To an artist, drawing is sometimes the most daily activity that you will do. It allows you to observe and record the world around you. But there is more to drawing than the traditional way of pencil or pen on paper. That way is by means of drawing straight into your computer via a digital tablet. As an artist who uses both traditional ways of creating art and also digitally, I have found that being proficient in both ways is a must for creating the images that are required in my changing illustration projects. I know it is hard to imagine for a lot of people that you can sketch directly into your graphics program, but that is because using a mouse often will leave a person more frustrated than necessary. In order to recreate the same feeling and look of traditional ways, you should invest in a good digital tablet.
For me, that has been with a Wacom Intous tablet that has treated me really well over the last three years. It has a great 12" x 9" sized drawing surface that allows for the thickness of the line on the screen to be directly related to how hard I press on the tablet. Even though this is a bulky tablet, having it next to my desktop when needed is invaluable. There is one problem though. Recently I purchased a Macbook Pro laptop to use while I am away from the studio. The problem with that is my Wacom Intous is much larger than my laptop and doesn't fit in my case. So, I decided to get a new little tablet that would be portable, yet very productive for me on the go. That tablet was the Wacom Bamboo. It has a small imprint and has a 5" x 4" drawing surface. Even though it is small, it still packs a punch with 512 levels of sensitivity on the pen and the eraser. So it still gives you great line quality and response. Plus at $99, it is very affordable for something that will assist you so much. So with that, I am anxious to dig into the new tablet and put it through its steps. PS, if you are wondering what is the best program to use with the digital tablet, it would definitely be Adobe Photoshop. I am currently running Photoshop CS3 and love it! In the images that you can see, you will definitely see the size difference in the silver Bamboo and the bluish Intous.
6 comments:
Are those buttons at the top some sort of controls?
Yeah Janet they are. They can be used to zoom in, go back, go to desktop and all sorts of stuff depending on what you program them to do.
Very cool- I have never seen what the Wacom tablets look like! How nice that they make a portable and affordable one like the Bamboo.
Hey Nina. It is nice that they make the different sizes and prices. I definitely would recommend people trying the $99 bamboo before they invest in a $500 larger one. It is so much more fun to sketch on the computer with a tablet than with a mouse!
That's so cool, Shawn! I'd like a wacom tablet someday too.
It is something that I would recommend Cynthia. It really brings the computer into a more fun and creative atmosphere. You don't feel as constrained when using the pen! Thanks for stopping by!
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