*strangles device*

[Ryuukokoro]

Okay so as an early birthday present, I received a tablet from a friend!! ^_________^ Best. Gift. EVER.

Problem is it's HARD to learn how to use a tablet. >.> I feel like I'm learning to draw all over again! And I wasn't exactly a stellar artist before lol. Now my attempts look shameful. But what the heck, let's share them all! XD Feel free to laugh~












^ Hurrrrr USING LAYERS WIN


Aaaand by this point I'm just starting to get the hang of it, so I attempted to draw Soli's MLP persona:

[red_uni387]

fuzzy green chicken! :O

and awww Soli MLP looks soo cute!

[Ryuukokoro]

thankiees! *just realized I put this in the wrong art forum* Whoops. XD;;

[Kadana Sorano]

Congratz Ryu!

And yes, learning to use a tablet is a study in frustration and akwardness lol  Even as long as I have been using one to color with, it still feels wrong somehow, and I feel really akward when coloring.  Like a toddler with it's first crayon lol

I love the ears on that first sketch though!  They make him/her look so alert and ready for action lol

[YourLoveOnly]

I totally get that. I have a tablet too, but I am still very uncomfortable with it and currently only use when I can't do something the mouse xD

I really like birdy sketch! ^^

[Neocridders]

It took me so long t figureout my first tablet. Never give up. Just keep drawing.
Draw draw draw!
Trust me! You can't get better unless you keep at it!

[Drift]

I -just- figured out how to use my new tablet. Put it beside your computer and not in your lap. That was my problem at first. Go slowly and abuse the command + Z! Also, try not to use it in bed...it works best on a hard, level surface lol

Another thing, is if you're using Corel Painter like me, experiment with every brush before picking your favorites. I use the airbrush for shading, just-add-water for blending, and the round-tip pen for coloring/sketching, but since it draw pretty thick lines, I use the eraser a lot, too. After messing with each brush, and making notes for which ones I like to use, the program became a -lot- less intimidating.

I've been drawing for days now after having it for a few weeks, and even though I've got a painful dent on my ring finger for drawing too much (and holding the pen too tightly), I really enjoy it. At first it was awkward, but now it feels as natural as my real pens, paints, and colored pencils...with the added benefit of layers, copy/paste, move/select, and undo/redo!

Don't give up, sooner or later that tablet pen will feel like an extension of your hand.

OH! one more thing; they say you "probably won't need to change the pen tip," but you will. (thanks a lot, best buy guy!) I haven't even had mine for a month, and I've already changed the tip. Maybe I press too hard or draw too much? But, either way, be sure to pay attention to the tip; if it's wearing down to a point on one side, replace it before it scratches your pad!

[TheLeet]

I always put the tablet on my lap but that's because I don't have a desk to put it on XD
Anyway, it's not really that hard and I'm sure that you'll get the hang of it soon. Just make sure that the tablet is always roughly parallel to the computer screen.
I did a bit of random doodling when I first got it but I think it's important to move on to more ambitious projects as soon as possible. It's the only way to learn how to actually make your lines look good. I can see you're already doing that
I generally find thin lines to be much easier to do than thick ones. Oh, and anything with fur is easier to draw, because you can just have the lines be slightly fuzzy, rather than smooth.

Since I got my tablet, I've been finding it a lot easier to draw in Painter than in Photoshop. Painter mimics real media quite well and sketchy looking things look quite nice in it. For me, anything I draw in Photoshop just has to have smooth lines, otherwise it looks wrong. If I do anything in Photoshop, I always start off with a sketch and then do the lines on a separate layer on top of it. They turn out a lot smoother if I zoom in before I draw them.

I've had my tablet for just over a year. It came with spare tips but I'm still using the first one which has worn down a lot and is probably why my tablet has quite a lot of scratches. None of them are deep enough to actually matter though

[Silvanon]

Ah yes, I remember that awkward feeling of starting out on a tablet.  Just keep going!  Now I love using it and wouldn't want to use anything else.

[zarzamora]

Ah yes, I remember that awkward feeling of starting out on a tablet.  Just keep going!  Now I love using it and wouldn't want to use anything else.

I don't think I even COULD use anything else! Anyone who uses a mouse amazes me with there skillzzz!

[Neocridders]

Ah yes, I remember that awkward feeling of starting out on a tablet.  Just keep going!  Now I love using it and wouldn't want to use anything else.

I don't think I even COULD use anything else! Anyone who uses a mouse amazes me with there skillzzz!

^^^^^ What Zarz said!

It takes skill to make art with a tablet pen.
It takes epic skill to make art with a mouse.

I remember this summer, when my dog ate my tablet... oh my gosh. How I survived, I'll never know. I couldn't do anything at all.

[Sunchaser]

im learning just like ryuu lol. though im not going to even think of attempting actual art yet. Ill stick to coloring on it. i havnt used mine in awhile and its fun agian :-p Though so far same ammount of time between using my touchpad like i usually do and the tablet

[YourLoveOnly]

Now that we are on that subject.. Goddesss colored me this awesome Celine mimic, which is not done with a tablet and not even with a mouse.. She did it with a laptop touchpad O_o I am so impressed and I still adore my Celine so so much <3

[Neocridders]

Touch pad, you say?
O.O
A... lap top... touch pad.
God. I know I don't have a mouse at the moment, since I got a laptop now, but wow.
A touch pad?!
Gosh, I get frustrated with my touch pad just with moving my curser.
TO COLOR WITH ONE?
*bows to Goddesss* You are one amazing person, my friend. Of course, you've always been amazing. I just had no idea you used a touchpad. Wow. I don't know what to say. That's true talent.

[Ryuukokoro]

My touchpad skills far outweight my tablet skills at the moment, as evidenced by Ender here I did quite a while ago with nothing but a touchpad:



It's hard knowing your skills are a lot better than what you're currently producing. -_-

[Kadana Sorano]

*snugs Ryu* but just think, how much better it will be, once you get used to the tablet.

And I knew Goddesss used a touchpad.  She's always amazed me with the level of skill she colors.

And I agree, I HATED the touchpad on my laptop.  It drove me freakin nuts.