From first spark to finished artwork: how I bring my creative ideas to life

Lizzie Knott is an illustrator and graphic designer whose clients include the Lionesses, New York Jets, Arsenal FC and Disney+.

As an illustrator and graphic designer, some of my best ideas arrive when I’m away from my desk: I love working from cafés, taking photographs for inspiration or quickly sketching ideas as they come to me. I work across the world of sport, creating everything from social assets to programme covers for clients including the Lionesses, New York Jets, Arsenal FC and Disney+. I’m always looking for ways to capture movement through dynamic shapes, bold compositions and bright colours, and inspiration often comes more easily when I’m out and about in the world, taking things in.

However, turning those initial ideas into finished artwork usually means returning to my desk set-up and laptop, which can handle the large-format artwork and files my projects require. Tablets I’ve used previously have sometimes struggled, crashing at the final stages.

So, I wanted to put the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra to the test: could it help me take an illustration from initial spark to a finished piece I’d be proud to send to print?

Finding the spark: capturing inspiration on the move

Capturing inspiration: Lizzie snapped a basketball with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra to use as a design reference

With the NBA returning to the UK in January 2027, I wanted to create an artwork inspired by basketball — something fast-paced and attention-grabbing. I usually begin by researching ideas and making rough sketches, so after snapping a quick reference image of a basketball at home, I took the tablet to my local café. Lightweight and only 5.1mm thin, it slipped easily into my bag and I photographed textures, colours, typography and posters along the way, using the 13MP main camera with autofocus and the 8MP ultrawide camera for wider angles.

I was able to keep Samsung Notes and the Camera app open simultaneously, capturing reference photos and inserting them directly into my notes. From there I could annotate the images, trace patterns and highlight details I wanted to incorporate into my illustration for a really seamless creative process.

Organising my ideas: multitasking with Multi Window and Samsung DeX

Lizzie used 3 Way Multi Window to keep references, Samsung Notes and Photoshop open side by side while she worked

At the cafe, I used Multi Window to open my references alongside my notes and sketching app, so I didn’t have to leave my drawing to look at them. In the first window, I used Pinterest and Google Images for inspiration. In the second, Samsung Notes to record my thought process, which I annotated and summarised using Note Assist*. In the third I used Adobe Photoshop** to start sketching. Having Adobe Photoshop pre-loaded is great because I can use it throughout my creative process. I was exploring “What does basketball look like?” and found inspiration in players’ poses, court markings and vintage basketball graphics.

I also used a fourth floating window as and when needed to reply to emails quickly without having to leave my artwork.

With Samsung DeX, the tablet offers a desktop-style interface with a taskbar, resizable app windows, and a more familiar multitasking experience. Swiping down from the top of the screen to open ‘quick settings’ and tapping the DeX icon switches me into this environment, making it easy to organise my day as a creative without reaching for my laptop.

I was able to arrange my workflow across separate virtual desktops, keeping emails and admin in one, research and reference material in another, Photoshop and creative applications in a third, and Spotify or Netflix in a fourth for background noise and breaks. Being able to compartmentalise these elements allowed for more organised, productive working.

Making my first marks: sketching ideas with S Pen

Lizzie used the S Pen and Photoshop’s painterly brushes to capture the fluid movements of basketball in her first sketches

When I picked up the S Pen I was amazed at how light it was, which initially made me worry about its responsiveness and pressure sensitivity. However, it feels like a real pen and offers over 4,000 levels of pressure for accurate drawing and annotation which I really noticed from the moment I started using it. The nib offers a natural friction against the glass, avoiding the slippery feel I have experienced with previous tablets, which required paper-texture screen protectors.

I was also reassured when I opened Photoshop and experimented with its brush textures. It was useful to see where the pen was about to make contact with the screen and I could attach it magnetically to the tablet when I wasn’t using it.

I started with rough sketches, experimenting with different painterly brushes to capture basketball’s fluid movements. Because the final artwork will be A3, the large 14.6-inch display made it easier to think about it as a print rather than something that only exists on a small screen.

Building the artwork: developing colour and texture in Photoshop

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X display brought Lizzie’s bold orange basketball sketches to life

As I’ve developed as a creative, I’ve gravitated towards limited colour palettes. I find they create a cohesive image that captures attention, while helping me stick to client guidelines. For this piece, I chose orange for the basketball element, cream and black for contrast and details, a rich blue to complement the orange, and a range of skin tones for the players. Coolors is a great website for exploring palettes, so I kept this open in a second window while noting the hex codes in Photoshop.

The tablet’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X display made my chosen colours look wonderfully vibrant. Even when the sun shone into the café, its 1,600-nit brightness helped me see clearly, so I didn’t have to move to a shadier table.

I kept my brushes limited, too: a standard hard brush, complemented by pencil and wet gouache to give the illustration some handmade irregularity. As the illustration became more complicated, with multiple layers and larger artwork, I noticed how quickly the tablet responded when moving between brushes, layers and tools. This allowed me to work freely without frustrating waits for artwork to load.

Refining the idea: editing layers and composition in Photoshop

For me, the hardest part of creating an illustration is knowing when to stop. Comparing versions using split screen, I noticed I’d included too many players, too much colour and an overly busy background. Keeping my Photoshop layers separate let me experiment with removing elements and adjusting the composition. I also used its editing tools to adjust individual layers’ saturation, hue, opacity and textures.

I returned to the vintage basketball posters that inspired me, considering what made them so effective. The 14.6-inch display helped here, too: I placed the tablet at one end of the room and assessed whether the artwork would catch my eye as a passer-by.

Beyond the canvas: finding new ways to share my artwork

Using Creative Studio, Lizzie adapted elements of her basketball illustration into a custom lock screen to share with her followers

After making those adjustments, I felt confident taking it to print. Using Photoshop’s CMYK file display alongside the tablet’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen, the printed version looked almost exactly as I intended. There was no need for drastic colour changes, leaving me time to adapt the work for social media. In Photoshop, I selected social media size presets, moved the layers across and adjusted them. Print and social versions need different considerations, so I created a separate canvas rather than simply shrinking the A3 artwork.

Using Creative Studio†, I was also able to isolate elements from my artwork to create stickers with transparent backgrounds, and custom home and lock screens, which I plan to share with my followers. I also created sticker templates to print. As someone interested in expanding into physical products, this opened up new possibilities for how I could develop my work.

I started at 100 per cent battery and finished the artwork at 43 per cent after approximately seven hours’ use. I used Photoshop most of the time, and Google, Spotify and Pinterest intermittently. I was impressed with the battery life, particularly considering the large, bright display and demands of working in Photoshop.

The verdict: creating with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra

The finished artwork: Lizzie’s bright, dynamic basketball illustration, designed from start to finish on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra

Ultimately, I was really impressed by how naturally the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra fitted into my creative process. I was able to take the artwork from initial sketches through to a print-ready illustration entirely on the tablet, even as the file became more complex. Working in Photoshop with the S Pen, while keeping references and notes open alongside it, made the process feel more flexible and spontaneous. I also like listening to podcasts while I work, so appreciated the crisp, clear four-channel speakers, while during breaks, watching Netflix on the large display felt like a mini cinema experience.

Being able to sketch, develop and finish an illustration away from my desk gave me the freedom to work wherever inspiration took me, without compromising on the tools I normally rely on. It’s a versatile part of my creative setup that can take an idea all the way through to finished artwork.

*Note Assist requires a network connection and a Samsung Account login.

**Adobe Photoshop premium mobile subscription required. To receive a 4-month (120 days) free Adobe Photoshop premium mobile subscription, please visit Photoshop app preinstalled on Galaxy Tab S12+ and Ultra in the Galaxy Picks folder. Valid until May 19, 2028. Terms apply. Visit adobe.com/legal/subscription-terms.html to learn more.

†Samsung account and Internet connection required.

Find out more about Lizzie’s design and illustration work here