Hawg wild!

**a4hire** · 08 May 2009, 08:42 PM

Im trying something new lately. I got me a new Wacom graphics tablet and been playing around with it. well this piece was started as a sketch done with pencil and paper, then I scanned it and I traced the lines with Xtreme, much easier to draw with than illustrator and I exported the lines to PSD and then proceeded to paint it in photoshop. Most of it was done using a mouse but I did use my tablet to add the shading and the highlights and some details.

**Mike Bailey** · 08 May 2009, 09:43 PM

I got me a new Wacom graphics tablet

Congratulations

**kinetica** · 08 May 2009, 09:47 PM

I too like to do cartoons and I used a drawing tablet once, a long time ago. I cannot remember the manufacturer of the tablet, but it was not Wacom, I know that. I could not get on with it at all. I wonder how long it takes to get used to using one, I think I gave it a couple of days before I unplugged it and went back to my mouse.

**a4hire** · 08 May 2009, 10:50 PM

Thank you Mike and Kinetica
well I did not like to use the tablet in Xara Xtreme. it was clunky and did not work right. I tried to use the free hand tool and you just can not get it to act like a real pen or pencil. It is much easier to draw with the tablet in Illustrator or photoshop. So now I find my self using a combination of different programs.

**raynerj1** · 09 May 2009, 09:22 PM

Very nice Bruce. I have to agree, that there is not a perfect program, but xara is pretty durn close in my book.

**a4hire** · 11 May 2009, 05:41 AM

Thanks John, yes Xtreme is still one of my favorite programs. If only I could sketch in it like I can in Illustrator and paint like I do in Photoshop.

**kinetica** · 11 May 2009, 11:45 PM

Hello

I understand what you mean. Photoshop and Illustrator certainly have their uses but in my case I have never painted better in Photoshop than I have with a brush and a few tubes of primary colours, and I have never sketched better in Illustrator than I have with a scrap of paper and a 2B pencil. It's then that I run over it in ink, scan it, import it into Xara and trace it, and then colour it in.

I do wish, though, that Xara had a twain facility. It really is about time it did.

**morphonius_821** · 19 May 2009, 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by a4hire

Thank you Mike and Kinetica
well I did not like to use the tablet in Xara Xtreme. it was clunky and did not work right. I tried to use the free hand tool and you just can not get it to act like a real pen or pencil. It is much easier to draw with the tablet in Illustrator or photoshop. So now I find my self using a combination of different programs.

Congrats on your new tablet...
By the way don't be put off the tablet if at first you don't warm to it to the same degree that you had hoped...
I made this mistake... i was disappointed that it was not "the answer to life the universe and everything", but eventually reversed many of my initial biases over time (it took me nearly 2 years as i was so miffed i couldn't even bring myself to use it initially)....as you will (even though you may not see how this could happen in the light of your current disappointments...) ...it will...
This will start to occur when you actually start to prefer it to a mouse or can use it just about as well as a mouse generally. There is more of a learning curve than you would expect....good luck....

**a4hire** · 19 May 2009, 04:28 PM

Thank you Morphonius
yes there is a bit of a learning curve with the tablet, I am still learning, I just need to use it more and become comfortable with it as you have said.

**angelize** · 20 May 2009, 06:52 AM

This has been brought up before in the Xtreme forums if you hold down the esc key with some sort of weight it is easier to draw with a tablet. I use a small beach rock.