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Sketching Differences
Sketching on a pen-tablet takes some getting
use to. At first it can be very difficult. Tablet-PCs will
undoubtedly be easier because you are actually drawing on
the screen. For those Mac users who might be using a Wacom
tablet, the fact that your eye is not focused on
the pen at the end of your hand can be very challenging.
While the artist will already know how to draw,
we would like to see Autodesk provide better hints and helpful
suggestions about how to get more comfortable with tablet-based
drawing and painting. It is possible that some artists who
try SketchBook Pro don’t stick it out because of the
transition challenges. A Wacom tablet user is going to have
to come to grips that it is almost impossible to draw as
accurately as you would on paper -- at least initially. This
is only because your eye cannot focus on two places at the
same time
(ie:
screen
and pen tip). A more loose style can be instantly more gratifying.
(see image 07)
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07
- Sketch of Saab 9-5 interior
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Industrial
and product design can be well served with a product like
SketchBook Pro 2. Because the product
has layers one can sketch up ideas quickly and then add shades
or colors over them on separate layers.
Architectural Sketching
As a tool for architects, Autodesk SketchBook
Pro 2 offers some interesting possibilities. I was curious
to discover if the tool could work as a "digital equivalent"
to good old pen and trace paper. What I discovered was it
could
but with limited results.
If you have never drawn with a pen tablet before
than going from paper to a tablet can be disconcerting at
first. Drawing on a pen tablet is akin to signing your signature
on UPS man's digital clip-board. In other words, it
feels weird!
Sketching with SketchBook Pro 2 takes practice
and getting use to. No doubt it may frustrate you at first.
But the wonder if this tool is that once you get the hang
of it and can produce results -- even if as rough as mine
-- you have the wonderful ability to paint your sketches
with
color. In my sketch, of an imaginary new science building
on some imaginary collage campus, I was able to produce rough
building forms rather easily. (see image
08).
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08
- Architectural Sketch
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The tough part --
and this is where your expectations initially need to be
tempered -- is that controlling the
flow of the digital pen is the real challenge. A sketch like
this wants to be made up of entirely free form lines. Therefore,
I didn’t want to use the Shift key to constrain my
verticals or horizontals. When I did that I got a jarring
juxtaposition between my goosey lines and the precision
lines. Not only that, it was difficult to pick up again on
the exact end points of precise lines.
Don’t let those negatives discourage
you from a tool like this. Part of this process is getting
familiar with the feel of a digital tablet (mine was Wacom's but
they all are similar in that they tend to be slippery surfaces)
and that simply takes time. (see review on Wacom
Graphire4 640 tablet)
If you like my sketch, bear in mind that I
got to that level within about 45 minutes of using the program
for the first time. Imagine where I might end up after using
the tool for weeks.
Sketching in Layers
New in SketchBook Pro 2 is the ability to sketch
in layers. The program supports unlimited layers which you
can add, hide, lock, clear, name, move and of course, delete.
But another useful feature of the layers capability is adjustable
transparency. (see
image 09) I found this
feature useful for adding color washes to my sketches. In
the image
below
I toned down my color wash by adjusting the layer opacity
to 31%.
Another interesting feature of the layers palette
is that you can hand write your layer names. This is nice
because when you are working with a pen tool you don't have
to put the pen down in order to deal with text input.
Next page: Screen Capture & Annotation
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