What tech to use?

At Scriberia we often work with paper, post-its and/or a whiteboard. That’s because the distraction of using digital tools can get in the way of direct expression, creative ingenuity and clear thinking. Moreover, for practising, there is no substitute for pen and paper, not least because of the lack of an ‘undo’ function.

When we do need to make drawings digital, there are some great options out there:

• To clean up a photo or scan of a physical drawing, we use Adobe Scan. Camscanner is popular too.

• For drawing on screen, we recommend iPad Pro and Apple Pencil with the relatively cheap app Procreate. Or, if you have it, Photoshop.

• If you want to record or screenshare an image of your hand drawing, get hold of a “long arm clamp” to mount your phone or videocam over your drawing surface. 

• To collaborate remotely on a digital whiteboard, we’re currently favouring the Jamboard and Mural apps, but there are many other options out there. 

• A slideshow app like Google Slides could be a good alternative to a digital whiteboard. Collaborators can upload their pictures and add comments to slides simultaneously. (As with the whiteboard apps, you can prepare the slides in advance with titles and templates.)

During the live workshop, tackle the exercises with just a thick-nibbed dark pen and plain paper. These simple tools are the clearest, simplest and easiest way to share ideas live on Zoom. But you are welcome to use digital tools for the homework if you’d prefer.