Scribble August 2021

[wizard509]

That's mighty fine Jon, thank you.

[Jonopen]

Love the lamp fish, Jono!

I am in the process of thinking about either a memory boost to my aging Windows desktop, or moving to 'The Dark Side' as you have done.
Aside from the shortcuts, (or the cost) any other major drawbacks with the Mac compared with Windows?

Hi Bob (iamtheblues)

I’ve actually not come across any show stoppers but have had a few minor disappointments. These aren’t necessarily Apple issues, but more about me expecting better. Things like Spotify not having the playback graphic equaliser that the iPad version has.

Probably the biggest issue has been learning new software and understanding different ways of doing familiar things. That of course means not using Xara desktop apps - the M1 chip does not run a Windows emulator (as far as I know).

In my case I had an ageing i3 laptop that was getting cantankerous and slow. So any new modern PC system would have been a vast improvement, but when I started to look into hardware specs/performance/cost the Mac mini M1 for me actually came out a good choice, even after factoring buying new software. Although in my case I managed to buy all the Affinity apps when they were half price - still less than buying Xara Pro!

I use a Wacom Cintiq 16 as my main screen and pointing device and already had a bluetooth keyboard (Logitech K380) so didn’t need any additional hardware. I also bought a USB-C to VGA adapter to hook up an old HD (1920x1080px) monitor as a second screen which works great.

In a nutshell it probably comes down to how much are going to miss Xara and are prepared and willing to learn a few new tricks.

Thanks for your comment.

[Jonopen]

That's mighty fine Jon, thank you.

Thanks Larry, much appreciated.

[Jonopen]

@jono

I recently upgraded artrage to ver 6

be it said I only ever use the pencil tool 99.9% of the time, but since artrage recognises tilt which PTSAI does not, and has lovely canvas texture [which again in PTSAI is very basic],it is easy to mimic pencil sketching on waterford etc and a whole load easier than doing it in corel painter; artrage ver 6 now has pencil smoothing reason I upgraded; and yes the canvas rotation is great

Excellent. I've not used the pencil yet! In fact I've not really used any of the tools in earnest. I've got a personal project in the pipeline where ArtRage is going to get a good bashing using ink and watercolours! Stay tuned, one to two images may appear in future Scribble challenges.

[Chris M]

My earlier bonnet/scarf bothered me enough to revist. A lot happier now.

[handrawn]

much better chris, clean and uncluttered, really like it

[Chris M]

12 days to draw a hat made of 3 shapes...I'm improving.

[handrawn]

believe you me I can stare at a blank sheet of bristol for a long time before I visualise correctly what it is I am about to draw - digital is easier [but it can make you lazy ]

[wizard509]

digital is easier [but it can make you lazy ]

Yeah!!!
9

[wizard509]

My earlier bonnet/scarf bothered me enough to revist. A lot happier now.

Love it Chris