How to switch the stylus to drawing mode. Side key setting ☆

A graphics tablet makes working with computer graphics faster and easier. But in order to achieve maximum performance, a tablet, like any complex equipment, requires careful setup and our article will help you figure out how to set up a graphics tablet and pen yourself. For a person who is not thoroughly familiar with Photoshop and installation to figure everything out on their own necessary drivers, will be very problematic. So let’s figure out where to start and look at each stage of setting up the device. Let's take a Wacom graphics tablet as an example.

Installing the necessary software

The first thing you need to start with is connecting the device to the computer using the cable from the box. It should be noted that without drivers (on Windwos 10 it happens automatically), the tablet will not work correctly or will not work at all. Regardless of your computer’s OS (Windows, mac OS), drivers are installed automatically after launching the corresponding program. You can install it using the disk that was in the box with the tablet (if it was not there, go to the next paragraph). Insert the disc, run the software update program. Follow the simple instructions and after that the device will be ready for use.
Another way to install or update drivers for a gadget is to download them from the website of the graphics tablet manufacturer. There are two reasons for this:

the first is the absence of a disk drive on a computer or laptop
the second reason is that the manufacturer’s website has the latest drivers

New versions of the software may fix errors, expand functionality, improve or add localization. Drivers for Wacom devices can be found on their official website by clicking on the link.

Setting up the graphics tablet itself

After installing and updating the software, you need to properly configure the graphics tablet for it to work correctly. We will select the pen sensitivity in SAI or PS that suits your pen pressure. Launch a suitable program and open the tablet control panel (in our case, “Wacom Tablet”). Create a new drawing and select the most common brush as a tool with large size(a diameter of about 50 in Photoshop is fine). Draw a couple of lines using the pen and pressing it with different amounts of pressure. Continue drawing lines, while simultaneously changing the “Sensitivity” parameter in the tablet settings (Wacom Tablet), until you feel as comfortable and comfortable as possible to adjust the thickness of the brush by pressing the stylus. On some more expensive models It is possible to save similar settings for several programs separately (for example, there is one setting for SAI, and another for Photoshop). Sometimes this can be extremely useful when working with graphics tablet.

Selecting and customizing brushes

Let's now set up the brushes you'll use in Photoshop. Press F5 or click on the Brushes button with the mouse and select Brush Tip Shape.

Let's start with the shape of the brush. We create an elongated or inclined brush by changing the values of the Angle and Roundness parameters or simply visually adjusting the shape of the brush in the picture on the right.
The second item we will configure is Spacing. It affects the “smoothness” of the brush. All changes made are displayed in the figure below.
The third point is Shape Dynamics. The following parameters can be adjusted here: Pen Pressure (the pressure on the pen), Pen Tilt (the angle of inclination of the tool), Stylus Wheel (adjusting the wheel on some pens), Rotation (rotation angle). It is very convenient to change the size of the brush simply by pressing on the pen with different force, especially if you often have to change the diameter of the tool you are using. It is worth noting that the Pen Tilt option is mainly supported only on expensive models. Using the wheel you can quickly adjust the size and rotation of the tool used.
And finally, the fourth point – Other Dynamics. Here you can configure the dependence of the transparency of the brush on the force of pressure on the pen.

Setting up additional keys

Some tablets have additional physical keys. On Wacom tablets they are called ExpressKeys. They are located on the sides of the working area and, as their name suggests, they are designed for more convenient and quick control the program you are working with. Each key can be assigned its own own button. The default keys are usually the most popular, but you can customize everything if you wish. Note that initially both key blocks repeat their functions. Therefore, in the device settings it is possible to change the specified key values quick access. Here you can edit the values of each key individually, and in some tablets you can also save different settings For different programs(different, for example, for sai and photoshop).

Photoshop tutorials from Wacom

Setting up brushes in Photoshop when working with a tablet

This lesson is intended for users who have decided to use a tablet for their creativity for the first time and who are not sophisticated in their thorough knowledge of Adobe Photoshop. We'll start with the very basics - how to customize the tablet and brushes to suit your needs, while using the maximum capabilities provided by Adobe Photoshop and supported by Wacom graphics tablets.

Installing the tablet driver.

After connecting the tablet, be sure to install the driver for your tablet model. You can use the driver that comes on the CD that comes with your tablet, but it is best to download the latest version of the driver from the website www.wacom.ru (section Support --> Drivers). IN latest versions drivers may contain expanded functions compared to the older version, possible errors have been corrected, and all new driver versions have Russian localization.

Without the driver installed, you will not be able to use all the features of your Wacom tablet.

(this lesson discusses the version from the Adobe Creative Suite CS 2 package).

Brushes are selected on the left side of the toolbar in the Brush section (1). On the right side of the panel, in the Brushes section, all brush settings are made (2). See picture below.

Immediately open the tablet control panel in parallel (Start --> Settings --> Control Panel --> Wacom Tablet Properties).

Now let's start with the most important thing: adjusting the sensitivity to the level of pressure on the pen. Of course, the default tablet settings will suit some people, but it’s still worth spending a little time to find the most optimal settings for you.

For users of professional tablets of the Intuos 3 or Cintiq series, we immediately recommend making all settings separately for Photoshop applications. To do this, in the tablet control panel, click on the “+” icon in the Applications line and select from the list of running Photoshop programs. Now all the settings made will work only for Photoshop. You can create your own set of settings for other programs:

Users of younger tablet models (Volito or Graphire) will have the opportunity to adjust pressure sensitivity only once - for all programs.

--> New...). In the toolbar, in the Brush section, select a brush with clear boundaries and set it to a fairly large diameter (40-60).

Now, touching the working surface of the tablet with different pressure on the pen, draw several lines: you will quickly determine with what force it is most convenient for you to press the pen in order to get a line of maximum thickness, while being able to draw a line with a fairly small thickness.

Draw similar “leeches” and adjust the “pen sensitivity” parameter until you achieve maximum comfort for yourself.

Well, now let's get to the fun part.

Open the Brushes section and select Brush Tip Shape there.

The most important settings for us here there will be 1) the shape of the brush: parameters Angle and Roundness, which can either be set by values, or simply by visually changing the example of the brush on the picture to the right of these values. This way you can create an elongated and angled brush.

The next most important parameter is Spacing (2). The continuity of the brush depends on it.

The lower the value, the smoother your brush will be when painting.

In the lower window you can immediately observe the result of changing all parameters.

Dynamics.

By opening the drop-down list in any section, we will see several important controllable parameters:

Pressure , you can control the selected parameter by changing the pressure on the tip of the pen when drawing.

Tilt

Pen tilt. Only supported by professional tablets.

Wheel

(additional accessory for Intuos 3 or Cintiq).

Since the wheel has a limited stroke and produces 1024 values of its position, it is convenient for them to regulate not only the diameter of the brush or airbrush jet, but also, for example, to very accurately control the rotation of the tool (although we will consider a more natural way for this later).

Rotation angle of the Art Pen calligraphy pen (optional accessory for Intuos 3 or Cintiq). The most logical option to bind it to is the angle of rotation of the brush (Angle Jitter).

In the figure below you can see an example of using this pen with an oval brush:

Finally, let's look at the last item of interest to us from the Brushes: Other Dynamics section.

By setting the Pen Pressure value for Opacity Jitter, we will be able to change the transparency of the brush depending on the pressure on the pen:

So now you're tech-savvy and ready to create great digital works. Go for it!!!

You can also find other lessons on working with images using graphics tablets on the website

The second article in a short series of materials by Alexey Dovgul about graphics tablets talks about the intricacies of setting up the newly acquired unit. Do you think it's enough to plug it into your computer? Not so!

Of course, we all love, having bought some new thing, immediately connect it and see how it works. It's good if it needs a driver, but graphics tablets in most cases are recognized by the system as a mouse and immediately start working. An inexperienced retoucher will not immediately detect the catch, because the tablet will still work, although incorrectly. The point is that the pen will work like a mouse, and not edge-to-edge like a tablet (that is, the extreme points on the tablet correspond to the extreme points on the screen).

Therefore, before starting to work with the tablet, install the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website - the included driver may be outdated due to changes model range and updates operating systems, - reboot and only then start working. If you already have a driver installed, then it would be a good idea to check the settings.

I will only mark the important points.

Check in the Mapping section whether Mode-Pen is set: in this case, the pen will work as a pen, and not as a mouse.

In the Screen Area drop-down list, if you are working with one monitor, you should set Full, and if with two, then select the actual working monitor (not the one on which you watch TV shows, but the one on which you open Photoshop), for example, let's call it Monitor 1. Otherwise, both monitors will be used on the surface of the tablet at once, which will significantly change the proportions and, most importantly, significantly reduce the usability.

Wrong

Right

We also check the Force Proportions checkbox - this will allow you to maintain the correct proportions, that is, if you draw a circle on the tablet, then on the canvas you will also have a circle, not an ellipse.

Tablet Area - Full, but if you are tired of working on a huge tablet, you can reduce the size at your discretion (Portion).

Let's configure the keys: in the Tool palette, select Functions and open the Express Keys section.
If you are working with two monitors, then the first thing you need to do is set up the Display Toggle function for switching between monitors.

And set the order of monitors in the Display Toggle section. However, if you really only watch TV series on the second monitor, then uncheck the second monitor - there will be one less keystroke.

If you are working with one monitor, then do not try to find this menu - it appears automatically as soon as you connect to the second monitor.

Let's continue setting up Express Keys.
What can you put on Express Keys on your tablet?

Modifiers (Alt, Command, Shift).
Keystrokes.
Actions in Photoshop.
Switch Applications.
Undo/Redo.
Application Hotkeys.
Tools in Photoshop and Lightroom.
Open Apps, such as Lightroom or Photoshop.

As an example, let's create a couple of settings for these keys. If you are trying to use the keyboard less in your work, then you will find it useful to set up the Undo function. Select the Keystroke function in Express Keys and set the key combination Cmd + Option + Z or in Windows Ctrl+ Alt + Z.

Now you have the opportunity to undo the last actions in Photoshop, as long as your History resource lasts.

The second setting is one of my favorites, the Express Key for Action in Photoshop. To begin with, I create an Action in Photoshop - I’ll take any as an example, just to demonstrate how it works - and assign Hotkey F2 to it. I use many different Actions, for example, frequency decomposition with a certain radius, merging all layers, creating a layer for working with Dodge&Burn, Color Correction layer, and depending on the type of activity, I assign all of them to Express Keys.

Thus, you can add several Express Keys, for example Frequency Separation and Merge Visible, in order to quickly fold and fold a photo without using the keyboard when retouching.

The next thing I would like to talk about is the Touch Ring (available only in models of the professional line), a ring that allows you to change the size of the brush, Zoom and much more that you can come up with. To do this, go to the Touch Ring section.

I usually create only two settings, Zoom and Brush Size, and set the rest to Skip.
I like the Zoom offered by the Wacom settings more than if I set Hotkeys from Photoshop through Keystroke - Cmd + / Cmd-, since it works more smoothly. But meanwhile, I like Rotation in Photoshop (Hotkey R) more than the Rotate function in Wacom settings. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

Set the Brush Size setting, this will greatly help you when retouching and drawing details.

Choose the brush size change speed to suit you. I have this setup.

If your tablet has Touch functionality, disable it! The fact is that when you draw any detail or, even worse, select something, then when Touch functions the curve of your hand holding the Grip Pen can be detected as some kind of gesture and ruin your work. Most often, the function recognizes movements as Zoom or moving around the canvas. In general, it's up to you.

The next setting that is extremely important is the Grip Pen sensitivity setting. On professional line tablets, it is possible to adjust the pressure sensitivity of the pen more finely.

The first thing you should start setting up is Click Threshold, a parameter that allows you to eliminate the impact of accidental touches. For example, you were thinking about the eternal and accidentally touched the tablet with your pen while making a magnetic lasso selection, and your selection ended prematurely or was completely reset. To prevent such a situation from arising, there is this parameter, Click Threshold.

Relax your hand and let the pen touch the surface of the tablet under the weight of your hand on the Try Here test field. Is there a dot? If yes, then move the Threshold parameter further to the right. Appears? No? Great, then this is your pen impact cutoff setting.

The next parameter is Max Pressure, it is responsible for the level of maximum pressure on the pen shaft. If you feel that when working with the tablet your hand gets tired or the pen is very worn out, then you need to move this parameter to the left, which will reduce the pressure on the pen.

For example, consider two options made with the same pressure on the pen:

Default pressure.

Shift of the point of maximum pressure.

To adjust this parameter, you need to test the comfortable position of the maximum point, at which you get the maximum result without excessive pressure on the pen.

The next parameter is Sensitivity, it is responsible for how sensitive the pen is to your pressure. I like to change this setting depending on what kind of work I'm doing. For example, if I need to quickly draw shadows in a photograph, then I increase the sensitivity, and if I need to do fairly delicate and precise work, then I lower the sensitivity to the average value.
Here are two examples with the same pressure and different settings; I think the difference is obvious.

But if you do not have a professional tablet model, then only one pressure regulator is available to you. However, do not despair, because, as my many years of experience have shown, everything is in your hands!

Well last setting The one I would like to mention is the customization of the buttons on the pen. I myself do not use buttons on the pen in principle, and my main pen has no buttons at all, but colleagues whose opinions I trust say that it is convenient to configure one button for the Hand tool (Key Space in Photoshop) or Pan/Scroll, and the other - to the Undo command (Cmd + Option + Z).

By the way, the Tilt Sensitivity parameter for retouching does not matter, since we are not using brushes that would maintain the tilt angle.

There won’t be any short summary, because that’s what customization is all about – everything is purely individual. In order to understand which of the settings will be more convenient for you, you need to test the tablet’s operation in different conditions and at various types works So try it!

Hi all!
My name is Matt M. Laskowski and I am a graphic illustrator.

STEP 1. NEW FOLLOWERS

:: I don't have a tablet, but I'm planning to buy one.

Great! But first: try to find the answer to the question “why do I need a tablet?” It doesn't have to be Wacom, they just produce probably the highest quality and easiest to use tablets. But if you are completely new to this business, then it is better to first ask yourself why and how much you need this tablet.

And I will say slowly and clearly:

NO GRAPHICS TABLET, WHATEVER BRAND AND MODEL IT IS, CAN MAGICALLY MAKE YOU A SUPER-DUPER ARTIST.

A graphics tablet is a productivity tool that speeds up an artist's workflow to accommodate digital media. It does not multiply your pre-existing skills just because it is an item high technology, connected to Photoshop. Very often everything happens just the opposite.

Although the tablet comes with a stylus, which gives the feeling simple drawing On paper, the actual practical use of a tablet (especially if you've never used one) is a completely different dimension, one that can be reached through a long, winding learning curve. After all, once you install a regular desktop tablet, you'll be holding it in horizontal position on the table or on your lap, and the lines of your pen on the vertical monitor opposite you. You will have to get used to this and it may take weeks before you stop feeling discomfort from such a system.

I've met many artists who were thinking about buying a tablet for testing, shelling out $350-400 for a mid-level professional model, using it 10 times and never thinking about it again, because getting used to this technique was too much for them. Well, then this tablet could be used as an expensive mouse pad - otherwise, the money could be spent more wisely.

So don't let this discourage you from purchasing a tablet. By any means, buy yourself a tablet if you decide that you really want one. The only thing you really need to remember here is that you need to be smart if you buy blindly on the principle that everything will work out.

:: I want a tablet, but have never used one before

There's good news for you. Wacom manufacturers know that people buy tablets with different content and for different purposes. If you've never used a tablet and can't tell for sure whether you'll like it after you try it, you certainly shouldn't even think about starting with something big and expensive.

Wacom offers a whole series low-budget tablets for beginning artists BAMBOO (at the time I am writing this article). These tablets can provide good experience drawing for about 30-40% of the cost of the series professional tablets INTUOS. (As of this writing, the BAMBOO PEN tablet will cost just $70, compared to the same-sized INTUOS SMALL tablet, which costs $220.)

When plunging headlong into the digital world, it is best to buy BAMBOO, because even with the minimum probability that you will like it and continue to use it, this tablet will serve you faithfully for quite a long time. As you get older experienced user this tablet, you can safely switch to INTUOS. After all, the cost of BAMBOO is negligible and it can be resold to someone else who just wants to try the product, or you can simply store it and use it when traveling or other places. We need to treat it more simply, and not bury our nose in it. (To learn only what you need at the beginning of the journey, and develop as your experience accumulates.)

At the same time, if in the end you didn't like BAMBOO and never used it again, you won't be too upset, because... it costs nothing - and by keeping it, you potentially increase your chances of using it again.

:: What about the CINTIQ tablet series? Are they easier to use?

CINTIQ tablets, for those who don't know, are WACOM's professional grade products. CINTIQ has a screen built into the tablet body itself. This means that when you draw on it, you get an instant visual feedback on a scale of 1:1. It's as if you were drawing on a regular piece of paper, without taking into account the work in Photoshop. Due to the stand, functionality and ease of handling, it is very expensive. Retail price the small model (the 12-inch Cintiq 12WX at the time of writing) is $1,000, while its larger 21-inch brother, the 21UX, costs $2,000. As you can tell by these prices, it's too early for you to even think about such tablets until you have a very good reason to do so.

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

For the working professional, CINTIQ tablets are like steamed turnips. They allow professional artists to work faster and more accurately. The end result created by a professional artist on a Cintiq tablet will most likely be no better than the painting he drew on a regular Intuos, but the 1:1 scale alone makes any investment worthwhile. Let's take professional photographers for example. If you are just starting out in photography, will you buy expensive equipment that professionals use? Most likely not, because expensive equipment does not make you a good photographer, just as it does not make a professional a good photographer. Of course, you can buy the latest technology, like from famous photographers, but you will only use it as much as your knowledge of this technique. Thus, a beginner, having purchased professional equipment, will still produce work at the level of a beginner. Professionals are only interested in the latest technology because it almost always improves the efficiency of their work.

This, of course, does not mean that you should not think about it and buy a tablet like the Cintiq. They are created not only for professionals and the artistic elite. Cintiq tablets are easier to use than traditional Intuos or Bamboo versions because they're the format you're most used to (pencil and paper), but they're not perfect. Issues such as cursor lag, pen line jitter, pen calibration, and bulkiness of Cintiq tablets may be unacceptable to some, but can be minimized with appropriate tablet use. Some beginners (and even professionals) in the field of digital art may find it impossible to get used to such traditional tablets, like Intuos and Bamboo, and refuse to work for them. However, when you give them a Cintiq, they can do anything with it and the results will be top level. These people are ready to pay one, or even two thousand dollars for such equipment.

For most people, it will make sense to start with a basic level tablet and work your way up to the Cintiq, especially if you spend a ton of time working on the tablet. When you really understand that the features that the Cintiq has are exactly what you need, then without a doubt, go for it.

:: Tablet personal computer (tablet PC, Tablet PC)? What kind of fruit is this?

Tablet computers have been around for quite some time, but there have been issues with hardware and usage that have made working with programs like Photoshop problematic. In recent years, development more power, lower voltage processors and simpler electronic circuits have allowed tablet PCs to take a higher position in the world of personal computing, now being as powerful as larger, non-tablet systems.

As the name suggests, a tablet computer is a tablet that is inserted directly into a computer monitor. Most Tablet PCs with pens are made by Wacom, using a technology called "Wacom Penabled". The "Wacom Penabled" Tablet PC has all the same specifications as the Bamboo Tablet in terms of tracing and pen pressure sensitivity, with the exception of the LCD screen. However, they are a little more similar to the Wacom Cintiq series, but are not quite high enough in terms of specification standards. Most tablet PCs are rotatable, which means they are usually 12 or 13-inch laptops, and the screen can rotate on an axis and fold over the keyboard, thus becoming a thin PC with just a monitor. Unlike Cintiq tablets, tablet PCs are much more convenient, more powerful, and completely autonomous (work wirelessly). However, unlike the Cintiq, the tablet constantly works in conjunction with the computer. So when your computer gets old and deteriorates, so does the functionality of your tablet. Cintiq tablets gain their functionality by connecting to a computer, so your Cintiq will work as well as the computer it's connected to will work. So, it can be said that generally Cintiq tablets are more durable than tablet computers due to the fact that its hardware lasts much longer.

One of the main differences, however, is that tablet computers are rarely designed for true artists. Most Tablet PCs are designed for end consumers who want their computers to be faster in a smaller space. Their bulk of target consumers are in hospitals and warehouses. Since Tablet PCs are not 100% a product for artists, their functionality can sometimes lead to frustration. Not everything software will be compatible with this computer, and calibrating the pen may be too complicated.

For those who are interested in Tablet PC, I present for your attention the following models:

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

Amazing! From now on, I'll only be focusing on Wacom tablets and not Tablet PCs - but there's still a lot of useful information here for you, fellow Tablet PC users, so keep reading.

- Check your drivers!

The first step, of course, is to make sure that your drivers are working properly! Many new tablet users often forget to install drivers completely, and then wonder why some functions, such as pen pressure, do not work. The best way To find out if your drivers are installed and functioning, this is to bring the stylus to one of the corners of the tablet, then remove it and bring it to the other corner. If the cursor automatically jumps to the second corner where the pen tip is, you can be sure that everything is working perfectly. Without installed drivers, the cursor will not move.

- Disable Tablet PC services on Windows

This step does not apply to: Mac users, Tablet PC users, and Windows Vista/7 handwriting recognition and flicks users.

Windows 7 and Vista have a feature called Tablet PC Services. By default, this feature is enabled when a tablet connected to the computer is detected. Tablet PC services, as the name suggests, should only apply to tablet computers - not to your laptop or personal computer, to which the Wacom tablet is connected. These Windows features will only get in the way if you intend to devote yourself entirely to drawing.

To disable Tablet PC services, click the Windows button on the taskbar and type “Services” in the search box. A shortcut called “Services” should appear in the search results. Label in the form of two small mechanisms.

Click on it, and an even larger window will open in front of you with a list of other shortcuts. The list is alphabetical, scroll down to "Tablet PC Input Service".

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Double-click on it, a small window will appear showing the current status of the services, as well as the option to enable (start), stop (stop), or disable (disable) these services. We are only interested in stopping and disabling these services.

First, click the “stop” button. Wait for the program to stop running, then click Apply at the bottom of the window.

That's it! Tablet PC services are now disabled. From now on, you can get 100% pleasure from working with Wacom, forgetting about the “glitches” of Windows. For artists, this is simply an ideal condition, because... this ensures that the pen responds as quickly as possible.

(If some Tablet PC services are still running, try restarting your computer.)

- Prepare a good work area!

The way you sit and hold your tablet has a huge impact on how you use it. For many people, placing the tablet at an angle is most convenient, because... this minimizes the difficulty of transferring horizontal motion to vertical motion, and also simulates a drafting table. Many people place the tablet on their laps, resting the corner of the tablet on the edge of the table (this, of course, can only be done by owners of a fairly large tablet). Other people use things like coolers and laptop stands to somehow keep their tablet at a certain height. For those who have the opportunity to visit an IKEA store, I want to tell you that they have a great laptop stand for $2 that is also great for tablets of any size.

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

Of course, you can always place your tablet vertically on a table surface. Just remember to keep the monitor a little closer to the tablet, and if your monitor has height and tilt controls, lower it and tilt it towards you.

It may seem to you that Cintiq tablet users have it much easier in this regard, because... They have built-in retractable stands that automatically give them the most comfortable position for working, but you can still improve your work area with the tools at hand.

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

:: Everything seems to be going well! Now how about real use tablet?

So, regarding the use of the tablet, the first thing you need to do is open the Tablet Properties window and think about how you would like to configure it with certain software. I know, I know, you want to get started right away. maximum settings and capabilities - but trust me, you need to understand how to use your tool effectively first!

Windows users can find tablet properties in two places:
- Start ( Start menu) – All programs – Wacom Tablet (sometimes Pen Tablet) – Wacom Tablet Properties
- System control panel – Wacom Tablet Properties
Users Mac computers can find the properties of their tablets directly in the System Preferences menu.

When you open this window, you will see the following:

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Please note that in order to change settings on your tablet, it must be connected to your computer. The program for changing parameters will not work without a tablet. Also, please note that if the tool you want to edit, such as a pen or mouse with increased precision, does not appear under the Tools list, you probably have not yet registered it in the tablet. Wacom tablets register all the tools it interacts with by simply bringing it within range of the tablet to detect the signal. This means that you can use more than one pen, or any other tool, and each will have its own settings. The Features tool refers directly to the tablet hardware, such as ExpressKeys and active work areas, etc.

However, each person will have their own preferences regarding the settings of their tablet, so I won't say much about what is best and what is not - simply because if one thing is true for me, it does not mean it will be true for you that's right. In addition, all tablet models differ from each other in their capabilities and settings. However, I will tell you, as an example, about the settings that I usually use myself. We will look at just a few of them. The rest will be touched upon in one way or another later in this article, but to a lesser extent.

- Profile your software!

Notice how your tablet's properties window should have a [+] button at the end of the Applications list? It allows you to add a program in order to have special installation configurations ONLY for the selected program. This is very useful when you are using several programs in parallel, each of which has its own hotkeys and functions. It may seem like there's no point in profiling your software, but remember, this step will help you improve your productivity.

The properties program allows you to create multiple profiles for each tool, just like the settings for the tool itself. Your pen may have completely different profiles than your tablet's features. So first of all, remember to select the tool for which you want to create a profile.

A good example of things that are most often profiled differently are hotkeys for undoing and redoing an action (for example, in Photoshop the keyboard shortcut is ctrl+alt+Z, and in Painter ctrl +Z), as well as changes to some features that are clearly missing in other software.

A good tip to help you install your software: First open the program you want to profile, and only THEN add it to the list in the Tablet Properties window. The running program will appear in the list of programs that you are most likely to want to add.

- Place only the most frequently used functions on the Express Keys!

Your Wacom tablet has an Express panel. Older models such as Bamboo have at least two of the three buttons on this panel; Cintiq 21UX tablets have as many as 16 express buttons. To make your work easier, you should assign the most frequently used functions to these buttons.

If your tablet has a lot of buttons on the Express panel, don't bother assigning a function to each button. Assigning functions to buttons that you rarely use can actually hinder your work rather than help it. Over time, you may forget which functions are assigned to which buttons, and it is quite possible that you mistakenly press the wrong button, which can lead to undesirable consequences.

If you need to do something, such as Undo, zoom in, etc., there should be a button on your tablet that you press most often - like "home position" . This "subconsciously preferred" button should enable your most frequently used feature. For me, this is the "Shift" button modifier. Don't be surprised if you don't find your starting position right away. You will understand when you discover it for yourself, when you want to fulfill specific function, you press the wrong button on the tablet. If this happens, you need to change the button with which you made a mistake and put in its place the one you intended. Immediately after the starting position should be the second most frequently used function. For me it's "undo". With these two buttons located next to each other, there is no need to guess where to point - everything is already at hand.

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

Note the picture above - these are the settings I use on my Cintiq. It can be seen that the main buttons here are the two express buttons closest to the center, because they correspond to the Shift function. I also found that I used the bottommost button a lot, so I gave it the Alt function. Note that I also placed my second most used function above Alt - Undo. This allows me to quickly undo my actions if I make a mistake while drawing.

- The only necessary setting for your pen:

The Express Bar is great for quickly accessing frequently used functions, but don't forget that your pen also has two buttons. They can significantly speed up the process of working on a graphics tablet.

Unlike the buttons on your tablet, the buttons on the pen should be used as access to certain actions, and not as hotkeys. Therefore, I recommend one of the buttons to Right click (a frequently used and necessary function), and the second to Pan/Scroll.

Pan/Scroll is probably one of the best features because it works in almost all programs. In almost all image programs, it allows you to scroll through the canvas—essential for quickly accessing different parts of the canvas to continue drawing. It also allows you to scroll through lists of folders, web pages in your browser, basically anything that can be scrolled down and up.

Although the express panel may be different for everyone, I guarantee you that specifically for pen buttons you will not find more suitable functions than these.

- So, how about real, serious use of the tablet now?

You'll find out soon.

STEP 3: TAKE YOUR SEATS

Please note that this article is not a lesson on drawing, improving your skills, or anything like that. The purpose of this is to expand your knowledge of your Wacom tablet, and help you find your own style of working on it.

Before you begin, you should know that there are some special differences in graphic drawing that you need to get used to. There are many things that can give you some advantages that you can't achieve on paper, so let's look at some of them.

- If you have a tool, make the most of it!

Graphic canvases do not have physical limitations like paper. However, they still have physical limitations in relation to your computer. Try working on a canvas of several thousand pixels. If you have a computer, PC or Mac purchased after 2007, you should not have any problems working with large files until you run out of 2GB system memory to the minimum possible.

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

You shouldn't be afraid to work with paintings that are, say, 5000x3500 pixels in size. You'll be surprised how small this huge file will be when printed, despite how big it looks on your monitor. But remember that it all depends on the scale - if you are painting on a large canvas, reduce the scale by half and use a thicker brush. And then you will see that the canvas is no longer so “deceptive.”

- Use layers. But don’t overdo it so you don’t get lost in them!

Most image processing programs such as Photoshp, Painter, Tool/SAI, PhotoPaint, and SketchBook Pro support the ability to work with layers.

Rule #1 graphic drawing says: Never draw on a background layer. The background layer is an unchanged, completely opaque layer. You can't place anything under this layer, so the first step you have to do is open new file, this is creating a new layer on which you will draw. In this case, the lines you draw will be on a transparent canvas, and you can add other details or colors underneath this layer if you need to exclude any other action or fill a void. Working on new layers is like having an endless supply of blank fields to work in. But know that if you use too many layers, you'll spend more time finding the right layer instead of spending that time painting. Cluttered layers can also lead to incorrect results, which can interrupt all your work.

It's best to keep things simple to a certain level. Break your work down into a series of basic layers, such as sketch, detail, light and shadow, base colors, etc. It would be good to train yourself to add new details on new layers, and only then combine new layer with one of the base layers, if you are sure that everything turned out as intended. Thus, for example, always reduce all rough sketches to one layer, instead of storing all 10 with different small details on each of them.

The more you use layers, the more fascinated you become with them. The list of layers in the picture above is one of my more complex paintings. Sometimes, cluttered layers are inevitable, and I agree that I could probably cut 70% of those layers to free up space. However, when creating this painting, I did not want to do this. So it took me a lot of time to find the necessary layers in this booth.

Unlike traditional painting, layers allow you to group elements of your work to make it easier to correct mistakes later without damaging other parts of the image. But this can significantly slow down the speed of your work if you don't organize your layers wisely. This is why graphic artists must be mindful of their traditional sensibilities, and remember that a problem area in a painting can be solved by erasing it and painting the detail again, rather than using filters and transformations to “fix” the problem. And in general, in the graphic world, you can erase problem areas as much as you like and the canvas will not suffer from it.

It’s much easier to work with a list like this (picture above). This set of layers allows you to work on the painting more freely, unlike many small groups with layers.

I advise beginners in the field of graphic drawing to use no more than three layers in their drawings, simply because it will allow you to work more naturally. You'll definitely benefit from using layers, but don't overdo them or you'll lose all touch with the traditional approach to drawing.

STEP 4. PENCIL DRAWING LESSON

:: I'M READY. Teach me some techniques!

Glad to see you're still with me. Because this is where your training in techniques for using your tablet to draw with pencil and paint begins. Let's start with simple pencil drawing.

- Move the canvas towards the feather. Not the other way around.

Your tablet, like your monitor, is only a window. It allows you to work in a specific area, which is view in certain moment. Therefore, learn to move your canvas freely. If you need to draw something in the corner of the monitor, don't move your pen to that corner and draw in that limited piece of canvas—pull that part of the canvas toward the center of the monitor so that you can freely draw on as much space as possible on your tablet. By working in the center of the monitor, you can make larger lines with your pen, and this makes it easier to rotate the canvas if you need to. This is why the Pan/Scroll feature on the pen is so important.

Modifier keys are the names of the keys on your keyboard, such as Ctrl, Alt, Cmd, Shift, etc. These keys modify the functions of other keys and even how tools in the software operate.

The most important modifier operations you need to know for drawing are the same for most image editing programs, and the only modifier you need to know is the Shift key.

- Shift key: While holding Shift key With the Pencil or Brush tool selected, you can get a straight single line. Depending on the direction initially set for the line, the Shift key will switch to vertical or horizontal line. Some programs or tools can also switch by 45 degrees. In Photoshop, you can hold down the Shift key to create a straight line by specifying a start and end point. Click in one place, then in another, and a straight line will immediately stretch from the first point to the second. It's special useful feature when creating perspectives in a more free drawing manner, because you can create beautiful straight lines from any angle.

- [ and ] keys: Although these are not modifier keys, they are important to know. Most image processing programs use these two keys as hotkeys to change the brush size. Especially for pencil drawing, you may find these keys useful to get different lines on different parts your painting. Using [ and ] keys is much easier than opening brush properties every time you need to make changes.

- Be spontaneous, work quickly, don’t be afraid. Everything can be remade.

Graphic work is cleaner than traditional drawing media, but that doesn't mean you should force yourself to create the purest, most perfect work ever created by man.

If you don't maniacally scribble your idea onto the canvas, you will never make any progress in your drawing. You will simply draw and erase one small part that you are trying to insert and the big picture, and then you will realize that you cannot continue it, because you do not see this very BIG picture. Unlike traditional drawing tools, your monitor can show so much at once. As you work, you can't always see the whole picture, and you may lose sight of how the work will look from afar. That's why you should work quickly and not worry about little things. Work at a reduced scale, then zoom in and clean up when the baselines are complete. This is how you would work on paper, so you should work exactly the same in graphical form.

Rough sketch. Be spontaneous, don't worry about extraneous things.

Start erasing the excess when you are sure that the sketch is correct.

Come up with a composition, correct it when everything is ready.

Later, refine what fits into the work, then delete the extra lines. Add details.

- Use zooming to your advantage.

When you clean up your painting, the margin of error will decrease dramatically, because... you are trying to make the image look more ideal. If you work at a remote scale, you are likely to encounter some problems along the way. You won't get very far in your work until you zoom in and fine-tune the finer details.

Wacom tablets have a significantly higher resolution than your monitor. This means that when you zoom out, the pixel density of the canvas increases. For example, if an image is 1000x1000 pixels, at 50% scale it will be 500x500 pixels, doubling the density of each visible pixel. If your tablet has a resolution of 2000x2000 pixels on the active area, it will still draw with high precision, as if you were working at 100% scale, even though your screen will not be able to show those tiny little movements. However, if you continue to zoom out, the resolution of the tablet will become much lower compared to the increasing density of the canvas. So when you draw at such distant scales, detail becomes impossible.

This is why you zoom in when you want extreme image accuracy. The more you enlarge your image, the higher resolution your tablet has to work at, giving you a larger margin of error - allowing you to clean up the image more accurately.

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

As you can see in the picture above, where I tried to draw a circle at different scales, the details of the detected pen movements are lost after 50%.

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

The image on the left is a screenshot of the canvas at 100% scale.
The image on the right is a screenshot of the canvas at 300% scale.
If you needed to draw the pupils in the eyes of this heroine, at what scale would you do it?

STEP 5. PAINTING LESSON

No, here I will not teach you how to draw with paints, use them correctly color scheme, or something like that kind of compositional curriculum. I have already created enough other lessons to explain these things. Everything I'm going to teach you here revolves around the basic technique you need to master in order to start mixing and manipulating colors for the purpose of painting.

- Know how modifier keys can help you draw.

As before, there are also certain useful modifier keys for painting with paints. One of them that you should remember is the Alt key, or Option as it is called on Mac computers.

- Alt key: When you hold down the Alt key while the Brush tool or any other color tool is selected, that tool changes to the Eyedropper. This is the most useful Alt function when painting with paints, because... it allows you to quickly select a color and use it to blend with a nearby color. You can think of the Alt key as a key that allows you to “dirty” your brush with new tones created by overlaying two colors. The more you use Alt key to select colors in intermediate areas, the more these shades mix, smoothly flowing into each other. You can, of course, use Alt to pick new, unmixed colors from the canvas to use elsewhere. If you paint with paints, the Alt key simply must be on the express panel. Especially because almost all image processing programs use this modifier with this function.

- Use pressure for opacity and low opacity for blending colors.

Most image processing programs with a pressure function can adjust the brush so that when you apply more pressure to the pen, the lines become thicker instead of wider.

In Photoshop, this setting is most easily found in the Other section of the Brush Settings panel. (Although in CS5 this section was renamed Transfer, so keep that in mind if you're on CS5.) With the Opacity Jitter set to Pen Pressure, you'll see that if you press lightly on the pen, the lines will be light, translucent, and a stronger impact on the pen will result in hard, thick lines. I would advise you to disable the section called Shape Dynamics while drawing, because... you don't need the lines to become lighter at the ends. This opacity setting can be applied to any kind of brush and can be very easy to get used to, so try it out and see how it makes blending colors easier. Note: In some programs Opacity is called Density.

Now that your lines have a certain level of transparency, apply some paint to the canvas and choose another paint to paint over it. You will notice that the colors mix as... visible through each other. Changing the pen pressure can help you control things like the gradation and volume of objects. When you pick up a new color from the in-between area you just painted, you can use that new color at a low opacity to further blend the colors into the given area and create a form.

1) In this picture you can see that we are starting with a simple cut where two walls and the floor meet. One wall is yellow, the second is gray, the floor is also gray.

We're going to draw the light coming from the source on this object and apply shadows accordingly.

2) In the next step I used the Alt key to select the eyedropper gray floor and lighten it a little. I painted a small area of the floor with this color to create the appearance of a falling shadow.
In the same way, I picked up the yellow color of the wall and darkened it a little to draw an extension of the shadow.

Find out which additional features They give ExpressKeys shortcut keys, a Touch Ring, an on-screen radial menu, as well as what settings are provided for the included wireless module.

To explore and customize your Intuos pro tablet controls, open the Wacom drivers: on Apple computers On Mac, run the System Preferences program, on a Windows computer, open Control Panel - and in both cases, launch the module Wacom tablet. Selecting from the list Device connected tablet, click the icon Functions on the list Tool- and you can start.

Setting up ExpressKeys ☆

Let's start by asking why ExpressKeys are needed at all? Often, when working with a graphics tablet, the traditional keyboard is put aside: there is simply not enough space on the table for it - especially when working with Intuos pro size M or L. However, everything graphic editors controlled to one degree or another through keyboard shortcuts and modifier keys. To provide easy access to frequently used keyboard shortcuts, Wacom tablets are equipped with auxiliary buttons.

When enabled Show Express View All you have to do is touch any ExpressKey button and you will see an on-screen hint of what commands each button performs. The buttons you are currently touching will be highlighted in orange.

Setting up Touch Ring ☆

The Touch Ring is extremely convenient for performing a sequence of similar commands. For example, to enlarge an image, you most often need to press Ctrl-+ or ⌘+ several times. But it is more convenient to execute this command using the touch ring.

To put it simply, the Touch Ring is divided into several segments that respond to touch. As we move our finger around the ring, we close first one contact, then another - and the resulting series of electrical impulses is transmitted by the Intuos pro driver to the active program as a sequence of presses of the same key combination, which is set in the tablet settings.

It is noteworthy that the Touch Ring distinguishes the direction of finger movement. Therefore, two commands can be assigned to the same touch ring state at once. For example, when moving your finger clockwise, emulate the Ctrl-+ keys, and when moving counterclockwise, emulate Ctrl--. In fact, the result is a very natural process: turn the ring to the right - the picture increases, turn it to the left - the picture decreases.

When enabled Show touch ring options You will see an on-screen prompt every time you press the center Touch Ring button. Will be highlighted in orange current state rings, in exact accordance with the LED indexing on the tablet itself.

Setting up the radial menu ☆

So we got to this, at first glance, incomprehensible instrument. But imagine the situation. You've already assigned the basic commands to the ExpressKeys and Touch Ring. However, there is also a whole pack of software functions that you use much less often - but for them it is very inconvenient to reach for the keyboard. It is for such cases that the radial menu comes in handy.

The radial menu itself looks like a circle divided into eight segments, with a cross button in the middle. To call this circle, you need to assign the corresponding command to the side rocker key on the pen or to any ExpressKeys button on the tablet. And then everything is simple: just click on the required menu segment and get the result.

Assigning commands to Radial Menu items is the same as when customizing pen buttons and ExpressKeys. Through the radial menu, you can execute preset commands, keyboard shortcuts (including calling multimedia commands, which is still not available for ExpressKeys and the TouchRing) and launch applications.

The most interesting item in the command drop-down list is Submenu. If you assign this item to a specific radial menu segment, it will become an entry to that same radial menu. In essence, this will be a group of commands, like in regular application menus, only the shape of this group will be round.

To go to setting up the created submenu (it is marked with a triangle marker), in the list on the left, click on the item of the same name, which is located under the “root” element Top. Now you can create a nested menu using the same principle.

Minimum in radial menu can contain only eight various teams. If you use nested menus to the maximum (three levels of nesting are allowed), you will have as many as 512 commands at your disposal! Of course, to organize such a huge amount into a convenient system, you will have to try - but in the end this will turn the tablet not only into a tool for drawing and retouching, but also into a universal computer control center.

Setting up the wireless module ☆

Working with a wireless tablet is a joy. But, as with any stand-alone device, battery life becomes an important factor. Therefore, in the tab Without cable The time scale will come in very handy, after which Intuos pro will turn itself off.

Consider in what mode you are working with the tablet. If you frequently take long breaks, move the scale slider toward the left end to make the tablet turn off faster. If you draw for a long time, only occasionally being distracted by other things, you should increase the idle time so that you don’t have to constantly wake up the tablet.

At the same time, do not forget about the button to manually turn off the tablet, which after installation wireless kit located at the end of the device next to the USB connector. If you know that you are leaving now, and the tablet will still be waiting for you for some time, it is better to turn it off yourself and save battery power for the future, for useful work. :)

Completion follows...

In addition to setting up the pen and functions of the Intuos pro tablets, it remains to learn about setting up multi-finger gestures (the notorious multi-touch).

For technical questions, please contact the official service center Wacom at [email protected]- We will be happy to clarify for you all the points that remain unclear to you.

Enjoy using your Intuos pro tablets! Join us in the Wacom Creative Communities at