Has anyone of you ever worked with a tablet instead of the mouse, and waht is your opinion about it?
It looks easy to work with, but i like to hear it from people with experience.
Hans
In a word…
“YUCK.”
I can move MUCH faster with a 3 button mouse with a scrollwheel (which really is the 3rd button in my case) than with a pen tablet. Your mileage may vary, but precision with a pen is very hard to achieve: they’re better at strokes than “dots.”
I use the pen tablet for Photoshop. Wacom Intuos.
-Bischofftep
I love my little tablet (Graphire II by Wacom) for 2D but still have an optical 3 button mouse for Blender.
In direct opposition to Bischofftep… YUM
The pen in Blender is no different than a mouse because there’s not pressure sensitivity. I use a 5-button optical mouse in blender, and I only use my Graphire II for (practically everything in) photoshop and things.
I sometimes use my tablet with Maya’s artisan sculpting tools, but that’s beside the point here. I don’t regret paying the $85 for my tablet.
I like using my tablet, it was the biggest one I could find (10"x8"). The pen is quite useful in Blender, but with other apps where the zoom is controlled by the mouse wheel, I find the pen to be useless. But with the tablet being USB it means I can keep my mouse plugged in at the same time and switch between the two as needed.
For ease of use with paint programs though the pen also excels. 128 different pressure sensors make drawing very thin lines, to full brush strokes a dream.
I would advise you to get a tablet but not to throw away your mouse.
My 2 pence,
Sonix.
The pen is great for drawing programs, but I got used to using a 3 button mouse with Blender. Graphic pen use with Blender seems awkward and cumbersome.
I recently bought a tablet, to play with.
The main difference is that a mouse moves the pointer relative to it’s self where as the tablet gives you absolute positions relative to the screen. So the mouse is better at being a mouse and the tablet is better at being a err… tablet.
Rob.
The main difference is that a mouse moves the pointer relative to it’s self where as the tablet gives you absolute positions relative to the screen.
With my Wacom Graphire II, I can change the mapping mode to be “pen” or “mouse” where pen is relative to the screen, and mouse is relative to itself. Also, in pen mode, I can map the entire area of the tablet to either the entire screen, or just a portion so I can get more detail in that specific area.
You lose functionality with the pen/tablet. Objectively, a pen/tablet will never be as good and here’s why:
-Double clicking. Perpetually a problem with pens. Try hitting you pen in exactly the same spot twice on a small button.
To solve this, most map the double click function to a position on the pen button.
BUT, now I don’t have third mouse button functionality (or even Right mouse button if you have a cheap pen).
In essence, you will have a cool-looking, professional-in-appearance pen that works worse than the cheapest noobie grade-school 3 button mouse. Not much question in my mind which way to go.
Hi,
I have to disagree with everything I read here. I think that my tablet, a Graphire II, is a great replacement for a mouse, in all things. 2D and 3D…
It did take me a little while to get used to it. I had a lot of trouble double clicking with it at first, But now it is just as natural as a mouse for me.
Now, I can agree with you guys on one thing. It is not overly accurate, at least down to the pixel. I personally like that alot in Blender. It helps my models have a more organic and natural feel.
So, if you are contemplating whether or not to get a tablet, my advice is:
Most definitely. I got mine for $60, refurbished. It came with a wheelmouse that you use on top of the tablet, so if I really want to use a mouse, I can. I have found that the area is more than adequate.
Oh, a little tip:
To be more accurate with the stylus, hold it perpindicular to the surface, like the japanese hold pens. That really helps my accuracy when I need it.
Regards,
Derek Mounce
[email protected]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
blender will overtake all
other 3d apps when the
pros think openly enough
to realize that free, and
open source is good,
not unprofessional.
Just keep in mind that if you do spend $60 on a pen, you will almost definitely use it twice and then go back to your mouse. If you stick witht the pen, it’s only because you like the IDEA of using a pen, not because it works better, or even as good as a mouse. I’ve got both at work, and I use the pen constantly on other programs. For Blender, it’s ALWAYS the mouse.
Those of you who do like a tablet may be interested in this:
http://www.mtl.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo/teddy/teddy.htm
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