Drawing on the Surface Pro 4: Full Review 

Fiiiiiinally a man who knows what he's talking about. I sub'd

i like the humor and details of product in review

I really appreciate your review and demonstration of the surface pro 4 and iPad pro as for me those two devices are most appealing to me for art work creation

Best RU-vid ever love the art style the way you describe everything and how amazing your voice sounds it’s so satisfying I legit almost feel asleep

I just have to say, you have made some brilliant content with these reviews. Thanks so much!

Thanks Brad. Very helpful video in considering price, features and performance for an on-the-go digital art tool.

when i get my sfp3, i thinked about cintiq. Then, my friend told me they just use cintiq watch videos LOL. But thank you, you are such a good video maker in the same time you are a good at knowing all the softwares. Thank you so much!

You have earned my subscription. Loved the review, really opened my eyes! Been needing to find a way to use a little machine to use for drawing so I don't have to keep setting up my Wacom Cintiq. Got all my answers in this video that I was worried about!

I just purchased a used Surface Pro 4, and im so excited for it to ship. Im upgrading from a 2006 Fujitsu Lifebook T5010, which is. VERY old. I went out of my way to get a surface pro 4 with the i7 processor and 8 GB of ram so im hoping it runs everything SUPER smooth

I've been looking for a video like this for SO. LONG. Thank you!

YESSS Thank you so much for this! I'm about to buy the surface pro 4 i5/8gb version and i was nervous about how it would run illustrator or photoshop - Now i'm totally sold!

5:02 I loved how quickly you went from "POTATOS!' to 'not potatoes...' lmao

the best review!!!! for those who draw a lot!!

you actually illustrate the issues you have about instead of just bashing its specs which is refreshing

That was one of the best reviews I have ever watched! Thank you!

This reviewer is a liar, I pressed my eraser 3 times and my tablet didn't self destruct.

Thanks for putting in the time to provide a quality review - very helpful

The driver updates Microsoft released yesterday, July 14, 2016, have corrected the stroke tapering and smoothing issues Brad identified in this video. Check out SurfaceProArtist.com for more info.

the best review ever.. now i know all what i wanted to know about the surface pro 4 .. thanks a lot ✨

Gotta say you add excellent humor spots to the video and I dig your review well done!

Thanks for the review, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the iPad Pro!

Excellent review, Brad. And thanks for the laughs.

That taper effect is also known as the shoestring or shoelace effect, it's a problem I've had with intuos drawing tablets in the past, messing around with pen settings should be able to fix it. Try reducing the sensitivity on the lighter end of the pressure spectrum, so you have to press slightly harder to get it to register your ink.

Really good and honest review, no fanboy BS, like always. :) I was very pleased when you covered the software-side slowdown and calibration problems. A lot of reviewers don't seem to understand, that the "brush stroke slowdown" or "lag" is usually 99% because of the software (not hardware, not OS, but the application) you're drawing in. Especially Photoshop has ALWAYS been notorious for that (I can easily make my i7, 16gb ram, SSD rig to "cough" with PS + Cintiq, so...). This is the reason I'd always recommend people who use PS a lot, to go for the biggest amount of CPU+GPU+RAM possible, even though you can probably make it crawl nevertheless. :) And it's also the reason I don't draw that much anymore in PS, well, that and the price. Manga Studio/Clipstudio for example costs a fraction of what PS costs and IMO has easily a better brush engine, at least for my needs. Also Krita, it's FREE. Also: I recommend trying Mischief for drawing. It runs so damn smooth on my SP4, the exact same model. And it has really changed the way I sketch nowadays digitally, it really has. Try it, might do some mindblowing. :)

You are amazing. 😃 Thanks for these lively & entertaining, but still informational, reviews. Very helpful.

*I just found an ace reviewer!!!!! thank you so much!*

I love the review. can you tell me if you know a way to turn off hand or finger recognition on sketchbook pro for the surface pro?

you've sold me, I'm gonna go by a Surface Pro 4 (maybe 5 if out) in January. Chears Mate

Love love love these videos! I'll be basing my purchase of the iPad pro based on your review.

I'm sensing a pattern here with your Surface reviews. by the time the Surface pro 7 rolls around you'll be rocking a full on Gandalf beard. thanks for the review

What a great review Brad ! Thank you very much for your job on this video ! I will buy an SP4/i7/16Gb/256Gb when it release in my country. Good continuation ! PS : Your drawings are beautiful !

Hey Brad, Thanks for all these videos! all of your uploads are consistently well put together and extremely informative and helpful. I really love your art style as well. Do you have a regular comic in a paper or magazine or somewhere?

Since the Surface 4 was announced I've been wondering how the M3 model would perform for drawing with Photoshop and similar apps so this review was immensely useful. Thanks! I think I'll go for the i5, but it's really good to know that if my budget won't allow it I'll still get a ton of productive use from the base model. Great review.

Excellent review, thanks

This is a great and informative review, thanks so much. I have a surface pro 2 with a broken touchscreen and I'm thinking about picking up a 4. My main concern is have they fixed the cursor going super wonky at edges and corners?

Did you unchecked "use graphic processor" in photoshop? It used to slow things down on intel HD cards.

Tapering seems to be fine now on photoshop. Looks like they fixed it.

Never laughed harder in my entire life. Thank you for your review.

Your needs for the Type Cover seems to all be covered by this app on the Windows Store called Tablet PC Mouse (the v2 of it, currently in beta though). It's a key missing part of Windows touchscreen experience and offers pro artists like you the option to create custom onscreen controls to your liking...you really should give it a try.

subscribing. Thanks for the badass review man! Definitely going to look into buying one now!

Dude, look for the softwar in windows store called tablet pc mouse manager, is awesome to create custom buttons that works with touch, excelent to use for photoshop, or painter, no need to carry the keyboard. search for it, cost only 10 dollars, and i must say its brilliant. Nice video.

I really enjoyed this review! I love your humor! I wish I could buy this product but because I'm just a hobby artist, already have a really good working laptop and really DON'T have the money for it right now. I will just wait and maybe replace my old laptop with this in the future (or a surface pro 5 one if they have come out with it). Very nice and to the point review! Also I like your art style, keep up the great work!

I’m still using this Surface Pro 4 for my cartooning. The only thing I can complain about is the battery. It doesn’t last but only 3 hours at most. The other thing that doesn’t work anymore is the keyboard. Other than that, this machine still does all of my artwork. I bought it used back in 2018 and 5 years later it’s still running great.

can't wait for your review on your iPad pro

Love love love these videos! I'll be basing my purchase of the iPad pro based on your review. I'm looking for a drawing pad that can replace my old toshiba tecra and save my leg hair from third degree burns.

Great review. THanks!

Fantastic review. I would love to know how Modelling software runs on this.

You are Great at this!!!! Im subscribed. Thank you for your channel

you are great dude ! you deserve way more subscribers. I subscribed today :)

Hey Brad, do you use any sort of third-party toolbar creators to setup keyboard shortcuts (Brush size, undo, etc) when drawing in Photoshop? Do you always use the keyboard or do you draw with it flipped back behind the device?

Very accommodating review, most reviews of the digitizer were either really vague and lightly touched up on or were reviewed by non-artists.

Microsoft 2.0: "We are now a hinge and magnet company!"

Awesome review! Subscribed!! Could you try out two monitors with the surface and photoshop at the time please? I am about to buy surface 4 pro. I am a web designer... Thank you a lot and I am looking for the next reviews!

Very nice review! Thank you so much! I pre-ordered an SP4 and I'm so looking forward to draw on it (arriving next week here in Portugal) but now I worry that that weird tapering thing on the pen strokes may be a deal breaker for me, as I'm looking for very good pen experience. Does that also happen on Microsoft's Fresh Paint app? Not that I plan to use it, but could Microsoft be fine tuning the pen for their own apps? Also, have you installed the new Threshold 2 update for Windows 10? If so, any improvements on performance or drawing? Again, thank you for your excellent, fun review!

Rewatching this again in 2020 beacause finally I can afford it now.

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Brad, awesome informative video! Do you know if screen sharing programs such as Picarto or Joinme can be run while you’re in Photoshop/ClipStudio? Very tempted to get one of these but... if it can’t itd defeat the whole purchase’s purpose 😅

Thanks for your reviews! You've helped me in my decision making on what to get as a replacement for my Fujitsu Stylistic 5030d. I've had this thing for years and it's got a wacom digitizer with 1000+/- levels of pressure from what I understand. Unfortunately it's xp and not worth upgrading so I'm looking at the slates you're reviewing... but nothing seems to come close to the 10 year old slate that I've got. I wonder if you could get your hands on a Fujitsu Q775 to review? Cheers

Great review. I have the i7 Surface Pro 3, and get annoyed by the heat issue (I use a little USB fan typically), though Chrome is actually more of a problem than drawing apps. The M-series SP 4 looked interesting just because it doesn't have a fan at all, but I use 3D apps as well, so not an option. I already bought the SP4 pen. Work might be getting me an iMac to work for home, so also wondering about the iPad Pro/pencil. Curious to see you using the SP 4 keyboard - I thought the keyboard was too awkwardly placed for drawing? Have you adapted?

Best video ever! I am wondering if you could give a comparison between surface pen and apple pencil on the topic of LAGGING. I am kind of crazy to find a pen with no lagging or the least lagging. Thanks.

Looking forward to that Drawing on the iPad Pro review.

Hi Brad, what are your thoughts on the latency problem and when you use the iPad for quick sketching (like in life drawing classes or urban sketching)? Also, have you tried to use the Mischief app for sketching this way?

Thanks for the review Brad. I have the SP3 and the only thing I want from the SP4 is the pen improvements. Can you tell us if the new pen magnetically sticks to the SP3 as well as the pen and eraser working properly? I'd love to get the new pen if it helps out with the drawing jitters the SP3 pen has. And unlike the SP3 pen, which Microsoft offers no purchasable nibs for, there's a nib kit for the SP4 pen that includes several weights. Thanks!

cool review

Thank you your reviews! Is there an app where I can draw by lightly touching the pen or paint when pen is hovering on the screen?

thanks for the review, I'm interested specifically in Photography editing and Photoshop. how is the color accuracy? the %sRGB? is it useful to use the touch screen when editing photos?

thanks for your review since I need another tablet that is more portable than my cintiq and I just don't think the wacom mobile studio is worth it for the price anyway. If I purchase the Surface Pro 4 that have 256 gb Intel i5 8gb ram would that be enough to run my three drawing programs like : Paint Tool Sai, Medibang, and Clip Studio Paint? I only plan to use this for drawing purposes since I already have a laptop

Have you used the pen in Animate CC yet? I'd love to know if there are any pressure issues in. Good review.

Hi, Great Review. Just wondering does the pen have tilt detection

Hey Brad, You probably already heard about LazyNezumi, but I think it can be used to fix that tapering problem

by the way, a love your art :D

How is it doing after 2 years now? Did the PC slow down? Did updates improve the drawing or did it get worse?

so nice need it

Hello Thank you for your review!I' m from France. I saw in the surf pro 3 review that it wasnt possible to draw slowly correctly on it. Could you please tell me if it's possible on the surf pro 4? Thanks regards!

I have the i7 model with 512 gb ssd and run photoshop, adobe flash (animate), and a web browser and it does not slow down BUT one problem is it becomes hot when you have it plugged in. Something interesting I used by accident is using three fingers on the screen use one finger move side to side and it activates the undo in photoshop but is a bit inaccurate after 50 mistakes. also no tapper effects.

hi Brad! I'm thinking of buying a surface pro 4 to replace my very old macbook pro, and connecting it to a larger screen since the screen is smaller than what I'm used to. Do you think surface pro 4 works well as an everyday laptop?

How did you get your photoshop interface looks so adequate? mine are too small to even create a new file

Thanks. Lisa Mobile Tech kinda showed some performance discrepancy with the PS between core m and i5 models. I'd pick the i5 but who am I kidding.. too poor atm :P Thanks for talking about the core M model!

I got a surface Rt a few christmas' ago for school uses, but im looking to upgrade to a surface that will let me do basic work (word, powerpoint etc) with drawing on the side as a hobby, would the Surface 3 (non-pro) with the S4 Pen work well? Not trying to spend too much money on one

how do you feel about using a screen protector for the surface 4? i take care of my stuff but i just like to take that extra step. if you have any suggestions i would love to hear them and any thoughts on if a screen protector would effect my drawing.

Hi nice Review! -> one question: can u test the performance with ac power plugged in? Perhaps there is less lag - if this is the case try to change the powersettings! - greetings!

hejj great video.. how does the screen react under a bit higher pressure of the pen... does it still smear and smudge?

I did ask on your first review but I will ask on this one too whether you have tried using corel painter to see if it would work with this model?

can you draw detailed finished comic pages in manga studio ex 5 using the Surface Pro 4?

have you tried using auto desk sketchbook? I was thinking about buying the pro license for that. I'm just now getting into drawing and that seems like a decent program (I use autocad daily so I enjoy autodesk products). have you tried sketchbook pro? if you have and don't like it what do you recommend for sketches and what not?

Good review, I had a big challenge deciding either to go with the surface or the cintiq companion 2, since your last review of the sp3. The sp4 is about 500 less including the type cover with the same configuration i5 8gb ram but the sp has twice the storage. Only one question, did you notice if the type cover keys scratches the screen?

do you have a suggestion how to change a function of CTRL. shift and alt key on keyboard if we are not using type cover?

Great review. I am wondering how useable are these without the keyboard? For example using sketchbook pro, can you zoom in/out, rotate and undo using hand controls and pen only? Can you also use these as an input device connected up to a pc?

Please can you compare it with a cintiq companion 2? I'm in doubt about what to buy. Thanks in advance

have you found a way to deal with the slow pen/angle stroke jitter on screen in drawing apps?

I'm trying to figure out how all these Surface Pro artists are getting their pens and their programs to work so flawlessly. I can't even get my pen to work in most graphics applications. It doesn't work in Photoshop and it doesn't work in Clip Studio either. I can't find any solutions for it either as of TODAY, 5/31/2017. And I keep searching to no avail. Did all the new updates break the Surface Pro 4 line or something???

you make good videos man, you're funny, I like it and you presentate nice. I'm a industrial product design student, I feel like buying an ipad pro or surface, but I don't think that it's worth it cos sketching on paper is just fine :S and I got a wacom intuos pro medium... I just want to buy stuff.

6:30, you really should go for the I5 with 8 GB... I think you are the first reviewer to use the lighter version. Good review thought!

Very informative and helpful. ...funny too lol

So if I wanted to do some digital art should I do the Samsung chromebook pro or the Surface Pro 4(Athens one that comes with stylus)

haha great review, entertaining and informative

were you able to find any apps for on screen shortcuts? like shift and ctrl Z?

Hi. I use Illustrator, Photoshop and Corel for designing ( but most of my designs are mouse made ) can i use this device as laptop mode with bluetooth mouse and keyboard and does the software ( ai, photoshop and corel ) still have the "very small menu" bugs even if i use mouse and keyboard? I use adobe cs5 by the way..not adobe cc.Thanks.

I'm a 13 year old artist and i'm planning to start saving up for the Surface Pro 4. I'm guessing it's going to take a few years, but my question is, is it worth it? (I guess it depends on how well I draw right now, but I think putting a link to my artwork would be spam or unwanted advertising) Thanks :)

click..click...click! Love the review, man. keep 'em coming.