Tablets…

After having played around with that Aiptek graphics tablet from my dad, I’ve decided I also need one. I’ve ordered a Wacom Bamboo Fun medium, it was delivered today, and let me tell you…

Then again, I’ve never really cared about drawing until now. Geometric shape doodles while bored at school maybe, but that’s it. First tries don’t really look good. Like drawing my car from my head. Looks like this:

(Random internet photo of my car model)

Or even drawing an avatar for my TF2 nick General Whatshisface ended in too much grief that necessary.

I guess I have to keep trying…

Anyway, the tablet’s really nice. Writing with the pen on its surface feels like writing on paper, i.e. the rough feeling. But there’s also a drawback to this, the plastic nib of the pen wears down rather quickly. The surface of that thing is roughly as large as an DIN A5 paper page. The Bamboo Fun comes in two variants, sized A5 and A6. Looking at both, I went the safe way and got the larger one, expecting more movement freedom.

Compared to the Aiptek whatever model my dad bought, this thing is waaaaayyyy more accurate. I guess people recommending Wacom isn’t just simply brand recognition. The pen also doesn’t require a battery since it gets its juice via induction. This results in a slim and comfortable pen, unlike that bulky Aiptek thing.

As far as using this thing goes, I’ve rarely drawn at all in the past. Trying to coordinate pen to screen is a rather brain damaging process currently. Trying to quickly sketch in short strokes has them go off into unexpected directions more often than not. Additionally to that, I still unwillingly bring mouse semantics into this.

Even if I can’t manage to improve my drawing skills considerably, being able to write stuff down on my computer allows me to get rid of that mountain of notes on my desk.