   Webcomics and tablet pcs
  Hello everyone,I'm sorry for contributing to the whole "which pc should I buy" trend but I'm really ignorant about the whole tablet pc world.I like to draw comics. Usually I'll be sitting in class and I'll think of something I find amusing, scribble it on a piece of paper, and show it off to a few of my friends. Sometimes they laugh at the comic, sometimes they laugh at me, either way I love doing it. I really don't think I have enough material or the will power to actually setup a webcomic but I would still love to digitize my work and colour it.So far my technique consisted of me scanning my picture and using my mouse to fill in the colours on different layers via-GIMP but the result isn't always that nice.So here's the question: is there a cheap way for me to get the nice quality of a drawing made with a tablet pc without having to dish out a few thousand dollars?Although not overly funny I'm showing you guys a quick comic in appreciation for those of you who read my post. ;-)
  You could buy a wacom. Even the graphire series ($100 and up) have nicer digitizers than more tablet PCs. I use one for almost all my drawn stuff. The problem is that a lot of your lineart comes out looking rather sterile, and it can take some getting used to.But once you do get used to it, you can draw crap boar references for making 3d models, like I have.   ;Quote:Original post by AnonymousPosterChildYou could buy a wacom. Even the graphire series ($100 and up) have nicer digitizers than more tablet PCs. I use one for almost all my drawn stuff. The problem is that a lot of your lineart comes out looking rather sterile, and it can take some getting used to.But once you do get used to it, you can draw crap boar references for making 3d models, like I have.The only thing I'm worried about those is that I'm afraid it'll be awkward to draw without looking at the pen (know what I mean?). Did you find this to be an issue or is it a lot more intuitive than it looks?   ;  drawing tablets take a while to get used to but are defenitly a good choice if you dont want to shell out $3,000 and still get good results   ;  It wouldn't help you in class, but you could always pick up a Wacom tablet to draw and color on. Best I know, that's the only way to avoid buying a full tablet PC while still getting the benefits of one.   ;Quote:Original post by sanch3xQuote:Original post by AnonymousPosterChildYou could buy a wacom. Even the graphire series ($100 and up) have nicer digitizers than more tablet PCs. I use one for almost all my drawn stuff. The problem is that a lot of your lineart comes out looking rather sterile, and it can take some getting used to.But once you do get used to it, you can draw crap boar references for making 3d models, like I have.The only thing I'm worried about those is that I'm afraid it'll be awkward to draw without looking at the pen (know what I mean?). Did you find this to be an issue or is it a lot more intuitive than it looks?It's very akuward at first but it dosent take too long to get used too, if your persistant you can proabaly use it fine in a few days;  Thanks for the help guys, rate++!I'm seriously thinking about it!   ;Quote:Original post by sanch3xQuote:Original post by AnonymousPosterChildYou could buy a wacom. Even the graphire series ($100 and up) have nicer digitizers than more tablet PCs. I use one for almost all my drawn stuff. The problem is that a lot of your lineart comes out looking rather sterile, and it can take some getting used to.But once you do get used to it, you can draw crap boar references for making 3d models, like I have.The only thing I'm worried about those is that I'm afraid it'll be awkward to draw without looking at the pen (know what I mean?). Did you find this to be an issue or is it a lot more intuitive than it looks?Its a little of both. When I started out it was INCREDIBLY awkward, but after about a week or so of use, I got used to it. Its really about tweaking the controls to fit your needs.   ;  Wacom > Tablet PC. For drawing, there's simply no comparison.As for getting used to drawing without looking at the pen, there are a number of solutions and workarounds. First, your Wacom always moves the mouse pointer, so you might be able to get used to following that like your pencil/pen point (I have). Second, you could get the Wacom ink pen, then place a piece of paper over your tablet (remember to secure it well, or your digital drawing will have shifted strokes) and draw normally. You end up with both a pen and digital drawing of the exact same thing (provided your tablet has a 1:1 drawing aspect ratio, or is restricted to a portion of the screen - mine is 16:9, 6"x11").Alternatively, you could scan the basic drawing onto the computer, then draw over it digitally, using the original sketch as a locked background.   ;Quote:Original post by OluseyiAlternatively, you could scan the basic drawing onto the computer, then draw over it digitally, using the original sketch as a locked background.Yep - that's probably your best bet, sanch3x. It's probably not worth it to buy a whole tablet PC for this, and the Wacoms really are better suited to this. You still can't draw in class though.If you do scan it in, mess with your levels enough to get a generally white background, and then set it to multiply. You should then be able to color anything you like under it without having to completely redraw all the lines in your comics.   