The Digital Textiles iPad - Introduction & Research Plan

Introduction.

I envisage a future where the fluidity of touch-screen technology will become more desirable than being restricted to the desktop. It will change how digital design is taught and will hopefully have a positive impact when comes to space allocation. As Digital Textiles Technician at Chelsea College of the Arts, part of my role involves teaching students how to work with precision. From what I've seen so far, the majority of drawing applications on iPad are best suited for freehand drawing, which is ok if your doing work of that nature.

But, what if a student needs to work more precisely? I’m interested know which applications (such as iDraw) are best suited for a variety of tasks, which include; Precise line/graphical art, geometrical design and symmetrical work. Making pattern repeats, photomontage, collage and colour separation. This will also be important for file preparation for use with Laser Cutting etc

This research may also include a request to purchase various types of stylus to find the most effective alternative to both pencil and mouse. I’m currently using a Dagi Stylus, however, there are many more on the market that may require methodical consideration, from a Basic Stylus to Advanced and even the possibility of making your own.

Research Plan

There are two key areas of research:

• Focus 1 - Mark Making. (Deadline: Aim for October 2014)
• Focus 2 - Wider Pedagogy. (Deadline:TBC)

Focus 1 - Mark Making.

Stylus Research: Main Focus: Compare own hand with Dagi Stylus - Pen & Mini

Application Research: Main Focus: iDraw  - £5.99 / ProCreate - £3.99 / Adobe - £18 - £47 per month!

• Stage 1 - Learning/comparing Software. (iDraw/ProCreate to Adobe) - Use 'Doodle' category for nondescript sketches. 
• Stage 2 - Practice-sketching. (iDraw & ProCreate) - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral & Geometrical. 
• Stage 3 - Photo-lab. (iDraw, ProCreate and Adobe) - Photo-edit, Collage & Cross App Usability. 
• Stage 4 - Precise Development. (iDraw Only) - Precise Drawing, Typography, Geometric Manipulation and Alignment.
• Stage 5 - Creating Patterns. (iDraw, ProCreate and Adobe) All-Over Repeats, Half Drops, Mirroring and Seam Fixing.
• Stage 6 - Finishing. (iDraw, ProCreate and Adobe) Scale, Optimization and Out-put.

Additional Research Options: 

• Compare Free Applications such as: Inkpad, Fool proof art studio,  Inkpad Doodle, Draw & Draw HD.
• Pending outcome of main focus, try these types of stylus. Cheapest - One up from cheapest - Similar with finer tip - Adonit -

Focus 2 - Wider Pedagogy.

In addition, to looking at the design capability of the iPad, I would also like to perform additional general pedagogic research. This includes how the iPad can be used for recording and presentations to enable more dynamic learning activities, during workshops and peer-to-peer discussions.

• Recording - Tutorials, General Activities, Experimentation.
• Documenting-  Tutorials, General Activities, Experimentation.
• Sharing -  Tutorials, General Activities, Experimentation. Not forgetting creating an Online blog/archive
• Presentation -  Tutorials, General Activities, Experimentation.

Also see - The Digital Textiles iPad - Focus:1/Stage:1 - http://process.arts.ac.uk/content/digital-textiles-ipad-focus1stage1

Additional Information.

Note: Utilize the following file naming convention:  

Example: (1-H-sD-01.tif) OR (4-Sdm-phAt-01.tif)

• '1 to 6' - the stage of research.
• 'H or Sdm/Sdp' - for Hand, or Stylus Dagi Mini/Pen  - the tool used.
• 's,p,ph,c,t,gm & ga' - for Sketch, Precise, Photo etc - depicts the Method.
• 'A,V,M,G & D' - for Animal, Vegetable, Mineral etc - depicts the Subject nature.
• '01' - depicts the file.

Abbreviations - Tools: 

• Hand - H
• Stylus Dagi Mini - Sdm
• Stylus Dagi Pen - Sdp

Abbreviations - Subject 

• Doodle - D
• Animal - A
• Vegetable - V
• Mineral - M
• Geometric - G

Abbreviations - Method

• Sketch - s
• Precise - p
• Photo - ph
• Collage - c
• Typography - t
• Geometric Manipulation - gm
• Geometric Alignment - ga

Abbreviations - Patterns: 

• all-Over - aO
• half-Drop - hD
• Mirroring - Mi
• Seam Fix - Sf