Aoiktye Procreate Keyboard is a Bluetooth remote designed to be used with Procreate, probably the most popular drawing app on iPad.
The official retail price is $39.99 and can be purchased from Aoiktye's website and Amazon. Links below.
This is a keyboard designed to improve the productivity of artists using Procreate. And it does a really good job.
Delivery includes the quick start guide, a micro USB cable for charging the internal battery and the keyboard remote control.
The built-in 250mAh battery is not removable. The battery life is up to 84 hours. A full charge takes 2 hours.
Tips: check my blog Aoiktye Procreate Keyboard In this website.
The keyboard is plastic. The build quality is pretty solid.
The keys are angled when the keyboard is on the table.
Four rubber feet underneath ensure a firm grip on the table.
The power button is on the right side; the micro USB charging port is on the top.
The keyboard is light enough to hold comfortably in one hand for long periods of time.
I occasionally use my iPad Pro outside to draw, and it's not a keyboard I would take outside as I need my non-drawing hand to hold the tablet. This keyboard works best at home or when you can place the iPad Pro on a table or stand.
There are 19 keys on the keyboard and that's what they do (top to bottom, left to right)
First column –
Bluetooth connection: long press to enter Bluetooth pairing mode
Increase brush size
Decrease brush size
change colors
Displays the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness palette
2nd column -
Hide toolbars to maximize the canvas
Displays a quick menu of shortcuts
Displays the color palette
Show selection tools
Displays the color balance palette
3rd column -
Shows the layers palette
Paint tool, showing brush palette
to cancel
Displays the transformation palette
pipette
4th column -
Delete layer - does not work alone
Eraser tool, displays the Eraser palette
Repeat
Command key - displays the context menu
All shortcuts are pretty self-explanatory.
All shortcuts work fine. The keys are springy, have good travel and feedback when pressed. The product works predictably and consistently.
The only button that doesn't work on its own is the Delete Layer button in the top right. To delete the layer, you must press the key combination Cmd + Delete Layer.
This keyboard really helps in improving productivity to make the drawing process more seamless.
This keyboard gives your left hand access to all the tools you would normally access with your Apple Pencil. You can display any palette or tool without using the Apple Pencil, especially the brush, eraser, and layer buttons on the right.
Imagine you are drawing and want to erase something and draw again. With the Apple Pencil, you can either press the eraser button or double-tap the Apple Pencil to erase. To paint, press the paint button or double-tap Apple Pencil again. With the keyboard, you only have to press the keys and the tip of your Apple Pencil never leaves the place where you draw. It's very homogeneous.
The best way to describe this is to imagine yourself drawing with a pen tablet or pen display on your computer, and you can only use the pen but not the keyboard. Of course, it's not very productive. But once you have the keyboard, you now have access to all the shortcut keys.
The Aoiktye Procreate keyboard works well and only costs $39.99, which is definitely worth it. This is something I can easily recommend to artists who use Procreate a lot.
