Wacom Tablets
by Eugene Goh · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 04/12/2005 (7:07 pm) · 24 replies
After seeing an artist's art with and without a graphics tablet, I was impressed at what it could achieve.... so, I went out and got one myself a few days ago!
My background however, is a programmer, trying to get into the art side of things, so I don't really have any formal art training per se. Having been through the tutorials at the Wacom website, and the one tutorial at Deviant Art, I can't help but wondering if there are techniques I'm missing. Most of the tutorials however, appear to be more on photo retouching rather than content creation.
My question is.... are there any other good reference for techniques with which employ the tablet? In essence, what do I not know that I don't know? Once I have that down, at least I can research and experiment with a bit more focus.
Thanks in advance!
My background however, is a programmer, trying to get into the art side of things, so I don't really have any formal art training per se. Having been through the tutorials at the Wacom website, and the one tutorial at Deviant Art, I can't help but wondering if there are techniques I'm missing. Most of the tutorials however, appear to be more on photo retouching rather than content creation.
My question is.... are there any other good reference for techniques with which employ the tablet? In essence, what do I not know that I don't know? Once I have that down, at least I can research and experiment with a bit more focus.
Thanks in advance!
About the author
#22
I couldn't find Betty Edwards' book in the bookshop, only the workbook supplement. But I managed to walk away with "Drawing for Older Children and Teens" by Mona Brookes. So far I'm very satsified with my progress. I've been doing the exercises both on paper as well as on the tablet.
I've also signed up with Lynda.com for a month, and am following the Corel Painter tutorials. Very comprehensive, with lots of tablet tips too. The only downside is that the videos can't be downloaded for offline viewing. But $25 is a steal, and once the knowledge is in my head, I don't think I'll be referring to the videos. A 30 day trial of Painter can be had off the Corel website, and it's starting to look better than Photoshop for dabbling and experimenting.
I looked at the Gnomon site, but it seems a little out of my league for now. Perhaps I'll have another look at a later date.
A big thank you to all of you for your advice and guidance, esp Teck Lee and Joe for pointing the way!
04/23/2005 (12:10 am)
As an update to you guys....I couldn't find Betty Edwards' book in the bookshop, only the workbook supplement. But I managed to walk away with "Drawing for Older Children and Teens" by Mona Brookes. So far I'm very satsified with my progress. I've been doing the exercises both on paper as well as on the tablet.
I've also signed up with Lynda.com for a month, and am following the Corel Painter tutorials. Very comprehensive, with lots of tablet tips too. The only downside is that the videos can't be downloaded for offline viewing. But $25 is a steal, and once the knowledge is in my head, I don't think I'll be referring to the videos. A 30 day trial of Painter can be had off the Corel website, and it's starting to look better than Photoshop for dabbling and experimenting.
I looked at the Gnomon site, but it seems a little out of my league for now. Perhaps I'll have another look at a later date.
A big thank you to all of you for your advice and guidance, esp Teck Lee and Joe for pointing the way!
#23
Btw, if you want to check out a nice app to dabble and experiment with, check out Ambient Design's ArtRage. It's a free natural media simulator that's a lot of fun to use. Its interface is extremely clutter-free (the closest comparison I can think of is Alias' Sketchbook Pro), and while it's not nearly as feature-rich as Painter, it's also not as resource-intensive. The best bit is, the paint simulation is fantastic, right down to the ability to mix your paints on the canvas. :)
04/23/2005 (12:18 am)
Always happy to help out, and glad you're making progress. :)Btw, if you want to check out a nice app to dabble and experiment with, check out Ambient Design's ArtRage. It's a free natural media simulator that's a lot of fun to use. Its interface is extremely clutter-free (the closest comparison I can think of is Alias' Sketchbook Pro), and while it's not nearly as feature-rich as Painter, it's also not as resource-intensive. The best bit is, the paint simulation is fantastic, right down to the ability to mix your paints on the canvas. :)
#24
04/23/2005 (1:11 am)
Just tried it, that was pretty neat! While I do miss the ability to rotate the canvas, and the tilt sensitivity, I liked the simplicity. Nothing to worry about, just put pen to tablet and off you go! As you said, fun fun! 
Associate Tom Spilman
Sickhead Games