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Cintiq and Carpal Tunnel

polycounter lvl 18
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Jeremy Lindstrom polycounter lvl 18
Was wondering how and/if any using a Cintiq helps those folks that have or had carpal tunnel symptoms. I remember a while back a few folks saying that they started modeling and everything on their Cintiq's and was wondering if that helps with carpal tunnel as well.

Thinking about getting one and tax write off for it and just take it into work if they wont buy me one.

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  • BradMyers82
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    BradMyers82 interpolator
    I have the 12"" one and its great. Totally worth it imo. Only problem is I just can't get quite used to the resolution. Bodypaint and photoshop feels so much more cluttered on the small screen but its so much easier when making selections or painting things like scratches and hair.
    Just wish I could have afforded the bigger one.

    Are you planning on going with the 12wx or 21ux?
  • ashleyjukes
    Me and my husband both have one at home, before that his wrist would always hurt. After we got them his wrist never hurt again. So I think they do help.
  • jouste
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    jouste polycounter lvl 14
    i don't get a lot of fatigue when it comes to tablet and mouse work but i've spent the majority of entire day's on my 12"" cintique and it feels like nothing. but i gotta agreee with brad, the screen realestate gets pretty rough sometimes.

    as far as pain goes,at work i tried out one of these things out for a while and really liked it. plus they make you feel like a cyborg. problem is they get pricey. at around 90ish canadian dollars.
  • CrazyMatt
    I use a 21' cintiq here at my place.

    Given that it's much more of a traditional medium to use when going digital. It can still give you carpal tunnel syndrome if you are constantly at it just like with anything of repetitive motion.

    As I remember when taking life drawing classes and going to my college for drawing. We always did wrist excercises to allow our chances of carpal tunnel to become less of a risk when sticking the pencil to the paper for hours on end with limited breaks.

    All in all you should take all things with moderate consideration. As when using Cintiq's my forearm gets tired from holding itself in an upright position because my desk isn't exactly at waist level when seated beside.

    But nevertheless cintiq's are indeed a wonderful tool to use as an artist! (Just wish if the screen had true sharp color and resolution as my 24' LCD.) :)
  • killingpeople
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    killingpeople polycounter lvl 18
    ashley jukes? ...
    husband ? ...
    kolby ... j ... nnoooO!! i wanted to marry kolby! :'(
  • Mechadus
    CrazyMatt wrote: »
    We always did wrist excercises to allow our chances of carpal tunnel to become less of a risk when sticking the pencil to the paper for hours on end with limited breaks.

    Exactaly - Always rub one out before work ;)

    -N!
  • Emil Mujanovic
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    Emil Mujanovic polycounter lvl 18
    At work I use a 9x12 intuos3, and only ever pull out the mouse if we play the odd LAN game at lunch or after work. I would suggest adapting to that before you invest in a Cintiq, mainly due to the cost involved. If you find using a tablet exclusively helps relieving stress/pain on your wrists, then I would go the next step and purchase a Cintiq.
    I've been wanting to bring in mine from home, but I would miss having it at home. It's way too big to lug around on the train!
  • ashleyjukes
    ashley jukes? ...
    husband ? ...
    kolby ... j ... nnoooO!! i wanted to marry kolby! :'(

    LOL, we can share... I'll take him on the weekdays and you can have him on the weekends
  • Jeremy Lindstrom
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    Jeremy Lindstrom polycounter lvl 18
    too much art talent in one household.... adopt me maybe some will rub off... I'm 36 but I'll walk on my knees when we go to the park and stuff..
  • Thegodzero
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    Thegodzero polycounter lvl 18
    Thank you for the wonderful mental image, id have to wonder would you do the full on dog thing and be sniffing other dogs buts?

    I don't have a cintiq, but anyone who has one at work would kill if asked to give it up.
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Anything that keeps your hand in a vertical position will take a lot of stress off your wrist. Adapting to using a tablet in your 3d app will help and is something that shouldn't take more than a day to get used to.
    I also had a Evoluent vertical mouse while I was working. That was great for general computer usage and had the added advantage of freaking out everyone who tried to use my PC.

    If you can afford a Cintiq, go for it. You'll never look back. You can pick them up significantly discounted on EBay from time to time.
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    Hi!

    Yeah the stylus/tablet/cintiq can be used for modelling, it really works well. However! Some apps are lighter on the wrists than others. For instance I find Maya/Mudbox much less stressful that Max or Z. It's all related to moves you have to do while keeping buttons pressed or not. So if you work in Max, I'd say try out some apps working just like Maya for viewport nav and see if you like that. If you do, you could consider getting Switcher from the DigitalRaster guys.

    Also, keep your mouse. If you work a full day on the tablet or cintiq, it will be painful too (less than mousing, but still). So keep your mouse ... but move it on the other side of your keyboard, and try to force yourself to use it for tasks requiring less precision (web browsing, folder operations...). You will learn to operate it in no time (a week or so?), and all these little 5 minutes tasks will turn into as many VERY beneficial breaks for your art hand.

    Also the 21incher Cintiq surface get quite hot after a few hours (according to fellow artist the newer revisions heat up way less than the older models but still), it can cause discomfort and an antsy feeling. Blowing air from a desktop fan along the surface really helps. Its less annoying on the 12incher tho (less heat, and glass instead of acrylic surface)

    Good luck!
  • silversteez
    i also use my intuos tablet for everything at work. rarely touch the mouse. i was getting worse and worse wrist pain until i made the switch. did take a lil while to get used to it though.
  • Blaizer
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    Blaizer polycounter
    I'm using an intuos 3 A4 for all (bigger than the keyboard). I literally kicked the mouse since i have intuos hehehe (the first was an intuos 2 A4, and A4 because i'm customed to draw a lot). I use the tablet to work with max, maya, modo, etc. all 3d/2d apps (i don't use the mouse with them). For office apps and browsing, i put the keyboard onto the tablet :) and happy!

    Some friends have the same problem, various kinds of pains, but in my case i didn't find any pain associated to the use of the wacom. Doctors say: "Your posture while working is very important"; with cintiq, intuos, etc, all you do is to move your arm. It's recommend not to support the elbow on the table, because it's one of the causes of some pains. The way we use the pen is also very important, how you handle the pen, and and how you support your hand on the table is a key factor.

    Forearm pain, wrist pain, elbow pain, are very common, and if you have one of them, you must find which posture is causing your injuries.

    Good Luck!
  • Jeremy Lindstrom
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    Jeremy Lindstrom polycounter lvl 18
    going to try and start using my intuos3 6x8 for everything for a week or two see if I can get used to it.
  • Yozora
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    Yozora polycounter lvl 11
    the problem I have with using my intuos for everything is I have a dual monitor setup, and I want the tablet space to be in proportion with the monitors. So if I use tablet for everything then the actual usable space on the intuos is quite small and requires quite big movements to get from one end of the screen to the other end of the other screen in comparison to the mouse which requires hardly any movement at all.

    Also I've got a desk like this (but mine is smaller);
    http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/fu/furniture123-flair-computer-desk-428.jpg

    And I'm left handed, there is no space for the intuos unless I put it on the "top" desk where the monitors are but then thats way too close to the monitors :/

    When I do use the intuos, I force the screen area to my single main monitor only, and place it in between my lap and the desk so most of it is like "hovering". Not sure if its a smart position to be in, but its the easiest solution I've found for accessing both the tablet and the keyboard with left hand :(

    Maybe I should force myself to learn how to use the pen with right hand~ I use right-handed mouse position so shouldnt be that hard to adjust to right-handed pen...
  • Cojax
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    Cojax polycounter lvl 10
    I've been using a 21 inch Cintque at work. Although I have never really had any wrist problems, like Pior said it does get warm after extended periods of use.

    I had an uncle who worked at SOE as a character artist. He was having some carpal tunnel issues. There are stretches you can do with your wrist that help open up all those tendons and loosen things up. This would help me if I was really working hard all day with a tablet. Google it.
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    I had major problems a few years ago. Then another artist said I was holding my hand wrong, to try and use the whole arm to move the stylus. I do mouse control with whole arm, wrist or fingertips as a way to vary my motions. On the tablet I use whole arm and place the tablet right in front of me.
  • ericdigital
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    ericdigital polycounter lvl 13
    @ Yozora. I have a dual screen set up to and I found the best way to deal with when on my Intous is to map one of the button on the intous or on your keyboard to just switch what screen your tablet is on. So that way I just click a button and swap screens and get the most real estate I can.

    I have wrist pain too from using the mouse so much. Once I started using the Intous it is so much better. Now that I use the intous in maya as well I have to touch the mouse a lot less. So now when I do use the mouse it never really hurts so it's helped a ton for me!
  • Pedro Amorim
  • sprunghunt
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    sprunghunt polycounter
    Yozora wrote: »
    the problem I have with using my intuos for everything is I have a dual monitor setup, and I want the tablet space to be in proportion with the monitors. So if I use tablet for everything then the actual usable space on the intuos is quite small and requires quite big movements to get from one end of the screen to the other end of the other screen in comparison to the mouse which requires hardly any movement at all.

    ...

    The small movements you are making with your mouse are probably what is causing the carpal tunnel syndrome. Lots of small movements are bad for RSI.

    I switched to a wacom for everything a while back when I started to get quite bad carpal tunnel. It works fine for the RSI except I can't use it for UnrealEd. I have dual monitors and currently use one of the widescreen intuos tablets. You get used to making the larger movements and you can streamline your workflow specifically for the tablet. (eg: using marking/quad menus a lot)
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    I'd love to have one, but being completely broke, and jobless doesn't help my cintiq dreams. But this kinda does. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJSMKbeyvpw[/ame]

    I like DIY products like this.
  • Yozora
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    Yozora polycounter lvl 11
    eh what a waste of 7:30 mins (well, technically 30 secs of scrubbing the timeline, still, a waste!)

    Its a 5 part video, all equally long and mostly boring, in the end he doesnt even show it working...


    @ ericdigital; hmm good idea with the buton to switch monitors. But it does sound like its far less efficient than the mouse. I personally dont have any wrist problems just yet but it might be worth switching before I do.


    Anyone tried one of these before? http://www.evoluent.com/vm3w.html

    vm3w-sm.jpg

    Seems to be the best of both worlds, neutral wrist and as fast/efficient as a normal mouse
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    HA! I got you Yozora! Made you waste 7:30 of your life! My plan was a complete success!! MWAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!! It's just the idea that it can be done, man, that's all, no need to be all judgmental and such.
  • Yozora
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    Yozora polycounter lvl 11
    Jeremy-S wrote: »
    HA! I got you Yozora! Made you waste 7:30 of your life! My plan was a complete success!! MWAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!! It's just the idea that it can be done, man, that's all, no need to be all judgmental and such.

    Hmmm it wasnt meant to be offensive, at least not to you so I have no idea why you seem offended.
    Anyway heres a better example of making a diy cintiq; http://www.bongofish.co.uk/wacom/wacom_pt1.html
  • Jeremy-S
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    Jeremy-S polycounter lvl 11
    Not offended, just my little way of letting you know you sounded like a douche in that post, that's all.

    If I were technically inclined, I'd love to have a DIY cintiq as a little side project. But when I open electronics of any kind, including game controllers, cellphones, and the occasional mp3 player, I seem to have a death touch. They fry shortly afterwards, and I have to buy a new one anyway. Still, it would be fun to try to make one. Or a high def projector...
  • ericdigital
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    ericdigital polycounter lvl 13
    I guess I don't see the "douche" in Yozora's post. He's right the video doesn't really accomplish anything. There is a lot of better DIY cintiq resources out thurrrr. I'll try to dig some up.
  • sprunghunt
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    sprunghunt polycounter
    Yozora wrote: »

    Anyone tried one of these before? http://www.evoluent.com/vm3w.html

    vm3w-sm.jpg

    Seems to be the best of both worlds, neutral wrist and as fast/efficient as a normal mouse

    A few people at work use those mice and they swear by them. However I have small hands and when I tried one I found that these mice were a bit too big and would've strained my hands in other ways.
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