Pen and Paper 2.0

I have a new tool for the Mac. The Wacom Intuos3 A5 Wide has taken front row on my desk and what a mighty bit of kit it is. Reading peoples reviews and comments about the tablet I was a bit dubious and sceptical about it.

“You will never pick up a mouse again” and “If you think about drawing or even doing any kind of artwork with a mouse, it’s like doing it with a bar of soap… it’s so ‘cluegy’.”.

Hmmm, yes, well ok…… So why haven’t tablets taken off if they are so amazing? The only two things I could think of was space & price. They do take up a good portion of desk space and weighing in at a pocket draining sum of £250 for the A5 wide its not a cheap tool. People have also commented on that it tricky to get use too and takes weeks of practice. Ok, for the first 10 minutes it was like trying to control the mouse when intoxicated with 30 units of vodka but after that it felt like…… like… well, pen on paper. It’s very easy to pick up so take no notice of these bloggers who say its hard to use (They must have forgotten how to use a pen over these years of typing and clicking).

I won’t go in to the technical specs or bore you with the science of how it works (come to think of it I don’t have a clue how it works, I presume its some kind of Harry Potter magic that moves the cursor).

I’d never really had thought about giving up the mouse until today but I can now see why the graphics industry swear by tablets. Until you use one you won’t really understand how well they work, It makes Photoshopping faster and more precise. I have upgraded the note pad and pen to the digital world, this allows me to do all kind of movements that a traditional pen or paint brush can do, slicing, swiping and even erasing……. without all the mess of the real thing. Work flows in Photoshop speed up ten times as you zoom around photographs cloning out scratches and dust with ease.

I won’t give the mouse up completely just yet. I still like the smooth motion for web browsing and everyday Mac use. The pen does tend to make you franticly dart over the screen like a rabbit with myxomatosis (Come to think of it, do rabbits move when they have myxomatosis or do they just sit there and shake till they drop dead?). Anyway the point is if you use Photoshop or any other creative software a tablet is a must and I am now saying to myself “how on earth did I get by without one all this time?”.

The only thing now is……… I’ll have to remember how to hold a damn pen again! ;-)