Wacom Intuos Tablet

BillN_33

BillN_33

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Bill
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I have started to explore the world of these graphic pen and touch tablets

presumably it is normal that they are mean't to drive you mad when you start using them for the first time

any hints before i throw it at the wall.......!!!!!!

I have the intuos photo . it is the small version . that could be my first mistake when using it with a large screen
 
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Put away your mouse and keep using the tab and don't give up.
 
I use one every day at work and I find it invaluable! Been using one for over 10 years so I can't remember what it was like at first but don't give up! Just imagine you're using a normal pen :)
 
thanks guys

should I have bought a bigger one - the relative movements from small tablet to big screen just confuse and I cannot get the cursor to accurately where I want it

or is it just a matter of practice?
 
There was a longish thread on here a few weeks back. I decided to buy one.
Damned hard work.
Keyboard shortcuts do not exist; no Control A/C/V/D etc.You have to revert to sending the pointer all the way to the menu every time.
I find it slow and long winded. It might be better for brush strokes but I've not got that far yet - it's too damned awkward for my style of editing. I'm half tempted to sell it!
 
BillN_33 said:
thanks guys

should I have bought a bigger one - the relative movements from small tablet to big screen just confuse and I cannot get the cursor to accurately where I want it

or is it just a matter of practice?
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I sometimes have trouble with setting the sliders in LR but I can use the keyword to write in my final value once I have an idea where I want it. I use it on a 21 inch mac so whilst not a huge screen it's big enough. I've got used to where bits like sliders are on the tablet compared to the screen. I also find the small tablet is big enough to stop my hand needing to move too far across the tablet. The other great thing is how little desk space it needs. I hate it when you are using a mouse to crop yet don't have enough space left on the desk or the keyboard is in the way to get it right.

Part of using a tablet is getting used to it, once you have you won't go back. It also depends how much you use brushes as that is one of the advantages I've found over a mouse.
 
I have the Intuos pen and touch small, which appears to be the same size (A5) as the 'photo' . The cursor movement is fine on my 2x20" screens in 'absolute' not relative (mouse) mode.

Edit: yes, operating small sliders is a bit fiddly. But not too bad.
 
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How do you "Stamp visible" - Shift+Control+Alt+E with a tablet? It doesn't appear in the menus yet is one of the most useful tools there is.
 
Be sure you have the tablet setup for the screen, if not it will not be proportional to what your seeing, look in the driver control panel for the tablet. It's a must have device for editing, a game mouse is also popular alternative. As said takes time but the only way to edit fine detail IMO.
 
Yes, but if I have to use the keyboard why do I need a tablet?
The whole idea seems to be that the tablet is the only item needed to process images. As yet I can't see that it does little other than allow you to move a brush around easier than a mouse. All the other controls are far better handled with a keyboard/mouse combination.
 
Not sure what the software is like the one you have but on my one I can setup the size of tab relative to the screen. I have the intuos 4 small.
 
mickledore said:
Yes, but if I have to use the keyboard why do I need a tablet?
The whole idea seems to be that the tablet is the only item needed to process images. As yet I can't see that it does little other than allow you to move a brush around easier than a mouse. All the other controls are far better handled with a keyboard/mouse combination.
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I use left hand on the keyboard. Right hand on the pen.
 
Yes. I tried that but can't help feeling that there is little need for that tablet if I'm doing the bulk of the controls with keyboard.
 
It's all about customising it for you.

My top 2 buttons are brush size and the bottom left is Alt (for cloning) and the right is spacebar (for moving around the screen.

I haven't done a lot else, I only use it for retouching, I can't see any reason to use the pen instead of a mouse, except for retouching.
 
I think analogue movements are good with a mouse or tablet. And discrete commands are more suited to a keyboard. As it has a large number of keys to cover a large number of commands. I didn't ever expect a tablet to replace the keyboard as well.
I have used tablets with command overlays. where commands and keystrokes are assigned to positions all over the tablet. A description is printed as an overlay sheet on the tablet. One button tells it you want a command not a brush stroke.

The Wacom Intuos lets you assign your favourite commands to the 4 buttons. I've not tried shift+ctrl+alt+e though. They also offer a pop up customisable "radial" menu. But that does not work on my computer. Although I get the app menu, (file, edit etc.) pop up next to the cursor by pressing tablet button 1. Which saves large pen movements.
 
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It's also about speed, once you know the shortcuts it's super fast to hop from zoom, clone, brush and so on, otherwise you have to keep selecting icons, no way you can hop from brush to zoom and so on with the mouse as quick, in my case I can also scroll brush sizes as well as add feather etc plus use the shortcuts, when editing I don't use the mouse at all, tbh I often forget and end up dragging files and folders all with the pen. :)
 
I have the pen in my left hand (I'm left handed anyway) and my right on the keyboard which is in front of the wacom. You can customize any key combo into the buttons as far as I'm aware. I have undo which is ctrl alt Z, so there's no reason you can't have shift ctrl alt E.

I tend to use it when using brushes but not for many other things. Still it's invaluable to me (though maybe more as a graphic designer than as a photographer)
 
Never heard anyone suggest a graphics tablet can replace both a mouse and keyboard, that would be daft.

I use a mouse and keyboard for Lightroom, and a lot of Photoshop. If I'm doing something with a brush in Photoshop, then I'll use the graphics tablet.

I have a tiny, old, little (A6 ish I think) Wacom Bamboo, and a 27 inch monitor. I find the size pretty good, it means you don't have to move your hand as much to travel around the screen. If you need greater control, you just zoom in, as it's mapped to screen pixels, not image file pixels.

Pen and tablet have four buttons and a scroll wheel on them, but I never use them. Easier to hold a key on the keyboard and not have to hold the pen unnaturally.
 
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I bought a Wacom Intuos for a big editing job, £70 I think. Stuck with it for a couple of days, then ditched it.

Although it was good in some ways, it was not as easy or any more accurate than my trackball mouse for fine brush work and I couldn't see how persisting with it would improve that. I can't be doing with a regular mouse either, but love my Kensington Orbit trackball (my missus uses one too). Just bought another one last month - £25. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kensington-...45911218&sr=1-1&keywords=kensington+trackball
 
HoppyUK said:
I bought a Wacom Intuos for a big editing job, £70 I think. Stuck with it for a couple of days, then ditched it.

Although it was good in some ways, it was not as easy or any more accurate than my trackball mouse for fine brush work and I couldn't see how persisting with it would improve that. I can't be doing with a regular mouse either, but love my Kensington Orbit trackball (my missus uses one too). Just bought another one last month - £25. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kensington-...45911218&sr=1-1&keywords=kensington+trackball
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You're simply wrong that it's no better for fine brush work, if only because a mouse has no pressure sensitivity. It makes workflow so much quicker than having to swap brushes all the time and maybe not for you, but most people have more fine control with a pen than a mouse. But if you didn't get on with it, no problem, everybody should use what works best for them
 
When our workstations at work changed over from a tablet to mouse input, everyone had difficulties of some sort. Including hand pain and general frustration. (We weren't doing "brush" type work.) No one there had used a mouse before. I found a Logitech rep who suggested holding it differently from our old 4 button, tablet puck. This solved it for me and most of the co-workers I helped out. But some insisted on having their old tablet back as they were not willing to give it a try.

Next they brought in the Space mouse. A 3D controller. Again some rejected it after not giving it a chance. And those that did, often needed a bit of coaching, before they suddenly 'got it', and quickly spread the word of it's benefits in 3D modelling.

Sometimes you find people tensing up their hand muscles or maxing out the settings in an attempt to make it easier, without finding out there is, in fact, an easier way, just different from what they are used to.

But if you use these devices all day you can learn all the short cuts and tricks. Where occasional users might not.
 
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htid said:
You're simply wrong that it's no better for fine brush work, if only because a mouse has no pressure sensitivity. It makes workflow so much quicker than having to swap brushes all the time and maybe not for you, but most people have more fine control with a pen than a mouse. But if you didn't get on with it, no problem, everybody should use what works best for them
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I accept that Chris. I've not been using the tablet for pressure sensitivity, only for accuracy really. I know most (all?) serious graphic peeps use tablets, probably much more expensive ones than mine. But if anyone else out there is struggling with a regular mouse for image editing and doesn't get on with a tablet either, then try a trackball. It's quite different to either. I've used a few and that Kensington jobbie above is the one I prefer, mainly for the way the scroll wheel works, and it's got to be worth a punt at only £25.

Edit: brilliant for regular PC work too :)
 
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I use them all I think lol, I mean I also use a Logitech trackball, it's a great option over a mouse and IMO offers more control, but I full agree about the tablet, no way I could edit and draw like I do without it, presure and tilt are a must have for me, fine tone work and shading is much harder with a mouse tbh I near say impossible when it comes to drawing from scratch, guess it depends on your artistic skill, no digital artist I know uses a mouse.
 
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To get started on pen sensitivities and such like have a look at the Phlearn videos on how to set up your Intuos. It gave me a great starting point from someone who edits photo's all the time...
http://phlearn.com/?s=wacom
 
Best tips given to me.
Turn off brush sensitivity.
In PhotoShop, go to Preferences, Cursors and set brush tip to full size.
It's the only way to see the extremes of the brush.

Oh...and persevere..
 
HoppyUK said:
I bought a Wacom Intuos for a big editing job, £70 I think. Stuck with it for a couple of days, then ditched it.
Click to expand...

Must have been a tiny one. I've always found the larger the better. I have an Intuos 4 XL and wouldn't think of using photoshop without it. The ring control and 8 customisable buttons with the illuminated display makes it easy to use
 
Byker28i said:
Must have been a tiny one. I've always found the larger the better. I have an Intuos 4 XL and wouldn't think of using photoshop without it. The ring control and 8 customisable buttons with the illuminated display makes it easy to use
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It's this one, Intuous CTH-480 - looks like it's a hundred quid now. Now idea how it compares in the world of tablets - Amazon reviews are good LOL http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wacom-Intuo...46034271&sr=1-1&keywords=wacom+intuos+CTH-480
 
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