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 (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

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

/s
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sinsin07 Avatar
114 months ago
snip... This is front page news how?
Apple > iPad > Apple Pencil > Artist > cover of well known magazine > GeekWebGuides 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
114 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
114 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
114 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
114 months ago
Um... That artwork isn't doing the iPad any favors.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)