Another successful Kickstarter project reaches the market. This time it’s the amazing Sensu Brush and Stylus ($39.95).
When you take it out of the box, it appears to be a 4.5-inch stylus with the typical spongy rubber tip. But when you pull it apart, you'll find an artist’s bristle brush on the opposite end of the stylus. If you wish, you can use the double-ended tool as is. Or, you can insert the stylus end back into the barrel that houses it, and you will have a 7.5-inch brush with extended handle.
The styling is sleek and elegant; the quality is outstanding. You do have to be careful though about putting the brush back into the cylinder, so you don’t bend the bristles and damage them.
Although I’m not an artist, using the brush is a real pleasure. It gives paint programs a whole new dimension and the feel of using a real artist’s brush. Of course, you can use the settings in the particular program you are using to control the width and opacity of the brush along with the color. What’s nice about this brush is that you don’t have to wash out the paint after each application of color. Just change the color and paint on.
While the original intent seems to use this implement with an iPad, it will actually work with any touchscreen device. It’s just a matter of finding a paint and drawing program that suits your purposes.
Some of the ones I recommend for this purpose are the following: ArtRage ($4.99), Paper (free), SketchBook Pro ($4.99), Sketch Club ($2.99), Procreate ($4.99), SketchTime ($1.99), Brushes 3 (free), andAuryn Ink ($3.99).
They come in silver or black.