Supernote - EMR Pens

Hi all!

Coming in again with some Supernote thoughts. I received a lovely package from the Supernote team themselves, and it came with the new A5X2 Manta, along with their LAMY Safari Vista ceramic nib pen.

It’s been a bit of an adventure finding the time to use it on top of my intense freelance schedule and holiday balance… but I’ll hopefully have more to note about the Manta sometime. Overall, my first impressions are that… well, if you’ve been wanting an iPad 10.5 sized Supernote, then this will be for you! It isn’t really different from the Nomad except the size, which was something the Supernote team wanted to make sure was the case. From what I can gleam, they wanted to make sure it was lightweight while still being larger, since large devices tend to sacrifice weight and portability. Which they succeeded with in the Manta for sure.

BUT today I’ll chat about EMR pens.

The main EMR pens I use for my Supernote are the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Digital and Wacom One Pilot Dr. Grip Digital. These are non-affiliate links, because I don’t want to sign up for Amazon’s affiliate program.

STAEDTLER MARS LUMOGRAPH DIGITAL

How does it feel?

The body itself is made like the actual pencil, but with an EMR nib. So it feels and smells like a pencil coming out of the packaging. It comes with extra nibs too, in case your initial nib wears down.

The drawing feel is a bit interesting. It’s made of a rubber material, so upon first contact with the device it’ll have a gentle amount of latency, but the springy feeling of the rubber makes the stroke much more similar to a Tombow firm or felt pen. It’s very brush like for me, and somehow makes me more conscious about each stroke. Maybe that’s because of the tiniest latency not going to lie!

It’s my preferred pen(cil) for inking on the Supernote.

What’s the difference between the Mars Lumograph and the Noris?

Nothing, I presume. Just a different body. I used to use a Mars Lumograph for my traditional media before I had moved fully to digital, so I bought it on a whim.

WACOM ONE

How does it feel?

You basically can purchase any kind of Wacom ONE pen as long as you make sure it has EMR in it. I avoided anything that felt like a regular tablet pen, because it tricks my brain into thinking that the Supernote is traditional and to loosen up on my art.

The pens have the same pen feel, but have different housing, so buy a pen according to how you’re feeling just like the Staedtlers.

These EMR pens definitely have a sketchier feel. You’ll be familiar with the easy glide of a wacom pen on the Supernote, which surprisingly can keep up with really fast strokes. This pen is way more responsive compared to the Staedtler due to is hard plastic tip, and will feel more like an actual pencil on the Feelwrite 2 film.

I find myself loving this kind of pen for writing, sketching, and hatching. It’s my everyday pen, but doesn’t necessarily finish up any drawings I have laying around in my files.

What’s the difference between the Pilot Dr. Grip and Mitsu-bishi Hi-Uni and the regular pen?

Nothing again. Just different housing, so different grip feel.

Not to scale. The Mitsu-bishi Hi-Uni is quite smaller in size.

LAMY Safari Vista EMR pen

How does it feel?

I have been really excited to use this pen, because the body of the pen feels great and a bit heavy. It’s also incredibly beautiful because the body is clear! It requires a bit more pressure than both the Staedtler and Wacom One in order for it to register your stroke, but I find the pen to be more for writing. It’s not my favorite to use, unfortunately, for drawing because of this. With some time, you can get used to the pressure you have to add to your screen. I might be biased since my first pens were plastic and rubber, so ceramic feels a little scary for me to use.

I can’t stress enough how beautiful the pen is though. The clear body is SO GOOD, for those fans of LAMY and fountain pens.

A picture of the LAMY Safari Vista EMR Pen, pulled straight from the Supernote website.

What if I can’t afford both a Staedtler and a Wacom One?

Well, I have some good news! If you’re okay with switching out nibs, you can just purchase the nibs you want and replace them! That’s right. Just tested it, but if you have a Staedtler but want that swiftness of a Wacom ONE nib, just buy the Wacom ONE nibs and swap it out! Works entirely the same. Vice versa, if you have a Wacom ONE tablet pen, you can actually buy Staedtler rubber nibs.

So if you prefer your current pen housing but want the feel of another pen… that’s an option! YAY!


Hope this helps anyone looking at these pen options.

If you end up wanting to buy one of the SUPERNOTE related pens, you can use my affiliate link here:

https://supernote.com?sca_ref=7533201.X3B9pIdgJe


Supernote Fever

Hi folks!

Many of you are probably aware, but I recently bought a Supernote A6x2 (Nomad) upon recommendation by my lovely friend, Harry Bogosian. I was at NYCC, and while we tabled together, he pulled out his device for me to try.

I grew up always trying new gadgets and art programs, trying to force many things into my process. As soon as I touched this the device I tossed around the thought of getting my own for a week or so. The feeling of the screen protector and the Wacom One Hi-Uni was just perfect where it felt like real sketching on a notebook. The responsiveness was surprisingly fast and the limitations of the layers along with the undo button were just things I’ve always wanted with a sketchbook.

Sure, I had an iPad with a paper-like, but it takes a lot of energy for me to pick up my iPad. It takes energy to THINK about it, frankly! The iPad requires me to open an art program and fight with it, the pencil and its torturous battery life, and the backlight searing my eyes. Sure, we have traditional media, too. However, I’ve definitely filled an entire shelf of half-empty sketchbooks with the sketch of an original character looking to the left… along with journals and planners that never got past the 2-month marker.

I was wondering, as many of you who have seen me tinker openly with this device… “will this fix me?” I spent some time with Harry over voice calls, just kind of talking through its limitations and watching YouTube videos on how the MicroSD attaches, why I should buy the new x2 instead of an older model, and cruising through Reddit for information on exporting.

Then I made my purchase! I said “FUCK IT”, as I made enough at NYCC to justify something fun. I haven’t drawn much at all this year. I’ve been so burnt out and traveling SO MUCH that I wanted something that would fill this void in my heart. I cried and cried hoping it would fix me! FIX ME SUPERNOTE!

And somehow, it did.

My Device and My Tools

I’m pretty proactive with understanding a product to its fullest when I first get it. So here are my reasons for picking the newest model.

SUPERNOTE NOMAD A6x2

  • Small, can be carried basically anywhere

  • Battery replacement functionality. (Future proofing)

  • MicroSD ability. Not completely reliant on Cloud functionality. (Cloud accepts Gdrive and Dropbox and others)

  • Accepts all sorts of EMR pens. Including WACOM ONE tablet pens.

STAEDTLER MARS LUMOGRAPH DIGITAL

I bought this one because it was cheap, honestly. Also I used a lot of Staedtler pencils back in the day, so it felt nostalgic. The nib is a bit squishy, and maybe a little less responsive than a Wacom One, but I’d say it feels a bit more like a soft lead pencils or a tombow firm fineliner. It gives a bit of a brushy feel.

WACOM ONE PEN

I don’t own one yet, but Harry let me use his! It’s a lot more sketchy feeling. The nib is harder so it feels more like a pencil than the Staedtler’s softer nib.

Some things I wanted to get from the device

A list of things I wanted from the device for my own needs:

  • Switching my thumbnailing process to be on the SN instead of my computer.

  • Having multiple “notebooks” dedicated to my projects, and write things down and doodle again.

  • Making doodle PDFs just to put on the internet or distribute to my friends

  • Something to get me off of my computer and also something to travel with that isn’t my iPad.

  • Ereader


Things I learned upon getting my device

  • You can export using a QR code that will delete itself after 24hrs. Obviously means your art is stored SOMEWHERE for a certain period of time, but if you’re just trying to get your artwork from one device to another, it makes it really simple.

  • You can export full PDFs and individual PNGs. Crazy!

  • Connecting the Cloud is so easy? I use GDrive and I just have a dedicated export folder where I sync to.

  • I should have gotten the more expensive crystal version, since the plastic body on the back is kind of scary to unhook to access the microSD slot. BUT I think with a bit more confidence, it’ll get easier. Definitely look up youtube videos before opening. The crystal version requires a screwdriver, but it’s stiffer acrylic material I believe.

  • Harry warned me that there is NO trash bin in the device. If you delete a file, it’s just GONE. So have backups.

  • The keyboard sucks. You’ll only really use it to rename files. It can connect with a Bluetooth keyboard, but it’s supposedly not the greatest to type on. I haven’t tried yet because I don’t care.

  • Buy a case of some kind! Doesn’t have to be the official case. It’s a very lightweight device and NEEDS screen protection. Harry warned me, so I got one and do NOT regret it.

  • Kindle app can be downloaded if you have that! I just have individual epubs, so I don’t necessarily use it. But I’d imagine it’s helpful to those who export their Libby reads to the kindle.

  • Atelier app can be downloaded, but I am particularly an anti-atelier person. The pencil is REALLY cool, but I think the Notes app is exactly what I need and want to use.

  • The notes app strokes are raster/vector, similar to CSP’s vector layer. It’ll remember your strokes and resize rather nicely. There’s an eraser that will erase entire strokes for you and you can use it as a lasso. Very handy.

  • Lots of really lovely preset templates, but uploading your own template is so easy and there’s quite a large community of people who already have built A6 sized templates and released them for free. https://supernote-templates.mostlyuseful.tech/

I’m still in the process of learning more and more about this device that I could go ON and ON about. The list above isn’t even a comprehensive guide to all the things I have discovered. Like all the Ereader stuff is so fun! Annotating is fun!

Is there anything you’re interested in hearing about? I know there’s a LOT of general information around about the Supernote, but if you want a specific perspective from a cartoonist, let me know!

EDIT - Was reminded once again that I have an affiliate link. Feel free to use this if you want to throw me a couple bucks if you end up buying it! https://supernote.com/?sca_ref=7533201.X3B9pIdgJe