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(I wanted to do this in the 5th grade with some crazy magnets. Never got the chance, though)
YES
Is it even worth getting a new one? Mine is 10 years old, so I'm assuming there's been some improvement in the low-end models since then.
The Intuos has higher pressure sensitivity, and a few features like tilt and such that I don't think you'll really need (just yet). I used a Graphire1 for YEARS...and only bought an Intuos last year, because I felt I finally needed a new tablet, and the old one was starting to crap out (Probably used it almost 10 years too)...and I know I'll be using this thing for the years following...BUT! I'm going to be doing a hell of a lot of drawing over the next few years, and I use this thing on a regular basis (also is the BEST MOUSE EVAR).
For somebody who's just starting out, I don't think you'll need the Intuos...and if, a few years down the line, you want a new tablet and feel you're ready to spend $200 on an upgrade, and you're still dedicated to drawing...then that would be a perfect time to get one - you'll have the extra features and sensitivity, and you can use them to your advantage.
I mean, if you have the cash and know you'll be drawing a lot in the next few years, then sure, get an Intuos...but getting a lower-grade tablet is not going to "hold you back" as you mentioned. It will not make your artwork better, it will not improve your work at all. The only thing an Intuos does for you that a Bamboo/Graphie doesn't, is make digital work marginally easier (in my opinion)...but if I needed to use a Graphire for the rest of my life, I wouldn't care too much. They're still excellent tablets, and you can produce the same kind of work with them, as you can with an Intuos
Buy whatever you can afford.
Edit:
Actually, I take that back. The surfaces are different; the Graphire has a smooth surface which isn't bad... untill you draw on the coarser Bamboo Fun. It feels more like drawing on paper than on a smooth acrylic sheet.
2. Enjoy a textured surface you can take notes on.
3. Enjoy replacing your wacom nibs every few months.
Personally I dislike the feel of the Bamboo pen. It's very rigid and has basically no give at all, making it very hard to judge your pressure.
I've heard that Wacom has sheets you can buy for the tablets that make the surface rougher, like paper. May be something to consider if that bothers any o' you dudes/dude-ladies.
http://spoonbard.deviantart.com/art/How-To-Draw-v1-3-40590655
I'm only part of the way through, but it seems to be a reiteration of pretty much all I've read and learned about drawing, which is a good thing. The more ways it can be presented, the more likely it is that a new way of putting it will click with someone who couldn't get it before.
I am a secondary school science teacher in south london, as a scientist I have minimal artistic ability.
We have our sports day approaching and I really want our house team to look the part so I'm trying to find a Green superman T-shirt design.
I'm not sure on the best way to do it, either a green tshirt with a black S logo, or maybe a grey with a green logo.
Any help, advice or photoshopped green superman logos would be much appreciated.
Remember it's all for the kids (and so us teachers can look cool).
Thanks
Louie
Twitter - discolouie PSN - Loupa Steam - Loupa
http://www.superherostuff.com/characters/GreenLantern/GreenLantern.html
Twitter - discolouie PSN - Loupa Steam - Loupa
Easier still is to work in vectors. You can just click and swap colors. I did a superman design not too long ago and found the S logo at BrandsOfTheWorld.com. Note that you'll only be able to modify this if you have a vector editing program like Illustrator or Freehand. Alternately, you can import it to Photoshop and Hue/Desaturate like Grifter suggested.
As far as the shirt goes, black tends to be more expensive, usually you have to add a white base before you can print the design which tends to make the production a little pricier. Though you should check this with your print supplier, who knows, maybe they'll charge the same!
If you don't have a vector program, PM me and I'll swap the colors for you. All I ask is that you give me the exact numerical color you're looking for.
I'm in the market for a new desktop tower or laptop (converting my full work area to laptop form would be very nice indeed, seeing as how I don't play PC games and only really need it for Photoshop and online correspondence), but my latest look into Mac technology looks to be too much of a strain on my wallet for the time being. I was considering getting a new Intel Mac to run both OSX 10.5 and Windows XP, but now that I'm looking at the specs, I found that I can get even more power behind a PC for less than half the price.
My question is if anyone knows of a way to run MacOS X natively from a partitioned PC drive if the chip is Intel. Now that they're using Intel chips in the G5 towers, it seems like it could potentially be used both ways through a PC equivalent of Boot Camp, and even moreso if such a thing could be run on a laptop at a decent enough speed. Does anyone know if such a thing exists, or am I just going to have to shell out the extra cash if I want to keep my native Mac environment?
This might help:
Build a Hackintosh Mac for Under $800
http://lifehacker.com/software/hack-attack/build-a-hackintosh-mac-for-under-800-321913.php
You should be able to buy a fairly nice PC with Vista (which has been much improved sp1), and have OS X run on it. Either a laptop (good article today on anandtech http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3351&p=1), buy a PC or build one.
Depends on what you want to do in art.
I went to U of M's school of art and hated it because it was largely geared towards pure gallery-type fine art and far less about technical drawing skills. Considering what I wanted to get out of it, it felt like largely a waste of time, and I ended up spending far too much time having to take non-art classes because of overcrowding in the few directly useful art classes; One semester I was prevented from taking any art classes at all for this reason, and had to take a bunch of crap just to remain a full-time student.
I would imagine a lot of major university programs are largely geared in the same fashion; if that's the sort of thing you want, there you go. If you want to move into commercial art, I would have to recommend against it.
Only 2 other schools in Michigan spring to mind:
Cranbrook Academy of Art, which I still believe is pretty gallery art oriented, but at least it's just a pure art school and not splitting focus between art and university curricula. It was pretty highly recommended by one of the few teachers I trusted at U of M, so it might be worth checking out.
Then there's the College for Creative Studies, which I don't know a lot about; all I can recall is that they at least used to have a really good program in automotive design, owing to being in Detroit and all that brings with it. I would imagine that it would have a more similarly more commercial focus in general than University programs, but I have no actual evidence to support that claim.
I've also heard positive things about The School of the Art Institute of Chicago if you're willing to go that far, but again I don't know where their focus is. May be worth doing some research on it.
Twitter
Thanks a lot, dude. I'm doing some research on the kind I want. I found a pretty cool page thanks to a friend that gives a good explanation on how to dual-boot an XP or Vista system with Leopard. It sounds simple enough and I already have the store-bought Leopard install disc, so I think I've already got all I need... aside from the new PC, that is.
I'll check out Best Buy and a couple other places this weekend and see what I can find.
I'm working on a mail piece where I have to make a custom box to house a promotional item. However, this box must be mail-standards compliant or we risk astronomical processing charges. Our promotional item is more or less the size of a check box; 1.3" deep, 5.75" wide and 3" high.
I went to a nearby bank to measure a checkbox the measurments I got were 1.25" deep, 3.375" high and 6.5" wide.
But I've only been to one bank. I have no idea if these measurements are universal, or if there is an acceptable size variation tolerance. If any of you have a checkbox, and could measure it for me I'll give you a coupon for MBOS.
3 9/16" deep
6 3/4" wide
Edit: OK, I just figured out why different check book boxes have different sizes. Unlike flat mail, parcels don't have a specific size limitation in order to be machinable; that is in order for them to fall into the automated sorting process. According to a document I just received from UPS, parcels can be any size between:
6" Wide
3" high
.25" deep
and
34" wide
17" high
17" deep
There are also some weight classes, but I'm not sweating it since our package is very light! If anyone is interested I can type up the Machinable Parcel specs. In any case, thanks for your help, Supa Beast, I'll give you your coupon shortly.