Tablet Tips

[KingJoe]

So I've had my Wacom for over a year now, and I seem to think I've gotten pretty good with it. Prove me wrong! Who's got some general Tablet Tips to improve my productivity and help me create some general art? (how about explaining that damn, daunting Wacom Control Panel for starters!)

[chrisvo69er]

I'm getting a Wacom Graphire 2 next week! Damn I can't wait!!!

Does it work well in Flash then?

[CNO]

Well, I say this every time this topic comes up, but I think it bears repeating.

Tape a piece of paper over the drawing surface.

Ever since I've done so with mine (both at home and work), I've found that I'm actually able to free-sketch into Flash and Painter, to the point where I have been doing animations from pencil roughs to inked and colored work entirely in the computer.

Gives you more friction on the pad, and feels more like actually drawing with a pencil (rather than a wax crayon on glass).

[KingJoe]

Paper, eh? I've heard that before. I'll definetly try it out. Hey, here's a question. Does anyone else get the little white marks (scratches?) on their Wacom Tab?

[TrIzKuT]

I can lift the bottom pad of my graphire partially off

can anyone else do that?

I may have to get a new one

[Naldoman]

Originally posted by KingJoe
Paper, eh? I've heard that before. I'll definetly try it out. Hey, here's a question. Does anyone else get the little white marks (scratches?) on their Wacom Tab?

After 5 years, the center of my tablet is a cloud of scratches, however; performance has not changed.

I have often made sketches, then traced over them with the stylus to get that image into FLASH. This was before I had a scanner. If I want a more spontaneous feel, I will sketch directly in FLASH without tracing. Use the paintbrush in the pressure-sensitive mode, it's fabulous. Alternatively, sketch in Illustrator and copy/paste.

There are so many ways to have fun with a Wacom.

[dainbramaged]

I have an Intuos and an Intuos2 (I just gave away my graphire). I noticed that the feel of the Intuos2 has more friction than the Intuos, although it never bothered me not to have it.

That Wacom control panel is a lifesaver. The Proportional/to Fit radio button is super important. To fit makes the tablet map to the resolution of the monitor. Proportional is more true to the actual drawn stroke--and still pretty close to a monitor match. A lot of the "jitter" people complain about often comes from choosing the wrong setting for freehand drawing. The computer does a little algorithm to convert the drawn stroke to screen proportions on "to fit". That on-the-fly math is good, but not perfect. The proportional setting will produce a more accurate stroke.

I also widen my tilt range, and set up custom pressure settings.

People often fail to replace the nibs on the stylus. (Many who buy the Graphire don't even realize you can or should replace them.) You can use a knife or one blade of a pair of scissors to sharpen the tip a bit. Over time, as it blunts, you can replace it.

The scars on the drawing surface don't hurt performance, but if you prefer or if you damage the surface, you can replace it pretty inexpensively.

TrIzKuT, I dropped an Intuos once, and it split open down the middle, exposing all the guts of the tablet. I was really lucky--it just snapped back closed and I never had any trouble with it.

Cheers all,
Dain

[xup878]

i kinda got used to that plastic on plastic feel of the Wacom, dont really like using paper over it...
oh well

[justice strike]

u can also lift that plastic and put some pictures underneath it (atleast with my wacom :P)

[CNO]

Originally posted by xup878
i kinda got used to that plastic on plastic feel of the Wacom, dont really like using paper over it...
oh well

Just a suggestion.

Actually, Dain's tips are probably more on the mark (I guess I just assumed people would fiddle around in the control panel) - I know one of the first things I did was configure the feel of the pen (especially tilt), and as an added bonus, you can apply different settings fr different programs (I think I have at least 3 for Painter, Photoshop, Flash...)