Customer Story — Creative Workflows
How one professional artist turned an iPad and a Brydge keyboard into a portable studio
We usually hear from people who type all day. This time, we heard from someone who draws all day.
After posting a review of their Brydge keyboard, a working illustrator and 3D artist sent us something far more generous than a quick reply. They wrote a full breakdown of how they use it, with finished work, anatomy studies and sketchbook doodles to show it in action. They asked to stay anonymous, so we'll simply call them our artist.
What follows is their workflow, in their words where it matters most. If you've ever wondered whether a keyboard belongs in a drawing setup, read on.
"If you're looking for a portable workstation for artists, the combination of an iPad and this keyboard was the best I found."
— An anonymous artist
Four Postures, One Setup
Four Ways to Work
A fixed hinge gives you one position. Our artist uses four, and each one earns its place.
1. Laptop mode
The classic setup. It's ideal for writing, email and remote work, but for drawing the screen sits too far away. Our artist rarely draws this way.
2. Magic Keyboard-style mode
This is their everyday drawing position. The screen lifts up and comes forward over the keys, closer to you and at a natural angle for the Apple Pencil. Because the Pencil handles most cursor input, they switch the trackpad off with a keyboard shortcut so a stray palm never moves anything.
3. Lap mode
No table? No problem. With the screen folded down over the keyboard, the whole setup rests on your lap, on a park bench, a train or a sofa.
The keys are hidden, but that doesn't slow them down. Muscle memory finds the shortcuts, and the screen sits larger and closer than in any other position.
"No other drawing hardware can do this."
— An anonymous artist
4. Flat tablet mode
The classic drawing-tablet angle, low and nearly flat. It's the best fit for gesture-led apps like Procreate, and for artists who press hard with the Pencil.
The other modes handle normal pressure for drawing, painting and 3D sculpting just fine. Our artist adds a tip: if your settings need very heavy pressure, consider easing off, as it strains the hand over time.
In every mode, the anti-slip base keeps the keyboard planted on any table. The low centre of gravity adds stability, which matters when your hand is resting on the screen.
The Alternative
Why Not a Dedicated Drawing Tablet?
Pen displays like Wacom's Cintiq work in one position: flat. Our artist found their built-in shortcut keys awkward, and noticed that many artists around them ended up adding a separate portable keyboard anyway.
At a desk, that means buying a third-party monitor arm and a keyboard on top of the tablet. Portable Windows and Android drawing tablets share the same limits.
An iPad with a Brydge keyboard folds all of that into one device you can carry: screen, stand and full keyboard, in four positions.
Apps & Workflows
The Right Mode for Every App
| Mode | Best for | Apps our artist uses |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | Writing, remote and technical work | Email, SSH, remote shader editing, Moonlight |
| Magic Keyboard-style | Shortcut-heavy drawing and 3D | Clip Studio Paint, Blender and Krita via Sidecar |
| Lap | Drawing away from a desk | Any drawing app |
| Flat tablet | Gesture-led drawing, heavy pressure | Procreate |
Remote and technical work
In laptop mode, the iPad becomes a capable thin client. Our artist writes documents, connects over SSH, edits shader code remotely and streams a Windows desktop with Moonlight.
Desktop 3D and painting through Sidecar
Écorché studies and poly modeling in Blender, by our anonymous artist
Paired with a MacBook, the iPad becomes a second screen through Sidecar. Our artist says that since macOS 27, Sidecar supports touch input from the iPad, and Apple's APIs let you script touch gestures for your own tools.
Blender and Krita have no iPad versions and don't support Sidecar gestures natively. So our artist wrote custom scripts for both, adding touch gestures plus Apple Pencil haptics and double-tap. They now use the setup for poly modeling, sculpting and painting.
Drawing and painting
This is where the iPad gets the most use. Procreate is built around touch gestures, so the keyboard mostly stays out of the way.
Clip Studio Paint is the opposite: it leans heavily on keyboard shortcuts. Our artist notes that in Asia, most 2D art is made in Photoshop or Clip Studio. With no drawing-focused Photoshop on iPad, many turn to Clip Studio, especially in Japan's manga and animation industries.
The Verdict
One Device, Every Posture
Four positions, one keyboard, no extra arms or stands. For an artist who moves between drawing, sculpting and scripting, that flexibility is the whole point.
Thank you to our anonymous artist for sharing their workflow and their work. If you're building a portable studio of your own, the Brydge MAX range is a good place to start.
Got a Brydge setup worth sharing? Tell us how you work.
