tell me it's going to be ok eventually.... (Wacom tablet)

edited February 2009 in advice
so, i bartered for a used Wacom tablet. this guy got one and hated it. i traded an oil painting and 25 bux for it.

Wacom Intuos3 6x8. he bought it a month ago, i've had it for a week.

it's not a bit like using a pencil or pen :(

the "hover" stuff is driving me nutso, and ...... lots of awkward . LOTS

my first question is... might it help to remap the interface area to just the application window for stylus use, and just go ahead and use a mouse and keyboard for the rest of work ?

and.... i always work at an angle, and this thing's square on. would it help to remap askew?

Comments

  • takes a while t get used to. i still switch between mouse and pen and have disabled the click button on the pen.
    i also work at an angle. find it works best for me to have the tablet on my lap at an angle and sit back from the screen a bit. i have also experimented with putting thin sheets of paper over the tablet to get different degrees of friction.

    it will be ok (not like a real pen or brush perhaps, but there are other pluses).
    good luck!
  • edited 10:31PM
    i use one exclusively, both work and home. i map the tablet to the entire screen. i've recently purchased a friction pad for the one at work (though, not really for it's friction-ess). i struggle to use a mouse now.
  • edited 10:31PM
    I'm converted. I started using one late last year, and now totally feel comfortable. It's advisable to play around with the settings - you won't get them right straight away - and eventually it should all come together. Takes about a week - but you really should force yourself to use it for all tasks, otherwise your brain mindset will continue to emulate mouse behaviour.
  • edited February 2009
    same as chris - minus the "friction-pad" :)
    tablet ftw, no mouse will give that ease of use after you get used to the pen...
    there is however certain lack of precision - in pointing the very pixel you really want, but it's nothing you can't get used to...
  • edited 10:31PM
    I've always used one exclusively...but not that much for drawing these days. I have it mapped across two screens, but if I were working in PS all day I'd possibly cut it down to the screen with the workspace on it, although it does feel awkward to me to do that now. I'd probably draw what I wanted on paper and then loosely trace over it without looking at my screen at all if I wanted to get some linework in there.

    Over the years I've kept the tablet off to my right side turned about 30 degrees clockwise, and I can only really work comfortably with it when it's out of the way over there. I've tried putting it right in front of me and I end up completely disoriented, like a cat with no whiskers. All my non-drawing-related work I can accomplish without thinking, and if I do have to draw I just look at the screen and ignore my hand scrabbling away somewhere off to the side, though it's not my favourite thing to do. If it has to be particularly accurate rather than gestural, I'll sketch it out beforehand (it's nice to have a hard copy of work in progress anyway, I find), move the keyboard out of the way, grab the tablet and trace away with it in front of me but without looking at the screen (beyond establishing that what I'm tracing is going to fit on there). When it's roughly there I put the tablet back off to the side and begin fine-tuning the picture in my usual not-looking-at-or-thinking-about-what-my-hand-may-be-doing manner.

    I'd really like to try a Cintiq... I'm curious to see if drawing on a screen would be just like paper for me, or if I'd just have to recalibrate my brain to jettison my years of having my hand off to one side...
  • edited February 2009
    M
  • edited 10:31PM
    blueshead said...M
    ...I like that.
  • edited 10:31PM
    mondo said...
    blueshead said...M
    ...I like that.
    Hey Mondo.. My problem is I upgraded a friend from 10.4 to10.5.. It killed his Wacom.. And Wacom is blaming it on Apple

    (Wacom Intuos3) He's been on the Phone to Wacom.. Assholes

    I'm not ready to reinstall his whole system.. It's The last 7 days of Mardi Gras here.. Any Ideas?
  • edited 10:31PM
    I'm still on 10.4, and I only really use the tablet here at work (PC) 'cos the last thing I want to do at home is work on a computer...but I'd be surprised if it couldn't be fixed with a download of the appropriate drivers from Wacom... did he do that before he got on the phone to them..? heh. mick's on 10.5, is she not? In fact, just about everyone who has posted here would be, so I'm sure there's a fix unless his tablet's given up the ghost... they seem to last forever (since 1999 here), but I'm sure they have to be replaced eventually.

    Or... if the drivers have already been upgraded, make sure there's not an "emergency tablet override" setting that's been checked in the Input Devices bit of the System Preferences... or something... heh. Continue with the festivities! why are you even here?!:happy:
  • edited 10:31PM
    just dug mine out after a long holiday (cuppla years)

    will see how i get on with it CADwise
  • edited 10:31PM
    i have an intuos 3 running on tigger here at work, and an old graphire at home on leotard.
  • edited 10:31PM
    yep

    10.5.6 (most satisfying upgrade in a long time. my prized Snood (loading under Rosetta) was taking almost a minute to load, now takes 3 seconds.

    blues'... don't you disconnect all peripherals before an OS update? i bet it's just a driver issue. Wacom likes its drivers to be uninstalled before upgrades (i read that on their site).

    i'm somewhat reassured by all your experiences; i know i'm almost as smart as most of you.


    there's not really room in my little "office" cubby to sit back with a tablet on my lap. i will try to use it all the time, but i insist on my mouse for the little games i play when i'm on the phone. using the stylus is NOT relaxing.


    paper? over the tablet? the instructions say nothing about that. in fact, i re-read them last night, and it says nothing about touching the stylus to the surface at all except the brief touchdown to click something. it says to hover.

    so confusing, but i'll keep with it. even with barter, this was a big expense, and i refuse to be wasteful.
  • edited February 2009
    http://www.fazyluckers.com/discussion/3960/so-i-just-bought-a-replacement-overlay-for-my-wacom/

    i think this "hovering" is going to throw you off a bit. lift the tip slightly, but drag the tip of your finger on the surface. of course, i do that, but i've still worn the pad a bit, thought it best to get an overlay on it sooner rather than later.

    in fact, my graphire came with an overlay, i'm unsure why the intuos didn't.
  • edited 10:31PM
    maybe i should get an overlay.

    is it special? i just tried a clear piece of plastic over the surface, and it works fine.

    dragging a fingertip, eh? that seems worthwhile. steadier.
  • edited 10:31PM
    the overlay is a piece of plastic (with some double-sided sticky tape). grrr.
  • edited 10:31PM
    i have double-sided sticky tape!!! :D

    i don't notice any change in the "texture" with the plastic overlay. chris, you are referring to a "feel" with the stylus, yes?



    a question for you, mondo... do you use the "drag a fingertip" technique? it seems to help.... some.

    heh nothing much helps at this point, but i do know that it's true that if you do something a certain way for 3 weeks (ish) it starts to feel right.
  • edited 10:31PM
    umm...I just use it exactly as I would a pen; I'm not sure what the dragging technique is. I use my thumb to click the button, if that helps...right-click closest to the nib and middle-click closer to the "eraser"
  • edited 10:31PM
    i've never had a middle click. isn't it a "click and hold"?

    ........pretty frustrated. it's like trying to draw with my elbow. i guess i could go all abstract-y.

    perseverance furthers; no blame... usually.

    nnnng....
  • edited 10:31PM
    there wont be any texture difference if the plastic you overlay has the same finish as the tablet ;)
  • edited 10:31PM
    i have sandpaper.

    so, half a piece of "document cover" plastic, 5 cm of tape, and some 400 grit.... ;) got it.
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