Regarding Tablets

[waldronate]

I bought a tablet primarily to try drawing better coastlines and mountains.

To my surprise, it has improved my drawing of lots of things. Yes, it took some practice mechanically to touch and lift the pen properly, and it took a lot of getting used to looking somewhere other than where my hand was, but both things are getting easier.

I think that we have identified why the tablet helped a lot. I would argue that it was the deliberate practice that helped more than the tablet. The tablet certainly provided extra incentive and required you to pay more attention to what you were doing, but I'm pretty sure that you could get the same effect using pen and paper. For me, I have spent a whole lot of dollars over the years on trying to find the magic software and hardware package that includes talent in the box. I have come to the conclusion that things like layout, color schemes, line quality, and a whole host of non-mechanical things can't quite be taught. In accordance with Godwin's law, Adolph Hitler was able to do reasonably good artwork, but the opinion of many of his contemporaries was that there was a missing something (perhaps some creative spark) that left many of his artworks broadly uninteresting. I haven't been able to summon the patience to get anywhere near as good as Hitler was, and I certainly lack the patience required to get that good.

It is my experiences over the years that tell me that simple external aids won't make me a better artist. I get marginally better when I practice, but not good enough to reward me enough to keep at the practice required to get the mechanics down well. And all of my compositions seem to be largely uninteresting, lacking much in the way of tension or flow.

A tablet can certainly be an asset if you have some level of skill to hone. In my opinion, a tablet won't help with the talent portion of making art, but it might help improve the skill portion of making art. It does take a good bit of effort to train the eye to look at other than the hand. You also need to decide what kind of drawing you do (for me, the 6"x8" tablet was much more useful than other sizes because I can hold it on my forearm and sketch with the other hand), which is likely to help determine the size of tablet and its features.

[Midgardsormr]

I'll also drop in on the side of a tablet can be useful even if you lack drawing skill. I don't do a whole lot of actual drawing or painting at work, but my tablet is my primary input device simply because it's more comfortable to use—it doesn't wear out my wrist as quickly as a mouse does.

I learned to use my tablet pretty quickly by playing Neverwinter Nights with it for a while. (The first one, NWN 2 wouldn't recognize it as an input device. Neither will Civilzation V.) Any of those addictive point-and-click browser games would work pretty well. Desktop Tower Defense, maybe.

The biggest problem I have with mine is that I have to reset some of my preferences every time I restart the computer. That doesn't happen for everyone, but it's been consistent for me, even on different computers. I think I must install the drivers wrong or something. Anyway, it only takes about 20 seconds to set it up each morning, so that's not a gigantic hassle. It's just a small annoyance. I also find Windows' "helpful" Tablet PC settings to be obnoxious. The Wacom pen has a two-button rocker switch, so you have a right-click available, but Windows insists on interpreting press-and-hold as a right-click, so you'll be in the middle of a slow, delicate stroke and Windows decides to open a context menu. Fortunately, if you stop and disable the Tablet PC service (Start > Run > services.msc opens the Services controls on Windows XP - 7. Not sure how to get there for 8+), that behavior goes away.

As for your last question, I suppose it depends on how fond of fire you are. Some people just don't feel right in the morning until they've made a burnt offering of a fax machine or something.

[Diamond]

I bought a bamboo several years ago and haven't used it in a looooooong time. The disconnect between tablet and screen and where I had to look was just too much to overcome for a casual user like me. If I was a professional artist, it might be a different story. Plus, I have no real problems drawing with a mouse.

As for your last question, I suppose it depends on how fond of fire you are. Some people just don't feel right in the morning until they've made a burnt offering of a fax machine or something.

Die, printer, die.

[TimPaul]

Guys, the only way to get better at drawing, is drawing.

Tablets are tools. You have to find the right tool that feels good. When you do, it makes sticking to drawing easier. You don't give up in frustration.

Also, working digitally, you get better at drawing and painting faster, because you can correct your mistakes, while in traditional methods, if you make to big a mistake, you might have to start over. And having to start over, often leads to quitting for a while.

So while you are learning to use the tablet, your also getting better at drawing. So by the time you feel competent with the tablet, you also are getting better at drawing, which creates the illusion that the tablet is making you a better at drawing.

[xpian]

I'll echo TimPaul's sentiment: practice is everything. Draw, look at what you've drawn critically, look at it also charitably, and draw some more. Even more important, I think, is to draw to a purpose. It's one thing to "sketch around" in a program, with a tablet, with a fancy pen, etc....but it's quite another thing to actually try to accomplish something. That's when you get a real sense whether your tools are up to the job. It's also when you experience real growth as an artist. Pick a project, as simple as you can, and finish it. Finish. Then move on.

I'll also throw in that drawing on the iPad is fantastic (and about to get more fantastic with the iPad Pro). I've never had the resources to try something like a Cintiq, but drawing on the iPad is much smoother and more natural than drawing on my Wacom Intuos. I'm sure I could get used to the Wacom if that was all I had, but being tied to the computer is so much more limiting than being able to hold the program in your lap. I use ProCreate and a touch-sensitive bluetooth stylus.

But the same advice applies. You only get better at drawing by drawing a lot. Regularly. To a purpose. And you can only really evaluate your tools once you've been using them for a while. Only then can you tell if they are holding you back, or are not right for your style or practice in some way.

Also, I should mention that, although I'm personally excited about getting a fancy, expensive iPad pro to draw on, you don't have to drop that kind of cheddar in order to have the tablet-drawing experience. You can get an iPad 2 or Air for $200 or less. A good stylus is $30, maybe a little more for pressure sensitivity. The ProCreate app (best drawing/painting app for any mobile device, IMHO) is a steal at something like $6. So, for a price that rivals that of a Wacom tablet you'd plug into your computer, you could have a whole setup you could hold in your lap, use at a coffee shop, use in the car, etc.

[TK.]

I've recently bought an Intuos medium, like 1 month ago.

Due to work constraint I had like 2-3hs to play with it so far, but I could already see that some things would be a world better to do or practice/improve (like drawing mountains ranges, shapes, trees due to fine-tunning possible with pen) while others I kept fumbling so much I started doing them with the mouse (like changing view around the map which I normally used alt/ctrl to change zoom and position was ridiculously impossible for me, maybe due to incorrect configuration of tablet keys).

Other thing that was weird is that I use a 48" screen TV as monitor and the amplitude of motion I normally do with a mouse to cover the screen is a much narrower than with the tablet pen where you actually have to move your pen (and thus your hand) around to cover in wider arcs.

Maybe I'm doing things wrong (add to that the fact I'm completely barren when it comes to artistic skills) but I believe once I overcome these quirks or get used to them, the Tablet will allow me to improve rather consistently.

P.S. Taking the opportunity to ask...How you artist people that has been using tablet for a while handle the sideway_up and down moving/zooming in and out normally done with alt+ctrl and mouse in PS?

[Midgardsormr]

Same way: Hold down alt and drag the pen left or right across the surface. I assume you mean the behavior of the Hand Tool? I actually don't use it all that much. I use the Spacebar to activate pan and the right-hand touch strip (Intuos 2, I think the layout of the touch controls is different on more recent models) to zoom. My desk is arranged so that the tablet is between the edge of the desk and the keyboard, so I have easy access to my keys with my left hand.

A tougher control method is in the compositing software I use, where right-mouse and drag acts as a pan. I've learned to hold the button the pen down and just hover the tip above the tablet without letting it touch. 3d software has similar controls, with various combinations of command keys and right- or middle-mouse, or both.

[Jaxilon]

I use the rocker ring on the intuos to zoom in and out. I've used a keyboard short cut as well but the ring is best IMO.

Also, if I get tired of the huge arm motions to navigate my desktop there is a setting to make the desktop fit like half the tablet... Or you can use mouse mode? I'm not at my computer so can't exactly recall.

[TimPaul]

Here's my set up.

22" HD touch Cintiq. This is my work space in the studio I share with others. At home I've got the first generation Cintiq Companion. I sync files on dropbox, so that way if I have to work at home or on the weekends, or address something quickly I don't have to go into the studio to do so.

The keyboard sits on top via some velcro strips. I can take it down for when I have to type a lot. But it's perfect up there for keyboard short cuts. I don't have to turn my head to look at the keyboard. I like my monitor close to me.