AuthorTopic: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist  (Read 18109 times)

Offline surt

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #10 on: November 30, 2013, 02:36:03 pm
There are plenty more options when it comes to Tablet PCs than just the Cintiq Companion.
None of them has the top-of-range digitser of the Companion, but tilt and rotation aren't too useful for pixel work anyways.
The current gen is in the process of being released now. I've got my eyes on the Fujitsu Stylistic T704: 12" 1080p slate + keydock.
You don't mention any particular battery-life requirements but if you want good endurance then something Bay Trail based should give you a full workday and plenty to spare (not sure if any have been released yet though).
They'll all come installed with windows 8 preinstalled, but that's nothing an linux ISO on a flash drive can't fix.

Offline Vagrant

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #11 on: November 30, 2013, 04:32:32 pm
Have you seen the Surface Pro 2, coincidentally?

Has the latest Haswell processors and virtually the same specs as the Companion. Only, not as high-end when it comes to sensitivity, and the screen is a bit to small for it's huge 1920x1080 resolution: 10".
Pros: Longer battery life, 900Kg of weight.


Im going to check the Fujitsu one, nevertheless.  :y:

Offline surt

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #12 on: November 30, 2013, 10:53:01 pm
For my needs I want something that can double as a proper laptop, so need a convertible of some form. The Surface's kickstand + keycover doesn't do it, not to mention the tiny screen.
If Wacom gets their act together and releases a keydock for the next generation of Companion then that could be really sweet.

Offline YellowLime

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #13 on: December 06, 2013, 01:05:38 pm
Have you seen the Surface Pro 2, coincidentally?
[...]
Pros: Longer battery life, 900Kg of weight.
Doesn't seem like a pro to me :y

Offline Vagrant

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #14 on: February 14, 2014, 08:20:48 pm
Here's an update:

I went for the Cintiq Companion, it just felt superior in every way after I went out to several electronics stores here in Spain and did some test-runs on the Surface Pro 2. It was simply too tiny, and not as precise as I would wish.

It also had that cheap-looking tablet feeling that I somehow can't explain, but it might just have been me.

It's set to ship in a week or two, but when it comes I'll provide some first impressions and reviews if you all want to know. The thing came at like 2000$ or so, so yeah. I'll also go and test it with a Linux virtual machine and see how it operates.

Until then. o/ 
« Last Edit: April 02, 2014, 05:41:01 pm by Vagrant »

Offline Atnas

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #15 on: February 14, 2014, 08:34:37 pm
Sweet! I've had my win8 cintiq companion for about 2 months now. You will not regret your decision. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. We can compare side button shortcuts when yours gets to you. Do you use Graphics Gale?

I recommend switching to bluetooth peripherals. So far I've got a bluetooth audio transceiver so i pipe my music wirelessly from the cintiq to my speakers and I am getting a bluetooth mouse and keyboard this month. The less wires I have the more likely I am to continue my work in bed when I get too tired to stay at my desk. Oftentimes my productivity problems come from getting restless at my desk, the companion has helped me focus tremendously. I can keep my gf company in the kitchen while she makes dinner without having to stop drawing. Since you work while traveling you will want something small like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EOWBKE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=O9N4WC5GL15&coliid=IM3HVCE7H65AD

Windows 8.1 is not bad. It's faster than Win7 and you don't ever need to use the metro interface if you don't want. Windows 8 had less customizability on that front but when you get it, upgrade and you will be happy. On the Companion touch is actually really nice and you'll find yourself using it more than you thought you would, and metro apps are preferable to websites on this thing, like the office apps and twitter and tumblr and facebook are all better in win8. Pinch zooming while painting and panning with your fingers, etc. You can also make customizable sliders that respond to touch even while the pen is active on the screen, a very good feature that gets around the clunky one-or-the-other input method.

Offline surt

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #16 on: February 14, 2014, 08:44:01 pm
I ended up getting a Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga. Good digitiser performance once I applied the blackhole fix. For the pressure to work in linux you'll need to patch up the linux-wacom driver. I think it's a good option if you're after a convertible.

Also ordered an Asus Vivotab Note 8 mainly just cause it's cheap (relatively speaking) which could be an option for those who want something more portable.

Offline Atnas

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #17 on: February 14, 2014, 08:49:52 pm
The Yoga looks amazing. How many levels of pressure does it get?

I do hope the next generation of Companion gets a dock.

Offline surt

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #18 on: February 14, 2014, 09:08:55 pm
1024 but as far as I'm concerned pressure levels has negligible influence on digitiser feel or performance.
I'm certain I can't reliably control my hand pressure to with a granularity of 64 levels, let alone 1024 or 2048.

Offline Atnas

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Re: Suitable Trinkets for the World-traveling Pixel Artist

Reply #19 on: February 14, 2014, 09:26:34 pm
I've found pressure to be important for other reasons than the pure 1:1 translation. If that was the only usage case then you could get away with 256 levels of pressure, draw a straight line with a 256 px brush over the distance of 256 pixels and have it be the max resolution you can achieve at the highest fidelity.

With more pressure I am free to get more usage out of custom pressure curves and oftentimes the additional pressure helpful because I am very heavy handed. 256 is perfectly usable, I imagine 64 is too, but it's no replacement for the traditional feeling until it gets up to 1024. At 2048 I am closest to feeling like I can simulate natural media, however important that may be. You can map a really light pressure curve when doing watercolors and be really effeminate about it, or switch to a really firm one when doing more blunt media. That's a novelty though, and I could totally get by on 64 as I hardly ever use a brush bigger than that for detail work in the first place because my digital work tends to lacks nuance.

I think the surface pro has 512. I have one of those in my house and it draws just fine but you can tell it is less sensitive when trying to emulate natural media.