Does anyone here use a tablet for all their 3d work. Looking for suggestions
polycounter lvl 5
Lately I've been debating switching over to a graphics tablet rather than using a mouse mainly to save my wrists in the long run.
Anyway do any of you use a tablet for hard surface modeling or 3d in general?
I do currently have an intuos photo and had a go, I did enjoy it I think it'd be a learning curve but I'm prepared to sit through it. The only issue with this is that it's way too small.
So I am looking at getting something a little bigger, but I can't decide I've been looking at the xp pen deco 03 or I can get an xp artist 12 screen for around 200 pound. Something like a cintiq is obviously way out of range.
Cheers
Anyway do any of you use a tablet for hard surface modeling or 3d in general?
I do currently have an intuos photo and had a go, I did enjoy it I think it'd be a learning curve but I'm prepared to sit through it. The only issue with this is that it's way too small.
So I am looking at getting something a little bigger, but I can't decide I've been looking at the xp pen deco 03 or I can get an xp artist 12 screen for around 200 pound. Something like a cintiq is obviously way out of range.
Cheers
Replies
3D work being painful for the wrists is not because of the mouse itself ; it is because of some of the awful user interaction paradigms used by some 3D programs, namely the reliance on precisely clicking on pixel-wide screen elements and having to hold down left or right click (or even worse, middle click) to manipulate them. Switching to a tablet may have some advantages, but overall it can also make things worse. Heck, even for 2D work a regular tablet (non-Cintiq) can become a serious health hazard because of the tight grip most artists develop. Also, while a Cintiq can be cool for sculpting it won't help you at all for regular 3D work and might actually get in your way. Everything is worth trying of course, but don't assume that bigger and more expensive is necessarily better.
Now of course the above is not much of an answer. So, if you are willing to explore things a little, give Blender a try. It does all the regular 3D manipulation things, but also allows you to manipulate everything without having to hold down clicks at any time. For instance in order to move a cube around you can do things as one would usually do in max/maya ; but you can also select the object, tap the key assigned to "Grab" (= move, which is G by default), then freely move your mouse around without having to hold down anything to place the object where you want it - and then confirm. And no need to precisely click and drag on a manipulator either, as it is possible to limit transformation to a given axis by tapping X,Y,Z during the manipulation.
I should also mention that thanks to this system, there is no need for the cursor to be right on top of the elements to manipulate. That means no need to painfully click and drag on pesky rotation manipulators, and no frustrating moments caused by missing a click on a tiny axis arrowhead. And these things (combined with a relianace on middle click) are precisely what causes mouse pain in regular 3D programs. Getting rid of these = getting rid of RSI/mouse pain, it's as simple as that really.
Anyways - the Blender system is hard to explain (and admittedly not well documented), but incredibly efficient once one understands it. Embracing that kind of manipulation style will greatly reduce if not completely eliminate your mouse pain. This interaction paradigm is in my opinion objectively superior (as in : more precise, more forgiving, and less stress-inducing) that anything else out there.
Give it a try. I hope this helps.
Now of course if you are an animator or a python/mel TA then obviously there would be no point in trying out something else. But if your focus is pure modelling, then I can guarantee you that the impression you got from trying it out is misguided, since the viewport navigation and hotkeys are fully customizable to fit any need you'd have and the benefits of the clever interaction system with no held down clicks are huge.
Note than I am not trying to evangelize here - this is just advice based on experience very similar to yours (ie : physical strain caused by bad interaction paradigms in various programs, especially Max and Maya), and I think it'd be a shame for you to skip on investigating an excellent answer to your problem.
That said using a tablet might indeed help, to an extent. It's actually very possible to use both a mouse and stylus at the same time for modeling - I did that for about 10 years personally and it has some benefits. It's just that it doesn't have as many benefits as using an interaction system that doesn't require any held clicks.
Anyways - good luck. You don't need a bigger tablet BTW, even the smaller A5-sized ones will work perfectly well for modeling.
Ahh ok cheers, yeah it was mainly experimenting I do think I would prefer to get a slightly bigger one than I currentky have for texturing on substance etc.
What did you mean by using a mouse and stylus at the same time? You mean for right click or middle mouse?
Definitely the problems I did face was mainly right clicking and using the middle mouse on the two buttons on the stylus.
Just because there is something you don't use or like doesn't mean it's crap those features are there for a reason and can be useful in reducing unnecessary strain and repetition for the user. Which is ultimately the goal here.
lockey I would suggest staying away from screen tablets less than 16 inches as in my experience I find the lack of screen real estate becomes an issue when ones hand is placed on top of the screen. Like pior said the size you have now is more than enough and will stop you from making vast inprecise sweeping motions that can cause strain as well. Just keep that grip light.
This has nothing to do with this post but: one word of warning. I don't think it matters much what you are using, if you are stressed, and working on something for extended periods, you are gonna hurt yourself. I thought all that stuff about tennis arm was guff, its not. Regardless of what tools you are using, if you ae working on something under pressure, force yourself to relax regularly, take periodic physical breaks (walk around the block or take a few laps of the studio). If you are working in a stressed posture you will pay!
@lockey1995 said "Lately I've been debating switching over to a graphics tablet rather than using a mouse mainly to save my wrists in the long run."
I'd also suggest that your issue is ergonomic posture, rather than hardware related...I recall a few descussions on the topic, might pay too run a search and peruse their contents which may prove more beneficial in the long run...
I would say my posture is pretty good overall my desk might sit a tiny bit too high but it's nothing incredibly drastic, I will have a search and see if i can find that thread.