Drawing Techniques / Tablets

[SuperSkittles]

So, I've got an okay cartoony style of drawing down, and it works for parodies and silly things (such as the collabs I've submitted to). But when it comes to drawing things to look cool and fancy, as opposed to simple cartoon characters, I have a really hard time actually drawing it. I can get what I want incredibly easily with pen and paper, but not with a mouse. I even have a tablet (a Wacom CTE-430, pictured below), and I use it to make more natural lines when my mouse drawing skills fail me, but I still can't draw as well with it as I can with pen and paper.

Well... You're probably wondering what my point with all this is. I'm just curious as to how you fellow Flash animators animate your fantastic tidbits of joy. Are there any particular tricks to drawing better with a mouse, or to drawing with a tablet in the first place? Or does practice really just make perfect (despite the fact that I've been using my tablet on and off for about 4 years)?

Or is it a matter of which tablet you use? I know mine has a pretty small "canvas", if you will, to actually draw on, so it's much different from drawing on paper, because the lines just come out bigger on screen then what I'm actually doing (but that kinda goes without saying). Maybe a bigger tablet will remedy this? Or even a tablet computer? My dad has been looking for laptops, and was thinking of getting two of these Vaio laptops with screens that turn and fold back down to be tablets for me and himself (No, I don't just get a computer anytime I ask. Tomorrow is my 18th B-Day, and with Christmas coming up they're insisting on spoiling me this year). That way I could literally just draw on the screen with a stylus.

Well, I really just wanna get some input from you guys and gals (HA! Girls on the internet?! As if!) on the subject, and just to hear how other people do their things. So, please share.

Pweeease?

...

Yeah, so I dropped the info that tomorrow is my B-Day, big whoop! I totally didn't do it in the hopes that Luis would make a birthday thread for me, or anything... I would NEVER do something like that... Ever... :3

[SuperSkittles]

Quick tablet and handrawn sketches of a character I want to use in an animation. No, I never draw with guides. I've developed my own techniques just from doodling a lot.

[SuperSkittles]

Bump, because I think this is a totally legitimate topic.

Also, those are only, like, 2 minute doodles.

[CowGoMoo]

i do it all by mouse, man oh man do i want a tablet for christmas

and i think one is actually under my tree right now...

[OctoFlash]

At 12/16/08 05:26 PM, CowGoMoo wrote: i do it all by mouse, man oh man do i want a tablet for christmas

and i think one is actually under my tree right now...

yeah i also just work with the mouse, a tabled would be nice...

[Perry]

I have a tablet, my old one broke down. Then Tom spotted me one, (THANKS TOM)

anyway, your really just have to get used to it. Tablets aren't really like drawing on paper (Though being good at drawing on paper does help) its different, your not going to be automatically good at it (though I do get that you have had it for quite a while and have had time to practice) just practice more until you can get it.

I sucked with my tablet up till I started really using it over the summer.

[OctoFlash]

At 12/16/08 06:11 PM, Decade wrote: I have a tablet, my old one broke down. Then Tom spotted me one, (THANKS TOM)

anyway, your really just .....

...automatically good at it (though I do get that you have had it for quite a while and have had time to practice) just practice more until you can get it.

I sucked with my tablet up till I started really using it over the summer.

i know how the handling is, i had one for some weeks.. but it was not mine..

[Penboy]

My tablet's smaller than that, and I can draw fine. People have this idea stuck in their head that if they can't draw on paper, a tablet will make them able to draw (I'm not saying this is the case with you). It's just practice; I personally didn't like the 'feel' of the plastic pen's nib, but after a while you get used to it. Just zoom in to 200%-400% with a thick brush, enable the aribrush thing, then draw away (in Flash).

[Chippythechipmonk]

Well, I have a Tablet PC, the Compaq T1000. While pretty nice, and great for drawing, it only has 995 megahertz of processing speed, and less than 512 MB of RAM. So it balances out.

I'd suggest getting one of those (fairly cheap, portable and sleek) but keeping your desktop, that way you can use the power of your desktop, but you can just got Flash on the Table PC.

The biggest downside to this Tablet PC is that it does not have pressure sensitivity software capabilities.... oh how I wish it did...

[LuckyDesign]

So so far everyone's described their tablet specifications so I'll skip that part
You can have a lot of fun with simple characters and use basic shapes when you're working in flash. Trying to replicate sketches in flash is horrible, I suggest if you want something better just for your concept drawing trying out photoshop or alias sketchbook. I especially recomend alias sketchbook, because it can really duplicate the feeling of pencil and paper with no extra tools to get in your way. Good luck

[SuperSkittles]

At 12/16/08 07:19 PM, Chippythechipmonk wrote: Well, I have a Tablet PC, the Compaq T1000. While pretty nice, and great for drawing, it only has 995 megahertz of processing speed, and less than 512 MB of RAM. So it balances out.

I'd suggest getting one of those (fairly cheap, portable and sleek) but keeping your desktop, that way you can use the power of your desktop, but you can just got Flash on the Table PC.

The biggest downside to this Tablet PC is that it does not have pressure sensitivity software capabilities.... oh how I wish it did...

That's kinda like what my dad was thinking about getting.And the pressure sensitivity doesn't sound like an issue to me.

For now I think I'll just stick with what I have and practice practice practice.

[mechanixnut]

You get used to using the tablet. After lots of practice you will be able to draw as good/better in flash than on paper.

It took me a little while to get used to, but now I find it alot easier. The only problem I have is the tablet is too small for me.