Help Painting/Inking on PC

rcumps01

I'm wondering how most people ink in photoshop or OC etc...perhaps even paint. I was looking through the forums and noticed that many use those tablets to draw on the PC. Are they also used to make inking easier? If so, are there any "good" ones for $150 or less. I was looking at one post that suggested a brand, checked out said brand, and found that all tablets made by them were $300+.

Any help is most appreciated.

ps: What types of notebooks and pencils do you recommend for sketching. I've always loved drawing but never had the time to take classes on art etc and now with 20+ credits a semester I can't even take an elective on it. SO consider me a n00b when it comes to art in general.

MrFisticuffs

A tablet is essentially a mouse that's shaped like a pencil. You use it and an art program the same way you'd use a paintbrush and a canvas or an inkpen and paper.

Tablets are expensive. Try eBay.

As far a materials go, every artist here is gonna give you a different answer. We've all got our own preferences. My only suggestion is to try a variety of things out and find out which works best for you.

Now get drawing!

rcumps01

Any recommended tablets? Again, I'm a noob and I don't want to get burned. Thanks for the very fast reply.

Synthetic Orange

It's a tradeoff. I still dont have as much control over the results of a tablet as I would on a real pen/pencil/brush. But you get the results onto computer much quicker and with no mess. Great for some sorts of work. WACOM is generally acknowledged as the best tablet makers on the planet, and they have stuff ranging from affordable to VERY VERY unaffordable. Graphire3 4x5in tablets are where they start.

There are other tablet manufacturers around, Genius is the only one I recall that has also been making tablets for some time. The rest come and go, and generally require a wired or battery powered pen, while Wacoms dont chew up batteries at all.

MrFisticuffs

For right now, I'd stick to pens and pencils. While handy, tablets aren't the be all and end all of digital art.

Hell, I don't even use a tablet.

Tubesteak Samurai

i used to beg people who don't know how to ink with a pen not to go directly to a tablet. but if you can get a handle on a stylus without practicing with a pen first then more power to you. it's possible to become proffiscient with the tablet first however you won't be made a better artist as it is important to learn to trust your hand and instincts without an available undo button.

i use sharpies on strathmore. i'd love to be able to use brushes though.

rcumps01

Thanks guys. I figured that it would be taboo to go straight to "inking" on the PC rather than starting on paper much like many regard HTML coding and notebook. However, like I said I don't have a formal training nor do I see myself ever having it. This is just for fun really.
I believe WACOM was the brand I was talking about before, but their site features a "Which Tablet for you" type of questionaire and I guess I answered a few questions wrong or something...hehe.
Anyways, again thanks and maybe Il'l post some stuff when I'm finished.

rcumps01

Oops sorry. One more question. I was looking at the WACOM's and noticed intuos2 has two $199 models, one with a serial port one with usb 2.0. I assume the usb 2.0 would be "smoother" and therefore better. Would I be correct?

Tubesteak Samurai

i have the serial and now wish that i'd gotten the usb simply because i fully intend to switch to an Imac as soon as i get the moeny. the usb also seems to have less issues with windows versions and what not. also the serial port hiccups more often while the comp is performaing functionsl ike retrieveing instructions and junk. go usb

Synthetic Orange

I on the other hand dont have a choice. I bought my wacom tablet long before they even made USB tablets.

And dont believe what Tubesteak says about inking. It does not apply if you never intend to ink, like I did. Heh. Of course, if comic-style art is what you want to make, then you'd better pay close attention to that.

pirate bob

for what it's worth, I have an old Calcomp Drawing Slate 2, it's serial, was made before USB even was out I believe. Got it off a friend for $40 complete with pen. The drivers are a bit sketchy, but it's functionaly at least. I've never used any of the Wacom tablets so I'm not sure how it compares to them, but for the infrequent intervals I actually use it it works fine for me.

Arisa

I'm pretty satisfied with my WACOM Intuos2. It's maybe two years old (I think, I have a horrible memory when it comes to times), and it's never done anything too wonky on me. I also run a Mac, and I inked in Painter before it crapped out at my OS upgrade. Painter offers a bit more control in my opinion, and can offer exceptionally smooth lines. I use the cover pencil at a size of two or three, occasionally one when I'm working with exceptionally fine detail.

When you ink digitally, it's usually a good idea to work on a very large canvas and shrink it down once you've finished the full piece, colouring and all.

As for inking in photoshop, in attempts to mimic Painter's smoother pencils, I use the Airbrush tool with a hardness of +20, no spacing, and a starting size of 2 to 5 for basic outlines. For smaller detail, I bring the hardness up to +65, and the size down to 1, sometimes remaining at two or three. Again, I maintain a canvas size of anywhere from 10x10 inches to my largest yet, 45x60 inches.

MrDomino

I am a firm believer in learning to do things manually before you transition to digital. Whatever other people do is fine, for myself though I will not get a tablet until I am, at the very least, competent at oldschool inking and coloring. Coloring I have a fairly reliable grasp on, but my line still needs discipline. I draw on more or less anything that is available. Inking I prefer on vellum unless I'm using brush and ink. For technical lines I use Rapidograph pens, for more organic lines I use brushes or Pigma brush pens. Brush pens are a good way to start if you don't have any familiarity with brush and ink. Try different pens/brushes and see what works for you.

Led-Pencil

I've been avoiding moving to digital inking, aside from touching up scan's I've done.

It just looses something.

hmmm...

See, for me at least, I don't feel the intimate touch I get with paper and pen when working on the PC. It isn't real for me.

Shit, I'm just rambling now.

rcumps01

I read on the WACOM site that the intruos2 supports the different pressures that PS can recognize. I dunno, but it sounded like a good thing.
I'm just sick and tired of trying to doodle on my pc or "ink" a lil drawing and have trouble doing so. I have an mx500 mouse which is h, but it's still a mouse. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Oh and thanks for the tips on paper/pens/pencils. I'll look into getting some over the Christmas break.

Synthetic Orange

rcumps01 wrote:

I read on the WACOM site that the intruos2 supports the different pressures that PS can recognize. I dunno, but it sounded like a good thing.

Uh... ALL tablets do that.

rcumps01

It sounded special when they said it like this "Intuos2 is the professional pen tablet that turns on the full power of Photoshop's 20 pressure-sensitive tools."