We take full advantage of the Apple Pencil’s features on the iPad Pro and Pencil-friendly iPads, including the 2018 Apple Pencil.
 
Tilt your Pencil for thicker strokes with the Hard and Soft Pencils, Airbrush, Marker and Watercolor tools, or any custom brushes where tilt is a feature.
 
Pour on Pressure Sensitivity for the Hard and Soft Pencils, Airbrush, Marker, Watercolor, Dynamic Pen tools, Hard and Soft Masks, and all custom brushes where pressure is a feature.
 
Set a Separate Finger Action in Settings -> Stylus and fulfill that multi-tasking itch. These are the possible actions:
  • Do Nothing (great for extra-robust palm rejection)
  • Use Active Tool (no difference between your pencil and your finger)
  • Pan (easier canvas navigation, especially when you’ve got your Pencil in hand)
  • Select (a nice shortcut to Selection if you don’t like switching tools)
  • Nudge (quick and easy line manipulation with your finger)
  • Slice (cut and destroy your lines like an eraser)
  • Configured Tool (sets your finger to draw with whatever is in the eighth slot on your tool wheel/bar)
If you have the new Apple Pencil, Concepts also supports the Double-Tap gesture. You can set it to any of these actions:
  • Do Nothing (for if you tap your stylus to think a lot)
  • Select (a nice shortcut to Selection if you don’t like switching tools)
  • Nudge (quick and easy line manipulation with your finger)
  • Slice (cut, edit and destroy your line data like an eraser)
  • Hard Mask (mask with a hard edge, same layer)
  • Soft Mask (blend lines with soft masking strokes, same layer)
  • Pan (easier canvas navigation, especially when you’ve got your Pencil in hand)
  • Previous Tool (fast access to the last brush you used)
  • Show Color Wheel (opens the color wheel)
  • Color Picker (so Selection and Color Picker can be separate)
  • Toggle Interface
We’re always interested in what workflow makes sense to you - let us know if you’d like to see something different added to the list.
 
Troubleshooting your Pencil
If you’re not getting any response from your Pencil, it may be out of battery or not paired to your iPad. For new Apple Pencils, charge the pencil with your iPad and make sure it is paired in your iPad settings.
 
To solve this with older edition Apple Pencils, take the cap off and plug your pencil into your iPad’s charging port. If your Pencil is dead and won’t charge or pair, try charging your Pencil separately via the tiny connector that came with your Pencil (it is easily missed in the packaging). It attaches to your lightning cable and can charge from your laptop. Then try pairing again. A notification will appear asking if you’d like to pair it with your iPad - tap it to pair.
 
If the Pencil pressure feels too extreme or not extreme enough, you can adjust the pressure settings in the Settings -> Stylus -> Apple Pencil menu via the pressure slider. Use the two handles on either side of the slider to adjust the sensitivity to be less or more extreme. If you don’t seem to be getting enough pressure response from your Apple Pencil, even at full range, try replacing your tip.