For all graphic tablet users, a few questions

[Astralis]

Thanks Frost for pointing me to the right part of the forum (excuse my dumbness)

So anyway. I got my tablet and I'm kind of confused on how to properly use it. Since I've seen many of you draw awesome stuff, I was guessing most of you (or all) use tablets, right?
So do you guys have any tips/tricks/videos to share?
I would be very grateful.
Thanks in advance

P.S. the one I got is Bamboo Pad by Wacom, didn't wanna go hardcore as I am a first timer in all this and they suggested me this one in the store 
 

[Frost]

Your trying to draw on your tablet? Maybe this will be of some assistance.

[Astralis]

Yeah I've seen that video too, went through a lot of them. Just wanted to see what people did when they first opened theirs and went like "oh so how do you do this" and how they got out of their confused af phase in which I am now 

[Royal]

Yeah I've seen that video too, went through a lot of them. Just wanted to see what people did when they first opened theirs and went like "oh so how do you do this" and how they got out of their confused af phase in which I am now 

I just opened sai and started doodling around, takes a little while to get used to it 

[Astralis]

I just opened sai and started doodling around, takes a little while to get used to it 

Do you have any particular brush settings? Not sure how sai is since I've been using only Photoshop

[Lena]

Not sure how sai is since I've been using only Photoshop

I'm not experienced with drawings(Not even doodles), but sai is way better when it comes to drawings... From sketching to coloring.

But if you are interested on photoshop, try talking with Roomi since most of hers drawings were made with photoshop.

I hope it helps in something because i really want to see more artists around..   :sad:

[Nea]

http://saibrushsetting.tumblr.com/

[Death]

It's a matter of getting used to it, really. No use reading/watching tutorials, just grab your pen and draw. It will take some time until you are able to draw well with a tablet.

Here are a few tips tho:
- Don't look at the tablet when drawing, focus on the screen. It might be difficult at first, but trust me.
- If you don't want your tablet to look like a cat went claw-happy all  over it after some time of extensive usage, you can place something like a sheet of paper on the pad.
- If you want to draw a straight line or a circle you can use a ruler or a cup 

Brush settings depend wholly on your personal preference, really. Everybody draws using different levels of pressure, different strokes and the results you want may vary. Plus you will want to use different settings in one picture depending on what you're doing.

SAI is a nice program if you don't want to be overwhelmed by the number of options. I like to use it because I can fully concentrate on drawing, I had too much interface-related problems when trying other programs.

[Royal]

Do you have any particular brush settings? Not sure how sai is since I've been using only Photoshop

I have a ton of different brushes with different settings (Most ''edited'' by myself)
check the link Seby replied with if you haven't yet btw

[Sideris]

The very first thing I did when I got a tablet was disabling the touch kind of option.
It was horribly annoying dragging my hand over the tablet and open all the kind of things.
You might as well want to play around with the sensitivity options until you find one that satisfies you the most (everyone has a different kind of pen pressure and posture).
This said, using a  tablet is a bit like using a bicycle. First time you gotta think a bit about what you are doing and coordinate yourself, then it just goes on its own.
It`s not that different from a real pen + paper really.

For the softwares, I used to do everything in PS, but I found myself more free and helped on the coloring/brush sides with MangaStudio (Or SAI). As well as for the outlining, they just have more accessible options.

[Royal]

I'm not experienced with drawings(Not even doodles), but sai is way better when it comes to drawings... From sketching to coloring.

But if you are interested on photoshop, try talking with Roomi since most of hers drawings were made with photoshop.

I hope it helps in something because i really want to see more artists around..   :sad:

SAI is way better for drawing imo, photoshop for editing and adding effects and such

[Death]

Another tip: always work on a really big canvas. As big as your memory can handle. That way any imperfections you make will be less visible after you resize the pic and the lines will be sharper, the details more visible etc.

[Soleil]

welcome to digital drawing, Astralis, i hope you enjoy it, there is almost no limit to what you can do with a tablet and it really takes your pencil drawings much further. you can scan a pencil drawing and complete it on your screen with your tablet. i've been working with mine for over a year now and i'm still learning.

at first i was very frustrated by all the technicalities but once i sat down and learned the different programs, i got more and more comfortable with the tablet.

i find using SAI a lot of fun for many reasons but mostly because it doesn't take as much resources from my pc like the other programs do, so you can draw/colour faster with SAI.

the replies here are full of useful tips and i'm looking forward to seeing your first digital artwork

[Shaymin]

I only use a mouse :c
But yah I used SAI Paint Tool and it's amazing. You should try it out 

[KrowMaet]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZciNH9OP2l8AesXNuCcghw

this guy using mostly ps too, and if you want brushes you can also check her DA too, it's all in there ^^