Topic: Drawing software

[ober]

What does she have and would she buy that one again?

[KnuckleBuckett]

My cousin uses the stylus pad thing as an aid rather than a replacement for the mouse.

If what she designs is along the lines of what Sam wants to create let me know and I will ask her.

http://www.ecsigndesign.com/products.htm

[charlie]

What does she have and would she buy that one again?

She has a Wacom Graphire, sort of like this but with even fewer bells and whistles:



That's been discontinued for years, though. I'm sure she'd buy that brand again, but the newer ones like the one ethic mentioned are all in a different league so it probably wouldn't matter about the specific model she has.

[jkim]

I think the Bamboo is equivalent to the graphire line. I also use a Wacom Graphire.

[charlie]

Yeah, but from what I saw they all seem fancier now.

Which isn't a bad thing.

[ober]

We ended up getting this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZZXXLK

And Serif DrawPlus X5.  I'll post a review once we get a chance to use it.

[jkim]

Nice. Looking forward to hearing what other software and hardware are like.

[charlie]

Just get into the habit early of putting the pen where it goes when you get up from the computer. If you don't, it's easier to lose than the remote.

[ober]

Just get into the habit early of putting the pen where it goes when you get up from the computer. If you don't, it's easier to lose than the remote.

HAAHAH... nice tip.  Thanks

[Rob]

We ended up getting this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZZXXLK

And Serif DrawPlus X5.  I'll post a review once we get a chance to use it.

So what's the verdict Obes? How's she getting on with the tablet?

[ober]

She has only played with it for a small amount of time.  I don't know what the wacoms are like but getting this one up and running was kind of a pain.  I actually had to talk to tech support about it because it recognized the tablet but the stylus itself wasn't doing anything.  He told me to remove the top of the pen (exposing the battery) and that worked.  Apparently the part that holds the battery in place is really cheap and when you push the top on after installing the battery it pulls the metal back breaking the connection.  So I just had to bend that metal part down to make sure that it stayed connected. 

Serif itself seems like a fine program based on the 10 minutes or so I had poking around.  I've never really used Illustrator or other programs like this so it's hard for me to truly tell.  My wife is giving herself about 6 months to really get comfortable with it and learn the program and how/when to use the stylus so hopefully I can give a better review in a few months.

[charlie]

It definitely takes getting used to. I hated using my wife's computer for months after she got one.

[Rob]

She has only played with it for a small amount of time.  I don't know what the wacoms are like but getting this one up and running was kind of a pain.  I actually had to talk to tech support about it because it recognized the tablet but the stylus itself wasn't doing anything.  He told me to remove the top of the pen (exposing the battery) and that worked.  Apparently the part that holds the battery in place is really cheap and when you push the top on after installing the battery it pulls the metal back breaking the connection.  So I just had to bend that metal part down to make sure that it stayed connected. 

Serif itself seems like a fine program based on the 10 minutes or so I had poking around.  I've never really used Illustrator or other programs like this so it's hard for me to truly tell.  My wife is giving herself about 6 months to really get comfortable with it and learn the program and how/when to use the stylus so hopefully I can give a better review in a few months.

My wacom was a paint to get set up too. Tech support told
me to plug it into one of the back USB ports instead of the
front and it worked fine after that.

Best. Typo. Ever.