Moho Forum

I was messing around with AS10 and wound up drawing this very Fred Flintstone-like potential denizen of Bedrock. I don't plan to do anything with it, but it was a fun test subject for the new software...

One thing of note about this drawing...

I used a laptop with a pressure sensitive stylus to control a desktop computer - both in my home on the same network - through teamviewer.

This was like having a wacom tablet with it's own keyboard drawing on another computer. More like a Cintiq in the sense that I am seeing what is on the main computer, and drawing on it directly with the laptop.

The only thing missing was pressure sensitivity. There is a fraction of a second delay between what the controlled computer does and when it shows up on the laptop screen.

AS10 worked great when drawing lines because it fakes pressure sensitivity when using the pencil tool. Photoshop - not quite as well. The delay was problematic but still usable.

I have included a photo showing the laptop in the foreground controlling the computer hooked up to my TV in the background about 6 feet away.

Fred's illegitimate child
Nice work.

Cheers
D.K

Which stylus did you use?

Did you draw or write with it directly on your finger pad (or whatever that little glass plate is called)?

SHORT ANSWER:
Actually the stylus came with the laptop but it is Wacom technology. I did draw right on the monitor of the laptop (or the little glass plate). It is a 12" monitor.

The laptop is a Lenovo X61. I got it through a local classified site for a few hundred dollars.

LONGER, MORE DETAILED ANSWER:
It is an older Lenove X61 laptop, but it made more sense to get it than a 12" Cintique for the following reasons:
- The stylus is pressure sensitive.
- It is a computer in it's own right, but the screen rotates and folds closed to act more like a tablet.
- It uses the same Wacom technology.
- It runs Windows 8 Beautifully.
- It runs Anime Studio very nicely, although I have noticed a few glitches with AS10 (I assume it is AS10 because AS9.2 runs flawlessly on it).
- It runs the Adobe suite very nicely.
- It cost $200 used, compared to $1,000 new for the smallest Cintiq that had the same screen resolution (at the time I bought it). Even at a reduced price used The Cintiq wasn't as attractive a deal because it was not portable.
- It can be used anywhere (the Cintique generally has to be attached to another computer - basically it is a touch screen extra monitor. HOWEVER, there is now a new Cintiq Companion that is a WIN8 tablet that has all the bells and whistles, and will also act like a second monitor when plugged into a desktop computer or laptop - I imagine it costs more than my Lenovo X61 though).

The downside for some is the non-widescreen format of the screen. For me this is a more natural format for artwork generally, especially using Artrage (a natural media painting program that I love). Also, the stylus does not work with the pen tilting feature that more advanced Wacom pens and tablets offer.

MORE INFO ON THE LENOVO X61
In case you need it:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-68040

MORE INFO FOR THE CINTIQ:
http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/en/?re ... anguage=en

I believe they might be at the Lenovo X220 at this point...

EDIT: Almost forgot to mention, with the money I saved I was able to install a solid state drive. It is faster now and the only moving part is the internal fan.

DK wrote:Fred's illegitimate child
Nice work.

Cheers
D.K

Lol! Thank you for the laugh and the compliment!

This Lenovo tablet is great. I started with X41 and now I have a X201. I can't live without it.
Though now the screen is broken and the pen stopped to work this week (it's a very tough computer, the break was absolutely my fault). Now I'm looking for another one, maybe a newer one.

That's cool!

My setup is similar--I use an old HP tm2, which is a convertible laptop with a touch screen, Wacom penabled display and ATI graphics. I found that the tm2 works well using an older model Wacom Intuos pen so it behaves very much like a Cintiq. I draw all my comics on this tablet PC and I also drew and animated 'Scareplane' on it. The tm2 is 'smallish' for a laptop too--not very much bigger than modern iPad. I also have a Cintiq 12WX on my workstation at home. I really like using it for drawing but since I'm away from home so much, the tm2 has been a great substitute. It's a shame HP dropped this model computer in favor of more popular (but less capable) tablet computers.

That said, lately I've been creating most of my painting assignments on an iPad using a pressure sensitive Pogo Connect pen and Procreate. I love the app's gesture based UI, and this setup is quickly becoming my favorite way to draw. (Maybe in the future, we'll be running ASP on this platform?)

I would love to get a Cintiq Companion computer but considering the price, that's not happening any time soon.

G.

selgin wrote:This Lenovo tablet is great. I started with X41 and now I have a X201. I can't live without it.
Though now the screen is broken and the pen stopped to work this week (it's a very tough computer, the break was absolutely my fault). Now I'm looking for another one, maybe a newer one.

I got really interested in this computer and did some googling and found this odd thing on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LENOVO-IBM-X41- ... 4897.l4276

Apparently it's just the screen. Don't know if it will help but it does show that people are selling "parts" for those things.

----

On a side note... I too can not possibly afford one of those wicked cool Wacom drawing screens. So this computer (which seems very reasonably priced in the used market) is it really a good option? I would love a portable solution that I could draw on. I love sketching but using a Wacom is tough. A small tablet with a pen on a screen would be almost like a sketch pad.

I love the Lenovo for doing artwork on generally. It certainly handles AS well enough. The screen is pen AND touch sensitive.

The reason I stayed away from using an iPad or other tablets is that I can use regular software on the Lenovo. The Adobe suite, AS, Artrage, Open Canvas, etc.

The only other one I tried was a Motion Computing L1600 - also older. It is just a tablet with no keyboard, although you can always get one separately. It was too slow for me. desperately slow, in fact. I am sure newer models would be faster. I have to say that the overall the screen was nicer to draw on than the Lenovo X61 and the overall design is slick, but everything else on the Lenovo is superior, including the stylus.

In my opinion, any laptop of similar capability is worth getting if you can get it for a good price. Older models with the pressure sensitive stylus are hidden treasures as far as I am concerned.

Good to see others using the same tech!

EDIT: Thinking back, the Lenovo X61 was $150 - My brother found it for me and I voluntarily paid him a $50 finders fee and because he picked it up for me.

Greenlaw wrote:...That said, lately I've been creating most of my painting assignments on an iPad using a pressure sensitive Pogo Connect pen and Procreate. I love the app's gesture based UI, and this setup is quickly becoming my favorite way to draw. (Maybe in the future, we'll be running ASP on this platform?)

Teamviewer would allow you to connect your iPad to your computer at home, both while at home or away from it. Speed would decrease running it away from home, of course. As long as ASP is on your home system you could operate it remotely much like I did with my Lenovo.

Not quite the same as running it directly on your iPad, but a good second option. Perhaps I will try it with my wife's iPad and see how it handles.

Looks good! The hand-drawn stuff always impresses. I spend hours with the mouse and it still looks awful. I look forward to seeing this guy in use!

Thank you! I just got a Surface Pro for my birthday a few days back. Built like a tablet but is a full blown computer. Runs AS10 nicely as well as artrage, Sketchbook Pro, Photoshop and pretty much anything else I throw at it. Comes with a great stylus that clips magnetically to the side of the unit.

It was $500 CA. I highly recommend it as well but be warned, it can heat up depending on what you are doing with it. This is to be expected given that it is a computer and not just a tablet. At least it has a fan.

The Lenovo and especially the Motion Computing models heat up pretty good as well.

I am not sure if the Surface Pro 2 has addressed the heat thing or not, but it is twice the price so I hope so.

The Surface Pro is easily the best tablet/laptop purchase I have made to date. It is very fast and very nice.

I must be an oddball. I prefer a mouse when drawing with ASP. I only need a drawing tablet when I have to work with bitmaps.
BTW, nice work.

I have to admit, regarding ASP, I primarily draw with a mouse too. As much as I enjoy using ASP, freehand drawing is not one of its strengths.

I thought I might start using a stylus with version 10 but after experimenting with drawing techniques for a few hours last week, I'm not so sure at the moment. I really wish the 'Erase' tool just removed points on a spline when you draw over the points--basically, the same as Delete points but with a quick brush 'erasing' action as opposed to careful point selection and pressing the delete key. That would help me a lot. Instead, the Erase tool subtracts volume from shapes. Obviously that's useful in its own way (and more like what a 'real world' eraser does,) but it's not really what I was hoping for. The new Reduce Points tool kinda does what I'm asking for but not really. I just want to be able to 'erase' or delete points by brushing with a pen or mouse. I wish this tool had more options for how it reduces/deletes points--right now, it seems a bit limited.

Regarding the Freehand drawing tool's limitations, I wish it had more options for controlling sensitivity, smoothness and detail. Maybe like comparable tools in Manga Studio EX, for example.

Sorry, I really hate to complain, but I hope the freehand drawing tools will continue to be improved in the next release. I think the new drawing tools are a good start but, for now, I'll probably continue to plot out my drawings in ASP the 'old-fashioned' way.

G.