First I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me in the April Contest, I WON!!!! I'm new at this, and hat was my very first contribution. Your votes were a huge encouragement for me to keep at it.

Now on to business. I recently purchased a Wacom Tablet. I am having the darndest time working with this thing! From what I understand, improvement comes with practice. What I want to know from RetouchPro members is...What specific tasks do you use your Wacom Tablet to perform?? And do you find that using the tablet makes these tasks easier?

Bella

Stop using your mouse for a week...put it away and only use the pen for everything. :)

Hi Bella,

I've been using a Wacom tablet at work for five years, and I absolutely adore it. I use it for EVERYTHING. I don't even know where my mouse is anymore. It just feels so natural to me. It didn't always, though! I'd say it took a good two weeks of constant use before I felt comfortable with it. My suggestion would be to hide your mouse and force yourself to use the pen exclusively for at least a week. I think soon you'll find you can't live without it! :happy:

Good luck!
Missy

Bella

Congrats on your contest win! GREAT for a newbie! :-)

I've grone to love my Wacom. Think of it as a pencil... (gee, swampy, original metaphore?).

I don't have any of the settings altered from the defaults, nor have I started using the button on my pad, but I do use it for painting in on masks, and in Quick Mask mode to create a detailed selections. I kinda keep my left hand on the keyboard for switching paint color, opacity setting for brushes and brush size. Just old habit.

I'm NOT an artist and have no ability to sketch anything freehand, but have come to rely on the Wacom for the above tasks. I put mine away (it stands on its bottom edge next to my printer) when not in use and I revert to my trusty mouse for just about anything else.

Hi Bella,
I have also just recently bought a tablet...three weeks ago...indeed i found it really strange at first...but every day i use it more and more...mainly for painting and it really gives so much freedom...just practice every day and you will soon get the hang of it!!! :nod: Good lucK!!

Patricia....

i just got a tablet and i find it a bit awkward and slow for browsing the web but in Photoshop it seems ok. trying to force myself to use it for a week and see how i go.

wacom graphire 4x5

Photoshop is there somewhere that i can see all the threads i have posted in?

Hi Bella.
If you go into user cp and click on list subscriptions you will find your threads...

Hope its going well with the tablet... :dizzy:

Patricia...

Being ambidextrous, normally I have one hand holding the stylus and the other my mouse when using Photoshop. The mouse is faster for clicking on stuff but the stylus is great for fine control and accurately shading within defined areas. Also play with the stylus pressure setting. I found the default required too much pressure to be comfortable for me.

i think i would need a third hand to be on the keyboard at all times because i am always using keyboard shortcuts...