Drawing Tool Help

[KATT]

Hi everyone:
I have just bought CS2 and have to learn how to use it. I would like to get a tool that I can draw with instead of having to use the mouse and was wondering if the Graphire Tablet would be a good tool to start with? Thanks. :)

[mops]

Hi Katt

You dont say whether you've purchased cs2 ps or ai - nevertheless, if youre doing any artwork my opinion is that you really need a graphics tablet preferably wacom.
i'm still using one that i had about 4 yrs ago, and it does the trick, i'd never be able to design using a mouse - i'd recommend the wacom tablet to anyone serious about designing, i cant see how you can get precision with a mouse, but again it's a personal choice. It doesnt take long to pick up but if youre new to ps or ai i'd suggest you familiarise yourself with these programmes before anything else. The tablet isnt going to make learning the programme any easier, thats down to you, but once youre in the swing of it, it sure will make designing easier.

hope that makes sense, good luck, mops

[KATT]

Thanks mops. Which WACOM model & size do you have?

Ps=PhotoShop and ai=Adobe Illustrator?
I have both. I have the CS2 Premium (the whole suite).
CS2 programs are I have to play around with all the programs to learn how to use them and the different features, etc. I've used PhotoShop for very basic things before but never Illustrator. I've also never drawn on the computer before at all. I tried to with the mouse before, but that did not work out well at all.

Thanks for the info!! =o)

[kdr0014]

I have the 9X12, it really makes work in photoshop easier.

[mops]

i have the wacom et-0405-u - it's years old, but still does the trick. I've always found the wacom tablets reasonably priced, take a look at the latest ones around now, but my advice is to stick to wacom and avoid others, but i'm bias because this one is so easy to use. my partner has another make and it's terrible to use. I should upgrade but i'm in my comfort zone with this one :rolleyes:

spend some time in ps using the different brushes, this will get you used to painting with the tablet

good luck

[Paul C]

I have a 4"x5" Grafire, a 9"x12" Intuos and a 6"x8" Intuos. Definitely spend the extra money for an Intuos and the 6"x8" is large enough for any work I do. I work over 2 monitors (23" Cinema and 17" Studio) and it is fine for that. The 9"x12" is really big and if you work on your computer a lot you will be stretching a little too much for it to be comfortable. I restricted the area that is usable because of that. I ended up buying the 6"x8" for my house and am really happy with it…

Just don't settle for a 4" x 5" - it really doesn't give you a good idea of what a tablet can do.

peace

[mops]

:o ........................ mines old and small....................i'd better upgrade fast:o

[Paul C]

:mines old and small
That's what we've heard, mops… :) :) :)

peace

[mops]

you know - youre so cheeky paul .............. :p .........i reckon it's all that sun ;)

[Paul C]

Sorry mops - I tried but just couldn't ignore a setup like that.

In the interest of egalitarianism and self-deprecation I would like to publicly state that mine is almost assuredly older and very possibly even smaller…

:) :) :)

peace

[mops]

:) :) :) ............ now i've peed myself laughing!:)

[Paul C]

mops - I'm glad you can take a joke :)

I was a little worried because I am a sarcastic bast%^& sometimes… :eek:

peace

[KATT]

Thanks Guys. That really helps me out alot. I have been looking at WACOM's site at the Graphire & Intuos. I was going to go with the Graphire because it was less expesnive and I'm now starting out on this.

What do you find more likeable or more advantageous about the intuos (as opposed to the Graphire?

[Paul C]

The main thing is pressure sensitivity. I believe the Intuos line responds to 1032(?) pressure levels and the Grafire line is half that. After using the Grafire and the Intuos I would definitely wait until I could afford the Intuos. It's USB so it's not going out of style anytime soon and I have never had a problem with any of my tablets so it will last a long time.

For me Intuos 6" x 8" is the ticket.

Good Luck!

peace

[Donnie]

Do the tablets still come with painter? I thought they did in the past. Im asking because I would like to get one for myself and was thinking about painter as well.:(

[Paul C]

I don't think mine did but it's hard to remember. Painter is not something I use so I wouldn't have paid much attention to it.

I would suspect that it would be Painter light, that is usually the way companies bundle software with hardware…

peace

[The Repro Kid]

They used to come with a full version of "Painter Classic" which has nothing to do with Mac OS9 Classic, and a demo of the latest version of painter.

But painter 9.5 is out or is coming soon and they have a new lite version called Painter Expressions. This will most likely begin shipping soon with tablets. I'd actually wait a little while on the purchase just to make sure I got the new Painter Expressions.

Oh and if have a newer iMac or Mac Studio Display they do make newer tablets with eh same aspect ratio as the new screens, which would be nice, but they are expensive. And like PaulC said, 6x8 is plenty. (unless you can afford one of the new wide screen ratio tablets)

And to be honest, drawing with a mouse is not that difficult. Like any other art tool, it takes some time to get the coordination down, then you have it.

In the old days the mouse had a mechanical ball with rollers on the inside. these rollers would gum up with muck and make the the mouse wobble, skip, stop and jump, while you were drawing. It's much easier now the the optical mouses in use today. I can draw real darn good with a mouse.

And I could never get used to drawing bezier curves (Illustrator and Photoshop Pen Tool) with a wacom. I still pick up my mouse when it comes to the pen tool. It's just easier.