Wacom, Wacoff. Wacom...

[strredwolf]

My Wacom Graphire 4 came in the FedEx today, and I've finished configing my system and it for each other.

So, I'm taking the week off of Stalag '99.  http://www.furaffinity.net/view/468272/ is the first thing that came out.

Tips appreciated with using a tablet!

Comments

[nikkyvix.livejournal.com]

Tip 1 (One I can pass down from when Oni gave it to me, years ago): Expect the first few pictures you make to feel really weird, unwieldy, and awkward to complete. In fact, expect your first pictures to suck. But don't stop; you've got to condition whatever part of your brain maps your artistic prowess to the use of the tablet. It'll come, eventually, depending on how much you practice.

Tip 2: Make use of your mappable buttons and get in the habit of using them! I have an Intuos 2 tablet and pen. The button closest to the nib (under the thumb) is mapped to Apple (or ctrl)-alt-Z in Photoshop, to 'Step Backwards' in the history. It takes a simple twitch of the thumb just to undo the last action(s), as opposed to using the menu dragdown or the keystrokes. This is especially useful for when you start making hundreds of small strokes, such as with a pencil or airbrush tool, and you find out 54 strokes later that you don't like where it's going. 54 clicks of a button naturally placed under your thumb is much quicker than 54 menu drags or keystrokes.

I don't understand why Photoshop separates the 'Undo' function from the 'Step Backward' function; they essentially do the same thing, after all. But hey, other programs will just use Undo instead.

Have fun, and good luck!

[strredwolf.livejournal.com]

Good ideas. Currently the buttons on the pen are mapped to Middle and Right mouse buttons. However, the Graphire 4 has two buttons and a scroll wheel on the tablet itself I can map.