I have a Wacom Bamboo tablet I bought about a year ago, and I haven't been using it. I'm just not comfortable with it and I'm more used to the mouse, but i do want to use my tablet. Should I continue using the mouse or force myself to move over to the tablet?

You'll need it if you decide to try sculpting in Blender. I have an Intuos 4 Blue Tooth Tablet, but for most of my modeling I use my Logitech Trackman, unless I want something VERY organic.

A tablet is a tool, nothing more - you only need it when you need it, like a screwdriver. As Joe mentioned, you will probably need it for sculpturing and modeling apps - the stylus can detect the amount of pressure used which lets you finesse small movements. Similarly, you need this degree of control if you are putting together special textures or use "airbrushing" techniques as part of your post-work. If you are mostly assembling scenes with canned objects and textures, a mouse or trackball is probably better. I have a tablet and don't normally use it - but if I'm doing any of the aforementioned things, I NEED it and gladly use it.

I bought a small Wacom tablet to use with my laptop (in bed...as I'm disabled-no sob story...just the facts :) I don't like it much either. So I use my mouse. I equate it with painting with a brush. It feels better if I have to work a little harder. The only Wacom I did like was my old XP to Vista desktop tablet. And even with that I never modeled with it.

EClark1894 - I'm with you on the tablet thing. I bought one a couple years ago as I started doing more and more work in Photoshop and have just never been able to get comfortable with it. I know it is a matter of practice but I just cannot get a "feel" for it - my brain cannot seem to connect what I am doing with my hand way off to the side with what is happening on the screen right in front of me. Bizarrely I actually really enjoy using the very large trackpad on my laptop for modeling, painting even for sculpting (although I've only really just started dabbling in sculpting and am not doing anything more than just roughing up and adding a bit of asymetry to models at this point) - it's kind of like finger-painting. :)

I really want to learn to use the tablet since everyone says you need one, but I cannot find a comfortable place to put it on my desk, cannot comfortably draw even a smooth line with it - I can't even get the settings to the point where I can smoothly sign my name with it. If I can't write with it or sketch with it I certainly can't paint with it.

I would say that you definitely do _not _absolutely need it for modeling if you are already comfortable doing so with the mouse. If you do a lot of painting you should invest the time (but it is not necessary for basic post-work and minor paint-overs); this is my own primary reason for wanting (and thus far failing) to get comfortable with one. For sculpting I can't say as I'm a real newbie in that arena but everyone seems to agree that it is necessary.

I did like the old one for painting in Photoshop, but I also inherited my dad's 6 ft wide and almost 3 ft depth oak desk, so I had the room for it.

Right now, I'm thinking I'll just keep it for sculpting and maybe painting in GIMP. Otherwise, I'm just having trouble getting a feel for it.

All I use my tablet for are things like sketching, painting, sculpting, etc. I've never used it in blender (I sculpt in mudbox) because imo it feels too unnatural trying to do things like box model with a tablet. I do know people who do, though. IIRC I believe MissB uses her tablet for normal modeling as well.

Both my main PC's have a tablet. (I did not bother to buy tablets for the other PC's.)

But I use them rarely. I prefer the good old mouse, even for painting or sculpting.

I bought my tablet a little over a year ago. Even asked online what kind of tablet I should get. I thought get a tablet would be a natural fit for this medium. Especially for painting and sculpting. I've never felt anything so foreign to my natural work flow. Weird thing is that the mouse feels more natural to me for a computer.

I've never personally found a pen stylus useful for more than 10% of my needs in a 3d package. Of course, if you do a lot of sculpting in applications such as 3dCoat or Zbrush, the variable stylus sensitivity settings can provide a level of control unmatched by a mouse or any other navigation device. As for standard polygonal modeling and the bulk of my overall workflow, I prefer a 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator or just a standard mouse; much more predictable control and more options for 90% of your 3d creation and animation needs.

MDO2010 posted at 2:42PM Thu, 01 September 2016 - #4278613

I really want to learn to use the tablet since everyone says you need one, but I cannot find a comfortable place to put it on my desk, cannot comfortably draw even a smooth line with it - I can't even get the settings to the point where I can smoothly sign my name with it. If I can't write with it or sketch with it I certainly can't paint with it.

You're probably expecting too much from the tablet. Pretty sure nobody can do a precise line or make a signature with a tablet. (That's one reason people pony-up for a Cintiq and why some drawing programs have hand-steadiness compensation.) You can however change your technique to get closer with less effort than with a mouse. Adapt to the tool: it's not going to adapt to you. As a pup I'd see someone good at inking with a rapidograph pen and think it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Right up to the point I tried to do it.

As for finding a comfortable position, if you have a small tablet, have you tried your lap?

I've used a Wacom stylus for digital signatures for years, and find it quite useful for that aspect. Your mileage may vary. As for drawing straight lines, that not only depends on the sensitivity of the pen, but also the steadiness of your own hand just the same as a traditional media pen. Often times, I'll use the steady-stroke option in sculpting packages with a mouse more often than a stylus because my own hand isn't very steady.

I wouldn't argue with any of that. Especially since my signature even with pen and paper looks increasingly psychotic. I only note that for me the change from mouse to tablet to Cintiq has been increasing happiness, but also that each needed changes in technique. In drawing/painting that's not a bad thing, getting a kick in the pants to try new ways of doing things. For sculpting I'm finding short little strokes with a stylus to wrestle a curve into place works best for me.

I have an old Wacom that has been with me for digital painting for a long time, but I need to get something more modern to aid in sculpting. To me, sculpting with the mouse is like painting with a brick. I forget where I saw that quote, but it definitely applies to my work.

jcarp, what benefits do you feel you have gained from using the Cintiq over a tablet? I've been looking into getting one, but not sure I can justify the extra cash at this point. Would love to hear some hands on comparisons. I had gotten so used to my tablet, I found myself doing everything on the computer with it, and my poor mouse never saw any action. Nowadays, my tablet is so old it has actually shorted out my usb connector, and hasn't worked right since.

maxxxmodelz,

For sculpting I'm not sure the benefits of a Cintiq vs. tablet are all that enormous, certainly not on the order of the improvement for drawing. Probably control is marginally better, but I haven't used a tablet in a long time. I can give it a whirl and get back to you. As a mac user, the Cintiq gives me RMB and MMB conveniently, but the same is true for a tablet (and I think Wacom still sells a 3-button mouse that works with a tablet). It depends on how you work, but developing reference drawings is a big deal for me and I find the Cintiq superior for that. Although paper, pencil, a cheap scanner, and a tablet could be a competitive solution. And goodness knows I was perfectly happy with just a tablet for years and years.

If drawing wasn't my main concern, I don't think I could justify the price. But since it is, I did pony up in the late spring to have the power supply fixed on my 6 year-old Cintiq (which, in the US, means shipping an 80 pound thingie to Vancouver WA--since only Wacom repairs Wacom-- and parting with 400 some odd dollars). Glad I did, but I definitely thought about it.

Anyway, I'll see what the tablet feels like for sculpting and report back sometime today.

Yep, I'd have to call any enhancement in control for pushing points around pretty much imaginary. The Cintiq does have the advantage of letting you put your face close to your work, but moving your damn monitor or finally getting a decent pair of glasses would also accomplish that. The tablet is a little twitchier for navigating interfaces, but I'm probably just not used to it anymore. I think I wouldn't lose any sleep if I had to use a tablet. And would certainly rank a 3D mouse higher on my sculpting tool wish list.

Correction: The weight of a 24hd when taken off it's stand (props to Wacom customer support for suggesting you do that thing) is closer to 30 pounds. Which means that two adults and a toddler can get the job of taking it to UPS done. The toddler is there to add spice, danger, and challenge on a busy street for the idiot adults as well as take ALL the cards out of the display racks while the so-called adults are conducting their business. Logistics, pffft.

Does Blender's sculpt mode work with pressure sensitivity in a tablet? Doesn't seem to be doing that for me, In Zbrush, the pressure sensitivity works like a charm, but here in Blender it doesn't seem to matter? Am I missing a setting somewhere?

davidstoolie posted at 6:57PM Sun, 04 September 2016 - #4282185

Does Blender's sculpt mode work with pressure sensitivity in a tablet? Doesn't seem to be doing that for me, In Zbrush, the pressure sensitivity works like a charm, but here in Blender it doesn't seem to matter? Am I missing a setting somewhere?

Yes, Blender sculpting will respond to your tablet's pressure sensitivity. However, in order to achieve the pressure-sensitive response in Blender, you need to enable the tablet pressure sensitivity option next to the radius, strength, or smoothing sliders. The strength option is usually turned on by default, so perhaps you have inadvertently turned it off. See the image below to find the pressure sensitivity option buttons.

Check that this option is enabled, at least for the strength value.

Thanks, Luxxeon! I must have hit that button at some point. Seems fixed now,

jcarp, thank you very much for taking the time to provide all that feedback! Really useful information, and exactly the honest opinions I was hoping to hear. Much appreciated my friend!

jcarp posted at 5:22PM Thu, 08 September 2016 - #4281808

As for finding a comfortable position, if you have a small tablet, have you tried your lap?

Ha! I[m not sure if you were joking or not, but I tried it and that is actually a big improvement. :) Thanks for that!

How good is the SpaceNavigator? Anyone using that?

HMorton posted at 9:44AM Fri, 16 September 2016 - #4283486

How good is the SpaceNavigator? Anyone using that?

I use the 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator on my workstation. I think it's an excellent tool for working in most 3d packages. It took a few hours of use before I became comfortable enough with the tool to use it in production, but now I can't work on projects without it. I only use my regular mouse for specific tasks like recording tutorials and when I'm not working in 3d applications. In my opinion, I find the ergonomics quite comfortable. More importantly, the gestures and shortcuts it provides are natural and intuitive, helping provide a fluidity to working in 3d viewports and navigating around models much easier than using two hands (keyboard shortcuts and mouse).

I'm a little late to this thread, but I've been using a Wacom tablet for years, most recently a Bamboo, and I use it for everything, not just graphics. I switched from using a mouse because I suffer from chronic CTS, and yes it took some getting use to, but now I don't know how I could get anything accomplished without it.

That said, some software pkgs are ripe with keyboard controls, and that's always a plus in my book, but I use my tablet for everything that doesn't have a keyboard control.