Sensu Stylus Brush (Chrome)

Ever since I got my iPad and began to purchase painting and drawing apps, I have searched for a stylus that would do justice to the truly realistic apps like ArtRage. I have purchased styluses from just about every maker in the world, some, like the Bamboo stylus (I own 2) were well worth the price and excellent products. Others, like the Ten One design's Pogo Sketch Pro (2) were the objects of my finest hopes and gave me my deepest disappointments. Finally, the Griffins and the Boxwaves and the elagos (and the truly bizarre elago ball) were just functional, barely and, though some, like the elago ball, seemed designed to address the shortcomings apparent in the the other styluses (styli?), but always fell short of the mark.My most bitter disappointment was the PenGo BrushPen. When I heard rumors of its development I was excited by the idea: there was no law that said that a capacitive stylus had to be a little rubber nub. And the PenGo brush seemed to have all that was needed to replicate the action of a brush on canvas. The reality was that the bristles on the brush in the PenGo didn't feel like a brush so much as a mushy rubber nib and the bristles continually separated from the rest of the brush because the were pushed back by the action of putting the cap on the pen.And so it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I plunked my forty bucks down for the Princeton Art & Brush Sensu Capacitive Artist Brush. From the look of it there was great promise.The brush is in two parts. One an empty metal cover that hides e brush tip and serves as the body of the traditional nib ended metal tube that makes up most of the styli in the world. The beauty of the pen comes when this metal shell is removed, turned and placed over the metal nib, elongating a 4 inch stylus to one of about 7 inches. At the end of this reconfigured tool is the Holy Grail, the end of my quest, the culmination of my years long search: a capacitive brush that delivers a real life paint brush feel. The Sensu brush stylus is the best, bar none, the best artistic stylus I have ever had in my hands. The brush looks like any normal tapered end paint brush and feels much the same as well, but it is firmer and holds together in a way that a brush never would.Using it is a dream come true. ArtRage is an app that gives an incredible degree of control over the action of the tools and the Sensu brush takes advantage of the all of them, providing a rich and tactilely gratifying experience and an unprecedented degree of artistic control.Clearly lots of great digital art has been created using the traditional nib stylus. Indeed, the smooth, graceful feel of the Bamboo stylus the best there is (or was - see below) for creating art on a capacitive screen. But the Sensu stylus is a game changer. By my lights, for it provides the best of both worlds a nib with the smooth hitch free flow of the Bamboo stylus and the addition of this brush doubles the potential of the tool.Of course there are things to be wished for. This is supposed to be a mobile tool and the lack of a cover for the nib makes me worry about it becoming fowled with dust and grit is a pocket or bag, plus the sleek design of the tool makes it a good candidate for slipping out of a pocket or bag, so a clip of some sort and a cover for the nib, though they would gum up the sex appeal of the tool, are high on the wish list in updates. Also,neither the nib or the brush give the impression of being replaceable and, 40 bucks a pop, the prospect of simply discarding the used tools may make me less likely to use the tool as much as I would like, so, again, on the update I would like to seem replacement parts a way to use them.Of course I do not know how long the brush will last. I have already purchased a second one. I will post an update if there is news there.But at the end of the day, if you, like me, have yearned for a more authentic experience in sophisticated paint and draw apps this is your tool

It is a valuable tool that works exceptionally well, but not as dependable as a pencil on paper or brush on canvas. I have not heard of any stylus that is 100% accurate. I do wish it had a more refined point but there are others that do and this one does not claim to have a refined pt. However, it also has a brush that works beautifully. It is expensive but I use it all the time so it is worth it to me.

Pros:There is a paint brush - it has ok sensitivity/little lag but not as much lag as the rubber end.Compact sizeSmooth bullet shape (my last stylus was a pen too, so it had this annoying button on the side that would be in the way (which is why I got this stylus)Nice finish (chrome-like)Light weight and easy to holdWhen extended for the paintbrush use, it is the length of a paintbrush - so it feels like the correct balance of weightCons:Even if you are extra cautious capping the brush end, the bristles will bend/separate. Two of my bristles went astray after just a day of owning it - I think they will all fall out eventually or become so separated you can't use it.I have a hard time getting the rubber tip to actually write/draw where I want it to, there seems to be a lag of some sort that my other stylus did not havePoor value - for the amount of money we spent, I wish it would write/drawn when I want it to without the lag - it ruins the drawing a lot of times and other times, it's just plain annoying. For $39.99 it should work better then the 2 for $2 one with the pen I have, but it doesn't.OVERALL IMPRESSION:It's "o.k." But when I am drawing something and I have to use my finger to fix something, I should not have paid nearly $40 for the product. Bottom line - you could buy a better stylus cheaper. Would it have paint brush, probably not, but then again, could you just use a real paint brush that you already own? I have considered returning it and still might.

I really love this brush. Everything about it is made with care--the meticulous taper and stiffness of the bristles, the weight, the length of the handle (with the cap extended). You can tell the people who designed the Sensu are artists who know how to use a brush. As far as design goes, it's the best paintbrush stylus on the market compared to the PenGo and the Nomad.Unfortunately, sometimes artists aren't the most technically adept.Whatever this "infused hair technology" the manufacturers are using isn't working. I've had my Sensu since Feb 26, 2013 and it's already losing its capacitive ability. I've used it for about 2 hours a day since I've had it--not unreasonable for a digital painting. Now, it skips brushstrokes and I have to press harder on the screen to get it to work.I'm so sad about this, too, because I LOVE the design. I've contacted their support, as they do have a 90-day guarantee. I'd be happy if I could just find a way to restore the capacitive ability. I guess if nothing else, it's still a brush...I could use it to do actual watercolor paintings, but that's not what I paid $40 for. Heck, a real red sable brush would be cheaper than that!I hope the manufacturers take note of these reviews and work on the issue for the next version. I think if they could alternate some capacitive thread in with the hair of the brush, it would solve the problem. As it is, in another week or so it's going to be useless.

Se lo regalé a mi mujer y ella está muy contenta de poder dibujar en su Ipad usando el programa Procreate. No obstante, he de decir que tengo mis dudas sobre el producto, cuando abres la cajita lo primero que ves es un pequeño folleto adjunto donde te explica que si en un plazo de 3 meses ya no funciona como debiera, que contactes con ellos, lo que te da mala sensación pues es un indicativo claro que si mandan esta advertencia es porque acaba fallando. Por lo demás, yo lo he probado y no sé si será por el Ipad o el programa, pero a veces responde lento, aunque no es lo normal. Por último, comentar lo peor que he visto que es la fragilidad del pincel, y es que hay que tener muchísimo cuidado a la hora de cerrar la tapa, y cuando digo cuidado es máximo cuidado, despacito, buena luz y paciencia. El otro día pillé 2 o 3 pelillos sin querer con la capucha, y ya no hay manera que vuelvan a su posición original, se quedan doblados. He leído en internet que hay que cortarlos pues no tiene solución. En fin, a ver como responde los próximos meses.