Nomad Compose review: create digital paintings for tablet computers

In a nutshell, the Nomad Compose brush is a wonderful addition to the digital artist’s tool set. Its basic but beautiful design exudes quality, and as soon as you pick it up, you know it’s going to deliver.

It’s essentially a brush that can be used instead of a finger or other stylus on tablet devices such as the iPad. We used it on an iPad 2 with two painting apps – Adobe Eazel and ArtRage – and in both cases the reaction of the brush was sublime, adding a genuinely enhanced ‘painting’ experience.

The secret is in the cunning combination of natural and conductive fibres used to make up the brush tip. This makes the Nomad Compose feel like a regular paintbrush as you move it over the surface of the tablet.

In addition to the magical qualities of the brush tips, the Nomad Compose’s precision-milled barrel is well-balanced in the hand.

The makers claim to have used feedback from the artist community to inform the design of the brush. The one we tested had a brush tip at each end of the brush (a one-tip version is also available for less cost, plus there are cheaper still children’s versions).

When ordering, you have the choice of a long or a short brush tip (we used the long tip) and Glide Bevel Tip for more precise work.

It’s a shame that Nomad doesn’t offer a brush set with both the long and short brush tips included, or at least sell them individually, as it would be useful to have both.

The brush also comes with a useful carrying case that ensures you won’t ruin the bristles.

The Specs
System requirements: Any capacitive touchscreen device (iPad 2, iPod Touch, Android, Galaxy)
Dimensions: 7.5-in long x 0.25-in (diam) with one of two brush tips: 0.7-in or 0.4-in

Verdict
A wonderful brush for digital artists to use with tablets that feels authentic in the hand

SCORE: 5/5

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 8th, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.