[starman]

Do people that use tablets really draw perfectly with tablets? I'm having a bitch of a time drawing nearly as well as I do with pencil and paper. I scanned in a sketch I did and thought I could somehow trace over it using the tablet, but I find myself fighting it a LOT.

So, two things:

1) What's the best way to scan in a pencil sketch and color it in Photoshop?
2) Does it take time to get used to a tablet after using a pencil for 20+ years?

The tablet's a Wacom graphire 3

[Kr0nos]

I bought one of those a couple of months ago and I find it extremely hard to manage. But everybody I've talked to has told me it'd take a while to get used to.

As for your sketch, depending on wether it was more outline based, or had a lot of shading and texture, I'd either use the pen tool or various brushes. I'd also try Illustrator first, the tracing option in CS2 is very good for that kinda stuff.

[BlueSky]

I find it difficult to draw as well as with a pencil because the surface of the tablet is slippery, at least mine is...Wacom Intuos GD. I had a couple of [discontinued brand, can't remember the name] a long time ago that sucked, but at least the surface had some traction. Even then, I don't think it's ever going to be as efficient as pencil/paper.

Working with Photoshop's and the tablet's pressure settings will probably help, makes it feel more natural as you're drawing. Also, Photoshop brushes have a flow setting that might help.

2) Does it take time to get used to a tablet after using a pencil for 20+ years?

Yes. Takes time after using a mouse too, but personally I hate meeses and never use one. Weird that we're trained to hold a pencil all our lives and then the computer comes along and the best input device they can come up with is a plastic brick. It feels awkward with the stylus/tablet at first but give it time.

[The Godfather]

It is awkward for me too (Wacom 4"x5"). I guess it would help if I could load it with ink and I could see what I am sketching.

[chris v]

It does take a lot of getting used to. I don't use it to draw like a pencil because I'm not an illustrator, but I use mine in Photoshop to make complex selections when I'm doing color correction work, and I've found it to be quite a bit faster for drawing vector paths with the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, compared to using a mouse.

Being a lefty, I had to find just the right slant for the tablet on my desk so that it felt like I was drawing "up" when I looked at the screen. That made a difference. And I disabled the stupid side button, as I was always accidentally triggering it.

[exca1ibur]

For me I do all my illustration work in Illustrator. I thought it would take me longer to get used to it but I was surprised it wasn't as foreign as I expected. I have been drawing for well over 25 years as well, I never used on till about in December, I decided to buy one. This was my first attempt at ever using a tablet in my life. Not exactly that great but not a bad start for the first try.

My First Try

Wacom Intuio3 9x12

[starman]

WOW! Good job. See, that's the kind of stuff I want to do, and the learning curve of a tablet's getting me frustrated, especially since I've been drawing for like 30 years.

I have Illustrator. I guess I'll give it a whirl. What are the differences between PS and Illustrator in terms of tracing and freehand drawing?

[exca1ibur]

For me. I look at them like this... Illustrator if you are more acustom to doing ink drawings or some type of ink trace, like a comic. Photoshop I find great for doing sketching. Mainly I hear for Photoshop its key to learning the brushes which I haven't gotten used to yet, so I tend to limit myself to sketches and photo work in Photoshop and do all my Illustrations and drawing in Illustrator. After working in Illustrator for the last several months I find I use my tablet there mostly.

TIP: A nice way to get used to Illustrator is to place a sketch as a background layer and lock it. Then just use a layer over the top and get used to using the pen tool and bezier curves. Once you get comfortable with that, the most important thing to learn in Illustrator for the more realistic look are 'meshes'. Once you get comfortable with the tools and how it works moving to meshes will be a little easier.

To be honest I still prefer the direct approach of a pencil and illustration board.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by starman

Do people that use tablets really draw perfectly with tablets? I'm having a bitch of a time drawing nearly as well as I do with pencil and paper. I scanned in a sketch I did and thought I could somehow trace over it using the tablet, but I find myself fighting it a LOT.

So, two things:

1) What's the best way to scan in a pencil sketch and color it in Photoshop?
2) Does it take time to get used to a tablet after using a pencil for 20+ years?

The tablet's a Wacom graphire 3

If the haptics of a standard graphics tablet bother you, consider upgrading to an Intuos tablet, which has an optional pen stylus -- that is, one that lays down real ink as you draw. You just tape a piece of paper onto the tablet and then draw in real ink, and it gets simultaneously input into your app.

tooki

[starman]

Here's something I was sketching the other day. There's an eye in the ULH corner of the page. What would be the best procedure for getting that into PS/Illustrator?

http://homepage.mac.com/starman/.Pictures/ScanTwo.jpg

[rozwado1]

Just go at it - you're thinking about it too much.

In Illustrator, just make the general shapes to get started. Turn off pressure sensitivity so you don't have to worry about it just yet. Once you get the lines inked in, play around with different types of strokes to get a better finished product.

[rozwado1]

Oh yeah... I'd switch to Intuos if you're actually going to stick with it.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by starman

Here's something I was sketching the other day. There's an eye in the ULH corner of the page. What would be the best procedure for getting that into PS/Illustrator?

http://homepage.mac.com/starman/.Pictures/ScanTwo.jpg

This may help. I made a tutorial for you using your image. From sketch to final. This might help to understand the process a little bit. This is all Illustrator with no Photoshop at all. I have the actual .ai file also if you want to check it out as well. This was about a 20min job of so. This is basically how I approach all my rendering type Illustrator drawings.

Hope that helps.

Tutorial

[starman]

Holy sh*t, dude!

That's exactly how I'd want it to look.

The funny thing is that when I was in high school back in '84 or so I actually bought a graphics tablet for my Atari 800. It was a piece of junk. I guess that turned me off of tablets .

This Wacom 4x6 stinks. I need something bigger so I'll probably take everyone's suggestions here and get a new one.

Thanks for the tutorial. I'm going to absorb this, and I'm looking at hair tutorials also.

Maybe I'll stick with colored pencils .

[Salty]

check out my Flickr Page to see some of the stuff I've done recently, I think I got my Wacom like... last summer? Or was it the year before. No I've had it for two years now. Wow that's crazy. Anyway my stuff initially got a lot better than with a mouse, now I can't imagine drawing what I do now with a mouse... the pressure sensitivity really helps when you're drawing lines of variable sizes, and when you're dodging and burning. THe thing that makes it tough is that you can't draw lighter like with a pencil. I make up for that with having slightly more opaque layers and blurring them. But trying to do something like cross hatching with a tablet is damned difficult.
(By the way if you're wondering if I'm just that great from sight, no I use photos for most of the stuff I've done this summer it's just easier to get the proportions right and I see no reason not to it's not like I'm trying to compete with anyone else.)

As well if you're wanting to use stuff you've drawn, I'd suggest colouring using individual layers in photoshop, and scanning in your black and white sketch and then setting that layer to multiply over the rest. You'll only have the dark parts show up. If you want you can play with the levels a bit to get rid of the noise that's going to come in when you scan it.

[starman]

Is it possible to control how far out the gradient goes between 'segments' on a mesh? From excal1bur's tutorial, the gradients seem to be rather contained vs. the default I've been playing with where it goes to about the halfway point into the next segment.

[MindFad]

I've been thinking about the 9x12 Intuous 3 for awhile now. I am concerned about getting used to it after doing so many, many years of mousing, but I imagine the freedom will pay off in the end.

[exca1ibur]

You can add more points to control gradients on the mesh. The key it to use the gradients on the points not the faces.

[starman]

Salty,
For your Amy pic, was the shading on her face done with Ill or PS?

[mydog8mymac]

tip:
When you need more "traction" than the slippery surface on your tablet, put a piece of paper on top of your tablet surface. It may still seem a little weird, but it will give you more surface texture, and it won't disturb the workings of your tablet.

[air]

i dont really like using my tablet. i just started two days ago. i find it much harder than regular pen and pencil. esp. anything involving my wrists as an anchor for strokes and curves.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by starman

Salty,
For your Amy pic, was the shading on her face done with Ill or PS?

Photoshop. All with dodging and burning, if you notice there isn't a black line in it. I wish I had a copy of Illustrator

[air]

you draw a lot of naked men.

[starman]

WOW!

What a difference a different tablet makes. I got the 6x8 Intuos3 and the difference was AMAZING. Not only did I have a larger area to work with, but the control on this thing is exactly what I wanted.

I did this in an hour, from the sketch in the link above. I KNOW there are things wrong with it.

http://homepage.mac.com/starman/.Pic...irstImport.jpg

[Tyre MacAdmin]

Originally Posted by starman

Do people that use tablets really draw perfectly with tablets? I'm having a bitch of a time drawing nearly as well as I do with pencil and paper. I scanned in a sketch I did and thought I could somehow trace over it using the tablet, but I find myself fighting it a LOT.

So, two things:

1) What's the best way to scan in a pencil sketch and color it in Photoshop?
2) Does it take time to get used to a tablet after using a pencil for 20+ years?

The tablet's a Wacom graphire 3

1.) Adobe Streamline or Live Trace. I still like Streamline. You can get it on ebay.
2.) If you're not using the right programs. Try Alias Sketchbook Pro
Autodesk - Autodesk SketchBook Pro - Product Information

[Salty]

I wish I had an intuos... stupid Graphire. oh well it serves me well.

[Tyre MacAdmin]

You might also like Silhouette.
Silhouette: vectorization software for Macintosh and Windows

[OwlBoy]

Where might one find a good intro to using Gradients and meshes in Illustrator? I find I am pretty good at the basics and stuff. But I don't know much about the gradients and meshes.



-Owl

[exca1ibur]

Here is a basic overview of how meshes and gradients work in Illustrator.
Magical Butterfly - Gradient Mesh Tutorial Introduction

This is another one that I have done as well. I will probably start a new one this week, been a few months since I've done one.
Chistina Milian

[OwlBoy]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur

Here is a basic overview of how meshes and gradients work in Illustrator.
Magical Butterfly - Gradient Mesh Tutorial Introduction

Thanks.

-Owl

[OwlBoy]

Cool, now I know the basics on that. Now to use it well, thats the hard part

-Owl

[Salty]

Sigh... I wish I had something better than PS Elements 2... anyone got any old licenses of CS they wanna donate

[Adam Betts]

This is somehow related, Penny Arcade did a drawing with graphic tablet in photoshop and here's a youtube:

Behold the Mighty PAX Hot Dog Fairy
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/pax06/c...iry-196884.php

[teszeract]

I selected this one to post so I can make the point that you have to treat it as a different medium. Draw slowly for starters, and then you'll soon be up to speed. Its not great for drawing straight lines, so try organic stuff before moving onto cars. The Wacom can be a lot of fun especially since you don't have to clean up afterwards.

[teszeract]

I forgot to answer some of your questions: I also have a Graphire, -- really dig it. And after 20+ years of drawing, there's a lot you have to get un-used to.

[Hash]

nice picture, teczeract and salty

[Salty]

Originally Posted by Adam Betts

This is somehow related, Penny Arcade did a drawing with graphic tablet in photoshop and here's a youtube:

Behold the Mighty PAX Hot Dog Fairy
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/pax06/c...iry-196884.php

I would have thought all their stuff was done with a tablet. If not what do they use?