Drawing Tablet - Need help!

[chris moore]

Can anyone point me in the right direction, or tell me straight out, where the best place to get information on settings and user tips on wacom tablets when using for comic line art is?

At the moment, I am pencilling my own comic and leaving it at that with the intention of scanning the pencils when they are all done. At that point, I'd like to go over the line art with a drawing tablet in Photoshop to take advantage of the changes in line width and opacity etc according to pressure and tilt. I dont own one yet, and had planned on getting one for Xmas - but fortunately my office has an Intuos 2 A4, and I'm borrowing it for a couple days to see how hard they are to use to see if its even worth buying my own or getting one for Xmas.

We seem to have lost the CD and manual, so while plug and play worked fine, I'm suspicious of the CD being essential for control panel settings and for pressure abilities to work.

Colouring using it is not a problem as selecting can be slightly less spot on. But I'm having hell of a time sorting out brush variance in Paintshop Pro (only have that at work, got Photoshop 7 at home) to get any kind of effect. Plus, I tried going over the line work of a a panel of a page I scanned a while ago, and its really jiggly and not at all smooth. Is this just me, or a RAM/Graphics Card issue, or inexperience, or its impossible to use drawing tablets for that kind of accuracy, or is it just that the kind of quality I need is only possible in Photoshop?

Anyone know what the settings of brush variance pallettes should be? And what Jitter, Fade rate and impressions per step are?

 

[antmanx68]

Can anyone point me in the right direction, or tell me straight out, where the best place to get information on settings and user tips on wacom tablets when using for comic line art is?

At the moment, I am pencilling my own comic and leaving it at that with the intention of scanning the pencils when they are all done. At that point, I'd like to go over the line art with a drawing tablet in Photoshop to take advantage of the changes in line width and opacity etc according to pressure and tilt. I dont own one yet, and had planned on getting one for Xmas - but fortunately my office has an Intuos 2 A4, and I'm borrowing it for a couple days to see how hard they are to use to see if its even worth buying my own or getting one for Xmas.

We seem to have lost the CD and manual, so while plug and play worked fine, I'm suspicious of the CD being essential for control panel settings and for pressure abilities to work.

Colouring using it is not a problem as selecting can be slightly less spot on. But I'm having hell of a time sorting out brush variance in Paintshop Pro (only have that at work, got Photoshop 7 at home) to get any kind of effect. Plus, I tried going over the line work of a a panel of a page I scanned a while ago, and its really jiggly and not at all smooth. Is this just me, or a RAM/Graphics Card issue, or inexperience, or its impossible to use drawing tablets for that kind of accuracy, or is it just that the kind of quality I need is only possible in Photoshop?

Anyone know what the settings of brush variance pallettes should be? And what Jitter, Fade rate and impressions per step are?

I have found that its not a good idea to try to "ink" your pencils with a tablet. Its arduos and not worth it, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to ink them with a pen before you scan or just leave the pencils as it. I'm actually not sure that anyone uses a tablet in this way (its not very practical). What it IS good for is touching up all of your lines once they are scanned. Usuing the pressure sensitive erasers can really help clean up stray lines and make the art smoother (if smooth is what you are going for).

You absolutely need the software that goes with it, plug and play will do nothing to help you (at least for photoshop). The tablet installation CD comes with brushes that work specifically with the tablet and also allows for pressure sensitivity. I dont see how you could be getting any pressure sensitivity without the installation disk, try to find the installer online depending on the product you're using.

It works best for coloring. Once you get used to the brushes you will learn how to achieve different effects with them that would not be possible with a mouse.

hope this helps.

-Ant

 

[ampersand]

I agree with Antman, inking with a tablet is a hell of a chore and isn't worth it. If you draw cleanly you can just darken the pencils in photoshop, otherwise I suggest pen or brush inking.

And if you can't find the CD, I'm sure you can download the necessary drivers for the tablet from the wacom website.

 

[chris moore]

Thanks man. I was hoping I could get the varying thickness for inking by using the pressure sensitivity as my hand inking skills are terrible so I dont want to risk ruining my pencil work by smudging brush ink, and I dont see how pens would allow me varying thicknesses to give depth to the line art. I think what I'll have to do is ink onto another sheet using a lightbox - any pen reccomendations (just feel I'll have more control with a pen)

 

[ampersand]

I usually use Faber Castell PITT brush pens or Pigma Micron pens for my inking. The brush pens give you that change in line weight without having to actually use a brush and the micron pens don't bleed.

 

[chris moore]

do brush pens present a problem with in panel line work? or is it just that them bleeding is a problem if you were to use them for stright lines with a ruler? I read somewhere that pigma micron pens are not a brand so much as a type - like sellotape or cellophane. Any specifics there?

Sorry for all the Q's. Inking is the one aspect of the whole process where the books just have brushes, rags and india ink, and comparisons of cross hatching by different professionals.

 

[EdRyder]

I usually use Faber Castell PITT brush pens or Pigma Micron pens for my inking. The brush pens give you that change in line weight without having to actually use a brush and the micron pens don't bleed.

Everyone raves about these PITT pens,,,....I think i need to get off my rump and get me some already

BTW Ive never seen a tutorial for inking with PaintShopPro,(a PSP user myself)seen a ton for photoshop tho.

From what I gather some folks can do well with digital ink some prefer the traditional.Ive seen good results with digital ink but having never attempted it myself i cant say whether or not its worth the time/effort.

 

[chris moore]

I was only using Paintshop Pro cos I have Photoshop on both computers at home but not at work where I was borrowing the tablet. I'll see if I can take it home and try it on Photoshop. Downloaded the drives though and checked the settings. Works on its co ntrol panel, but still no changes in thickness etc in Paintshop

 

[ampersand]

do brush pens present a problem with in panel line work? or is it just that them bleeding is a problem if you were to use them for stright lines with a ruler? I read somewhere that pigma micron pens are not a brand so much as a type - like sellotape or cellophane. Any specifics there?

Sorry for all the Q's. Inking is the one aspect of the whole process where the books just have brushes, rags and india ink, and comparisons of cross hatching by different professionals.

Brush pens are fine for all kinds of lines, but if you don't want the thickness to vary it's just easier to use a micron pens.

The micron pens I use are made by Sakura.

 

[ampersand]

Everyone raves about these PITT pens,,,....I think i need to get off my rump and get me some already

They are definately worth it. I have a bunch of plain black brush pens as well as a set of greyscale one's for that inkwash look. I love them.

 

[chris moore]

any shops in the uk that would do all these? regular art stores focus so much on staedtlers and oil paints that they have bugger all brush pens, or even bristol board

 

[lujho]

I'm actually not sure that anyone uses a tablet in this way (its not very practical).

Amazingly, Brian Bolland does his work straight off with a stylus/tablet and the pen tool in Photoshop. No pencils, no rough sketches, just straight into it, obviously using the eraser to correct mistakes.

Granted, he's a slow artist and only does covers nowdays, but I assume he wouldn't use the method he does if it wasn't advantageous and easy for him than any alternative.

 

[lujho]

Thanks man. I was hoping I could get the varying thickness for inking by using the pressure sensitivity as my hand inking skills are terrible so I dont want to risk ruining my pencil work by smudging brush ink, and I dont see how pens would allow me varying thicknesses to give depth to the line art. I think what I'll have to do is ink onto another sheet using a lightbox - any pen reccomendations (just feel I'll have more control with a pen)

Another method is to scan your pencils and print it out again in blue (or photocopy it in blue)... then ink over that print-out and once it's in the computer you can easily isolate the black and remove the blue.

Would work best if your scanner/printer/copier could do large paper (A3), but you could work around it by doing half a page at a time then stitching them together in photoshop or something.

 

[CyberMonkeytron]

yeah- im not sure i completely understand all the tablet inking hate.

Granted it does take a little longer- but the flexablility it allows you to have is pretty awesome, especially if you are prone to inking mistakes like myself.

One of my problems has been a lack of line variation- and i find inking with a tablet helps. I've been doing a lot of my recent inking in Flash and it gives you super sexy smooth lines.

If you are having problems with the lines being jaggy, work at a much higher resolution and scale than what you plan the picture to actually be at- that way when you scale it down, it'll look better.
​

 

[chris moore]

What I was doing was taking the pencils on A3 Bristol (So am drawing at X1.5 comicbook size - dont know how double size is done if all the pads are A4 or A3) and photcopying them down to A4 so they fit on my scanner. Then scanning them in at 400dpi.

Made for less problems when scanning, cos A3 scanning means you have half sticking out and flopping over a bit no matter how much you hold it up, then you have light errors as the bend is darker and whatnot - didnt like stitching together two shades of grey.

Maybe the action will be smoother in Photoshop rather than Paintshop Pro. Though (and I know it takes practice) to me it just seems like you're still moving your hand around at a point on the desk, but looking up at a completely different area. Like taking notes in a lecture without looking at your page cos you want to keep an eye on the board - comes out like you're writing cackhanded

 

[EXCELSIOR]

What I was doing was taking the pencils on A3 Bristol (So am drawing at X1.5 comicbook size - dont know how double size is done if all the pads are A4 or A3) and photcopying them down to A4 so they fit on my scanner. Then scanning them in at 400dpi.

Made for less problems when scanning, cos A3 scanning means you have half sticking out and flopping over a bit no matter how much you hold it up, then you have light errors as the bend is darker and whatnot - didnt like stitching together two shades of grey.

Maybe the action will be smoother in Photoshop rather than Paintshop Pro. Though (and I know it takes practice) to me it just seems like you're still moving your hand around at a point on the desk, but looking up at a completely different area. Like taking notes in a lecture without looking at your page cos you want to keep an eye on the board - comes out like you're writing cackhanded

Chris,
I've used a Wacom-Intuos tablet for over 10 years... in fact the same one for 10 years and have never had a problem with it.

It's all second nature to me now, but it did take a lot of time to get used to eyes on the monitor hand on the tablet - it can be a bit awkward at first. But I'm telling once you get the hang of it you will never go back!

As far as inking with the Wacom & PS, the suggestions already given are spot on. And then everyone has their own cheats that work for them! You'll need to do any of your inking the old fashioned way then scan it and color from there.

I do a lot of pencil sketches on paper then scan that into PS, and playing with the brightness etc... filter it out a bit and turn my pencil lines into black lines, then with a stack of layers & various filters do my coloring!

Below is one I did as an example for the fan art contest a while back.
Drawin in pencil, scaned, cleaned up and colored using the Wacom w/PS:

Hope this helps you a bit!

 

[chris moore]

Thats very helpful. I found that after a couple days, the strokes were much smoother, and following the screen with my eye became much more natural. My girlfriend had a go last night for the fun of it (a new gadget in the house) as I had borrowed it from work for the weekend, and she was about as bad as I was on the first day - really made me notice the difference after just a bit of practice (fitting playing in at work).

Question - what size is actually reccomended? The DC guide to colouring (opinions on that would be welcome too as I think its pretty damn good, but colouring accurately and professionally is new to me) says the guy uses the medium one and most professionals use the smaller one, but all agree that the largets is unneccesary. I find that the A4 require such broad sweeping motions that it doesnt make the selecting as unwavering as it could be - but is A4 actually the medium one? The pic in the book of possibly the author at his desk looks like the A4, suggesting that is medium. But I was thinking of getting the Intuos3 A6. Upping to A5 adds another £60 or something to the price! So I dont wanna get unneccesary equipment and waste my money!

 

[doommachine]

The entire DC Comics Guide series is amazing. By far the best comic-related how-to books I have seen yet. I've bought them all :P

 

[CyberMonkeytron]

A4 is fine- i have a 9x12 at work- which is great, but i really dont use most of the space. I typically have a 'sweet spot' on mine because i use the space bar quick key to move the canvas around on screen, opposed to moving my hand around the tablet.

It is a bit of a learning curve getting the hang of it- but try changing the mapping options (telling the computer what part of the screen relates to the tablet surface) if you still get stuck.

If your also finding your lines not coming out as smooth as you would like- play with the brush settings

under spacing- it is normally around 25%, crank that baby down to around 10 or so. It'll smooth out your lines.
​

 

[CyberMonkeytron]

double post

 

[chris moore]

Damn - good tips! The one I've borrowed from my work didnt have the manual in the box, so I didnt know about telling the computer which bit relates to where. Thanks

 

[chris moore]

A4 is fine- i have a 9x12 at work- which is great, but i really dont use most of the space. I typically have a 'sweet spot' on mine because i use the space bar quick key to move the canvas around on screen, opposed to moving my hand around the tablet.

It is a bit of a learning curve getting the hang of it- but try changing the mapping options (telling the computer what part of the screen relates to the tablet surface) if you still get stuck.

If your also finding your lines not coming out as smooth as you would like- play with the brush settings

under spacing- it is normally around 25%, crank that baby down to around 10 or so. It'll smooth out your lines.
​

Is this for a mac? Cos I dont seem to be able to find this display in Photoshop on my PC.

Also, has anyone seen this:http://www.farlowstudios.com/inks.html

Seems like a really complicated way of inking, creating paths, closing them etc - this type of digital inking puts me off and moves me towards hand inking with pitt pens (any online shop reccomended?)

 

[CyberMonkeytron]

Is this for a mac? Cos I dont seem to be able to find this display in Photoshop on my PC.

nah- PC- its CS2.

Make sure you have a brush selected- and then click on the Brushes tab (top right corner), then click on the brush tip shape box.

You may find this useful when it comes to your other questions about jitter etc

http://www.planetphotoshop.com/tutorials/PeteBauer74.html

 

[KAD]

I just started using an Intuos 3 last month with PS 6

I love it and will never go back. I have started to do all my drawing with it from begining to end

 

[Anita18]

I agree with Antman, inking with a tablet is a hell of a chore and isn't worth it.

I tried inking in Illustrator (making a path and then paint-bucketing inside it to produce the line-weights) and it took me three hours to do a simple panel. It was my first time so you'd think that the subsequent tries would go faster...but I've never gotten around to doing the others, LOL. It definitely took longer than I thought, though.