not sure about this next step, but it worked for me. Windows will want to reboot the system immediately after the device driver is deleted. Don't let it reboot because it may reinstall the old drivers upon restart (just because you told it to delete the old driver doesn't mean Windows won't call out and download the official driver upon reboot).

Instead of rebooting, run the new driver's installation program. When it's done installing, then you can reboot.

Performance is still not flawless on my Surface Pro 2. The pen doesn't register 100% of the time, especially when trying to target standard UI elements like the close button. Changing brushes with the pen is hit and miss. It's sometimes easier to use a finger to choose between sculpt and paint tools, though this is also sometimes hit and miss.

I had to rollback my Wacom driver to the official 7.2.0-4 release version. The unofficial update I published recently doesn't seem to be compatible.

But combined with the latest version of ArtDock (which I'll publish tomorrow), it's still a lot of fun to interactively sculpt and paint in Mudbox without the need for a keyboard. Even if you don't own it, I recommend having a go with the trial version. You may be hooked.

Thanks to Alex Cheparev for the tip regarding the new driver's availability.

---

ADVERTISEMENT