This Week's Cover of 'The New Yorker' Was Sketched on an iPad

This week's cover of The New Yorker has been sketched using an iPad and Apple Pencil, created by illustrator Jorge Colombo. The image depicts Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn Heights that Colombo frequents, with the artwork capturing a couple of basketball games and spectators at the park.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared The New Yorker cover on Twitter this morning, with a quote from Colombo who mentioned his fear that one of the basketballs would fly near him and hit his iPad.

CoverStory Colombo Basketball 1000x1377 1495121110

It’s one of my favorite places to hang out,” Jorge Colombo says, about the park he sketched, on an iPad, for the cover of this week’s issue. “I live down the street, in Brooklyn Heights, so I go there all the time, either to take the East River Ferry or just to relax by the water.

It is a magnet—people come from all of Brooklyn’s many neighborhoods just to take a selfie by the waterfront or picnic by the water. This was a risky drawing to make, though: I kept worrying that the ball would hit me or the iPad.”

The New Yorker also shared a video of Colombo's illustration process on its website this week. Apple's iPad and Apple Pencil have been celebrated as tools for artists in the past, with Apple recently highlighting Rob Zilla's NBA illustrations. Apple's tablet was even used to create the poster for Stranger Things on Netflix.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Apple Announces iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max With New Design, Larger Battery, and More

Tuesday September 9, 2025 10:59 am PDT by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Both devices feature a new aluminum unibody design, with the Ceramic Shield now protecting both the front and back sides. Apple says the front side is now Ceramic Shield 2, which offers 3x better scratch resistance, while the rear Ceramic Shield is advertised as 4x more resistant to cracks compared to the back glass on previous...
Awe Dropping MR Live Coverage Article

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone 17, iPhone Air, New Apple Watches, and AirPods Pro 3

Tuesday September 9, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
Apple's "Awe Dropping" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the iPhone 17 lineup, several updated Apple Watch models, and the third-generation AirPods Pro unveiled, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We will also be updating...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Models Are eSIM-Only in These Countries

Tuesday September 9, 2025 12:23 pm PDT by
Apple continues to phase out the physical SIM card tray on iPhones, with the latest models relying solely on eSIM technology in more countries. The new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max support eSIMs only in these countries and regions, according to Apple: Bahrain Canada Guam Japan Kuwait Mexico Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Un...
iphone air

Apple Announces iPhone Air With Ultra-Thin Design

Tuesday September 9, 2025 10:45 am PDT by
Apple today unveiled the iPhone Air, an all-new kind of iPhone featuring an ultra-thin design. The iPhone Air is just 5.6mm thick, making it the thinnest iPhone ever. The frame is made of titanium with a polished mirror finish. The device features Ceramic Shield 2 with 3x better scratch resistance and 4x better crack resistance, on both sides of the device for the first time. Apple says that ...
airpods pro 2

Two Versions of AirPods Pro 3 Coming With These Differences

Monday September 8, 2025 4:51 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch two versions of the AirPods Pro 3 over 2025 and 2026, according to a Weibo leaker. Yesterday, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to debut the AirPods Pro 3 this year. They could arrive as soon as this week at Apple's "Awe dropping" event. Crucially, Kuo added that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to this year's AirPods ...
airpods translate

AirPods Live Translation Blocked for EU Users With EU Apple Accounts

Thursday September 11, 2025 4:01 am PDT by
Apple's new Live Translation feature for AirPods will be off-limits to millions of European users when it arrives next week, with strict EU regulations likely holding back its rollout. Apple says on its feature availability webpage that "Apple Intelligence: Live Translation with AirPods" won't be available if both the user is physically in the EU and their Apple Account region is in the EU....

Top Rated Comments

pika2000 Avatar
108 months ago
Not pro. Real pros need access to the file system!

/s
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sinsin07 Avatar
108 months ago
snip... This is front page news how?
Apple > iPad > Apple Pencil > Artist > cover of well known magazine > Mac Rumors editors discretion = front page news
Of course you're welcomed to start your own news blog and post whatever news worthy item you deem on the front page.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adnbek Avatar
108 months ago
While the piece is nice enough, the credit goes to the artist, not the tool. This is a simple piece with nothing technically impressive about it for me to praise the device.
Um... That artwork isn't doing the iPad any favors.
Jeez... does every thread on MR need to have negative ninnies spoiling anything that may be positive?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zen Avatar
108 months ago
Wow, it's almost like the iPad has some art apps that let you draw stuff. This is front page news how?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
108 months ago
Wow, it's almost like the iPad has some art apps that let you draw stuff. This is front page news how?
This blog has always posted when a major entity adopts Apple products. Pretty cool that an artist used an iPad instead of a camera or analog media to generate cover art for a major magazine, and a creativity-oriented magazine at that. Sorry if you don't think this qualifies as interesting to an Apple blog's "front page," i.e. next chronological entry. I hope this answers your question.

While the piece is nice enough, the credit goes to the artist, not the tool. This is a simple piece with nothing technically impressive about it for me to praise the device.
The iPad/Pencil pairing is a real achievement, letting real drawing happen and getting out of the way of visual artists expressing their ideas. It takes a lot of amazing tech to make digital creative tools transparent to the creator. Sorry you don't get it. Maybe these articles will help you:
http://boingboing.net/2015/11/25/apple-pencil-gets-rave-review.html
http://www.fantasticmaps.com/2015/12/an-illustrators-review-of-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil/
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trainwrecka Avatar
108 months ago
Um... That artwork isn't doing the iPad any favors.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)