Any gfx artists here?

[Ryuno]

Wondering if I can get some advice. Want to get into drawing a bit more seriously.

One route I have is to get a 300dpi+ scanner and sketch on pads and scan them in, but thats afair bit of effort and I would have to learn about pencil ranges and inking and buy a scanner.

My second option, which I think I am going with, is to get a tablet pad for my PC, which is basically a drawing pad you connect to the PC with a pen, that you can use to sketch directly onto the PC.

I'm just wondering if anyone has used/knows about them, and can give me any advice in buying one?

One i'm looking atm is this:

Amazon.co.uk: Wacom Graphire4 Classic A6 Tablet & Pen USB Mac & Win: Electronics & Photo

which is meant to be pretty good.

Cheers

 

[old.Tohtori]

I'd test a few out at a local store, just to see the reaction time.

Some are APPAULING at it. You start drawing, go have a cup of coffee and the line is halfway done.

Only thing that really matters with those things.

Also, bigger ain't better. Usually just f*cks up things 'cause you basicly need a forklift to get it on your table.

It's a small process to learn it, but it's a great tool for a GFX artist. Almost a must have.

Sadly i only got this ageold biga** wacom table and it's one of those draggers. Need to invest in a new one soon.

 

[Ryuno]

mm thanks I was thinking bigger would be better, but thats good to know.

I haven't really got any shops near me that sell any, so i'm pretty much forced to order one. Will see how it goes.

 

[Thorwyn]

If you´re going for an artpad... DO NOT.. and I repeat do NOT buy anything but Wacom.
Personally, I never use a tablet. I used to work as a 2D artist, mainly with Photoshop.. and never really missed anything. In our GFX department, it´s a 50:50 situation. Some are using a tablet, some aren´t. Ironically, the "better" artists are working with a mouse. (No E-Peen flexing.. I`m not working in this dpt. anymore).
Oh.. and forget about sketching on your PC. It doesn´t work, trust me.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM.

 

[Ingafgrinn Macabre]

Christ, had a huge post going, and it appears that for some reason I didn't send it

Anyway, that wacom tablet, I like it. It works decently, but the A6 is a tad too small. A5 is much better.
Also, the hardplastic cover is too smooth and too hard to draw comfortably.

I've got a Wacom Graphire 2, about A6 size, and it's pretty good, and still works after years of usage. No drawinglag at all. Where your pen is, is where your cursor is.

The pens in Wacom tablets don't use a battery, and that's extremely nice. Drawing with a topheavy pen becomes pretty uncomfortable after a while. They draw their power from a tiny spool in the pen, that's a bit above the tip. The location sensor is also about there. These pens don't have a tilt sensor, which causes the cursor to deviate from the pentip location slightly, when banking the pen. This might be annoying if you often trace pictures or drawings placed under the transparent cover. Won't be too much of a problem if you draw freehand, looking at the screen.

Wacom Volito -- Seems to be similar to the Graphire, but without transparent cover for tracing images, and with a bit rougher top. Might draw nicer if the lag is similar. Looks nicer though
Wacom Intuos -- More advanced, with 1024 pressurelevels, more buttons on the pad, tiltingsensor in pad etc etc etc.
Wacom Cintiq -- Like intuos, but with LCD screen in the pad, so you're actually drawing on the screen. Very nice.

Overall, yeah, I like a pad. Also better to prevent RSI (or to prevent it from getting worse).

Only have experience with several of the Graphire pads, and me like, although the graphire4 cover is a bit too hard and slippery for my taste.

 

[Ryuno]

Thanks for the advice guys.

For now i've decided to stick with my mouse and buy myself a scanner to scan my sketches in. Will see how that goes, but i'm pretty conformtable with my mouse and photoshop, its just sketching I r teh suck at

 

[pikeh]

ive got one of those Wacom tablets, but got an A4 one, as I find I need much more space to draw. Its great to use, no drawing lag, just takes a while to get use to the control of the pen. think its a pretty safe bet if you go for any of Wacoms latest models.

also, get a copy of Adobe Illustrator CS2 (I leave it up to you how you want to get hold of a copy), scan your pics in, import them to illustrator and use the Live Trace tool to easily vectorise your drawings. makes em scaleable as im sure you know.

 

[Ryuno]

I've got a legal copy of Illustrator (7 i think) somewhere. Will have to check that out, thanks

 

[pikeh]

I've got a legal copy of Illustrator (7 i think) somewhere. Will have to check that out, thanks

the live trace thing was only implemented in CS1 or 2. its definately in 2 :>

 

[Ryuno]

the live trace thing was only implemented in CS1 or 2. its definately in 2 :>

ah.. doh