Editors’ Choice Touch Screen Stylus

Nomad Brush

Review by Angie Kibiloski (January 2014)

The Nomad Brush touch screen stylus is a great way to make creating digital art more like working with real materials.  Each stylus is shaped like a real paintbrush with flexible bristles, so when you drag it across the screen, it feels like you’re painting with a real brush.  For artists who are used to working with tangible media, these brushes make the transition to digital far more natural.  For those artists already proficient in digital media, you’ll discover these brushes to be more comfortable than using your fingertip, and provide you with a higher level of control as well.  I was able to play with both the Nomad FLeX (Retail $29.99) and the brand new Nomad Mini 2 (Retail $35), but there are several more models to choose from.  Each has a slightly different shaft and tip style, so it’s really down to your personal preference as to which model would work best for you.

The Nomad FLeX was my favorite of the two I tried, with a slim shaft and a nice long, soft bristle tip.  The bristles were very flexible and responsive with only a little pressure being applied on the screen.  The aluminum shaft is lightweight and comes in your choice of five colors: charcoal, silver, blue, red, or pink.  The bristle tip screws off so you can switch it out for another tip, which can be purchased separately.  The Nomad Mini 2 is double sided, with a rubber tip at one end for precision line drawing, and a retractable bristle tip at the other.  The bristles on this brush are shorter and less flexible than on the Nomad FLeX, providing a more controlled feel as opposed to the sweeping strokes of the Nomad FLeX, and the rubber tip comes in very handy for laying in the details of a picture.  The rubber tip is also replaceable.

Every artist, no matter what their level of talent, performs best when they can have the best tools for the job.  You wouldn’t try to create an oil painting with only your finger, so why would you settle for the same when creating a digital masterpiece?  The Nomad Brush product line won’t magically make you Picasso, but it will certainly start you off with the right tools to help you on your way.  Now, I’m not really an artist myself, and certainly not a digital artist, but here is a little doodle that I had fun creating using both of these styluses.  You can check out pieces from truly talented digital artists, and view the entire line from Nomad Brush at http://www.nomadbrush.com.