Wacom and Graphics Tablets
Posted: 2006-12-09 03:26am
Hey--Christmas is rolling around, and people have been asking me what I want, hoping to get me something useful. I'm a 3D animator, but I'm new enough to the field that I'm trying to keep all my freelancing options open while pursuing fulltime employment right now. If anyone knows someone stateside who is looking for an animator, I could always use another interview!
Anyway, I mentioned in passing that a graphics tablet might be interesting and fun, but once I saw the price of the modern ones (I knew the old ones were pricey, but I stupidly figured I could get one for 150 bucks or so) I realized it was a much more major purchase than I expected. I don't want someone to buy me a 400 dollar piece of graphics equipment that I'll only use for sketching. I'm really no good at digital paint, and though a wacom might solve that problem, I have some doubts.*
And if I retract this idea and tell them not to consider it, I'd like to say something else. So to you professional 3D or assorted graphicsy folks, any ideas of something I could get that'd improve my efficency enough to make it worth the cost? I'm out of college, so it's not like I need anything for schoolwork. A wacom is still a good possibility, since you can fanagle the thing to work in Maya (albeit a little oddly), but I just don't know yet and would like some feedback.
Right now the only other thing I can think of is a wrist brace. Ow! Don't want to get arthritis by the time I'm 30!
*about how often I'd use it for that, not about the improvement. it's obvious it'd help me draw on the compie better, but right now I'm just not sure it's important enough for me to do that when I have paper right here and a scanner
Anyway, I mentioned in passing that a graphics tablet might be interesting and fun, but once I saw the price of the modern ones (I knew the old ones were pricey, but I stupidly figured I could get one for 150 bucks or so) I realized it was a much more major purchase than I expected. I don't want someone to buy me a 400 dollar piece of graphics equipment that I'll only use for sketching. I'm really no good at digital paint, and though a wacom might solve that problem, I have some doubts.*
And if I retract this idea and tell them not to consider it, I'd like to say something else. So to you professional 3D or assorted graphicsy folks, any ideas of something I could get that'd improve my efficency enough to make it worth the cost? I'm out of college, so it's not like I need anything for schoolwork. A wacom is still a good possibility, since you can fanagle the thing to work in Maya (albeit a little oddly), but I just don't know yet and would like some feedback.
Right now the only other thing I can think of is a wrist brace. Ow! Don't want to get arthritis by the time I'm 30!
*about how often I'd use it for that, not about the improvement. it's obvious it'd help me draw on the compie better, but right now I'm just not sure it's important enough for me to do that when I have paper right here and a scanner