hi there,
i come from 3d packages like modo3d on PC, and want 2 try something new? :-9
therfore i have some questions:
is the new ipad air5 appropriate for nomad in case of size and power M1/8gigs of ram, or is the ipad pro a great benefit for graphic use?
the apple pencil 2 is expensive, does anyone use another pen?
does the export of the modells work well? (UVmaps)
thanx
gerhard
Hi, I am using an old iPad Pro 10,5” with 4Gig Ram.
I can do already a lot.
Ram is the biggest culprit it is said. I guess you’ll have real fun with the air if it has 8Gigs of Ram. Didn’t know that.
There are tons of little things people will say you need a pro.
In my opinion the only real reason for buying a pro for Nomad are the 1TB or 2TB versions with 16GB Ram.
The Apple Pencil on the other side is a must in my opinion.
I started on an ipad2 with an Adonit disc pencil scratching the screen. After, there came a bunch of other pens. Don’t waste your time and money. The Apple Pencil is the most accurate. and I am using the 1st gen pencil. But the tip technique is same. Charging is much more clever with 2nd gen penvcil though.
I used a reg iPad for a while - both the gen right before they let you use the pencil (used Adonit stylus like knacki) and then the first gen that let you use the pencil (used the 1st gen pencil). It worked fine in both cases and neither had the power the air does.
That being said, I bought the pro mostly for the pencil 2 and love it so much more. For me, we’ll worth the extra $$.
If you go with pencil 1, it’s slippery (for me). I had a hard time holding on to it as it would slip out of my fingers. I bought silicone sleeves for it but then it doesn’t fit in a case. I found that there is a perfect size heat-shrink tube that fits it. After a while it gets loose so I heated it up to shrink it a little 
Idk, that slippery surface is horrible and I hated it.
The pencil 2 has a matte finish and doesn’t slip. That alone was worth the extra $$, not to mention the easy charging and double tap feature.
pencil 2 is fixed with new air, no option. only different brand, which makes no sense imho.
I started mobile sculpting with the inaugural 1st generation iPad Pro (12.9”) where it used the 1st gen Apple Pencil. The sensitivity of Apple’s first official iPad stylus was fantastic, but ultimately a rushed concept as it relied on having a 3rd party case to accommodate and store it, and worse yet required it be charged by jacking into the lightning port; hardly a svelte look and operation. The worst sin of this design is it requires you to consciously and actively charge it. Failure to do so meant the next time you reached for the Gen1 Pencil it’s likely at a 60-80% charge.
I bought the 2020 iPad Pro (3rd gen) not necessarily for it’s upgrade in processor (A9X to A12Z) but all the collective improvements. Apple’s 2nd gen Pencil was probably among my top 3 reasons. The magnetic attachment is great, but it’s genius is in how it wirelessly charges at the same time. This passive charging feature means the iPad keeps it topped off at any given moment you need it. (Unlike my Surface Pro 4’s stylus that requires power from an oddball AAAA-sized battery — and yes, the Surface stylus comes nowhere CLOSE to any of the Apple Pencils)
My understanding of the current 3rd party styluses is that while some might attach magnetically to the iPad edge, they don’t charge wirelessly. If they still need to be physically plugged in somewhere, it kicks you back to where the 1st gen Pencil sits for in-the-moment readiness. This alone makes the 2nd gen Apple Pencil worth it.
The current-gen iPad Air has the M1 chip which in turn has a default 8GB Ram in it. If the 2015 iPad Pro was already a very capable mobile sculpting platform, any iPad sporting an M1 chip is overqualified for the task. The only thing the Air doesn’t provide is a screen larger than it’s current 11” so make sure you spend some time at the store to compare whether the travel-friendliness of the smaller screen is worth the usability of a comfy 12.9”. Another way to tackle this might come down to which 5th Gen iPad Air you chose. The base model has 64GB. The only other jump offered is 256GB for $200 more. A spec’d up iPad Air gets you into the same pricing territory as a base model iPad Pro which by default has 128GB storage, same M1 chip & RAM, but then offers a smoother 120hz display, quad speakers & FaceID.
Again, Apple Pencil 1 or 2 is no choice. Apple 2 or another brand.
64GB though is a pain. 128 GB os not that much funnier imho.
The iPad Air 5 seems to outperform all older iPads, weather pro or not?
Btw. I love 11” never wanted to have something bigger for mobile use!
thanx for comments.
so it seams that the pen2 is a must :-)… but if you do not that much video edditing…i think 64 gigs are enough, because the objects and programms like nomad, procreate, forger do not need that much space?
does anybody export the models from nomad 2 other programs on pc?
i think i would use nomad, or forger, for sculpting…and finaly use other 3 packages (modo) on a pc for texture and rendering…building up a scene 
cheers
GG.
Honestly, 64GB is a pain. Stop making any illusions about that this could be enough.
Apples incredible shitty IOS file managemant avoids to keep your files folder tight and clean.
I still couldn’t figure out how to synchronise the Nomad project folder only with any cloud or network drive easily automatically.
It’s a bit back to last millenium imho.
That said, you’ll fill your ipad with this and that quickly. A nomad project can become > 100MB easily and believe me, you really want to work incremental, means 5 -10 versions to go back inj serious cases. Sure, you can clean up. The files app does not have any of this IOS glory, so it’s no fun.
And you will use more apps! Procreate, Infinite Painter - they are recording timelapse videos while drawing, whch are stored on your harddrive as well. 27GB and 26 GB in my case. Nomad 25GB. You really want to edit videos on ipad, as it is fluent and easy. LumaFusion 3GB here.
You want to have a photoshop replacement with Affinity products. 4GB each. Affinity products are eating diskspace. I needed to reinstall after Photo took 40GB without any reason.
You will have Photos and Videos, for your renders, alphas and all different kind of try outs. 50GB here. And I wouldn’t say I mess that much, as I need to clean up time by time as my 256GB ist getting short.
Apple knows that, like any other brand robbing your money with insanly increased prices for more storage costing only a few bugs in real.
My experience, and I started with a 32GB ipad2, which was horrible disk space wise. Than 128GB better and now 256GB and I wouldn’t go below.
All external stuff is due to IOS fuck no real fun, forget it. I use WD Cloud, which is the best working, Icloud, Google Drive, Dropbox andFileBrowser app, which lets you access your PC Harddrives.
But I am missing USB on my old baby.
All this can be a bit different and better if you are in all mac world, like APple wants you to be.
If so, it would be interesting if ipad air can be used as a tablet for your mac as well, like the pro?