Art Technique

[Guest Son of Shadows]

Hello all fellow Otaku's! This thread is for, duh, the discussion of art technique. My personal technique question is about tablets. I have seen many different types of computer animation and I wanted to learn how they are created. Although I have illustration softeware, (Adobe Photoshop) I find it difficult to repeat the curves and lines I make on a real page on the computer using a mouse. I have heard of tablets and am wondering if they are worth an investment(considering their price) and if so, which ones. Some seem to have such small sense areas that I wonder if its worth it. Also, is their any ways you can think of to make it easier to draw with a mouse?
:animedepr Any comments are welcome.

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1]Hullo, SoS.

I must admit, I don't know too much about art tablets, but I'll try to impart whatever knowledge I have on you. Firstly, using the tablet is a bit of a skill, as you must stroke on the pad, but look up at the screen for results. As you can imagine, this is quite unorthodox, and will give even a praticed artist some grief in the early stages.

I have no idea how much they cost, or how large the pads come, but I [I]do[/I] know that they are available in different sizes and such. Yeah, it's pretty hard drawing stuff on the computer with a mouse as well as you could on paper, which is why I wouldn't recommend trying without the use of a tablet. Another viable option would be just to scan (if you have a scanner) in your pictures, and edit them in photoshop. There, I know you can change the levels of contrast to make it look as if you've done say, oh, a pencil sketch in pen.

Good luck, and Google may have some background information on tablets.[/SIZE]

[GTK]

[QUOTE=Retribution][SIZE=1]

I have no idea how much they cost, or how large the pads come, but I [I]do[/I] know that they are available in different sizes and such. [SIZE][/QUOTE]

On average, a tablet will cost you around $100. Sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more... I love mine T_T I paid $100 for it (it's a bit bigger... I know they sell smaller ones for the same price)

Using a tablet takes a while to get used to, but it's basically like using a pencil... depending on the program you're drawing in and/or the tablet, they are usually pressure sensative as well.

Wacom is usually the brand you hear mentioned a lot... Mine is by Aiptek (which is alright... I've had it for maybe 3 or 4 years and it's starting to act up a bit, but it's also a bit old, so...) I haven't used a Wacom tablet, so I can't say much about that ^^

I think it's easier to draw/color with a mouse that doesn't have a ball...a fiber optic one? Not sure on terms... A ball mouse tends to stick a bit more and get dirty and generall cause problems.


Hope that helps ^__^

[Epsilon]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray]Tablets are a rather good idea to have when it comes to drawing on the computer. However, if you are using a touch pad mouse for a laptop I recommend getting a Pen Mouse that can be combined with various digital programs.

The reason I recommend for a tablet is I find it easier to do more interlaced work. As well as curves and finer detail that may only be done by hand, rather then a mouse. Not to mention different textures for when applying color.


I currently have a Wacom Intuos 4"x5'. One of the smallest, I use it to digitally ink or color cropped, magnified images. On a whole image that I will not bother to go through crop, etc. I'll use a Wacom Intuos 6"x8'. Often times I'll do things in my tablets them combine or fix images in with Adobe CS. and Open Canvas.

I had bought my first one for $200 US Dollars. And my second for $350 US Dollars.

If you are going to get a tablet I recommend a Wacom Intuos 9"x12'. It gives a good deal of space, and is fairly reliable to be running while working with images that are three times as large as 1024 x 768 pixel screen.


Official Wacom Website.: [url]http://www.wacom.com/[/url][/COLOR][/SIZE]