Awesome Wacom Stand
interpolator
I've been searching for a good stand to prop my Wacom Intuos up at an angle for a while now, and finally found something that works really well.
It was pretty difficult to find something, since as far as I know no one actually makes anything for this specific purpose. I even found a bunch of images and blogs of people building stuff by hand out of wood and such.
I thought others might be interested in this as well, since I find it to be way more comfortable than just leaving it flat on the desk or holding it in my lap. Causes it to occupy less space on the desk, too.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CKVOOY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Arkon Tablet Stand[/ame]
It can be placed at almost any angle you want, but with a Medium the weight and size are such that it won't support it well if you try placing it shallower than around 40 degrees. I tried placing it closer to 30 at one point and while I was drawing it did collapse flat due to the weight distribution. Past around 40-45 though it's been stable.
It works without any real issues on my Medium size. Just some minor stability issues when I draw on the right side of it without bracing it with my left hand near the side keys, simply because the Medium is so much larger than the intended tablet size for the stand.
A Small would work perfectly, but a Large would not likely work very well.
It's super cheap too. Way cheaper than an Ergotron + notebook mount.
I can answer any questions about it.
It was pretty difficult to find something, since as far as I know no one actually makes anything for this specific purpose. I even found a bunch of images and blogs of people building stuff by hand out of wood and such.
I thought others might be interested in this as well, since I find it to be way more comfortable than just leaving it flat on the desk or holding it in my lap. Causes it to occupy less space on the desk, too.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CKVOOY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Arkon Tablet Stand[/ame]
It can be placed at almost any angle you want, but with a Medium the weight and size are such that it won't support it well if you try placing it shallower than around 40 degrees. I tried placing it closer to 30 at one point and while I was drawing it did collapse flat due to the weight distribution. Past around 40-45 though it's been stable.
It works without any real issues on my Medium size. Just some minor stability issues when I draw on the right side of it without bracing it with my left hand near the side keys, simply because the Medium is so much larger than the intended tablet size for the stand.
A Small would work perfectly, but a Large would not likely work very well.
It's super cheap too. Way cheaper than an Ergotron + notebook mount.
I can answer any questions about it.
Replies
I have it directly in front of my monitor (which is high enough that the tablet is not in the way), and the Intuos right on the edge of the desk elevated to a 45 degree angle.
My left hand rests against the desk grasping the side with the Express Keys, using my thumb to press them.
My right arm that I draw with is either in the air or resting against the tablet itself, but I can also rest my elbow on the arm of my chair.
My wrist is straight, only bent at the elbow.
The keyboard is on a tray beneath the desk with the mouse.
It makes it much easier to draw from the arm/elbow rather than wrist, I think.
I've been using it a couple days now without issue.
I suppose if you have a low desk then flat might be better in order to keep more neutral arm posture, but with a relatively higher desk like mine it would be better to have it angled.
You'd generally need the slide out drawer for keyboard/mouse in order to keep everything out of the way of each other, and with that set up you would need the top of the desk to be higher relative to the drawer in order to have proper posture when using the keyboard/mouse.
Even if you get a curved desk and just turn the chair around, that still leaves you craning your neck to the side while either painting or typing.
This was the main reason I was personally looking for an angled stand; setting it up that way forces my elbows into a straighter position when using the tablet, when according to ergonomic rules you're supposed to have your elbows bent at a roughly 90 degree angle.
With everything on the same level, it's 100% impossible to follow a completely ergonomic setup.
It just seems really strange to me, because throughout all the workstation thread on here as well as all the recommended setups I've read like the one you listed, no one uses a keyboard drawer. It's not even mentioned as a bad idea, it's just not there.
well you wouldn't want to have the keyboard in front of the tablet, would you? sounds uncomfortable to begin with. and these drawers look shaky, made for infrequent computer access.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OGV54K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Amazon.com: New VESA stand for YiyNova 15", 19", 22" Tablet: Computers & Accessories[/ame]
The price on amazon is pretty steep, I'm sure you can find something cheaper elsewhere.
All I had to do was build a front piece for the tablet to rest on. Been using it for 2 years.
Also book stand might be a good option too.
something like this:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Jasmine-Book-Stand-Bookstand-Bookstands/dp/B001J9SFXK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1412884513&sr=8-4&keywords=adjustable+book+stand"]Amazon.com : Jasmine Book Stand (Bookstand / Bookstands / Holder / Cookbook / Music) : Desktop Book Stands : Office Products[/ame]
I've been doing the same for my iPad and Wacom. Not as sexy as a Cintiq, but I mostly sketch for myself.
Choose accordingly to wait. You can contort your wacom to any position.
I have my desk back.