Pogo Sketch Pro (for iPad)

The Nomad Compose, Pogo Sketch Pro, and the oStylus are good stylus choices for adult sketchers.

The Nomad Compose is a brush stylus, ending in a capacitive brush that offers very little friction against the surface of the iPad. It's a specialized tool for making swoopy, graceful lines that works very well.

The Pogo Sketch Pro is our favorite stylus for artists, and it's great for writers too. It's long, light and well-balanced, with two exchangeable tips and a secure rubber grip.

The oStylus is a very precise, peculiar stylus with a donut-shaped end, so you can see where your line is going. It's great for precision work, but it has a real learning curve. It's a geekier tool.

The Nomad Play, Crayola iMarker, AppCrayon, and Cosmonaut Stylus are better stylus choices for children.

The Nomad Play is a gorgeous piece of industrial design with its carved-wood body, but its long brush bristles can be frustrating to draw with.

The Crayola iMarker only works well with Crayola's ColorStudio HD app. That's a terrific app for coloring, but the AppCrayon and Cosmonaut work better, and in a wider range of software.

For kids, the AppCrayon is a delightful rubbery stylus with the perfect drag against the screen for coloring, although its design may not appeal to older children.

The Cosmonaut Stylus is a thick, heavy, crayon-like stylus with a lot of drag against the screen that would work best for people with trouble gripping narrower objects.