Which Wacom?

[John Caliber]

Quite so, Dunk. My Samsung monitor relied on a a battery-driven stylus; it needed an hour's recharge for every three hours usage, and during that last hour the cursor shot all over the screen (it always happened when in the middle of a very tricky illustration).

I thought my Intuos 3 was having the same problems (jerky cursor) until I realised my wireless keyboard and mouse could sometimes run interference.

I enjoy the Intuos 3 because of the way you can almost handle it as a drawing pad (and the large drawing surface). The lead is very long, and depending how well I feel when drawing (I have a bad back, disposition towards RSI AND chronic fatigue), I can either lean back and position it at an angle against the desk's lip, or slump over it flat with the desk. The keyboard shortcuts mean I can leave the keyboard stored under the monitor out of the way, and the stylus practically replaces the mouse.

[nev]

I was wondering, since this is the only Tablet thread the search bar led me to, if you chaps had any advice on using the tablets. With traditional drawing I'm alright, but I can't draw with the tablet at all.

Cheers, nev.

[Jim_Campbell]

I was wondering, since this is the only Tablet thread the search bar led me to, if you chaps had any advice on using the tablets. With traditional drawing I'm alright, but I can't draw with the tablet at all.

First question: where do you have the tablet, in relation to your monitor and keyboard? For years, I had mine where my mouse-mat would normally be, and then one day I noticed how D'israeli had drawn himself using his:



I don't know if that's completely bleeding obvious to everyone else, but that straight line of sight across hand-tablet-monitor was a revelation to me.

Cheers

Jim

[radiator]

I have decided on an Intuos4 - I can get one through work at a discount. I'm still not 100% happy with the Intuos4 and it's insanely rough surface texture which wears down nibs alarmingly quickly  .

Putting down a layer of clear plastic alleviates the problem almost completely, but does affect the sensitivity of the tablet a bit - hardly ideal, but don't really see another option, and at least the glossy black finish will match my new computer, printer/scanner and speakers!

I was wondering, since this is the only Tablet thread the search bar led me to, if you chaps had any advice on using the tablets. With traditional drawing I'm alright, but I can't draw with the tablet at all.

Practice practice practice . To be honest, I don't use the Wacom to draw as such, I use it only for colouring and corrections. I don't like the look of a lot of digital inking and wholly digital art - and prefer the tactile feel of drawing by hand.

[radiator]

where do you have the tablet, in relation to your monitor and keyboard? For years, I had mine where my mouse-mat would normally be

I don't know if that's completely bleeding obvious to everyone else, but that straight line of sight across hand-tablet-monitor was a revelation to me.

I have things laid out in a similar way to the illustration - my work system doesn't even have a mouse plugged in!

[nev]

Thanks Jim, I didn't think of that. It was lying next to my keyboard, what a fool I was.

And to radiator, I assumed that would be the best thing to do

[James]

Mine sits next to my laptop on the right, rotated slightly clockwise (about 20 degrees).

I suppose if I worked at a desktop my keyboard might sit to my left with the tablet in front of me but it works for me like this. When I set up my workspace if it's been cleared away the first thing I do is draw a straight line down by hand to make sure I've got my angle correct.

[chilipenguin]

Necro thread alert. I'm thinking about getting a tablet reasonably near future and was wondering what you would suggest. My top end budget will only be a measly £150 so I'm thinking about a Bamboo (gasp) Pen and Touch.

Will this be suitable for colouring and/or inking? I really don't have the slightest clue (tablet virgin).

[IndigoPrime]

The Bamboo's fine. One thing, though: turn off the touch aspect, because it's utter bollocks.

[Darren Stephens]

I use the bamboo, too. It's a nice, cheap but quality, tablet.

[HdE]

I got a tablet related question here:

I've recently taken to using a two monitor set up. One screen is the one on my laptop, and the other is an outboard TFT monitor that I've borrowed.

Now what I like to do is have Photoshop open on one screen, with all the toolbars, palettes and settings windows on the other.

BUT... using my Wacom Bamboo, I've noticed that I no longer get to use the whole tablet to work on the main screen - it's as if the working area is split between both screens. So to work on the main screen, I have to awkwardly work on one side of the tablet.

This ain't what I want. Anyone know how I can work it so that the tablet works on just one of the screens?

Am I making sense?

[Jim_Campbell]

Gonna have to help us out with some more specifics: Mac OS or Windows? Versions? Drivers up to date?

This is definitely not the expected behaviour, so it should be entirely possible to sort it out…

Cheers!

Jim

[flip-r mk2]

I've got a wacom volito bit basic but it was cheap (£30out of tesco a couple of years ago ) never really started using it until recently,so it serves it's purpose until i'm more proficient with it and manga studio and photoshop.


filip

[IndigoPrime]

@Jim: Actually, by default, what HdE's seeing is precisely what the standard Wacom driver is designed to do. However, in the Mac version (and I assume the Windows version too), you can update this:

- Go into the Wacom/Bamboo preferences, and select 'Pen';
- Under 'Tracking', check 'Pen Mode' and click 'Details';
- Change the 'Screen Area' to a specific monitor, rather than having it set to 'All Screens'.

[HdE]

Jim, Indigo - you guys are my heroes tonight! Thanks.

I'll try out what you suggested tomorrow, Indigo.

Just in case there are any unforeseen problems, though, I'll answer Jim's questions:

I'm working in Windows, with the default drivers and software that came with my Bamboo tablet.

I'm a complete donkey when it comes to updating drivers and things. I just never think to do it.