CompuServe Thread

I threw all my mice in the trash when I got my XGT. I would recommend the XGT over the WACOM. It is a sturdier tablet, and difference in feel is as much a matter of taste and habit as anything else. I don't understand why anyone would use a mouse as an input device if they have a tablet with much greater accuracy, resolution, no stupid balls to get stuck (I've ruined a couple of mice throwing them against the wall after they froze up on a REALLY important line in a drawing or model), greater wrist comfort, pressure sensitivity, etc…. The Kurta XGT is wireless, so I've got a pressure sensetive pen and a puck always ready to go. I use the pen for painting and some 3DS functions, and the puck for ACAD and most mouse-like operations. Mice really suck. I can't even aim the damned things any more because I'm used to moveing the cursor around consistently to the same place with the same wrist motion and you need a precision input device for something like that, and mice ain't persisiun <g>. John Tissavary (La Luna cie)

You could use any Photoshop or Photostyler compatible filters with Painter, so you have Aldus, Adobe and KAI plug ins to choose from (a batch-like feature will be available in X3). It have a pretty good number of spectacular and dramatic effects by itself and more than the basic general image manipulation tools (from brightness and contrast adjustment to any other image adjustment –all within the RGB, CMYK or NTSC fields). X2 will let you have all the Altamira capabilities and more, so you have object oriented image manipulation with infinite alpha channels, portfolio libraries, object listing with subordination and grouping (here is a neverending list 🙂 … You have session playback capabilities, which let you use any series of general retouching and/or fine painting, record them, and playback in each of the desired images. Furthermore, you can increase resolution with any replay, so you can save a lot of precious memory and time (i.e. Get a low resolution image from 3ds… want to add neat effects, clone, draw, whatever… do it. Then render at high resoultion -say for a dye sub print- change the resolution and replay the session with the new res settings. Voila! Instant automatic superspeed replay). More? The cloning. Probably one of the most powerful Painter (well, all of them are powerfull 🙂 features. You may not be an artist, but the cloning capabilities of the program will give you infinite posibilities of image manipulation. Not just simulation of traditional media but also other neat image processes unavailable in any other program. And you won't have to get the skills, just the right eye. And all of this without pressure. Just a plain mouse. And there is more that doesn't need pressure. (BTW, don't get the wrong idea, all the program features and tools are available throught mouse and you will have access to pressure throught the keyboard) A Wacom? IMHO (and most of the artist I know) a pressure sensitive tablet is the ideal complement to the program (there are more opinions: some people like Doug Wolfgram will tell you that they don't need a tablet for painting —I won't :). You can live without it (specially if you won't use the program as an art creation tool (from scratch) but as an tool for image enhancing and retouching). However, once you try it… well, that's another story <g> ana /krazy images ps.And wait to see the textures you will create with it!

>>Is it worth the several hundreds of dollars for a tablet… I believe it is. I haven't found anything else with the positive response of a tablet. There is no ball to pick up dirt and you are not stuck on a tiny mouse pad. If working with AutoCAD at all, you can pick commands right off the tablet and digitize shapes from existing plans or photos. Most tablets have styluses (stylii?) available and many have pressure sensitive ones too. I can't think of a better way to control a paint program or other "mouse-driven" program.

>>Wacom…let me know if you think a non-artist would benefit from it?<< You may benefit even more for the simple reason that it is much harder to try to draw with a mouse than it is with a pen. I would recomend a tablet as a way of making easier for you to both use the programs and to move towards shedding the "non-artist" label <g>. Bruce Meikle ps– I meant to send a message to you and sent it to John Tissavary by mistake. (I was having a bad E-Mail day <g>). Here it is again, if you haven't seen it yet: >>Just to muddy your decision waters a little bit <g>… We use Fractal Painter (with X2) in its Mac incarnation at the studio and find it an excellent program but on the windows side there is another possible option. Fauve Matisse isn't quite as wonderful as Painter, but then again it isn't as expensive either <g> and it has a few features that you can only get with X2. Notably: the ability to keep multiple floating selections. It will give a series of naturalist brushes, autocloning and the like that were so wonderfully pioneered by Painter. If you were looking for a serious natural painting tool, I'd still recomend Painter, but you expressed concern about your traditionaal drawing skills. Perhaps Matisse bears some looking into as a sort of "Painter Lite". We use it on the PC side of the studio and it's been very good, especially for its low price.<<