Ok, I’m seriously looking into getting ArtRage 2 and a wacom tablet to improve my drawing skills.
I was originally thinking about getting SketchBook Pro, but it seems to be discontinued, and had some features I didn’t need. Plus it’s like $190, and tablets can cost a few hundred too, which is a little more than I want to pay.
I just wanted to hear from any Art Rage users on this site. Also, has anyone gotten the $40 physical shipment that comes with tutorials and such? How has that worked out?
Also about graphics tablets, I’m really serious about this so I want the most professional one[if that makes any sense :P], but I’m new to the whole tablet thing, so maybe someone can help me navigate the waters?
First note I haved to make is that a tablet wont improve your drawing skills practice will. I have a nice little small A5 wacom graphire tablet that does fine for me. I would recommend getting something small to start and then if you think it is good and would like to go bigger then go for it. but you may find that going big with lost of features isn’t the best thing to do.
some come with mice because the mouse can be tracked on the tablet… My tablet just came with a pen. there a two modes that a pen or mouse can use to track. one takes the screen and projects the screen area to the tablet so if you have the tablet pen in one place on the tablet, took it out of range and put it somewhere else you would see the cursor jump on your screen. the other mode tracks like a mouse so if you run out of tablet space you have to move the pen over to the other side and continue the line from there… if that makes any sense…
tablets come with mice for odd people who can’t get the hang of rmb or mmb on the tablet. usually mice for tablets suck as they work on the 2d coords of the tablet (parent?)whereas standard mice work on their "local"coordinates.
go for a wacom, A6 fine for the train, A5 is good, A4 fantastic. I’ve not tried a5 wide, but that might be more economical if you can’t stretch to A4
intuos range is pretty good. You may not need /notice the doubling of pressure sensitivity it has over the graphire, but you won’t get a big graphire.
there may be cheaper brands but with wacom you know it’ll be good, with any other brand unless you’ve tried it yourself you’re taking a big gamble.
Artrage is really nice, it’s a great partner to gimp and inkscape for a lo cost pipeline/ What you save on not getting photoshop and/or painter will make a good tablet seem cheap!
I got bad RSI a few years ago and pretty much only use a tablet thses days.
your wrist will thank you for getting the big one.
OpenCanvas is a nice alternative for ArtRage. If you are looking for open source software, check out Mypaint or Gogh. You can find some of my thoughts about those programs and the links at my blog (http://jadedev.blogspot.com/) .
A6 is fine if you draw with your fingers, but that way lies cramps. If you draw traditionally by moving your arm and keeping the hand firm you need at least an A5… but as i said before A4 if you can afford it. The technique feels very different on a larger pad.
They do A3 ones, but that’s seriously large and only really viable with an enormous hi res screen.
At one point I had dual monitors with dual A3 tablets, one mapped to each. It felt really good, but was a bit indulgent really!
it’s a DIN norm, better known as a stadard paper size:
the wacom smallest tablet (not the wide version) is A6, the second one is a5, third one is A4 etc.
I have 2 wacom graphire3 A6 tablets, I’ve used an A4 and even an A3 before, which were both quite akward to use for me. Yes i draw mostly with my fingers.
If you get one bigger than size A5 (the second smallest one) you’re more moving your arm around like you do with your mouse.
I’d say start with A6, you’re safe with that size either way, and they don’t cost too much.
the wacom smallest tablet (not the wide version) is A6, the second one is a5, third one is A4 etc.
I have 2 wacom graphire3 A6 tablets, I’ve used an A4 and even an A3 before, which were both quite akward to use for me. Yes i draw mostly with my fingers.
If you get one bigger than size A5 (the second smallest one) you’re more moving your arm around like you do with your mouse.
I’d say start with A6, you’re safe with that size either way, and they don’t cost too much.
Graphire or Intuos?
EDIT: Oh, and I guess there aren’t any Art Rage users here?
Art rage rules, especially the latest versions. If you get a graphire I think it comes bundled, that was certainly an offer last year anyway. If you’re only going for an A5 size or A6 size then just go for a graphire. the intuos adds touch strips and buttons that can be programmed to be ctrl, mousewheel etc… many people never tough them. It also has 1024 rather than 512 pressure levels. At a small size I doubt you’ll notice the difference!
the nice thing about artrage is that the tools are limited, but behave how you’d expect. It’s really quite sensuous just to make marks with. The layer handling, rulers and referance pictures are all really good additions. If you find the “oil” brush a bit too real you can turn off the blending with the “instant dry” feature, or just use many layers… I love the pencil tool. Artrage really is the closest thing to a digital sketch book!
I use ArtRage which I think is excellent. I also dig Expression 3 (Win/Mac) and Pencil (basic animation). Tablets are great but I’ve only ever used one.
If you want a nice tablet, try WACOM Intuos series. It is a little bit costly, but it sure is worth it. The pressure ,and tilt are very fine, so you can make realistic brush strokes.
In Zbrush it is very nice for sculpting.
Yup, I did some research before hand and it looks like that’s the one that’s targeted for professionals, so it looks like that’s the one I want to get.
Do you have one? If so, what size is it?
I was thinking about either the 6x8 or 6x11. How much space do you really need though? Is even the 4x6 good enough?
Also, has anyone gotten the $40 physical shipment that is offered for Art Rage now, and comes with an 80 page manual and video tutorials?
I would appreciate if someone could go into specifics on that package.
Does Blender support tablets, for like sculpting and such?
Oh, and my birthday is coming up, so I was thinking I could ask for the Bamboo version (because I know its highly unlikely I would get a $400 Intuous…).
Would the Bamboo version be enough for me to get used to tablets? Then I can upgrade later…
Yup. Pressure support works for tablets, though if you’re on linux there may be some settings you need to tweak. I know wacom intuos works, can’t vouch for others but they should all be ok.
'Cause 4x6 is ridiculously tiny, or at least it seems…