Just wondering what types of mouses (mice?) or other pointing devices are prefered by the artists here.
It depends on task:
1 - Marten hair brush for water colours
2 - A hard bristle brush for oil colours
3 - Hamer and chisel for sculpture
Logitech 2buttons+wheel mouse for Blender (Pressing weel makes MMB)
Stefano
depends on task [no… not that again]:
- 2 button mouse for blending and adjusting in paint programs
- 3 button wheel trackball for internet and everything else that’s not related with art things on the pc…
- a gfx tablet for texturing/ drawing…
.andy
3 button Logitech trackball for everything. I really like the unpopular Trackman Vista. I say unpopular because all my friends hate it. This particular trackball you use fingers to move the ball and your thumb is the left-click. They all have trackman marbles (thumb move the ball).
Two Logitech thumb-operated trackballs
One has three genuine buttons and no wheel - this is my preferred pointing device, and sadly seems to have disappeared from the shops
The other is a newer model, with two buttons and wheel, and lots of annoying red lights that never go out. sigh Well, at least it’s more comfortable than anything else on the market…
when doing paintings with coffee and ink, I use finger.
when doing cgshit, normal old 3 button mouse.
i dont believe in graphic tablets. (yet anyways)
.b
Well, I’m not much of an artist yet, but as a computer geek, I really like my MS Wireless Intellimouse Explorer.
MS Wireless Intellimouse Explorer
Pros-
- Optical tracking is very accurate.
- No mouseball means no cleaning the mouseball.
- 3 button w/ wheel on top.
- 2 thumb buttons I’ve found very useful for internet (back, next)
- Global and program-specific button mapping, put those extra two buttons to good use outside of IE.
- Wireless. No cord to get in the way, or get caught. I’d say better for laptop use than desktops.
Cons-
- USB - Keep a cheap PS2 mouse around just in case.
- Wireless means batteries, and lots of them. You definitely need rechargeables, and keep a charger very close to your computer desk. I haven’t exactly measured how long they last, but I’d say I swap them out 2-3 times a week.
- The wireless also has some quirks… to conserve battery power, it will go into ‘sleep’ after a certain idle time (which seems un-customizeable). It takes a little mouse movement before it ‘wakes up’. It was very annoying when I first got it, but after a couple weeks, I barely noticed it. Also, on ocassion when changing the batteries, it takes a bit before it reactivates.
- No on-off switch. Not much of a problem for desktops, but if you’re a laptop user, it might be woken up everytime your laptop case was jostled, decreasing battery life during storage.
All in all, I’m happy with it, but for desktop users, I’d suggest to go with the tethered version. I may be getting a laptop soon, and if I do, I plan to buy a regular MS Intellimouse Explorer, which I’ll put on the desktop, and use this wireless with the laptop… I used it with dad’s laptop for school presentations, let me stand back at the podium a good 6’ from the reciever and click through the powerpoint presentation… better than buying a remote just for a couple presentations, being tied to the pc by a cord, or having to rely on someone attentive enough to click through for you.
I have a scrollwheel mouse, but I don’t use the scrollwheel as third button because im way more familiar with the 2-button way of working in blender.
three button mini-trackball.
track balls give a 3d feel, something a normal mouse can’t do.
I use the “tethered” version of IMProvisar’s mouse.
MS IntelliMouse Explorer. I lik the feel. I love the fact that it’s optical.
I got tired of cleaning crud out of my old ones. The accuracy is also much better. Other than that I use a graphic tablet.
Logitech 2 buttons + wheel, optical.
Martin
Logitech 2 buttons + Wheel mouse
Logitech 3 buttons + no Wheel trackball (no really i do)
i just use various 3 button optical mice for my various computers.
Logitech 2 buttons + wheel, 2x optical.
I use a logitech 2 button plus wheel optical wireless. No ball to clean out and no cord! Batteries last so much longer than microcrap mice.
Maybe the power consumption is due to those extra two buttons I get. lol… it’s not bad enough that it bothers me… besides, I got rechargeables and a charger, and there’s a power outlet right behind my desk chair.
Imp
And what are your extra buttons programed to do IMP?
(Can’t remember what mine are supposed to do)
I have Kensington Expert Mouses (Mice?) on my PC and Mac. Don’t know why they are called a mouse though because they are a trackball. They have a great, smooth feel.