WACOM tablet in sketchup
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Just got a new toy... WACOM Intuos (Pressure sensitive pointing device). Anybody out there using one for sketchup?... advantages? disadvantages? configurations? Cool stuff that a mouse can't do?
poster-Karl
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I would like to hear the pro's and con's as well as I am considering one for Photoshop.
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Boofredlay
I have had a WACOM Intuos for about a year and find that like all such devices - including the mouse - practice makes perfect. You have to force yourself to use it, at first, because you can often do tasks a lot easier using your trusty mouse - these skills you have been improving for years.
I still find it awkward because I don't use it enough.
Setting up the tablet's properties window is critical to suit your own working preferences. I find using a small portion of the table's working surface preferable to using the entire tablet.
Good luck.
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Hello Karl,
I have the same one but I only use it for Photoshop. As Bernard said, it will take you some time to get use to it and like using it.
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I bought one earlier this year to use with PS but I have rarely used it. I found it quite tricky to use and no better than my mouse.
It obviously would be better than my mouse for certain tasks if I used it correctly. Like others have mentioned, I really need to take time out to get used to it and find out what it can really help with.Dylan
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Guys if you don't mind, I moved this topic to the Gadget Forum.
Thanks... -
I can't use a mouse with SU anymore - WACOM tablet only...
Only works with the new intuos3's, though - I've got Alt, Shift, Undo and Redo mapped to the hotkeys on the side of the tablet, and 'zoom' mapped to the touch strip. Middle mouse and right mouse buttons mapped to the two sides of the switch on the pen.
Works a charm.
I've got an A4 one for home, and an A5 wide for traveling, since it fits perfectly into my laptop case. Expensive, but worth every penny.
AJ
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I can understand why Alex has persevered - he's an artist! That's what I find it does best - drawing and sketching, especially shading and hatching with varying pressure to create unique marks.
I still get lazy and use paper and pencil and then scan.
What do they say about old dogs?
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I have been using Wacom tablets for several years for both SU and CADD because of wrist problems when mousing around too much... love it, however, just for SU I am missing a bit the wheel button - it can be configured with the side strip as mentioned above but it's not the same to me.
Either way, my recommendation is always for the SMALLEST size; less wrist/arm movement works best here. BTW, there were some posts to the dead newsgroup about it as well...
have fun,
Marek -
I, too, only use my Wacom for photoshop. In fact, I never use my mouse in photoshop.
Sketchup, however, for me, is a 3 button mouse world. I have a Wacom Graphite (without all the hot buttons and such). Not being able to orbit with the mouse button is unacceptable. I also have the 3 x 5 Wacom which isn't very comfortable with the mouse that came with it.
It is really true, too, that it takes some practice to get used to. The first day can be pretty frustrating/comical.
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After about 10 seconds of fooling with the zoom commands in sketchup, I realized that the touch strip could function as a scroll. I set my second pen button to middle click and seems to be working great for orbit. That's pretty much all the mods required to function in sketchup.
You really don't realize all the techniques you've developed for the mouse until you start using something else... right now, I'm much slower than with the mouse, but improving daily.
btw, using a wacom brings a whole new meaning to the word Sketchup... You really are sketching in 3D.
With that said, the wacom makes photoshop incredibly more powerful and makes sketchup much more intuitive to work in, but makes some things that you used to think were a piece of cake more time consuming.
poster-Karl
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yeah, i have it set the same way, but still prefer the one-handed mouse wheel over the 2-handed wacom pen + touch strip
glad it works for you, though, it is indeed a marvelous piece of hardware
happy sketching
Marek -
One question... has anyone looked into the "airbrush" pen? It has a built in roller on it that might work as a scroll wheel.
poster-Karl
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I have a WACOM graphire 3, and it has seen it fair share of use, I already had to replace the tip of my pen and the cover because of all the scratches and it is currently due for another but I am thinking of buying an A3 sized tablet as a replacement, initious wacom offcourse.
As for the programs I use it for, painter and photoshop, nothing else. I have no idea how a penpad would be easy to use in SU or 3dsmax, I have tried, failed horribly.
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I use the wacom Intuous 2 for sketchup - In general I recommend it -feels more precise than the mouse -
I keep the mouse plugged in as well for the combination of scroll wheel zoom with the orbit and pan tools (two handed operation)- so far I keep the side buttons set on right click (for the context menus) and alt (- to change the active tool back to select.)
I'd like to be able to pick up colors like in Photoshop by pressing the side button (alt) while clicking on a color - but this doesn't work in sketchup - (after selecting the paint bucket - alt on the keyboard picks up a color and releasing alt returns to paintbucket - not bad) By changing the shortcuts in sketchup and reprogramming the pen's side buttons there may be some combinations that make the pen work better
with sketchup - phil -
I tend to have a fairly clear demarcation....tablet for raster, mouse for vector. Try as I might, I've never been able to keep a pen completely motionless when right-clicking or entering parameters and such. I might occasionally use the tablet for the freeform tool, but other than that, I miss the scroll wheel too much to part with the mouse. The idea of using a pen in one hand and a Space Navigator in the other sounds a bit like trying to fly a chopper or pat your head while rubbing your stomach.
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True holding your pen still when right clicking is frustrating. With my MX1000 Laser mouse I can customise all 11 functions to any program, you only need the numpad off your keyboard then for entering parameters, works fast as hell. On top of that I have my mouse speed spettings set at a ridiculous high level, when people sit behind my computer they ALWAYS lose the mouse because off the speed, so minimal movement maximum efficiency, relieves the strain on your wrist after a serious CAD session.
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