Wacom graphire3 drawing tablet - tutorials, help, etc?

I just bought the Intuos2 a few weeks ago and definitely saw a tutorial on one of the CDs. Can't remember which one and I'm not home right now to check.

I believe when you launch the installer there are several buttons you can click on on the initial screen. One of them should be for tutorials. If you still can't find it I cna try and provide more detail once I get home.

wacom has short tutorials on their site. i recommend that once you are done with the tutorials, just doodle... more and more and more. it's the only way to get used to it.

off topic-- but to those who own tablets, where are the biggest advantages? photo editing? illustrating? other? i'm kind of interested in one, but i'm not exactly sure I can get that much use out of it...

Whigga Spitta said:

off topic-- but to those who own tablets, where are the biggest advantages? photo editing? illustrating? other? i'm kind of interested in one, but i'm not exactly sure I can get that much use out of it...

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My primary reason for buying one is for illustrating. And it is amazing at that task. But I hear that it really shines when it comes to photo editting. I may never ever use it for photos though.

Inkmonkey said:

I just bought the Intuos2 a few weeks ago and definitely saw a tutorial on one of the CDs. Can't remember which one and I'm not home right now to check.

I believe when you launch the installer there are several buttons you can click on on the initial screen. One of them should be for tutorials. If you still can't find it I cna try and provide more detail once I get home.

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Hey Inkmokey - zen can't get the installer to even launch. It just unexpectedly quits every time. Therefore, the only way zen could access the tutorial is by opening it manually (if you can find it, that is).

I use my Intuos2 every day for photo editing and illustration. I use it so much now that I hardly ever use my mouse - muuch easier on the repet. stress synd. as well. I can't live without mine now - I think I'll probably pick up the new Intuos3 with program buttons so I can move further away from the keyboard - just program in the usual keycommands into the buttons and away from the keybopard you go.

Anyway, these tablets allow for the most finesse you can get when editing photos (opacity levels, pressure sensitivity, etc) or illustrating in Painter or Illustrator and let me tell you, creating bezier curves is a breeze with a pen. The pen becomes second nature withing a few days.

Wacom = ease of artistic input!

wrldwzrd89 said:

Hey Inkmokey - zen can't get the installer to even launch. It just unexpectedly quits every time. Therefore, the only way zen could access the tutorial is by opening it manually (if you can find it, that is).

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Oh, sorry. Don't think I realized what they meant when they said they got the "real" installer to launch.

Inkmonkey said:

Oh, sorry. Don't think I realized what they meant when they said they got the "real" installer to launch.

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What zen meant was that the disc contains two "installers": the first one is just a launcher for the tutorials and the second ("real") installer, which is what zen found and started manually, bypassing the first one, since that one kept crashing.

I can't seem to find anywhere else to launch the tutorial other than the installer. Sorry that's of no help whatsoever.

In any event, I haven't even gone through the tutorial yet. I've just been playing with the tablet and pen in PhotoElements and Painter Classic. Probably just as effective.

zen said:

I didn't install Painter Classic as I don't have Classic installed

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Painter Classic runs natively under OS X - you shouldn't need Classic Mac OS installed to run it.

I've had an Intuos 2 tablet for a couple of years now and love it. I can't stand using mice any more. Death to mice!

zen from New Zealand! another (almost) Aussie on the boards!

well, i'd suggest getting the latest drivers from Intuos site, you can pretty much junk that CD and never touch it again...

once you get the drivers installed, you should be able to setup all the functions, and you'll get to learn all the functions that way.

i'd say just stick with PhotoShop, or Illustrator if that's what you know. Painter is an amazing app, but very complex, or at least it seems that way to me. for comic style stuff, you can do amazing work in PS. have you done much illustration before? comic style or otherwise? i'd recommend looking up some comic coloring tutorials, and definitely learn about 'cuts'. they'll make your work so much better. this might give you a hand finding tutorials: http://www.sumaleth.com/links/ - a massive archive of tutorial links, i always go there when i'm looking for something.

just play with the pen, then set the pressure etc how you like it.

sorry, i might have missed this, but did you get the drivers installed yet?

anyways, happy penning!

zen said:

I'm hoping to use the tablet mainly for comic-style illustration. I didn't install Painter Classic as I don't have Classic installed, and it didn't come with Photoshop Elements.

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That's why I bought mine too - comic-style illustration. I draw strips mostly. Keep in touch and maybe we can share what we learn with each other.

If you have Photoshop you're better off than I with Photoshop Elements. But I think Elements has most of what I need.

It can be a little intimidating to start drawing on the computer but I've been told to just get in there and doodle. Try a bunch of different brushes and find what you like. We should get the hang of it in no time

edit - just fixing quote format.

okay, you're in luck. i'm feeling generous so i'm posting some of my 100% tablet work. this stuff was done last year. we just had to do a few comic strips. i just sketched it out with a mechanical pencil using blue lead (that's the best way - use blue lead. that way it stay light, and you can very easily ink it later if you want. also, if you photocopy it after you've inked it, your blue lines won't reproduce, so you just end up with clean art work.)







and the detail shots:







sorry for posting them right here in this thread, but i was going to put them on my site, and it's not done yet. so i guess you're privelaged to be the first ones to see some of this stuff.

and one other tip - make your canvas, or document around 3 times larger than your finished size, then you can draw in heaps of detail, and when you zoom out, it looks really good. it's also a good idea to make your originals 300dpi, just in case you need to print them in the future.

edit>> i just dug up one more from last year. i actually inked this then scanned it, and all the coloring is done with the tablet (and various PS effects ) that's kind of a goofy pic, i think i have to try not to fit every color in there.



and tablets are also very good for making starry skies. check out that link i posted for this tutorial...

okay, last pics. i swear!

not really comic stuff... but just goes to show how a tablet is useful for designers as well.

this was an editorial design for Animal Logic. the 'polaroid' look photos were all 100% created from a blank canvas, used the tablet for the edges on those, as well as the red 'movie' stamps and the black border on the brown 'tickets'.

i think i'll post just thumbnails for these. the poor 56k users out there have already had a good punishing.





just had to post this, i really love it, as well as loving AL. wow, how awesome it'd be to work there... if anyone from AL is reading this and looking for a Shake artist....

edit>> just realised that i've got some more design stuff i've done with a tablet. let me know if ya wanna see it...

yep, that's sketched on paper first. i'd strongly recommend that you try it out. just be careful with the blue leads, they're not quite as strong as graphite and snap easily. but the blue is just for light sketching anyway.

zen said:

Yeah, definately. Send me a PM and I'll grab your details. Calgary eh? I got marooned in Toronto in April 2004 when that snow storm hit. I loved every minute of it

Zen

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You wouldn't be the first to be marooned in Canada because of snow.
I've PMed you.

cb911 said:

just realised that i've got some more design stuff i've done with a tablet. let me know if ya wanna see it...

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That's some great work, cb911. Love the detail on the strips. I'd love to see some more of your stuff.

I'm trying to understand the blue pencil thing. So you draw on paper and then trace it using the tablet? Just trying to relate the 2 things.

yeah, you can use it like that. basically you just use the blue lead to sketch out stuff (on paper) instead of a regular pencil, then if you want to ink it, it's alot easier thank having to ink & erase your graphite pencil marks. the blue lead also erases easier if you ever need to as well...

you can also scan the blue sketch, i've done that a couple of times. i've also sketched with a blue color with my tablet (on my computer). it just seems to be easier to recognize which parts are the sketch and which is part of the final pic. hope that expalins it all for you.

i will post more stuff (design work) later today. so stay tuned...

Hey zen, I finally went through the tutorial on the Wacom CD and you're not missing anything. it is VERY basic. Most everything I had already figured out on my own.