Art on today’s tablets, phones, and other touchscreen devices works pretty well with a finger. If you want more accuracy, or perhaps a smaller contact point, you can use a stylus. A good stylus feels quite a bit like drawing with a pen. But what if you want to feel like you’re digitally painting? The Sensu brush was developed out of a desire to have an authentic brush to use with art programs on tablets and phones. A successful Kickstarter provided the funding to see that desire become a real product.
The Sensu brush is a combination stylus and art brush. The casing comes in two varieties—a shiny chrome finish and a matte black. A large cap covers the brush end, leaving the stylus end exposed. The stylus is rubber-tipped, requiring a slight amount of pressure to activate the capacitive end. Removing the cap, however, exposes the really distinctive part: the brush end. The bristles are made of synthetic hair infused with conductive materials. The result is a brush that looks and feels like a traditional art brush.
Feel
The Sensu brush feels solidly built. It’s designed such that with the cover on, either side is the proper length for its intended use. That is, the stylus side is the same length as a standard tablet stylus, while the brush side is the same length as a normal art brush. The weight and balance for both sides is nice.
Since I have no real artistic ability, the testing was handled by my wife, Amanda. She tested the Sensu brush on an iPad, though it will work on any device with a capacitive touch surface. Her thoughts follow:
The brush side feels like using a real paintbrush on the glass. The capacitive portion of the bristles seems to start just a bit short of the tip, so just touching the tip of the brush to the screen isn’t enough to register a stroke. It took a little getting used to, but once I got used to it, “painting” with the brush feels quite natural. The comfort grip is enough to keep the brush in place, but it isn’t so grippy that changing positions is difficult. It feels quite nice, even for extended usage periods.
Painting by Amanda done with the Sensu brush end
Sketch by Amanda using the Sensu stylus end
Speaking of extended use, the brush stood up to long painting sessions quite nicely. In fact, it feels every bit as good as it did when it first came out of the box. The stylus end works well too. Sketching and writing are pretty good, but there seem to be a few dead spots on the stylus. It feels like writing or drawing with a pen. I have also used the Wacom Bamboo stylus, the Adonit Jot Pro, and an ADATA stylus. For stylus drawing, I still prefer the Wacom Bamboo Stylus over the Sensu. The Jot Pro might be a little more accurate, but I’m not a fan of its plastic disc at the end.
If there was one negative about the Sensu brush, it would be that I had to keep moving the cap between ends to switch between the brush and stylus, but that has more to do with my art style than the brush itself.
At $39.99 (Amazon, Newegg), the Sensu brush isn’t cheap; in fact, it costs more than any stylus we’ve previously used. When other excellent stylus designs go for half the cost, does an equally excellent brush end justify this kind of a price? Sensu seems to think so, and Amanda agrees. Being able to digitally paint on a tablet in a more natural manner is a definite benefit, and the Sensu brush is undoubtedly an excellent art tool for the digital age.
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