Wacom Tablet and general art doodles/dump

[infinity+1]

i've been thinking about getting a tablet, but, i'm pretty poor on average, so i was wondering if it the bamboo cheapy wacom is worth anything?

[AdamAtomic]

I guess it isn't this way for everybody apparently, but when I switched to a tablet I didn't see a huge jump in quality necessarily, but a really big jump in the speed at which I was able to work, especially in the earlier stages of the art - I found myself sketching right in the pixel app rather than tracing lineart or something like that.  As a freelancer anything that saves time is pretty invaluable!

[Shrike]

i've been thinking about getting a tablet, but, i'm pretty poor on average, so i was wondering if it the bamboo cheapy wacom is worth anything?

i have to say, yes. im pretty broke too, and i can't say i have really seen a more expensive one, but it really does help. Statements here are true, pen buttons are annoying, but i have no problem with the active area, Which was one of my more prominent worries. plus, for $79, its really worth the money.[/commercial]

But, i would say it depends on how religious you are with the way of the pixel.

@skurwy
Thanks a million for the video, stuff like that always makes me inspired. ill make a grayscale eye tonight, when i can get my hands on the good computer.

@doppleganger
thats a good idea, i definetly need some. 
i prefer a mouse for smaller resolution, only because i don't have to unpack my Wacom every time and that i dont currently get many chances to use it.

@adamatomic
This makes perfect sense in my mind, now that it's said.

i couldn't wait till i could use my Wacom, since the video has gotten me all inspired.
heres a quick mouse attempt:

i think i got a little dither-happy..
but i think im getting better at A-Aing!

EDIT:

I guess it isn't this way for everybody apparently, but when I switched to a tablet I didn't see a huge jump in quality necessarily, but a really big jump in the speed at which I was able to work, especially in the earlier stages of the art - I found myself sketching right in the pixel app rather than tracing lineart or something like that.  As a freelancer anything that saves time is pretty invaluable!

Good point. For larger art, it seems to be a real help to me though, and sketches are made much easier.

[skw]

i've been thinking about getting a tablet, but, i'm pretty poor on average, so i was wondering if it the bamboo cheapy wacom is worth anything?

small A6 tablets ain't no good, I have one and I wouldn't buy another one again. this is a matter of preference however: try it, you will know whether it suits you or not.

. . . if you want something with a good price to quality ratio, I'd suggest Pentagram tablets. they are also bigger: http://www.pentagram.eu/products/graphic_tablets.

@coran: glad to hear the video came helpful, the music is also quite inspiring, no? nevertheless, I think you should concentrate more on the form itself (do more sketching to develop the already acquired knowledge!), instead of giving all your attention to little details like dithering and aa techniques. don't worry, you'll have time to practice them, remember only that they come in the last stage of rendering, not the first.

[Shrike]

Thanks again, ill work on that.
Also, how highly would you (Or anyone else) recommend 'the Animator's survival kit'? i've heard many good things about it.
What does it help with?

ill spend some serious time sketching multiple sketches tonight.

[skw]

good.

honestly, this is the first time I hear of "The Animator's Survivial Kit". leaf through ANDREW LOOMIS' books if you want, tho. the whole collection is free to download from the web.

[Shrike]

Oh, his books look really handy.
ill do a more detailed study of it later.

heres a couple NPA/brush art sketches of an eye:


a little bit better form, i'd like to think. (I like the second's skin folds best.) I know the most detailed one doesn't have eyelashes, and the lines are wiggly because our mouse is crappy, especially paired with a crappy computer.
Aaaagh!
the good computer is being hogged. ill scan some of my sketches done on paper an a little bit.
Can you tell i live in a large family?

[skw]

well, frankly speaking, the eye pictures you’ve posted are messy. they have wrongly defined light source (the eyeball shadow, for instance, should lay on the upper part of its surface, just under the eyelid -- not on the lower that should be lit), they have no surrounding lighting, the form isn’t then well-shaped and accentuated where it should be. all that makes them look rather like abstract figures, whereas they are intended to resemble functional organs.

do the work insofar as you’re able. I mean: why starting with an eye sketch if you have no clue about drawing simple shapes? you couldn’t, in turn, draw simple shapes properly, if you aren’t familiar with a tablet and haven’t yet learn how to hold a pen steadily and draw straight lines. you know, having a tablet doesn’t make you a better artist; the first few days after I bought mine, I spent on drawing simple figures I haven’t wanted to draw, just to understand how that stuff works.
 
try bigger formats where you have the space for applying a bigger dose of EXPRESSION. you know. . . lines, draw many, as many as you want and highlight those you feel should be the most prominent. it’s quite like sculpturing, carving in stone: an artist draws the right form out of an entanglement of others.

the best piece of advice I can give you right now, is to start from construing simple figures out of simple shapes. there’s one Loomis’ book all about that, well-illustrated and written in plain intelligible language -- that’s an asset of his writings, think of it. oh, and BTW. . . the guy from the video is also using some techniques derived from it.

good luck!

[Shrike]

you couldn’t, in turn, draw simple shapes properly, if you aren’t familiar with a tablet and haven’t yet learn how to hold a pen steadily and draw straight lines.

Oh, i was using a mouse for these. didn't get to use my tablet last night.
but will do. ill do some simple figures, work on getting used to it, you know. ill see if i can post some this afternoon, but ill be on a road trip and have no internet for a while (Till Saturday, and ill be back home by Monday.) so ill do some sketches in the car. thanks once again for all the help you and everyone else are giving me!

~Coran
edit:
ill see if i can't hone my animation skills a little too. i always enjoyed stick figure animation.