Tablet PC for Animation

shift · Post by **shift** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 6:35 am

I was looking for a tablet that could manage animation software and act as a writing/drawing tablet.

I found this http://drmussey-animation.blogspot.com/ ... -boom.html

anyone know if android has anything like this or ipad?

Post by **Víctor Paredes** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:31 pm

I have an old ibm thinkpad x41 tablet pc. It's very very good. New versions are very similar in size and weight, but obviously more powerful. I'm planning to buy a x201 (once I get someone who could bring it to me from United States to Chile) and I would recommend you that one.

For animation and drawing it works perfect to me. It's delicious on Plastic animation paper and Sai paint tool. I use it everyday for working in AS and I'm very sure I'll never go back to a non tablet laptop.

I recommend you this kind of tablet pc over tablets like ipad. Here we are talking about a complete computer with the advantage of tablets. You won't get that freedom to work with anything else.

barryem · Post by **barryem** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 4:24 pm

There are quite a few Windows tablets coming out in the near future. My guess is that any of them will work fine with AS, although I am just guessing. I've never actually used a Windows tablet. But I'm saving for one and I plan to get one.

I have AS on an EEE PC with a very low power CPU and no graphics chip and it works just fine for the simple stuff I do. The screen is only 1024x600 so I have to put it in compression mode to use AS and see the whole screen, but that's no problem and it works well. It does distort the screen slightly, changing the aspect ratio and I have to test it un-compressed to be sure of what I'm getting. Again, a minor irritation.

I've never done anything very complex with AS so I have no idea how much CPU power I'd need for that.

Barry

neeters_guy · Post by **neeters_guy** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 5:04 pm

AS has very modest system requirements, so I've been able to run it on an old Compaq/HP TC1100 (1Ghz processor/32MB video). I believe a lot of members here use tablets, such as ponysmasher, madrobot, etc.

Tablets are fun, but I find it easier to use a mouse/keyboard (admittedly I haven't tried that hard).

Neither Android or iPad tablets can run AS, unless you decide to try something bleeding edge crazy like install Linux on an iPad.

DarthFurby · Post by **DarthFurby** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 3:31 am

I used to lust after the wacom cintiques but not anymore. They come with a thick glass screen which causes parallax between the pen and cursor when drawing, and they're not portable like tablet pcs. I read about the HP tablet, and Asus will be rolling out their own version, the ep121, which runs on an dual core intel i5 with windows 7. I expect to get a tablet pc when they become better, and cheaper. The battery life kinda sucks too, but right now the market is exploding with tablet pcs, and they are going to be the tool of choice for most artists in the near future.

This person bought a tablet pc for 200 bucks, works just like a drawing pad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIwKg-KyZ58

funksmaname · Post by **funksmaname** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:56 am

Hey Furb,
i dunno about "thick glass screen which causes parallax between the pen and cursor when drawing" - i have a cintiq 12wx and i've not really suffered such a problem? However portability IS an issue, plus if you already run two screens (like me) you need a gfx card that has 3 outs (or two gfx cards, which I got, but then the PSU wasn't powerful enough and... *huff* long story)

Bottom line is I think tablet PCs with Wacom tech are the way forward. They are portable and probably have a decent (ish) battery life (improving all the time I guess) - but i'm with neeters in that I don't really see having a tablet as a great advantage with AS. It's a little too fluid for animating and although using it has aleaveated the RSI "clicky-finger" I get with the mouse on REAL long sessions, they are far and few between when coming up to a rare deadline so most of the time the mouse is easier and more precise.

for actual drawing/painting/fbf in other programs on the other hand - you can't live without one.

DarthFurby · Post by **DarthFurby** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 1:38 pm

Hey funk, yeah tablets for drawing can't be beat.

But I have a confession: I've never used a tablet with AS ever. I agree with both you and neeters about tablets and AS not mixing(or at least not for the way I work with AS), I use a mouse and keyboard myself, but in other drawing programs it's all tablet all the time.

shift · Post by **shift** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:35 pm

Just saw this. Might be my next buy. Just have to do some more research. http://www.amazon.com/Viewsonic-G-Table ... 051&sr=8-1

madrobot · Post by **madrobot** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:18 am

I use a Fujitsu life book and it's awesome.

Rai López · Post by **Rai López** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 1:55 am

Hi, I simply fell in love (at first sight!) with this one:

ASUS Eee Slate EP121

BuUut... It's to much money (around 900+ €) for now, so it'll have to wait

Greetings,
Ramón López.

Mikdog · Post by **Mikdog** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:05 am

I have a Wacom Cintiq 12 wx and Intuos 3.

Weirdly, or maybe not surprisingly, I draw differently with each. I drew most of my 'Get Busy Living' music video on the intos, pretty loose, and then much of the tighter stuff in 'Fort Knox' on the cintiq (not the backgrounds though, they were loose - intuos).

Anyway, the cintiq ROCKS, but only with a smudgeguard glove that neeters guy sent me. Seriously, I was thinking about selling it and then got this glove, and now I dig it.

BUT - portability SUCKS! What a mission! Hadn't given much thought to tablet PC's. Hmm...

Rai López · Post by **Rai López** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:16 pm

Mikdog wrote:BUT - portability SUCKS!

Exactly what I thought! And that's one of the reasons cause I decided to wait for something more "appropriate" to my taste/needs. Then, I discover the above ASUS tablet and it made me think I did the correct think! For one time

...Of course, they are very different tools, but when I weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each one, the ASUS Eee Slate EP121 wins by a mile, I mean, for almost the same price, you get a totally portable tool, in which (in theory) you can install any program to work everywhere! And with the same display (not very impressive) resolution/size that CINTIQ 12WX has

. Plus, there is no need of wires and adapters and all seems totally integrated and ready to enjoy, allowing even switch at any time between the pencil and multi-touch technologies. Re-Plus, I'm a Windows man and well, I think I'm not needing a lot of processing power lately...

So, apart of the fact that the CINTIQ one counts with several improvements, like pen tilt/rotation, more pressure levels, special shortcuts, etc... I'm almost sure that little tablet is all what I have been waiting for and, if I know something about technology... if I wait a little more (at least until my current laptop dies) it only could be better, isn't?

Anyway, I can deny that have been desiring that CINTIQ for so much time... will always make my feel a deep envy over people that show off about one of then, ARGh!

Mikdog · Post by **Mikdog** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:52 am

Ha ha.

I'd just be careful with the tablet PCs - I imagine, and have read on some Youtube comments, that the pen can be super jittery. Its super frustrating - the Cintiq did it in Photoshop CS 3 (I think it was 3. or 2, I had one of them). I had to zoom in REALLY close to get a smooth line. Then I upgraded to CS 4 after using the CS 4 demo and MAN what a difference. The line was WAY smoother. And then Wacom recently introduced 4 point calibration for the tablet, making the jitteriness even less (any users of Cintiq - I recommend looking at the latest drivers).

The pen tablets - if you can get a stable pen that doesn't jitter like a hyperactive bug, then I think that'd be awesome. Man, I'd dig to be able to go to a coffee shop with a little thing and draw on it with precision and ease. Instead, if I do that, I lug my backpack around, plug in my laptop, move the sugar and salt and pepper and flower stuff out my way, set up my Intuos and then draw, feeling a little embarrassed and not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. Thus, a pen tablet might be good.

The cintiq, really, is awesome once its set up. Portability's not great, not just because of the size (it folds up nice and neat) but because of the amount of wires and stuff - it has its own power supply as well as a little box thing that has some screen option buttons on, a usb cable, a dvi cable ... quite a lot.

Rai López · Post by **Rai López** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:31 pm

Yeah, I think I'm aware about all that stuff, and preciselly the borders/corners jitter issues is the other more relevant thing that made me wait for another option or revision, revision that never arrived, BTW... although it's good to know at first hand what you comment about that improvements, so thank you for that.

And about similar issues in the "ASUS Eee Slate EP121" or similar tablets, well, I have treated to paid special attention for that in all videos I have seen and I haven't notice such a thing (at first sight and under the quality of that videos at least); but, of course, the case well would require some personal tests (more taking into account the expenditure) to convince myself before any purchase.

Well, thank you very much again for share you personal experience! Much more valuable for me to any other I can read in anyplace from anyone, of course

Greetings,
Ramón López.

chucky · Post by **chucky** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:56 pm

Tablets are really great, don't by an hp like I did though, it was great for a while had all the bells and whistles, even a remote but it died, pretty much on the day the warranty ran out. I still lament it's passing.
It was early days for tablets back then though it was pretty hard to explain to retailers what I was after (when I was buying), some people tried to tell me they didn't exist.
Must have been mac users

That ASUS Ramon mentioned looks fantastic.