Anyone up for a 5 minute break?

[RenaissanceGirl]

Work is killing me so I took a break:

Wacom Graphire + Photoshop + 5 minutes =

http://www.geocities.com/renaissancegerl/photos/031118.txt

[APDesign]

Nice, I've been looking at getting a Wacom.. Its cool you can do that kind of stuff with them.. I'd like to test run one first, but I don't know anyone with one :-\

[replode]

oooooohh, very nice. we do tons of hands in drawing, and it takes some skill to master it, i've been trying to draw hands for about a year, and progress is slow. but anyways, thats a nice job for a 5 minute break :)

[mdipi]

hmm you a lefty like me? if so cool, how do oyu stand using a wacom? its hard for me cause i tilt the paper, but i cant tilt the wacom...

[Ranoka]

Great job rengirl! You got a talent there :)

Trust me APD, if you use your computer creatively, you really want a Wacom!

I've got a Graphire 2, and wish I got one sooner!

I love using the pen to draw and clean up scans etc. Its great for drawing in flash.

And the mouse is the best I've ever had. No ball, No optical sensor, No batteries, No cable! Nothing to get annoyed with.

Problem now is I hate using other input devices, the mice at Uni are horrible!

[DDD]

a wacom is a life saver when using brushes and stuff in PS. I have yet to use mine with painter to hard for me to drop pencil and paper.......gj mate!

[Ranoka]

mine was £75, i think thats about $125 USD dollars... but I think they are a bit cheaper in the states compared to here :(

[comicGeek]

Ren your "sketch" moved me to reply! :D

[RenaissanceGirl]

Thanks for the replies.

ADP: If you are a Photoshop junkie... a Wacom is essential. I never got to try one beforehand... but I took my chances and got the most affordable tablet. Needless to say, I fell totally in love with it!

Replode: hands are fun to draw because when the urge to sketch strikes me, I have a model right there!

dipi: yup... left hander here. You can tilt the Wacom... I sit back and draw with it on my lap sometimes. But it does take some getting use to - I had a hard time looking up at the screen and not my writing hand in the beginning.

Ranoka: the Graphire is a great tablet isn't it? I have the Graphire and an Intuos now. I use the Graphire at work or when I'm on the road since it's easy to carry around. The bigger Intuos stays at home.

DDD: I haven't gotten into Painter either. I just prefer Photoshop and that pretty much does the trick for me.

Phil: Ummm... I've been drawing all my life... so I guess it all started with stick figures when I was 5-ish years old...

comicGeek: :) Thanks. I've had such a long dry spell and I haven't even completed a sketch on my Intuos (a sad way to let $300 upwards collect dust). I hope this gets the ball rolling and I have more to post and I can start participating in the D&D forums again.

[comicGeek]

:)

[APDesign]

What kind of Intuos do you have? It seems like 4 x 5 inches (or however big the Graphire 2 is) is not really enough space to draw... am I wrong in assuming this? I realize you can change where the origin is, but wouldn't it be a lot easier with a larger tablet? Is there much of a delay or anything while drawing with one? I think that would annoy me pretty fast.

edit: Oh yeah - do you HAVE to use the pen as your mouse? I would definently not be into that!

[APDesign]

If anyone is interested, I found this on amazon - you can get a refurbished Graphire II for $80 - now that is darn tempting...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/B00005U240/all/ref=dp_pb_a/102-9090911-2038506

Seller is apparently reliable.

edit: even better!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2766518539&category=3680

but its through ebay :-\
Don't tell all your friends though, or the 20 will be gone and I won't get one :(

[Ranoka]

APD,
No, you dont have to always use the pen, I'm using the mouse at the moment for browsing.

As long as your computer isn't a dinosaur, and you aren't using a really complex brush, then it shouldn't lag.

Personally I prefer using a smaller tablet, the problem with the big ones is you have to move your arm more to draw with it, because when you draw you generally have the tablet mapped to the monitor. If you want to draw small detail, I prefer to zoom in on photoshop or flash.

Oh, and I'm using 2 monitors, and i have the mouse mapped to both, and the pen mapped to the first one, that way when I'm drawing it keeps the right aspect ratio.

[RenaissanceGirl]

ADP: Ranoka pretty much answered your question. I believe all tablets come with a pen and a mouse. And you can even have your regular mouse hooked up simultaneously if you prefer. I still use my regular old optical wireless as my mouse... I don't know... I guess I'm just too used to it. Just be sure to have the pen away from the tablet while you are trying to use any mouse, otherwise your computer will get confused as to which pointer to listen to.

As for delay time... there can be sometimes... like Ranoka said, it depends on your computer but it also depends on the file you are working on. Personally when I'm working on a small 72 dpi file, there is no lag at all. But when it is a huge panoramic set to 300 dpi, there will be some lag time.

As for Intuos vs Graphire - Ranoka is right... for some people, a smaller tablet is actually better than a bigger tablet because you won't have to extend your arm too much. You eventually forget you are working on a small tablet when you get used to the mapped pen mode and zooming in and out of your doodles.

I'm a petite person and the Graphire served me nicely for a long time. But I decided to take it to the next level and bought an Intuos 6x8. The few extra inches are useful when I'm composing. It's also more pressure sensitive and produces smoother strokes. When I quickly drew circles with my Graphire, I noticed the curve would break into straight lines in some parts.

http://www.geocities.com/renaissancegerl/photos/sample1.txt

That's how it is on my 1.8 gig Pentium4/512 mhz Ram PC... I'm not down with the times - is this considered "ancient?" I got the same result with my PC at home which is 900 meg Athlon/256 mhz Ram - that's probably ancient.

It would be much smoother with the Intuos. I'll try to post samples using that when I get home. Anyway, that's just me being picky right there. The Graphire is great and most people probably don't need to spend double the amount upwards for the Intuos.

[APDesign]

cool, I would probably stay with the mouse I have.. I like it. I have a 2.1ghz so I'm not too worried about delay because of the computer itself. The breaking probably isn't that bad since don't plan on drawing really fast (how fast did you draw it?) I've pretty much decided I'll pick up the Graphire2, maybe I'll upgrade if I get really into it. :thumb:

[RenaissanceGirl]

Originally posted by APDesign
maybe I'll upgrade if I get really into it. :thumb:

That was my plan exactly!

[APDesign]

And now that I think about it, the size will probably be great for taking to and from my college. Too bad it doesnt come in some sort of carrying case.. and I don't see any available.

[RenaissanceGirl]

Geez... we are on the same wavelength because I was thinking the same thing when I got my Graphire! I just found a decent size drawstring bag and put it in there. I would feel better if I had a case that had a pocket for the stylus though. I almost lost it on two occasions from it falling out of the drawstring bag!

If you have a laptop, the Graphire is perfect.

[Ranoka]

When I'm making money, I'd love to get an Intuos, but right now, the Graphire does just the job I need.

I haven't needed a carry case for my tablet, but thats because I don't have have a laptop yet... can't afford one... maybe when I'm earning...

[APDesign]

I don't have a laptop either, but all the schools computers have USB ports. I would like to get a laptop when I get a job, but its so annoying that laptops are twice the price for half the power [of a desktop.] For some reason I wanted a PDA for awhile, and I have no idea why... I REALLY don't need a PDA and the fact that I actually was looking into buying one is ridiculous... I snapped out of it pretty quick though:D Hopefully I'll order the Graphire soon, but I might try to pull it off as a birthday present since my birthday is on the 5th of decmeber (for some reason when I signed up here I put it as the 12th... oh well.)

[RenaissanceGirl]

Here's todays' break:

http://www.geocities.com/renaissancegerl/photos/031119.txt

Okay... the fangs look weird. I thought there was too much yellow so I tried to mix in some greens and browns and then... blah... forget it.

[Ranoka]

http://www.hiylea.com/pics/monkeybrella.gif

hehe, I thought i'd do a quick doodle. It turned out I drew a monkey holding an umbrella.

Looks happy though :)

[RenaissanceGirl]

I LOVE IT! :D

[Ranoka]

hehe :D

I love doodling, and I love my imagination.

I'm working on an animation for my uni course, I'll show you lot when its ready (probably in a couple of days) :) This brief has been great, doing stuff I want to do in my spare time :D

[ironikart]

I bought a cheap tablet from **** Smith (aussie multi-purpose electrical store) for AU$80, which I suppose equates to about US$55.

I had previously wanted a wacom, but brand names arent everything. The one I got works exactly the same, plus its about 1/3 the price

[Ranoka]

I got a cheaper tablet before I got a Wacom, and it was horrible... the pointer would jiggle around while you were drawing, and windows wouldn't even detect it half the time.

I'm glad I got round to getting a Wacom, so much more reliable, and the drivers allow you to map the pen on one screen, thats something the Wintel one wouldn't let me do!

[APDesign]

lol! I like the monkey too. Its funny that its holding the umbrella with its foot :D. That fanged thing is cool too ren girl. I don't know if I'm going to have those skills though.. I'll probably draw a lot more once I get my wacom though. Drawing freehand was never really my forte, but I still enjoy it.

[RenaissanceGirl]

The system was down yesterday morning sparing me a few minutes for a quick break:

http://www.geocities.com/renaissancegerl/photos/031124.txt

I know the little boy on the right has an awkward face. I kind of like how this one started... I might just pick it apart again.. add more detail and maybe even color... we'll see.

[Coppertop]

yeah, I dunno. I think using a tablet would be kinda disorienting, because when I'm drawing I like to look at what I'm drawing. I much prefer just drawing it on paper and scanning it in. When I finnally get arround to finishing V2 of my site, I'll have a sketch gallery. The only advantage I can think of with a tablet is that it would put it into comp data so you could manipulate it easier.

[DDD]

man! my friends wife just bought him (with his money) a wacom that has all the screen stuff actually on the tablet. I think it is the cintiq. Man this thing is sweet..........*working out a plot for it to come up missing as we speak*......Oh yeah gj Ren. I am still a paper and pencil man. ALthough I have experimented with painting on my wacom.

Ren do you use painter 7?

[RenaissanceGirl]

Coppertop: to each his own I guess. I sometimes like doing the pen/paper thing... but I really like the challenge and possibilities of drawing with a tablet. Once you get the hand/eye coordination thing down, it's pretty easy and becomes second nature. And you can keep your eyes on your drawing - just keep your eyes on the screen. I never look down at my hand on the tablet... I just keep my eyes on the screen and remember mouse cursor = pen. I wonder if that made sense.

DDD: yup... that sounds like a Cintiq to me. Those things are so incredibly expensive... I don't see myself ever getting one. I'd like to play around with one though. I tried Painter 7. I can tell it's a very powerful tool but I just couldn't get the hang of the interface. I gave up on it for now... but who knows. I might pick it up later and fall totally in love with it (like Photoshop).

[comicGeek]

Another beauty that came from the very pores of a true artist! Another good one ren! :thumb:

[APDesign]

Great sketch!! I will have my wacom on or before the 5th of december. I'll be sure to post my (HORRIBLE) drawings here when I make them :D. I don't draw that often right now, and I think having the wacom will make it eaiser to just "doodle" as I sit by the computer.. thats the main reason I want to get one, that and "undo" lol. I also like the fact that I won't have to scan crap. Would you really want to make a flash animation with individually scanned drawings? I know I wouldnt. Keey up the good work though ren! :thumb:

(nice site by the way - I just saw it now. VERY impressive drawing with the wacom!!! and out of curiosity, how much DHTML and PHP do you know? I don't know if I should advertise that I have those skills, when I don't know them as well as say... actionscript :D)

[Mik3]

Very very good!

[Coppertop]

Ren: Yeah, I guess I would get used to it after a while. *shrugs* Nice drawings.

[comicGeek]

http://www.keldesigned.com/test/awakening.jpg
That's for you ren! :) Your drawing reminded me of what I love to do. So thanks!

[Ranoka]

Probably more like 1 minute break



I posted it as .swf cos its only 2.25 KB, would be bigger if I rasterised it...

[APDesign]

heh, you like the monkeys eh? When are you going to make more of those serial killer shorts? That one was funny!

[RenaissanceGirl]

Nice.

Comicgeek - I like the use of light and shadows and empty space.

Ranoka - I love these monkeys of yours. I think a series of themed monkey sketches would be fun!

[Ranoka]

Why have I been drawing monkeys? Well when I ask my friend what to draw, she tells me to draw a monkey! hehe

APD, I am planning on doing some more Strait Jack shorts, but I am working on a much bigger project!

Oh, and I've been playing around with the monkey, now its got some lip synching going on, I'm going to play with it some more, to make it move around too.

The Monkey Sway (http://hiylea.com/flash/monkeysway.html) << click here :)

[comicGeek]

ren: thanks! :)
ranoka: LMAO....... hahahah very nice and cute!

[APDesign]

lol! your voice acting is so perfect Ranoka!!!

[Ranoka]

Thanks APD & CG :D

Why don't you do a quick doodle or something, would like to see :)

Ren, I really like your sketches, and I think yours was really good too CG!

[APDesign]

I will, I just ordred my Wacom today, woo hoo!!! I decided to go for the Graphire 3 instead of the Graphire 2, The Graphire 2 was only like $10 cheaper, AND I got free shipping on the Graphire 3... The Graphire 3 doesnt seem all that better than the 2 though, except it has a higher resolution. I ordered it today and the estimated arrival date is Dec 9th, unfortunately that is 4 days after my birthday :(.

[Ranoka]

Cool, so we'll be seeing some of your doodles soon too! :)

[APDesign]

Yep, and hopefully it won't take me that long to get used to it.

[mdipi]

yo that was so funny!

oo! i'm the monkey sway...YAY!

[Ranoka]

ooh, oooh! I am the monkey, and I'm doing the Monkey Sway. Yay!

[APDesign]

http://www.dujodu.com/wacom.jpg
MWHAHAHAHH It is all mine as of about 1 hour ago. Funny first sketch.

edit:

Ok, I've been using it a little bit longer now (not that much, I had to go somewhere pretty much right after I posted that drawing.. this thing is amazing!!!! It's going to be so much easier/more productive to make stuff that requires drawing. I was a little suprised at how hard you had to press to get the "full" powered brush, were any of you guys suprised by that? Maybe I'm just a wimp, but I don't want to break the tip of my "pencil." Ahhh, Wacom.. where have you been all of my life!

[comicGeek]

Here's another one I did!
http://www.keldesigned.com/test/Awakening-2.jpg
Guess what tool I used?




Good old fashioned optical mouse with no mouse pad + keyboard shortcuts! :D

[APDesign]

Hey, if you like drawing comicGeek (you obviously do).. I would HIGHLY suggest you get a wacom man, its so insanely cool!!! I'm pretty impressed with customizable pop-up menu that you can assign to the buttons on the stylus. Once you get used to it, clicking/double clicking becomes pretty easy too, I was suprised how natural it felt.. I figured there would be a bigger learning curve as far as being able to control it well.

[Ranoka]

You can customise the setting of the Wacom. You can make it so that you don't have to push the pen that hard to make it on full pressure... under tip pressure feel on the Wacom Tablet Properties program...

So you can adjust it to a sensetivity you are happy with. :)

[comicGeek]

You know what? I really wanted too. It's just too expensive. I just got a new PC and I'm currently in a monetary pinch. Also I still love drawing using a pencil, pens, and paper then color it in Photoshop! I am doing it this way eversince and I'm quite comfortable since I memorize alot of the keyboard shortcuts! Having a tablet would be really nice though and a good addition to your peripherals. :)

[RenaissanceGirl]

Hey guys!

Nice one ADP - and congrats on your new tablet. It looks like you are having lots of fun :)

comicGeek - **** you for being that good with a regular mouse! :P

Ranoka - I have one of my pen buttons customized to "ctrl+z" for a quick and easy way out of messy situations!

Argh... I wanted to make this a regular thing... but work suddenly picked up. Hopefully I'll have some time to spare this week.

[comicGeek]

hehehe :D :panda:

[APDesign]

I was talking with my friend about some guy who lives above her, and I decided to try and draw him (even though I haven't seen him) Apparently he is blind and really disgusting and is always being questioned by the police. Here's my rendition.
http://www.dujodu.com/sketches/him.jpg

edit:

And a little color to make him all the more nasty.

http://www.dujodu.com/sketches/him2.jpg

[comicGeek]

hahaha, man that sure is a questionable face! Nice work AP! :thumb:

[mdipi]

lol. AP good job.

i should take a 5 minuet break soon, maybe i will. sounds good.

We should make a collab, everyone does a 5 min piece and then we combine them to make a quilt like thing.

[APDesign]

lol. It would be funny to see my ugly dude with ranokas monkey, thats for sure.

[Vexir]

god i have got to bug my dad into getting me a graphire 3 for christmas... its been on my 'wish list' forever... and hes all for it too, he just never gets around to it.

[APDesign]

You totally should, it is awesome. :thumb:

then you can share your crazy old dude sketches.

[Vexir]

Let the dad manipulation begin... (im so good at that, i talked my way into a gamecube...)