No Tablet!

[Denis]

Is there anyone on this forum who doesn't use a tablet? How much better does the software work with one? Can one accomplish good things without? How hard is it to learn to use one?

[Taros]

Tablet is a must, when working with sculpting software or painting images. There is nothing to explain.

There is not much to learn. If you can use a casual pen, then you will be able to use a tablet pen. It is a little bit different to a mouse, because the mouse pointer position is always at the teblet pen position and can't be "pushed". This is what I always realise, when people are using a tablet pen for the first time. They try to "push" the mouse pointer over the screen, like with a pc mouse.

[Calabi]

Its the difference between using your fist and your finger and thumb. Much more precision, and its more confortable over longer times.

I'd say its easier to learn and to use a tablet, as(if if you've ever been to school)you will already have been taught. A mouse is illogical and confusing compared to a tablet with one to one mapping.

[philnolan3d]

Yes a tablet is a must, the biggest reason is the pressure sensitivity I think. A mouse is either clicked or not clicked, a stylus has many levels of pressure in between those. If they seem to expensive try looking at Wacom's Bamboo or Bamboo Fun models or look on eBay or Craig's List for an older Graphire model. I do recommend a larger one but I have a 4x5 Graphire 3 that I keep in my laptop bag and it works just fine. For my desk I have a 6x8 Intuos 3.

[Javis]

I cannot use a sculpting program with out a tablet/stylus. Mice to me are actually quite useless for any sculpting application.

[Denis]

In Canada I can get a bamboo pen & touch for about $70.00. Any Intous are really pricey here. Maybe I'll start with a bamboo.

[3d_sculptress]

hi, Denis...if you're a student, or have children interested in 3d that are students, check out this site ;

(my intuos 4 medium was app. 400 bucks, but would only be $269.00 with student discount..so quite a bit of savings there....and the reg price for the bamboo fun is $199.00, but is only $138.95 with the student discount)

http://www.studentex...show/wacom.html

Bamboo Tablet + Pen (A6) Student

£53.12

Bamboo Fun Tablet + Pen (A5) Student

£138.95

Graphire Wireless Tablet (A5) Student

£138.95

Intuos4 Medium Student

£269.73

.......................................

[Calabi]

Bamboos are perfect, thats the one I use.

[Taros]

A bamboo is completely ok for hobby users and sculpting only artists.

Artists who illustrates on the computer should look for an intuos.

[splodge]

I have a tablet but I always use the mouse.

Perhaps I spent too many years playing FPS games, but a mouse is like a part of me now. I use the mouse to eat my dinner and pick my nose...

[JimB]

I have a tablet but I always use the mouse.

Perhaps I spent too many years playing FPS games, but a mouse is like a part of me now. I use the mouse to eat my dinner and pick my nose...

Disgusting absolutely disgusting you actually use the mouse to eat your dinner.

[lc8b105]

You can get more fun not only in 3D-Coat, but also 2D apps such as Photoshop with a Tablet because of the pen pressure sensitivity.

[philnolan3d]

Yes the new Photoshop even has these cool 3D brushes that recognize which direction the stylus is tilting, just like a real paint brush.

Here's a preview from before CS5 came out that shows it:

[Javis]

Yes the new Photoshop even has these cool 3D brushes that recognize which direction the stylus is tilting, just like a real paint brush.

Here's a preview from before CS5 came out that shows it:

That's cool.

It's the reason I've been using Corel Painter for so long, it has had excellent tablet/stylus support.

[michalis]

BUY A TABLET !!!

Back in '96. My first wacom. A serial one (its not working anymore) . Adobe Illustrator. And great vector illustrations printed in books.

I never was a fun of corelpainter or Ps (for illustrations I mean) as these simulate real painting mediums. I find that a scanner can do the job better (using some nice watercolors or oils or pencils). The clean vector ink feel is something else.

But as sculpture needs a large studio, makes lot of noise (and dirt) etc, here came digital 3d and a new tablet is a must. I found that wide bamboo is fine so far, never tried an expensive intuo though, who knows. I use the mouse too for 3d constructions or when in retopo room. A good mouse is a must too (logitechG5). For macusers, stay away from apple mouses. A magic wang out of the magic castle, in plain sunlight, is just a wooden stick. (Wittgenstein's philosophy)

[Psmith]

Gentlefolk:

Though I own a Wacom Cintiq, I hardly ever use it, even for sculpting. I work mostly on my laptop and have used mice since 1985, constantly. I find that they offer some control that a stylus, extended from the end of wobbly fingers cannot match. True, it can be likened to using your fist, but for many "regular", non-sketching operations, (like using the "curves" tool in 3D-Coat, the "Move" tool, etc.), it can be a better choice. It really amounts to what you have grown used to. Also, unlike a fist, I use my mouse with my fingers, (it is a small, notebook mouse), which offers similar dexterity to a stylus.

There is also the matter of workspace navigation and brush settings: I can, without trying to reach awkward stylus buttons, pan, zoom,rotate around my sculpture, adjust brush size and depth intensity without even thinking much about it. For "blocking in" operations, (which tend to occupy a great deal of time when using voxels), a direct interface connection, that the mouse supplies, really makes things advance smoothly with little fuss.

Many of us older guys still like to use the mouse and find it an absolute necessity, (especially when moving between applications). Have you ever tried whipping out your tablet and stylus and using it with your laptop in an environment like a coffee house - trying to balance the tablet next to, on top of or beside your laptop, trying desperately not to interfere with the keyboard? Talk about a disembodied, disconnected graphic experience! The mouse is a simple and direct interface between your mind, your hand and your computer - exactly fitting the function for which it was designed in the first place.

There are a few voxel and surface tools that do benefit from the use of subtle, varying pressure that a stylus and a tablet are excellent at applying, but, there are many mouse oriented work-arounds. What I'm trying to point out is that modeling and sculpting and retopologizing and texturing are all connected and involve using many tools, menus and movements that the mouse is simply more efficient at performing. It's simple, it's cheap, it's highly functional.

I don't know if any of you have seen how many thick cords, junction points and boxes and unsightly cables that a Wacom Cintiq possesses, but it is absolutely outrageous and impractical for mobile use, (though I have done it).

Now, I don't want to boast, but, just for kicks, I'd love to participate in a sculpting competition that is time based, in person, with some of you stylus wielding young whipper snappers, sometime - (hey, maybe at Siggraph).

Anybody want to buy a Cintiq?

Greg Smith

[philnolan3d]

Oh I definitely use my mouse for the majority of my work, I have a couple of nice Logitech MX Revolutions, but for anything that requires brush strokes like paining or sculpting the stylus is a must.

[StOrM3]

or Check this one out, this is what I have and use, and is the BEST tablet solution I have found for 3D Graphics or any graphics for that matter, and cheap too, a wacom cintiq of this quality will cost you $3000 or more..

http://p-active.eu/uk/products/xpc1910a.html

Pen Active 19" LCD Pen Tablet Monitor! I love it!!! Got it from Amazon for $800 can't beat that!

[Javis]

For my mobile sculpting needs, I have a Fujitsu Lifebook, it has a wacom enabled screen. It might sound crazy, but yes, I do use the stylus on the go. It's actually not that bad. The monitor flips around and sits itself on the keyboard. As for my keyboard shortcuts? I have a mini keyboard. I've actually looked at getting a smaller micro keyboard, the size is just larger than a cellphone, which would work perfectly for mobile usage.

I used to tote my Intuos2 around with a regular laptop... Now that was a bit cumbersome.

[Psmith]

I really do wish I had waited for the next generation of tablet computers. But, to make full use of one, all of the time, one must have software that is specifically designed to be used with a stylus, alone. So few apps have been made this way.

Of course, this will open up a huge market for new interface design, once these tablet computers become the norm. But, you know, after being in this game for sooooo long, I don't even want to think about all of the money I've spent on "cutting edge" technology. In fact, I'd rather revert to using obsolete hardware with economically designed software that runs well in low powered environments.

Blender used to be designed to run on low powered machines, (and 2.5 still demonstrates such economical design, relatively speaking). I love economical stuff, these days - economically streamlined, economically priced, economical (minimal) user interface. This is why the mouse still has so much appeal to me. Economy and speed.

Greg Smith

[michalis]

and 2.5 still demonstrates such economical design

Until you download the new branch builds and render. he he