We have examined with you how to use a tablet to significantly increase the efficiency of retouching.
Today we will talk about the first steps after buying a tablet, what you need to do for comfortable work.
I will illustrate the material using the example of setting up my old Wacom Bamboo tablet.
So let's move on to the first step.
Step 1. Installing the tablet driver.
Do not rush to immediately connect the tablet to your computer after purchase! First, you need to install the driver so that the tablet works correctly and all its settings become available.
The driver for any tablet can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website in the Support section.
Download the driver specifically for your tablet model.
Step 2. Setting orientation and keys.
Find the installed driver in the list of recent programs and run it.
The settings window will open. It may look different depending on the tablet manufacturer and driver version.
First, you need to adjust the orientation of the tablet, depending on whether you are right-handed or left-handed. By default, the tablet is configured for right-handed users.
Next, you need to configure, if necessary, the function keys Express Keys... These keys are programmable. That is, each can be assigned a specific action from the drop-down list.
It is very convenient and helps to speed up your work.
Step 3. Customize the tablet pen.
The most important thing here is to make sure the tablet is in pen mode, not mouse mode. Otherwise, you will not be able to take advantage of the main advantage - the sensitivity to the pressure of the pen on the working surface.
Go to the tab Feather and check the tablet mode.
You also need to adjust the pen sensitivity. For example, to work with wider brush strokes in Photoshop, move the slider Pen sensitivity in closer to position Soft... Conversely, to work with thin strokes and lines, move the slider closer to the position Hard.
Click on the button Display to the right of the setting Pen mode... Here you need to enable proportional scaling and uncheck the parameter Use Windows handwriting input
Step 4. Disable touch input.
Go to the tab Touch options and uncheck the parameter Enable touch input.
This must be done, otherwise in the process of retouching in Photoshop the tablet will react not only to the pen, but also to the movements of the hand on the surface of the tablet, moreover, in an unpredictable way. By disabling touch input, you will get rid of this problem.
Now you can get to work. Launch Photoshop, open a photo for retouching, grab a tablet pen and try using it in the retouching process instead of a mouse. If you don't have your own sources for retouching, you can try your hand at this photo.
You can attach the results of retouching in the comments, having previously reduced the size to 2000 pixels. on the long side, or post it on the forum.
And as an example, I propose to look at the result of retouching a photo with creative makeup. Here, the models applied a special make-up to give the skin a golden hue and highlight the highlights on the skin. The picture is enlarged on click.
I wish you all creative inspiration and enjoyable work with your graphics tablet!
It is extremely important for a modern artist to learn how to transfer the results of his talent not only to paper, but also to a computer screen. It should be borne in mind that drawing on a graphics tablet is not the same as transferring mental images to paper. So please be patient. In addition, having got hold of a precious product, it should be configured and only then should one begin to master the program for working with graphic images.
This article will tell you how to choose, customize a graphics tablet and learn to draw on it.
Where to begin. Choice d raphic tablet
Apple Pie starts with a selection of apples from the local market. Anyone looking for overwhelming success with a graphics tablet needs to choose it wisely.
Graphic tablets differ not only in cost, but also in purpose. Decide for yourself what you need a tablet for: draw, process photos, communicate? Let's list the most famous models.
The most budgetary option today is the model Bamboo which is well suited for both office and home work. Anything you draw on the tablet will be displayed on the computer screen.
Bamboo connect suitable for drawing and communication. Similar model to her - Bamboo Splash.
Bamboo capture Is the most popular model. Good for photo editing and painting.
Bamboo create is the most expensive model in the Bamboo range.
Graphics tablet Wacom Intuos targeted at the professional user.
The most expensive and prestigious is a graphics tablet. Wacom Cintiq... It allows you to see the drawing on the tablet itself, and not on the PC screen.
Complete set and setup
After the purchase, the graphics tablet will be pristine - it will have to be configured. To do this, you either need to download the drivers on the website of your tablet model, or use the installation disc.
The pen, which always comes with the tablet, can also be used as a mouse - moving it over the surface at a height of two centimeters. If you want to paint, you should drive directly on the surface. Conveniently!
Moreover, the button on the side of the pen replaces the right mouse button. And with the help of the ring on the tablet, it can change the scale of the screen.
Get comfortable with pen tips, get used to them. To make the process go faster, sit with your graphic tablet at your computer when you are not working on images.
Having set up the working tool, you can proceed directly to training.
Websites and Video Channels to Help the Beginning Artist
The following resources will help you master the profession of an illustrator and improve your skills:
... - lessons on working with a graphic tablet for beginners. The video explains how to work with a sketch, a tutorial, transfer an illustration from paper to digital format.
- the page of the school of concept design. Here you will learn how to draw a concept art on a Wacom tablet in Photoshop. There is an author's free program on the basics of constructive drawing with traditional materials with a combination of drawing skills on a graphics tablet. A free analysis of a specific student's work is possible.Drawing lessons and digital painting in Photoshop (and not only) for both professional artists and amateurs. Also here you can find works of various illustrators, their concepts and sketches.
Please note that different artists use different programs to work with images. Each has its own characteristics, therefore, while searching for a demonstration of a technique, you can indicate the program in which you are used to working.
If you have a Wacom Intuos5 Touch Medium Pen Tablet and want to customize and exploit its potential to the fullest, this article is for you.
The Wacom Intuos5 Touch tablet has a pressure-sensitive pen, grater, touch ring and additional buttons that you can customize to your liking.
In addition, the tablet is sensitive to finger touch, so you can move the image or zoom in with the other hand, which is very convenient. If the pen enters the "field of view" of the tablet, then it ignores the touch of the fingers, if there is no pen, it reads hand gestures. This means you don't have to wear a drawing glove like you do on other tablets.
There are no batteries in the pen, so you don't have to worry about them running out at the wrong time.
In addition, the tablet is equipped with a wireless module (sold separately). That is, it can operate on battery power and without wires. But there are rumors that wireless technologies are unreliable and malfunctioning.
Speaking of crashes, the only glitch seen in the Wacom Intuos5 is the sticking eraser. The tablet does not have time to figure out that they are drawing no longer with a float, but with a pen. But this is not a significant problem.
Settings for Photoshop, Illustrator (or other paint program) can be customized. Eight function buttons, a touch ring with four control modes, a pressure and tilt-sensitive pen and eraser, two additional buttons on the pen, hand gestures ...
All this allows you to control the drawing process only with the help of a tablet, practically without touching the computer keyboard.
For a start, you should try to work with the standard settings, as they are well chosen and thought out. In case you frequently use other tools or the buttons do not work correctly, you can fix this in the Wacom Intuos 5 tablet settings.
If in Adobe Photoshop your touch ring does not work at all, go to - Editing / Preferences / Tools ... Here we check the box next to "scale with mouse wheel".
If the touch ring for scaling does not work in Adobe Illustrator, you can register the appropriate keyboard shortcut, as shown in the screenshot below.
For a long time, I was unable to adjust hand gesture scaling in Illustrator. When I connected the tablet to a stationary computer (instead of a laptop), everything worked as it should, without additional settings.
Thanks to such powerful settings, your tablet can completely obey any whims and work differently in different programs.
In addition, if you are left-handed, then it is enough to unfold the tablet and set it in the settings.
When you have everything set up correctly. Moving on to practical
Video tutorial: setting up your Wacom intuos 5
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Retouching photos with Wacom Intuos 5
Drawing tools in Adobe Illustrator
A graphics tablet makes working with computer graphics faster and easier. But in order to achieve maximum performance, a tablet, like any complex equipment, requires careful tuning and our article will help you figure out how to set up a graphics tablet and pen yourself. It will be very problematic for a person who is not thoroughly familiar with Photoshop and installing the necessary drivers to figure it out on his own. Therefore, let's figure out where to start and consider each stage of setting up the device. Take a Wacom graphics tablet as an example.
Installing the required software
The first thing to start with is connecting your device to your computer using the cable out of the box. It should be noted that without drivers (on Windwos 10 it happens automatically) the tablet will not work correctly or will not work at all. Regardless of the OS of your computer (Windows, mac OS), the installation of drivers occurs automatically after launching the corresponding program. You can install using the disk that was in the box with the tablet (if it was not there, go to the next paragraph). Insert the disc, run the software update program. Follow the simple instructions and after that the device will be ready for use.
Another way to install or update gadget drivers is to download them from the graphics tablet manufacturer's website. There are two reasons for this:
- the first is the lack of a floppy drive on a computer or laptop
- the second reason is that the manufacturer's website contains the latest drivers
In new versions of the software, bugs can be fixed, functionality expanded, localization improved or added. Drivers for devices from Wacom can be found on their official website by clicking on the link.
Setting up the graphics tablet itself
After installing and updating the software, you need to properly configure the graphics tablet for its correct operation. We will select the sensitivity of the pen in SAI or PS to the pressure of the pen that suits you. Launch a suitable program and open the tablet control panel (in our case, this is "Wacom Tablet"). Create a new drawing and use as a tool the most ordinary brush with a large size (a diameter of about 50 in Photoshop is fine). Draw a couple of lines using the pen and clicking on it with different strengths. Continue drawing lines while adjusting the Sensitivity setting in the Wacom Tablet settings until you feel comfortable and comfortable adjusting the thickness of the brush by pressing the pen. On some more expensive models, it is possible to save similar settings for several programs separately (for example, one setting for SAI, and another for Photoshop). This is sometimes extremely useful when working with a graphics tablet.
Choosing and setting up brushes
Let's now set up the brushes that you will be using in Photoshop. Press F5 or click on the Brushes button with the mouse and select Brush Tip Shape.
- Let's start with the shape of the brush. We make an extended or inclined brush by changing the values of the Angle and Roundness parameters or simply visually adjusting the shape of the brush in the picture on the right.
- The second item we will tweak is Spacing. It affects the "smoothness" of the brush. All the changes made are displayed in the figure below.
- The third item is Shape Dynamics. Here you can adjust the following parameters: Pen Pressure (force of pressing the pen), Pen Tilt (angle of inclination of the tool), Stylus Wheel (setting the wheel on some pens), Rotation (angle of rotation). It is very convenient to change the size of the brush by simply applying different pressure to the nib, especially if you frequently need to change the diameter of the tool you are using. It should be noted that the Pen Tilt parameter is mainly supported only on expensive models. The wheel can be used to quickly adjust the size and rotation of the tool being used.
- And finally, the fourth point is Other Dynamics. Here you can adjust the dependence of the transparency of the brush on the pressure on the pen.
Configuring Additional Keys
Some tablets have additional physical keys. They are called ExpressKeys on Wacom tablets. They are located on the sides of the work area and, as their name suggests, they are designed to more conveniently and quickly control the program in which you are working. Each key can be assigned its own key. The default keys are usually the most popular, but you can customize everything if you want. Note that initially both keyblocks repeat their functions. Therefore, in the device settings, it is possible to change the preset values of the shortcut keys. Here, the values of each key are edited separately, and in some tablets, you can also save different settings for different programs (different, for example, for sai and photoshop).
We have examined with you how to use a tablet to significantly increase the efficiency of retouching.
Today we will talk about the first steps after buying a tablet, what you need to do for comfortable work.
I will illustrate the material using the example of setting up my old Wacom Bamboo tablet.
So let's move on to the first step.
Step 1: Installing the tablet driver
Do not rush to immediately connect the tablet to your computer after purchase! First, you need to install the driver so that the tablet works correctly and all its settings become available.
The driver for any tablet can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website in the Support section.
Download the driver specifically for your tablet model.
Step 2. Setting orientation and keys
Find the installed driver in the list of recent programs and run it.
The settings window will open. It may look different depending on the tablet manufacturer and driver version.
First, you need to adjust the orientation of the tablet, depending on whether you are right-handed or left-handed. By default, the tablet is configured for right-handed users.
Next, you need to configure, if necessary, the function keys Express Keys... These keys are programmable. That is, each can be assigned a specific action from the drop-down list.
It is very convenient and helps to speed up your work.
Step 3. Customize your tablet pen
The most important thing here is to make sure the tablet is in pen mode, not mouse mode. Otherwise, you will not be able to take advantage of the main advantage - the sensitivity to the pressure of the pen on the working surface.
Go to the tab Feather and check the tablet mode.
You also need to adjust the pen sensitivity. For example, to work with wider brush strokes in Photoshop, move the slider Pen sensitivity in closer to position Soft... Conversely, to work with thin strokes and lines, move the slider closer to the position Hard.
Click on the button Display to the right of the setting Pen mode... Here you need to enable proportional scaling and uncheck the parameter Use Windows handwriting input.
Step 4. Disable touch input
Go to the tab Touch options and uncheck the parameter Enable touch input.
This must be done, otherwise in the process of retouching in Photoshop the tablet will react not only to the pen, but also to the movements of the hand on the surface of the tablet, moreover, in an unpredictable way. By disabling touch input, you will get rid of this problem.
Now you can get to work. Launch Photoshop, open a photo for retouching, grab a tablet pen and try using it in the retouching process instead of a mouse. If you don't have your own sources for retouching, you can try your hand at this photo.
You can attach the results of retouching in the comments, having previously reduced the size to 2000 pixels. on the long side, or post it on the forum.
And as an example, I propose to look at the result of retouching a photo with creative makeup. Here, the models applied a special make-up to give the skin a golden hue and highlight the highlights on the skin.
I wish you all creative inspiration and enjoyable work with your graphics tablet!
