Wacom tablets

[scottfree]

I just recently bought a new Intuous 3 Wacom tablet....I can not tell you the difference it has made- the ease of design. My freehand artistic ability has never been matched by using a mouse but with this new tablet i have tapped into my natural talent and can draw.....

If there are any new wacom champions out there and/or any one who would like to share some tricks and techniques please fill me in....

I threw my mouse in the garbage!!!

[resurepus]

you might want to try Corel Painter 9. Great graphics editor to work with Wacom. Its set of brushes is excellent!

[pentool]

My freehand artistic ability has never been matched by using a mouse but with this new tablet i have tapped into my natural talent and can draw.....

You could've just tried a good ol' fashioned pencil and paper, too to bring out your natural talent :-)

Seriously. Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the world of wacom. Every tablet user has their own settings how they set it up. It's really a personal choice. What I like to do is this:
I assign the topmost button (not the eraser tip, but the 2 switch button on the side) to be CTRL-Z. This way i can undo (the most used command) anytime with my index finger. The lower button I assign it to the wacom popup menu. In the control panel you can assign various commands to this menu per application. So you can stash your favorite commands there and have access to it regardless where your pen/cursor is, without going to the menu bar. you can not only record menu commands, but also a whole series of keystrokes as well.

I also recommend to try out this new painting program. It's really good. And in a few months, it will beat painter big time: ArtRage

[lilypad]

Hey Les,

Excellent tips with the table... I've never tried setting up that custom menu before.

- jon

[pentool]

Jon!? Gosh, I keep running into you everywhere :-) Or maybe vice-versa...

[scottfree]

You could've just tried a good ol' fashioned pencil and paper, too to bring out your natural talent :-)

Seriously. Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the world of wacom. Every tablet user has their own settings how they set it up. It's really a personal choice. What I like to do is this:
I assign the topmost button (not the eraser tip, but the 2 switch button on the side) to be CTRL-Z. This way i can undo (the most used command) anytime with my index finger. The lower button I assign it to the wacom popup menu. In the control panel you can assign various commands to this menu per application. So you can stash your favorite commands there and have access to it regardless where your pen/cursor is, without going to the menu bar. you can not only record menu commands, but also a whole series of keystrokes as well.

I also recommend to try out this new painting program. It's really good. And in a few months, it will beat painter big time: ArtRage

[a_mahstudios]

I've never been able to use a tablet before. It might have been the tablet, or just me, but I wasn't comfortable using it. At the same time, I do mostly vector type art, which I find easy to manipulate with the mouse. Are they specifically better for use with raster-based image programs? That would seem to make sence.

[pentool]

If you hate your tablet, I'll PM you my address!

[plum74]

Hi, just curious, how for how much did you get yours and where? I'm been toying with the idea of getting one too.

plum

[project_fx28]

I´m planning on buying a tablet too. But Aiptek, not Wacom cos it´s lot cheaper...a lot.
A 304 x 228 mm Aiptek tablet is 80 euro.

[pentool]

I got mine about 3-4 years ago. It's 4x5. Was on sale for 89.99 at CompUSA.

[lilypad]

My first tablet was a 6x8 Wacom Digitizer II. I got it back in the early 90s and paid around $250. It plugged into the ADB port on the old Macs.

In 1999 I got a 9x12 Wacom Intuos for $400. I decided to get the larger size tablet because I use 2 monitors; a 22" workspace monitor and a 15" palette monitor. The larger tablet gives me a comfortable space to work in, since both monitors are mapped side by side on the tablet.

- jon

[ChrisPauwels]

I have a 6x9. I don't use it so much for graphic design as I do for sketching. My main focus used to be Industrial/Transportation Design. It is very nice to have when you don't have any paper.

[gratus]

I have Graphire Bluetooth, also have used Intuos 3, not many visible technical distinctions, but Intuos3 complected with better pen than Graphire
Graphire`s pen is too lightweight, it`s not comfortable like Intuos 3 pen.

[apresico]

I have a Wacom. It takes some getting used to at first use, but its well worth it. As Resurepus said, Corel Painter 9 is really cool to use with the tablets. Its a very nice paint program.

[Nicholas]

I have the Wacom Graphire4 4.5 - I got it at Best Buy for $100.00 + tax. I was suppriesed it was there because there isn't any other store in South Dakota that sells them.

It's USB and has the clear cover - you can put a picture of yourself and trace a picture of yourself or do whatever - I like it and yes it deff. saves on sketch books and notepaper! haha!

I personally just keep the stock settings and havn't had a problem at all with it. With what "pentool" said about setting it for the z command to "undo" - I wouldn't personally find that usefull because I would have to sit there and click it a million times because I use the tablet as a sketch pad and tend to touch the pad alot.

There are alot of tweaks you can do to it, I just havn't found many of them usefull. Nice post by the way.

Nikoli

[bryantali]

You guys have inspired my to get mine out of the box & hook it up. My husband bought it for me for Christmas LAST YEAR, and I haven't even tried it yet!

[Nicholas]

:O @ bryantali!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even have my coat off when I hooked mine up!!! Didn't even take my shoes off I was soo psyched!! Tell us how you like it =P

[Alter_Eggo]

Do any of you ever use your tablet in Illustrator? I love how the lines are varied from the pressure. If you use a tablet, you know what i'm talking about..but does anyone know how to create nice lines like that without a tablet?

I <3 my Wacom Intuos 3 6x8. If any of you are still students, you can get educational discounts on the tablets at Creation Engine http://www.creationengine.com.

[raghav]

I just got my new Wacom 4X5, and i must say that it is really easy to pull curves then the mouse, and specially I love the pressure sensitive thing of the pen.