Hand pain - graphic tablet

GenericGoodGuy

Hey, I purchased a graphics tablet today and within minutes of using it my hand started to ache (little fingers knuckle and Meta-Carpals) I've always had pain when using pencils and pens but this time it seems worse, I think it's down to how I hold pencils (I'm left handed) I kind of scrunch all of my fingers around the pencil, so I just wondered if anyone else had this kind of problem and how they fixed it? I'm thinking of going to the doctors but I'm not sure if they could do anything.

Thanks for any replies, it might seem weird asking this kind of question on Polycount but I figure with all the different artists, someone has had this issue before.

z0ltan

I would say play around with different ways to hold a pencil. That would let you test out if it is indeed the way you hold the pencil. If it has always been an issue, the doctor is probably a pretty good bet.

after a quick search I found this, some different positions for holding a pencil for some ideas:

http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/ss/howtoholdpencil.htm

GenericGoodGuy

z0ltan wrote: »

I would say play around with different ways to hold a pencil. That would let you test out if it is indeed the way you hold the pencil. If it has always been an issue, the doctor is probably a pretty good bet.

after a quick search I found this, some different positions for holding a pencil for some ideas:

http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/ss/howtoholdpencil.htm

Thanks a lot, I'll check it out.

skylebones

Yes, and I'm left handed as well. I noticed I had a tendency to hold the pen too tight and curl my wrist over, holding the pen at a downward angle. Something I do when drawing with pen/paper. So now I hold it much looser and keep my wrist and hand straight. I can paint textures for a full crunch day with no pain now.

hobodactyl

It really sounds like you're just holding it too tight or pressing way too hard. You can consciously train yourself to draw and write lighter

GrevSev

I'm right handed and I was doing the same. after a week of trying to take it i waisted 2 nibs of grinding the pen into the board

I got a pencil and a notebook and practiced loosely drawing for a few days. The pain is gone and I can save on nibs

ivanzu

Increase the sensitivity for the pressure maybe it will help.

Overlord

I have to agree with everyone suggesting you should loosen your grip. Try changing your grip style entirely even. There's a video on Ctrl+Paint that offers an alternative grip: http://ctrlpaint.com/videos/how-to-hold-a-stylus

However, I find that grip to be hard to get used to and your ring finger is weak. You can modify that and try using your middle finger and thumb. These are your two strongest digits on your hand anyway and they free your index to access they stylus buttons. It's not too terribly different from the standard grip so it should be easy to get used to.

Astapov

Kind sir, I have exactly what you need.

Both of my hands are shot because I did gymnastics when I was younger coupled with unholy work hours later in life.

Take your pen and say goodbye to the two little buttons on the side. In fact you can just rip them out. Take a roll of bicycle or racket grip tape and wrap round the grip of the pen until you get something like half an inch thickness or more up to 1 inch. Find something to clamp it with at the eraser side, like thin wire and pliers would work, I used 3 extra small zip ties.

This is will force your grip to loosen and reduce the pain. Also practice keeping your hand loose, that will help in general.

I learned this from a concept artist I used to work with, he had it wrapped to the thickness of a small baseball bat.

For the other hand I use a belkin game pad to relieve rsi. Works like a charm.



Now this I think many people will like.

I once found that I ground my nib down to a stub and had none left. I couldnt order more and wait for them at the time so I went to my storrage and got a finishing nail used for small mouldings and ground the sharp part down flat with a file then polished both ends with a wetstone and now I have a nearly permanent nib.( it still grinds down but much much slower) And you need to polish it really well so it doesn't scratch the tablet. I have an intuo

Desperad0

Recently I was working on a tablet for 12 hours with just 2 meal breaks. A couple of weeks of that and now the back of my hands where the mechanics are that moves my finger hurts, and I can't move the tablet pen too much now. Tight grip and not enough breaks...

WarrenM

Too much finger/wrist movement, use more arm.

Desperad0

I am using thumb, also left hand's thumb on the tablet buttons for middle click combos.

Will give the more arm movement a go. Might give my spaghetti arms some training

DesignByKivi

Probably just untrained muscles. Do drawing exercises daily for a longer period, I'm sure it will be okay eventually.

easterislandnick

Try some desk yoga...

http://jocieshealthtips.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/about-your-health-guru.html

Helps loosen you up. It stretches out all the ligaments and muscles that are tight.

Mask_Salesman

Hand pain can be symptomatic of other ergonomic problems.

Check your posture and correct your workstation.

I've been through years of hand, arm, back pain. Keep your body healthy.
There are a ton of ergonomic based threads, everything is related via the spine, so don't assume its purely something affecting your hand area.

A good beginner tip: Don't draw with your Wrist, Draw with your shoulder and elbow.
That will not only relieve the stress on your wrist but allow for greater mobility and accuracy, try drawing a perfect circle for example, alot easier and better.

And take breaks, don't work for several hours straight.