Graphics tablets

[mgeduld]

Robin, don't feel bad--graphics tablets can be frustrating at first, but there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.

I've been using a tablet for so long, it's hard for me to remember my first experience with one, but I do remember being disappointed. It looked just like a pen, so I figured that it would work just like one. But with a pen, you're drawing directly on the PAPER. With a tablet, you're drawing on a piece of plastic--only the lines don't show up on the plastic, they show up on the screen (which isn't even close to the pen).

This seemed less strange after a few hours, and now I don't even notice the discontinuity. So just stick with it and keep playing! You'll get better and better with it, I'm sure.

Sean, I love Painter. I wish I could afford the latest version. I also really like Deep Paint, which does a lot of what painter does, but it also acts a Photoshop plugin.

Marcus Geduld
{ email me } { visit me }

[Robin Gilmor]

Thanks for the encouragement.
Athena-thanks,I had disabled the pressure sensitivity in the small palette when I installed PSP6.(never dreaming I would one day have a tablet)! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[catharina]

I just purchased the Wacom Graphire and it works great so far. I can sketch quite easily in Photo-Paint and am REALLY looking forward to Xara X to try it out there!

http://www.hogarth.com/images/inf_off_sword_1796.gif

I'll have to do practicing to get the same control as my pen & ink drawings on paper but I'm getting there. Practice makes perfect [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

The only problem I'm having is when the driver is installed my internet connection seems slower than a 14.4, even though my connection says I'm connected at 57600 [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img] I've downloaded and installed the new driver that was dated May, 2000 from product support at Wacom's website but it had no effect on the problem. I have it connected to a serial port and there should't be a conflict with my modem as my tablet is on COM1 and the modem on COM3. But I don't know too much about how these things work. I figure I'm lucky to know a bit about how to use the this beast, let alone how it's put together [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

My current work-around is to uninstall the driver and reboot. I then cancel the new hardware dialog box. This means that when I want to use the tablet I have to reboot and install the driver. Not perfect but I have to work on the net too.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Cat =^..^=

[Mike Bailey]

Have a peek at your Control panel, system, device manager, port properties, sometimes installing new software will change the bit rate setting

[Sean Sedwards]

Cat

Com1 and Com3 share the same interrupt. This could have been OK with a normal mouse driver, but it may be necessary to move one of the items to Com2 or Com4.

Regards - Sean

[catharina]

Thanks Sean,

I have no idea what an interupt is (other than that my Mother told me not to ;-) but I turned off the computer, moved the thing to the next serial port (thank goodness it was empty), reloaded the driver and VOILA....the thing works like a charm! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Now all I need to do is learn how to draw [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

Marcus,

Regarding your message about the games

The cordless mouse I have with my tablet has a wheel on it. I don't do many internet games, (other than a good game of backgammon now and then) so I don't know of any applications where I would use it.

Other than that, my Logtech tracking ball mouse is still doing it's job as well so I doubt I would use the one with the tablet.

Cat =^..^=

[Su Lawrence]

I have just ordered a 9x12 Intuos tablet and this will be my first experience with a cordless mouse/pen/tablet etc.

I read somewhere recently that the mouse and pen get their power from the tablet. Firstly not being at all technical I didn't realise a mouse or pen needed any power and secondly can anyone tell me how this works and ... is this safe?

(Probably being a bit of a technophobe here but having an overdeveloped imagination, there's me thinking not sure about all that electricity bouncing around on the tablet. Mindyou I expect it is miniscule).

I hope to get a lot more usability with a tablet as a mouse isn't very acurate to use for drawing freehand etc.

Any info would be much appreciated.

Cheers


Su
[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Michael]

The ArtPad II (quite a classic nowadays) draws it's current from an external adaptor. The lead plugs directly in the back of the serial port connector. I had a Genius Tablet before aquiering the Wacom which drew it's power from the keyboard connector by means of a plug-through

[q]

well, in reference to an earlier query about any tips worth knowing about using a graphics tablet, I offer my one and only..

trouble with the graphics tablet compared to drawing on paper, canvas etc is the slickness of the plastic surface, as I like to feel feedback from the surface I draw on; so I drop a piece of inkjet paper shiny side up and hold it on the surface with my thumb oftentimes when drawing, otherwise every little shake becomes a mistake -'slipsliding away..' as the song goes.. and I was forever holding down the shift key and erasing lines, as I have never had a steady hand. Very useful when tracing complex images, like a complete map of the regions of New Zealand that I'm doing right now. -well, when not goofing off in X-zone that is.

Means you wear out the tips quicker, but like pencils, they're cheap to replace.

Once you start drawing in xara with a pen, the transparency tool to name only one -coupled with ctrl-shift-V, makes you realise there's a whole world beyond oils and felt tips..

I'm buying a Thinkpad to go mobile and want a new tablet so I can give my old one to my artistic daughters, so I've read the reviews of the Graphire with interest. But I'll go for an Intuos 4x5. (and a disposable mouse.. )

Q.

[gwpriester]

I just received this comment from Xara

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> You can set the scaling and transparency to be pressure sensitive in the edit brush strokes dialog. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

WebXealot 17, due out when I return from the CorelWorld Conference on Friday, will cover the Freehand and Brush Tool in the ongoing OnLine Manual for Xara X.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Every So Humble...