artist perspective on a tablet pc

[Hannibalj2]

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93.69*KBHi Everyone! First of all excuse the grammar. I draw more than do writing. I have been reading this site for a while however never written anythig until now. The main objective is to give a small insight to anyone who has been looking for an option to a Wacom Cintiq 21ux.I come from the world of animation and storyboards, and for that same reason finding ways to improve my artistic workflow while retaining the same quality from the pencil and paper format on a digital aproach.

Here is were the Wacom Cintiq 21ux comes into place. I own one for more than a year and quickly realised that replacing pencil and paper was finaly achived (for me at least), there is some practise in order to develop a new brain to hand control cordination since the texture of paper isn't there, however it will improve some of the drawing skills or at least sharpen them to some extend.

After awhile I decided to have an option of a Cintiq like gadget on the go and thefore I started to look at Tablet PC's. I was particularly interested on absorbing any information on the matter. I purchased a Gateway cx210 at first, but soon realized that the machine has some considerable shortcomings which also plages just about 75 percent of the market models from all makers of tablet PC.

One of the issues and of the most important points is the xga res displays of most tablets. However the resolution may be OK for students and bussines people but for me as an artist...well that a hole diferent issue. The esential problem is that when using software like Photoshop as an example; the low res makes any active window too big leaving a limited view to draw. Another problem I find is the whole WIDESCREEN craze. My personal feeling is that if you want to watch movies then yes it is the right choice however when drawing you are faced with the problem that in vertical position is seriously limited to draw and when flipped horizontaly then becomes to narrow (For those who like drawing on low res widescreen more power to them). Another increasing problem is the increasing glossy display protectors, and again for those artist looking for something close to the feeling of a Cintiq will have to avoid those. I found that the best surfaces which seem virtualy indentical to the 21ux is the Tecra M4 (Polysillicon) and the Portege m200 which are discontinue models.

Another point to keep in mind is the graphic cards. The Gateway was efficient enough with it's share memory on the intel card and never had a negative impact on
Photoshop CS2 or Flash 8 Pro etc.. which are softwares that i currently use. However gamers will object, but this not a gaming machine therefore I will not elaborate. But I will not pretend to cover the mistake made by gateways with it's "Finepoint" tech which was not such smart move. I will have to state that " Finepoint" is not comparable to wacoms when it comes to graphic apps.

The whole wacom tablet argument about anyone with an intuos 2 or 3 been the only options to the closest feel to a cintiq is simply not acurate. There is no denying that the 1024 pressure of the cintiq 21ux is more responsive but not a deal breaker. Proffesionaly I draw 8 hours a day every day on a Cintiqs 21ux and sometimes on the 15x and most wacom technology on tablets share the 15x technology. Therefore anyone with low budget wanting to get anything close to a Cintiq I'll suggest to chase a 2 year old Tecra M4, not the m7, or the r25 (but that thats my view). Not to put those models down but after testing those 2 models, the overall feeling to a cintiq went the older technology of the Tecra M4.
1. Point one I noticed was that visualy the m4 felt sharper than both models displays(m7,R25). It could have been due to it's 1400 by 1050 pixel density. It has the same aspect ratio of the wacom Cintiqs 4:3. Because of the high res of the 14" Tecra it feels comparable to the 1600 by 1200 of the Cintiq 21ux (resolution wise). The screen looks and feels bigger than the m7 and r25 even if its not.
2. The polysillicon feels very close to the wacom 21ux vs the m7 and r25 that I have tested.
3. Very good nvidia 6200te/6600te 128mg video card. A 2ghz centrino performed a bit faster than the core duo 1.60ghz of the gateway. The m7 had the option of the "Quadro nvs" which is very good.
4. The size of the screen of the Tecra M4 is about the same as the 15x Cintiq Which can use the same pens providing 512 pressure rather than the 256 that people had mentioned. And if its 256 then there is no difference between the two machines (to me anyway).

I won't talk about weight or anything of that sort since in reality this are non issues and as an artist is all about the performance rather that the looks or weight.

In conclusion, I find myself using the TECRA M4 more than my Cintiq lately since I can move with it into coffee shops etc.. and stil retain a very similar performance out of it. My personal expirience testing some Fujitsus,Tohibas,Compacts and Gateways and will have to say that my vote goes to the Tecra M4 as far offerng the closest rig to a Wacom cintiq and actuatlly performing like one (older model though) in real drawing task. I have storyboarded and episode of the latest [u]"Teenage mutant Ninja turtles"</u> with it and barely felt any difference to the Cintiq. Note: keep in mind that I have not used "Corel Painter" on the Tecra m4 therefore can't compare on this matter (Painting). I will assume that it will be there (painter) when bigger differences will take place since Tablets PC's don't do [u]TILT</u> and the Cintiq 21ux does.

Later

[WNewquay]

Thank you

This is a great insight into the Wacom Technologies generally and the implementaitons on different Tablet PCs.

Great.

[Northern_Rebel]

This is a nice review from an artist perspective. I've always thought TPCs and artists naturally would go together. It should give other artists an idea of what they could expect. Thanks...

[Hannibalj2]

Well, I feel that it could be interesting to have talks (forums) about this units (tablet pc's) for an artist driven crowed. But It has been limited at best to the source I've found. This is were my two cents. Thanks for the complements!

[teemue]

I have M4 myself and I truly agree with you.

I come from painting/drawing/animating background and the 2D and 3D capabilities of Tecra M4 are superb!

I did a short-film-animation using only tecra m4. You can see the blog here : http://thefugitive.wordpress.com

Tablet PC's used to be quite lousy and slow but since I bought M4 (after using portege 3500) I was in love. I also bought an external small gamepad (nostromo 52) with couple of buttons so I could use shortcuts in photoshop in tablet mode.

Artist should wake up and see that tablet pc's are getting great now. Especially Tecra M4. And if you use NHC the temperature doesn't get usually hotter than 45 celcius - so forget those ppl who complain about the warming-issues.

Cheers!

[Hannibalj2]

Hi TEEMUE, that's very impressive work. I will be currently animating a short piece (anime) based on a Manga (publishing soon) which is also drawned on the Tecra m4 and Cintiq. I will be using Retas HD " Stylos" and Core Retas HD' Its a software made by a japanese company alled "Celsys" and 90% of all anime are done with it. Best of all it works very well on the Tecra. I have already noticed positive feedback from co-workers as far the implementation of this machine to their workflow.
Great tips I'll look into them.

I found out that that Tecra works very fast when keeping the system processes down to the bare minimun. I try keep it in the low 50's or mid 40's preferably.
2 gigs of ram does help as well.
I do hope that computer manufacturers realize the pontetial of this demographic (artist). Since cintiq monitors have a monopoly on it and it realy shouldn't be. But until that happens I can't ask for more than what I currently have.
I wish that vista becomes compatible with xp software then I would install it on the tecra M4.

[schroder]

I also do a lot of digital work and have been using tablet pcs for a long time. I have a Cintiq 21UX at home attached to a monster desktop quad core 4 gig ram system with dual raptor HD's in RAID 0 etc. And you know what? I have just as much fun sketching in alias sketchbook on my Fujitsu ST5020.

I have also owned a HP 4200 and a Toshiba M200. I agree about the resolution and it is the main thing I miss from my Toshiba however I would say that the increased screen quality of the Boe Hydis type displays on the fujitsu and motions almost make up for the lesser resolution. The battery life of the Fujitsu allows me to head out of the house to sketch and feel confident I can get a full days worth of work out of my 2 batteries and not worry about power outlets. The combination of excellent viewing angles, screen brightness, and super long battery life has been an entirely different experience from the M200 and M4 generation of tablet pcs.

Admittedly I am pretty much limited to using sketchbook or other minimal programs on my tablet but that is mostly all I really need. If I need a full blown painting I can always work up my sketch and basic values in sketchbook and then finish the painting at home on my cintiq. I guess what I am trying to say is that there is not necessarily one true answer for what is best even as an artist. It is always possible to adjust your workflow and use the tabletpc as a sketchbook replacement and use the Cintiq as the studio painting setup replacement. If you could only have one computer though I agree something like the M4 or X61 would be a good choice.

For myself nobody has released a perfect tablet for the arist yet but I'm still looking. You can get good screen texture for sketching on any screen by using a vituiki style screen protector which is what I use to get away from the slippery glass of the fujitsu. Personally I am looking at the Lenovo X61 due to its excellent balance of aspect ratio, high resolution, long battery life, and excellent processing speed. Graphics cards only really effect 3d programs such as maya and have a minimal impact on 2d software such as photoshop and painter which is what I use 90% of the time. Alternatively I am looking into the Axiotron Modbook for an apple solution and I find the Motion 1700 an intriguing option as well. As you can see the resolution issue is big enough so that all my current candidates to replace my current tablet are 1400x1050 res. That being said I've gotten a ton of milleage and learned to adapt for the most part on my fujitsu for the last couple years. I also use a N52 speedpad to work with keyboard shortcuts on my tablet.

Just my 2c

Schroder

[Hannibalj2]

I have to agree with your comments and thank you to certain extent. However If you are going to draw as an example 2d traditional animation on and digital format and not being able to afford and 21ux cintiq, still The M4 is currently the best out there ( not trying to disagree.) When it come to spend hours drawing the bigger with high resolution screen will be better in the long run ( for me at least). The Fujitsus seem very good when going outside to sketch on the park as an example due to the ability to handle sun glare better and the screen angle viewing and they are lighter ofcourse. I do own the m200 as well and is great for sketching everywhere.
The screen protector may be a great option for compernsating the lack of rough surface on other tablets. I still feel that a manufacturer should evolve the type of tablet of the M4. Perhaps a 1024 pressure and better screen angle viweing with newer motherboard and cpu. Lighter and so on.
Simply the M4 is a different league from the 12 inch counter parts.
Thanks for the tips!!!!

[schroder]

I agree that if you are a student or on a budget and your tablet will be your only computer you may be better off with a larger computer such as an M4 or even M7 if you can handle the widescreen format. The new gateways looked like they might be headed in the right direction by switching back to the Wacom digitizer but they insisted on using a lower rez screen which sort of killed it for me.

Personally though I don't mind working on a 12" screen as long as the resolution is there so that my menus and toolbars in photoshop don't take up 50% of my screen real estate. Everyone is different and I encourage people to try different tablets before buying via Allegiance Techs 2 day rental if you have serious questions as there is really no substitute for trying it out and seeing what works for you since everyone's tastes are going to be a little different.

Ballistic is another artist I've seen post and he advocates buying a Cintiq instead of a tablet since it is similarly priced and is both a better drawing screen and has a longer usable lifespan since it is independent of the computer and will not be outdated nearly as fast. I have to say though I love the portability and freedom to work with friends at a coffeeshop or in a workshop or on vacation or whenever and whenever the whim strikes me. I wish there was a perfect tablet for artists but right now there really isn't. The Modbook people say they are marketing towards artists but they also are sticking with a relatively low resolution display. I've heard rumors they are working on a 15" version possibly based on macbook pros which would be very tempting but they seem to be getting their current design implemented pretty slowly so I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

schroder

[Hannibalj2]

I have to agree with you again. I guess that I forgot to clearify as far budget goes.Part of the weight of my argument is based on the current used value of the Tablet. My current rig costed me about 800+ vs my Cintiq 2,495+ ny state tax.
I heard of the new gateway and yes they opted for the low res as far as I heard. The m200 is very good system as you had mentioned. However I used this system as a proffesional carrier and eye fatigue is a mayor factor and on that aspect the system cannot be touched. I'm alway currently researching for new technology that can push a better and smoother workflow. However feel the evolution on an artist perpective with the tablets became somewhat stagnant!