Disney animators test out iPad Pro, comment on “textured” surface

This is pretty interesting.

Apple apparently allowed Pixar’s staff to play around with the upcoming iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil. A week later, Apple let Disney’s Feature Animation studio take a crack at it.

The animators commented that the device’s screen surface has “tooth,” or textured roughness, to augment drawing feel.

Using iPad Pro’s 12.9-inch workspace, in conjunction with the pressure and position sensing Apple Pencil, animators like Paul Felix recreated classic Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Olaf from “Frozen.” It is unclear if the screen design is part of the shipping product, as Apple has not officially discussed the reported tweak.

A Periscope broadcast via Jeff Ranjo indicates that Ranjo spoke with Apple engineers about the surface and that Apple is looking to up their competitors, such as Wacom, by offering better picture clarity than competing products. Apple staff also commented on Pencil’s pressure sensitivity, saying the device is not tuned to mimic the response of Wacom’s stylus technology, but stand alone as its own optimized system.

Overall, Disney’s animators seemed impressed with what Apple accomplished in iPad Pro, especially paired with Apple Pencil. Many compliments echoed sentiment from Apple’s visit to Pixar, with staff commenting on how well features like palm rejection technology were implemented.

The iPad Pro is rumored to be set for release in November.

Via AppleInsider, AppleInsider and Paul Hildebrandt and Periscope