Wacom Mod!

mikejkelley

One of the failings of the Wacom tablets, IMO, is that they don't have enough buttons and the buttons they do have, are not ergonomicaly located. Furthermore, they are not sufficiently programmable. So I decided to rectify that. Here's a prototype board that I created to TOGGLE keys specifically for use w/ Zbrush, glued to the back of the board.



I'll be putting up a tutorial on how to wire/code this on my youtube channel, nickelcitypixels. Wondering if there might be enough interest in this to produce them as a shield (a board that simply plugs into) for Arduino. Should be able to get the price down to $10?

gechbal

I use a cintiq 21 ux and logitechs g13 with custom macros to make the program hotkeys more similar and have my wrist angled ergonomically, this workes well for me.

mikejkelley

Do you set the wacom down to work on it? I can't work without holding the wacom up. IMHO can't image a table being better than an easel, but that's just me.

Brandon Kern

I never used the buttons or the wheel on my intuos4 ever either, I literally only ever use my keyboard because I find it the most efficient. The buttons and controls on the thing are too clunky and a total pain in the ass to reach over to.

Either way, this is pretty sweet, as I imagine it's harder to use a keyboard with a huge ass cintiq in the way of stuff!

I'm wondering though, do you just plug this thing in via USB to your computer?

mikejkelley

Hi, thanks! Currently it plugs in via USB but I hope to make a bluetooth version shortly.

Snader

Wouldn't it be simpler to duct tape one of these to the back?



They only cost like 10 bucks.

And then just use a free software tool for the keybindings.

mikejkelley

Hi, I had briefly considered that but eventually decided it defeated the purpose of ergonomics. Also, I'm not sure that the software would allow for toggle functionality. Additionally it would seem that binding hot-keys to keys on the number pad would eliminate the number input functionality which I use from time to time to input brush width values, etc. Moreover, the microcontroller allows me to send instructions independent of key presses such as ctrl-s for auto saving w/ applications that lack that functionality natively.

All in all, I'm quite happy w/ it and I think it's served to help up my game;


Even in 2D applications, the board offers so much added convenience and functionality that I think it really has upped my game!
http://www.nickelcitypixels.com/yoshimiBeautyRender.bmp