Using photoshop with a wacom graphics tablet

#Using photoshop with a wacom graphics tablet software#
#Using photoshop with a wacom graphics tablet professional#

Setting them apart from the pack are their LCD screens, which allow you to draw, write or design directly on the screen.

#Using photoshop with a wacom graphics tablet professional#

With customized ExpressKeys (buttons at the bottom of the tablet that give 'shortcuts' to functions) and applications like SketchBook Express, Wacom touts the Intuos line as a good option for a professional working in design.Р”Р„nother tablet that's geared toward professionals is the Cintiq line. The Intuos is multi-touch capable, which means you can navigate with your fingers and you can touch a key that will easily display your tablet settings on your computer screen.

#Using photoshop with a wacom graphics tablet software#

(An extra-large Intuos4 is available, but it loses some features.) These have the look of a traditional design tablet, meaning a matte-looking surface you 'draw' on while watching your own computer screen (all devices connect through USB and a pretty standard software download). The Intuos5 comes in small (12.5 inches, or 31.7 centimeters), medium (15 inches, or 31.1 centimeters) and large (19 inches, or 48.2 centimeters) and ranges in price from $229 to $469. The metal frame around the LCD screen - which undoubtedly affects magnetic fields - is accounted for in the control board, which recognizes a 'weak' signal from the pen and corrects it so it follows a predictive course.Р”Р‡irst up is the Intuos Tablet. As such, all metal or problem parts must be tightly shielded to block out the field. In that case, backlighting or a component that gives off its own field could disrupt the pen's magnetic field. It's a little different if an LCD screen is used, which is the case with the Cintiq line of tablets. Wacom calls this patented technology EMR, or electromagnetic resonance technology. And that's what tells your computer that you want to add a moustache to the picture of your sister that you're photoshopping. The sensor board itself is made up of a lot of little antenna coils, but it also has a control board that monitors the coils to determine where the current is (i.e., where the pen is). From that, it can track the pen's location, pressure and speed. The magnetic field emanating from the pen is recognized by the sensor board. And pretty much everyone thinks it's cool to have their hand-written notes or doodles appear on their computer in the time it takes to put pen to paper. A photographer might like to be able to manipulate an image by hand more carefully. Graphic designers could benefit from the ease of turning concepts into digital reality. The tablet communicates with the pen, plotting its location in microseconds as it makes your adjustments on screen. Its pressure-sensitive system will let you determine things like how thick or thin a line should be, and it can instantly capture handwritten notations. The pen, or stylus, that comes with the tablets can communicate much more effectively. The technology powering Wacom tablets provides a few advantages over click-and-point navigation. But graphic designers, artists, illustrators and many other hobbyists and professionals need a device that allows their hand-drawn work to be digitized or their digital image to be manipulated with an old-fashioned hand. Basically, they're the technological mating of a computer mouse with a pencil and a computer monitor with a college-ruled notebook. Wacom tablets, which comprise many different models that we'll detail in this article, are designed so you can digitally doodle straight into your computer (among far more important tasks).