Mouse vs. tablet

[Latharion]

I owned a Wacom Intuos 9x12 tablet until recently. I bought a house and the desk I was using wouldn't fit through the doorways. The desk I use at the moment is much too small for a large tablet so I sold it. I loved the tablet though. I used it for photoshop projects, CC2 projects, and 3D Studio Max projects. I really found that I preferred the tactile feel of the pen much better than a mouse for those applications. I still used my trusty MS Wireless mouse for most Windows activities though. I do miss that tablet.

Congratulations on your recent aquisition.

For me, there wasn't a large learning curve. I'd say just pick a photoshop project and use the tablet with it till you get the feel of the tablet. The only thing that threw me was the need to "tap" the pen to "click". I kept wanting to drag the pen around on the tablet to move the cursor, but you only need to hover over the tablet. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I felt the payoff was worth it. Have fun with your new tablet!

[pyrandon]

Ditto on Latharion's comments. I found it highly distracting for about 2 days, then (and now) it's like 2nd nature. You'll love it!

[jakeforddaniels]

I bought a Wacom Bamboo Fun a couple weeks ago and have been using it since for general computing as well as mapping, Photoshopping and such. I went with a cheapie because I'm not a hardcore artist (I'm a photographer, though) but I really liked the idea of a stylus instead of the cramp-inducing mouse. Also, I was mourning the end of a romantic jaunt, and new tech is always a good picker-upper.

The Bamboo Fun is small, the name's a little silly, but it fits my needs and it's really been encouraging to see the stuff in my head come out on the screen. For me, it's made that kind of intellectual transfer a little faster, a little more fun, and a little more instinctive.

[cancerlad]

A tablet is one of the things on my shopping (luxury) list. I used to be a talented young artist, but that was a long time ago, and I haven't done anything remotely similar to painting in nearly twenty years (note that I'm a shade below thirty). I'm getting back into it, and I'm excited about the prospect.

[Ascension]

The same applies for me, to some extent, as well cancerlad. I can honestly say that since I've found my long lost tablet that I haven't had as much fun since I was a kid and it has definitely brought it all back to me. No need to get some big expensive one, just one to get the juices flowin again and you will love it.

[carltinmar]

I always go for tabs. Its easier since mouse keeps on slipping off my hands.

[Coyotemax]

I always go for tabs. Its easier since mouse keeps on slipping off my hands.

you're supposed to put your hand on top of the mouse, not the other way round

[AliceBlackBow]

I find myself using both together. I have a Wacom Bamboo. It's small and sometimes a bit rough drawing long lines in one stroke, but I've got used to it. I'm relearning how to use my Bamboo and finding that the more I find out about how to better use my photoshop the more I love my tablet. That being said, I have used a mouse more and I'm for sure more comfortable with it. I feel that it all depends on preference, and there is no right or wrong when it comes to art.

So I guess my tip would be if you get a tablet, I'd watch tutorials on how to color, draw and all that before jumping in. I have fellow artists that were frustrated at first until they got the hang of using one.

[evanfuture]

I pretty much only bought my 6th gen iPad because I had seen a few tutorials on using Procreate, and it looked great. With the Pencil as well, it's all I was looking for. I mean, I haven't tried anything else, of course, but for me the power-trio of the app, tablet and stylus is all I needed to start flying. I like in particular being able to use the "Pencil brush" for a quick sketch, and then trace over more finely with a pen. It's really great now too with split-screen view for references (or just importing references into procreate directly).

[Koldveen]

Exactly tablet! It's much more comfortable than mouse and provide the widest specter of opportunities