Wacom Intuos4

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TornadoShaun
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PostWacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:30 pm

Hi guys.

Well I recently purchased a wacom intuos4 pen tablet and am currently setting it up. I am apparently entitled to a free download of one of the following programmes:

:arrow: Corel Painter SketchPad
:arrow: Adobe Photoshop Elements 8
:arrow: Autodesk Sketchbook Express 2010

so I already have Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2010 which is the upgraded version of the one listed above. I want to know if anyone has any experience with corel painter sketchpad or photoshop elements 8? From what I understand elements is more of a photo editing software whereas I intend to use this pen tablet for creating art but I'm not entirely sure.

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Thu Jul 01, 2010 5:18 pm

Well I went for the corel software in the end but I prefer Sketchbook Pro. Just finding my feet with this really but here is a quick dabble I had just now of a Dragon's head. Be warned, it's a bit small...

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I like it though. It's a bit tough to get used to to begin with. But after that I'd say it has to be better than actual proper drawing. These are my reasons:

1. Mistakes: You can get rid of them without leaving an eraser smudge and there's no need to have to improvise if you make a mistake.
2. I still think I retain my 'style' of art as you will probably all see with this brief pic...
3. No need to worry about running out of ink/ paper etc
4. Access to a wider range of effects all in the same package. The limits are only put down by the package you are working with.. I don't have watercolors or chisel tipped pens at home but by god I can use them now..
5. Colour - You can apply a vast range of colours and shades to any tool you have access to.

That's about all right now but so far I'm liking it....

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Thu Jul 01, 2010 6:25 pm

Another quick doodle..

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:32 pm

and another...

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by spikey » Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:59 pm

I think that was the right move. From what I understand, elements is more aimed at photographers. That's a great start, I especially like the bulbasaur.
Do you read ImagineFX? Great mag aimed specifically at scifi and fantasy digital artists.

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:08 pm

spikey wrote:I think that was the right move. From what I understand, elements is more aimed at photographers. That's a great start, I especially like the bulbasaur.
Do you read ImagineFX? Great mag aimed specifically at scifi and fantasy digital artists.



No I don't but I may pick one up? What sort of magazine is it exactly? I'll have a to get around to doing some Halo bits on it as I've pretty much just been doing simple stuff so far to get used to using it but it's a really great piece of kit...

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by spikey » Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:00 pm

It's an instructional magazine for the most part, showing step-by-step walkthroughs from proffesional illustrators and concept artists. http://www.imaginefx.com has some tutorials from previous issues.

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:55 pm

Well I started on my next Halo-inspred piece today and I thought it might be cool to show it in steps up to the finished article :D

Here is the first step I use which is basically mapping out fairly basic frame in pencil.

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will add more as the piece gets more detailed.

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:45 pm

Image

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Diabolito
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by Diabolito » Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:09 am

nice work man.

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:37 pm

latest progress on this, the piece is taking on a bit of my style now:

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Sat Jul 10, 2010 12:40 pm

Progress snap 4:

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Sat Jul 10, 2010 10:17 pm

Latest progress:

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:42 pm

Another work in progress, thought I'd have a go at doing a sketch with the pencil effect. Looks a bit more realistic and a bit less comic-book with these effects..

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EDIT: Finished now

Last edited by TornadoShaun on Wed Jul 14, 2010 7:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by United_Journey_uk » Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:59 pm

The new dragon one is fantastic. Don't forget to finish that Halo: Reach picture though! I think you should draw a Dead Space inspired piece in that style at some point, maybe a picture of Issac in his engineering suit surrounded by Necromorphs. Or maybe one of the unlockable military suit.

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:16 pm

A big lizard...

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Next bit I'm working on is a Halo Reach bit. I really must get around to finishing that other piece as well!!

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by Green Gecko » Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:17 pm

Great illustrations. I'm assuming Corel Sketchpad is the equivalent of Corel Painter Essentials which they previously bundled.

There are plenty of advantages to a tablet but, I feel there is something of a lack of soul or intimacy when I draw or paint with one, as there is engaging with physical materials I can touch and feel. I really value the texture and relief of a surface especially as I draw with more collaged layers of grounding materials and impasto painting styles. I wouldn't abandon traditional media in favour of a tablet (and have an A4 Intuos3 so it's a decent one).

Also one should consider, I think, the cost of a high end Wacom tablet is probably more expensive than a set of high-end, refillable and "re-nibbable" pens or markers, like the Copic system fineliners. Books of medium weight acid free cartridge paper are hardly expensive either. These inks are erasable and blendable as well.

There's also the issue of doing justice to your digital work by using a decent printer, which can be very expensive too in ink and paper, and there's often no option to print larger than A3 without going to a commercial outlet (or nicking your workplace's business printer..)

Tablets are particularly useful for animation, though. Good ones make decent liquid assets as well.

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:59 pm

The only real issue I've had with the wacom so far is that the pen nib seems to have worn away a bit easily. Probably won't be long before I need a replacement. Can you only order them from Wacom or do I just need to buy new nibs or a completely new pen?

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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by Green Gecko » Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:49 am

The Intuos3 pens have replaceable nibs so I would expect the Intuos4 pens do too. Mine came with a selection of 3 silicon nibs, 3 felt nibs, and 3 spring-loaded nibs which absorbed more pressure and added a bounce, a bit more like a paintbrush or rubber sculpting brush.

Last I saw refills go for about £5-15. They do wear down depending on how heavy your stroke is but I haven't gotten through the original bunch yet, maybe because I switch between them for different things.

You can just pull them out with a pair of tweezers.

Maybe you could try adjusting the pressure sensitivity of your pen in the control panel so you don't have to apply as much pressure to get the stroke you want. The under-appreciated aspect of Wacom tablets I think is the flexibility of the excellent drivers, which are frequently updated to support newer program versions too. You can get the tablet do to pretty much whatever you want.

They're interesting input devices in general - has anyone tried using one to just control their PC day to day and scrapped the mouse? It's really quite comfortable. There's some interesting projects than can even make tablets musical instruments:

http://www.nicolasfournel.com/wmidi.htm

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TornadoShaun
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PostRe: Wacom Intuos4
by TornadoShaun » Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:27 pm

Halo Reach Jun

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