How To Set Up Wacom Drawing Tablet

Hardware Setup Tutorials

Monitor Calibration | Wacom Intuos Setup | Workspace Ergonomics | Color Management | Airbrush Equipment

All Tutorial Text & Images - Copyright © 2011 KHI, Inc.

Wacom Cartoon Tablet Tutorial for Older Tablets

Wacom Graphire BT (Bluetooth), Cintiq and Intuos cartoon tablets offer the closest "digital" experience to drawing with a pencil and paper although there are some significant differences. I major deviation is that you lot are not looking at your mitt while you lot are drawing, y'all are looking at the screen display. This takes some getting use to, simply after several hours of retraining your eye-hand coordination, the Wacom Tablet experience is very similar to actual drawing.

Wacom's Intuos Pen tool gives you the "natural" feel due to their cordless and bombardment-free pen engineering. The Wacom Intuos2 Pen gives you the selection of pressure level-sensitive control but I find this to be 1 of the meaning weaknesses of their drawing tablet. Using the pressure sensitivity settings y'all can dynamically control things like brush size and opacity but I adopt to control these settings manually through he Photoshop "opacity" settings.

At the top of the Wacom Intuos2 tablet in that location are convenient Impact Strip buttons that can exist customized for common keyboard shortcuts. For later Intuos versions see: Intuos4 Tablet Setup

During this tutorial we will go through the stride-by-pace setup procedure using Wacom'south "Preferences" control console. You lot volition larn how to ready the tablet-to-screen ratio, tip pressure level, pen angle, and macro pen button settings.

Wacom Pen Attributes - Tool Buttons

The Wacom pen tool's buttons can be set to command several unlike functions. The pen tool button is a two-way actuated push. By pressing the top of the button or bottom of this button y'all can command two different functions.

While in Photoshop, I use the top button to hibernate selections by assigning the keystroke command of "Control>H." Hiding the selection's distracting "marching ants" makes it much easier to see what you are painting and how that area relates to the surrounding "unselected" areas.

I utilise the bottom push every bit a "Modifier" setting. While in Photoshop I have this "Modifier" set to emulate the "Shift" fundamental. This will constrain whatsoever pen movements to horizontal, vertical, or 45º diagonal lines. While in Adobe Illustrator, I have this button set to zoom out. When I am in the "Desktop" mode I have it set to double click. The whole idea of using different Wacom tablet settings for unlike programs is to save time by having these highly attainable buttons set to do your most repetitive tasks. Your choice of settings will undoubtedly be different than mine which is why Wacom has made the button settings customizable for each users needs.

Cartoon Tablet Click Settings & Attributes

The "Double Click" tab controls the Pen Tool's sensitivity to double-click inputs, adjusting and calibrating the speed that you are accepted to double clicking, and the accuracy with which you can aim the pen when clicking on an icon or link. A three pixel diameter is a good starting point for setting the "Click Distance." The default setting for "Double-Click Speed" is the midway point between irksome and fast.

Wacom Pen Tilt Settings

Setting the Pen Tool'southward "Tilt" angle will adjust the pen'south cutoff indicate to forbid adventitious inputs that tin be made past inadvertent hand gestures, and farthermost pen angle inputs volition exist ignored past the tablet. This is an ergonomic setting that is tailored to your individual pen-holding style.

Wacom Pen Tip Feel

By setting the pen tool's "Tip Feel" you lot can adapt the pressure sensitivity cutoff point, thereby preventing adventitious inputs that are mistakenly created by lightly touching the pen to the tablet's surface while moving your hand. If y'all tend to lightly residual the pen tip on the tablet'south surface while yous are moving your hand to a new location, you will need to set the on/off sensitivity to a higher level.

Wacom Pen Tip Pressure Feel Options

Setting the "Pen Tip Pressure Feel" is a very important stride if you lot are using Wacom'south pressure level sensitivity feature. Personally, I don't similar to use the "pressure sensitivity" feature to command castor size or opacity because I prefer to have more exacting command through Photoshop's brush attribute settings. Wacom's pressure sensitivity characteristic takes some getting use to, but it can exist advantageous when painting big areas, or using the burn and contrivance tools when photo-retouching.

Drawing Tablet Mapping/Speed Settings

Wacom'due south drawing tablet Mapping/Speed settings control the relationship between the "live" surface area of the tablet surface to the active surface area within your monitor. This human relationship is critical, and the aspect-ratio (iv:3, widescreen, etc.) must exist consistent from screen to tablet. Additionally, you will need to find the correct setting and not tinker with them after that. This is critical to learning and maintaining your eye-hand coordination while looking at the monitor, and each fourth dimension these settings are altered yous will demand to re-learn your eye-hand coordination.

Some other of import point is to position the tablet and monitor so that they are aligned to each-other along the aforementioned plane, and not change their placement after they are correctly positioned. Use double-face tape to deeply mount the tablet and monitor to your tabular array top thus preventing any motility. Past keeping this relationship permanent y'all can master your eye-mitt coordination, and not have an awkward readjustment catamenia each time they are moved. Encounter "Workspace Ergonomics" to learn more about correct tablet/monitor positioning.

Advanced Cartoon Tablet Mapping - Scaling Tablet to Brandish

Wacom'southward "Advanced Mapping" and "Portion of Tablet" windows provide the ability to make exacting settings to "calibration" the active tablet surface to the monitor's aspect-ratio. As stated in the previous paragraph, this relationship is crucial to learning and maintaining proper center-hand coordination. If you are using dual monitors y'all will need to make the active area cover both monitors (beneath, right) with a correct overall ratio. Meet "Helpful Hint" department below.

The width-to-height ratio of the monitor screen (its attribute-ratio) must be exactly the same equally the "defined" tablet area's width-to-summit ratio. This tin can be accomplished two ways: past manually setting the numeric values, or by using the "Defining Tablet Area" window shown below.

Technical Annotation: Setting a small active expanse within the tablet can help in reducing repetitive motion injuries to your wrist and elbow (Run into: Workspace Ergonomics).

Advanced Drawing Tablet Mapping - Defining Tablet Area

By using Wacom'south "Click to Define Tablet Expanse" tab to set the tablet's agile area, you will actually click the pen tool in each of the four corners that will stand for to the monitor screen'southward outer-near corners. This volition permanently assign the agile area of the tablet, and establish the eye-hand relationship between tablet and monitor.

Helpful Hint: By making a scaled drawing of the monitor(due south) on thin vellum, then placing information technology under the tablet's protective cover, you will have a visual clue equally to where pen is in relation to the monitor's cursor. This will likewise assistance in defining the tablet'due south active expanse when using the "Click to Define Tablet Surface area" tab.

Wacom Drawing Tablet Mode & Applications List

Although information technology is very useful to accept awarding-specific settings for the pen buttons and macro buttons, you will want the Mapping settings to be exactly the same from one application to another. The reason for this is quite simple as yous do non desire to be re-learning your middle-hand coordination each time you switch applications.

Conclusion

This is a basic lesson in the use of Wacom'due south Intuos3 professional tablet and pen tool preferences and settings. Using the settings discussed in this tutorial volition assist y'all maximize the functionality and comfort level of Wacom'south pen tablets.

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