[YVerloc]

Anyone here been looking into using a Tablet PC for digital sketching? In the spring, I sprung for a Cintiq - that's the Wacom model that has the screen inside it. I've been loving it. I spent a while looking for a laptop that had a Cintiq-compatible video card. I also looked a bit for a way of powering the cintiq out of doors. My goal was to be able to sit down a sketch or paint anywhere I felt like. Would have been a hell of a heavy rig though.

Last week, MS and a bunch of hardware manufacturers launched the tablet PC. For those of you that don't know, it's a tablet based ultra portable laptop. A bunch of the models are so-called slate designs because they don't have keyboards built in, and rely entirely on the pen-based interface MS has built into XP Tablet PC Edition. Most of the models are built out of Wacom components, and support pressure sensitive pen-based input (only 256 levels though). There are other limitations with the Tablet PC. Most models have small screens (10 inch diag), low Ram (256 megs avg), and shite videocards. All models have pretty low res displays (1024*768 is the highest). And MS has built a custom pen-based interface (HID) right into the OS, so older (art) apps like Photoshop that use the Wacom Wintab pen interface won't work properly (pressure sensitivity, for example, won't work).

Except that Wacom has saved the day, and released a tablet dirver that will work on the Tablet PC.

I'm pretty excited about the possiblity of doing ditial painting outdoors, and not being chained to my desk. I'd love to be able to capture light and color without having to rely on photo reference all the time; excercising my eyeballs outside once in a while would be nice too.

Anyone else been thinking about this? Anyone know anything more about using a Tablet PC for art-making? Anyone out there actually trying it right now?

Curious and Excited
YV

[Dr. Bang]

Well the only thing im worry about now is the battery life, how long should it last?
_________________
Join Roundeye's secret art forum. SHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Sieb]

http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/products/sketchbook/info.shtml

That should answer all your questions. Tablet PCs are in limited avaliablity right now unless you can plop down 2 grand for one. I will wait till they get a bit smaller and cheaper. I don't feel comfortable toting a screen around to class and work just to draw on it when it costs as much as my laptop, hehe.
_________________
~>|Sieb|<~

[YVerloc]

Not very long - 3-5 hours I think. Probably a lot less when doing GFX. Electrovaya makes external battery packs that last up to 15 hours, so I figured a few of them would get me thourgh a day's painting. It's about the size and weight of a mousepad.

[DarkVVulf]

I would be significantly afraid of breaking the thing or losing it.
I hope they had enough sense to build the Tablet PC for wear and tear like my PDA.
_________________
den.vvulf

[Jami Noguchi]

I was super excited about this until I started checking them out. First gen new tech is always a bit wonkey. But the largest res i found was 800x600 which is kind of a let down.

It sounds very promising. I'd be so great to just digitally sketch whereever i wanted. i'd take the little bastard with me wherever i went. As they get the hang of these things, future versions can't help but be better. I'm waiting with baited breath or saving up for that cintiq.
_________________
No matter where you go, there you are.

[YVerloc]

re: first gen tech. No doubt. I started saving my dosh to buy the Cintiq's predecessor, the Wacom PL500. It was twice as expensive as the Cintiq is now, but was pretty bad hardware wise. I think the display was only 800*600, and only 128 levels of presure sensitivity. I checked the Wacom site one day to see if the price had dropped, and lo and behold, they'd replaced it with the Cintiq, which was half the price!

I hope the same will hold true for the Tablet PC. But basically, I want to paint outside right now, not a year from now.

How many of us could take a watercolor block, a few brushes, and a little set of watercolor paints outside, and return at the end of the day with the images we wanted to create? I know I couldn't. I'd come back tired and frustrated. If I had Spooge's determination, I might come back a little futher ahead than the day before, but frustrated nonetheless. If I were a real masochist, I might even want to tackle a tougher medium like buon fresco en plein air, or if I wanted to make myself really miserable, maybe I could grow each picture out of moss, or etch it into stone by licking it with my toungue. It seems to me, however, that the point isn't to master the toughest medium, but to find one's most fluent medium. For many of us, I suspect that our most fluent medium is digital painting. That's why it sucks so hard that the only place you can generally practice digital painting is indoors. As you read this, take a look around you and ask yourself "Is this the place where I'd most like to be when I make art?". For me the answer is "no". I'm tired of seeing the world from Corbis.com. I guess the other question I have to answer for myself is "How much am I willing to pay to be able to do it wherever I want?"

Being a digital painter is kind of like being a painist or a cellist - you can't just stick it in a bag and go play on the beach. That's why guitarists get all the girls.

The one I've got my eye on now is the Motion Computing model, because it's got a slightly bigger screen (12 inch), 1024*768 screen res, and up to a gig of ram, which is key. And it's a slate.

YV

[lalPOOO]

"How much am I willing to pay to be able to do it wherever I want?"

ahahahhahha,

sorry.

[ReAktor]

Well, here are two arguments against using a Tablet-PC for design and art:

1) The Displays are mostly cheap which means that they roughly show the right colors... And they are not really bright because the backlight is not very powerful.. So your drawings will definitely look different on a monitor. Its ok for sketches... But I think I can buy a lot of paper and pens for the price of one of those tablet PCs...

2) Just forget the idea to use it outside. If you never have tried to use a TFT in sunlight, ask a friend with a laptop to take it outside and have a look on the display.

Just my 2 cents,

ReAktor
_________________
www.alientechnologies.de
Free media for open minds ...

[Jami Noguchi]

Yeah, outside with the sunlight might be a problem. But digital sketching on the go would be loads of fun. Just imagine sketching at the DMV. Boy, you could get a whole book done waiting in those lines.
_________________
No matter where you go, there you are.

[Godwin]

i do mouse work

so i find stuff like the lasso tool, layers, preserve transparency, etc. really useful, and the last time i tried real painting, it was...well, disappointing, i have yet to grasp the medium as well as i have with pencil/paper
_________________
Derelict Studios|Godwin's Space

[saripol]

something i've stumbled upon :

"Alias SketchBook Pro� is a business and personal productivity tool that transforms your Tablet PC into a digital sketchbook, available anywhere, any time."

http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/products/sketchbook/info.shtml

check the gallery too..
_________________
http://www.akarumbi.com

[Jami Noguchi]

Anyone get one of these things yet? I'm itching to try one. And since Alias is giving away free sketching software (well, at least a limited version), I'm very interested to see it in action.

I've done some research and I mispoke. Most go up to 1024x768. But a lot of them are 10in screens. I'm thinking about the Motion computing monster, but anyone actually see one yet?
_________________
No matter where you go, there you are.

[YVerloc]

I'm in Canada, and none of the models are available here yet, except for the Acer convertible. I demo'd it in October (for some reason, Canada got advance hardware from Acer). I brought along a copy of Photoshop on disc, and installed it on the demo model, but no joy - the pressure sensitivity didn't work. Drew fine otherwise though. I drew a little bit in the MS Journal app, and I was impressed. The pen action was way smoother and more responsive than my Cintiq. The pen strokes were less jittery too. (When I draw slowly on the Cintiq, the line gets quite jittery - wasn't the case on the Acer). Pretty small screen though, that's why I'm leaning towards the Motion Computing model too.

[Jami Noguchi]

Man, i checked one out yesterday. Sweet! I've never used a Cintiq so I have nothing to compare it to, but sketching was quite fun. The action was smooth and it tracked very well. I was messing with the ViewSonic model. CompUSA in the US has a bunch so if anyone is interested, they're willing to let you play.

Only thing is the screen is damn small like the Acer. I think CompUSA has the Viewsonic, Acer, and Toshiba models. The pressure sensativity only works if you have the Wacom drivers installed and a wacom pen I think. At least that's what I got from the helper dude.

Anyway, I'm impressed. It's definately on me xmas list now.
_________________
No matter where you go, there you are.

[DubOU4]

bringing this post back to life, it's been a while now for a few improvements on the tablet PCs, I was wondering does anyone have one, how well does it work, give us some advice on choosing one from an artist view...

here are some sites on tablet pcs that I could find

www.tabletpctalk.com
www.tabletpcs.net
www.thetabletpc.net
www.TabletPCDeveloper.com
www.TabletPCBuzz.com
www.tabletcentral.com

for more just check links on those pages...
_________________
--God created the earth in 6 days, on the 7th he rendered