14 of the best gadgets for creative people

Doodling, sketching, painting, drawing, sculpting. All things that people do. But, for the more talented individuals among us – those who can sketch out a stunning squirrel or mould a majestic mole without a second thought – this selection of tech should be pixel perfect.

3DOODLER CREATE (£90)

Ever wanted to draw in mid-air? No? Well, with 3Doodler’s magic take on making, you soon will. With better airflow than the original, this second iteration of the plastic-spouting pen features a redesigned nozzle for smoother, more intricate 3D ABS designs – perfect for Nan to revive her garden ornaments.

WACOM INTUOS PRO (£280)

Unlike the temperament of most highly strung artists, this Wacom graphics tablets is sensitive to 8,192 levels of pressure. So, whether you’re channeling the ocean breeze or stabbing with your stylus like an angsty Andy Warhol, it should help your inner turmoil find expression in digital form.

IPAD PRO 10.5 (FROM £619)

Real canvases are so last century. Would Van Gogh have smeared paint across the page if he could’ve created pixel-packed masterpieces on the iPad Pro’s 10.5in touchscreen, instead? Of course not. At 469g it weighs about the same as a pad of cartridge paper, and, paired with the pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil, is far more versatile than your average acrylics.

ROCKETBOOK WAVE (£30)

Having raised more than US$1million on Indiegogo, Rocketbook’s reusable hybrid notebook has made it to reality. Scribble to your heart’s content with a FriXion pen, before flipping through the QR-equipped pages as the app rapid-scans them.

ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD STYLUS FOR IPAD (£22)

Want styuls smarts but don’t have an iPad Pro? Say hello to Adobe’s first piece of hardware. Or pieces, to be exact: the Ink stylus and its Slide digital ruler companion. The stylus is pressure-sensitive, with harder strokes producing thicker and darker virtual paint marks, while the ruler takes care of straight lines, circles and other shapes.

EIZO COLOREDGE CS2420 (£542)

True pixel Picassos won’t settle for just any LCD panel. Colour calibration is key when it comes to channeling on-screen creativity – and few come better than this offering from Eizo. Its 24in real estate faithfully reproduces almost all of the Adobe RGB colour spectrum, whilst equalizer tech ensures a uniform image across the entire display.

LOGITECH MX ERGO (£100)

Thought trackballs were reserved for engineers and ergonomics experts? Give this ball a go and, after an hour of frustration, there’s every chance you’ll find your digital creativity rolling like the proverbial wheel down a hill. Fitted with an adjustable hinge to help find the best angle for your wrist, Logitech’s latest roller is precise, fast and almost certain to confound anyone who attempts to use your computer. Sorry, digital art station.

TILT BRUSH (US$20)

Investing in an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift might not be the cheapest way to create digital masterpieces, but it’s certainly the coolest: gift your VR-ready friend Google’s Tilt Brush app and they’ll be able to craft colourful creations in mid-air. Pick from a virtual palette of brushes and patterns before flinging your creativity into the room around you.

SANDISK 1.92TB EXTREME 900 PORTABLE SSD (£630)

Yes, it’s an external hard drive. A £630 external hard drive. But ceaseless digital creators know the value of speedy space – and this plug-in disc has it in spades. Inside its aluminium shell sits 1.92TB of storage capacity, which should be plenty for serious media makers. The real doozy, though, is the transfer speed of its solid state internals: nine times faster than your average drive, it’ll write files at 850mb per second.

ISOSKETCH (£3)

Geometric patterns are, like, so in right now – and this slick, giftable app lets you create your own, controlling everything from backgrounds and fill colour to opacity and beyond. Know anyone who wants a funky electro album cover? Get to work.

SMARTPHONE PROJECTOR (£15)

Stick your smartphone into this magic box and it’ll project images and videos across 40 inches – ideal for sharing your silent movie back-catalogue, nude self-portrait collection or that “Michael Bay movies with every character replaced by Donal Trump” project you’ve been slaving over.

STRUCTURE SENSOR (FROM US$379)

Spotted some structural inspiration whilst out and about? Strap on this Kinect-style clip for your iPad and you can 3D-scan faces, objects and rooms – perfect for perfecting your next great, erm, thing. Initially a wildly successful Kickstarter project, you can now buy one online for all kinds of iPad.

CARBIDE 3D SHAPEOKO 3 (FROM US$1099)

No, it’s not a 3D printer: it’s a CNC machine, capable of cutting wood, aluminium, plastic and more with mind-blowing precision. Bundled with all you’ll need to get started – including design software – in less than an hour you’ll be carving out wooden baubles with aplomb.

MICROSOFT SURFACE STUDIO (FROM £2,999)

Like something straight out of an illustrator’s doodle book, Microsoft’s whopping Surface Studio will make you feel tiny (thanks to its 28in screen), inspired (thanks to its “please-touch-me” vibe) and very, very poor (thanks to it’s massive price tag).