Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Modbook at Drawing Class


I took my Modbook to a costumed gesture drawing class at work for the first time and it performed beautifully. I also tried tilting the tablet upright and sketching in "Portrait" mode and discovered some quirks along the way.

While upright and drawing using Sketchbook Pro I found that the digitizer behaved erratically and the pen would lose it's alignment in certain spots of the screen. But for the most part it behaved well enough to sketch.

For more details regarding the Modbook's debut in drawing class and complete collage of poses, click HERE for my companion post on Random Anomalies.

***CLARIFICATION***

When I mentioned that I worked in Portrait mode, I should clarify that this meant physically tilting the Modbook upright and sketching while the tablet is set at the default "Landscape" mode. Right now Mac OS 10.4 does not provide for tilting the screen upright, but it certainly does not stop any user from drawing or noting with the screen tilted upright. (You can simply rotate the resulting graphic in Photoshop afterwards)


4 comments:

Gerald de Dios said...

Your new home work station set up looks amazing. I was amazed at the ergo-arm we worked on at MacWorld.
You're the first person I've seen online to mention and show the ergonomic arm to hold your modbook. You truly look like "Tank"!

Your gesture drawing are looking great! Every pose looks very natural as if you were really using pen and paper.

Just wondering if you're arm is getting a tad tired holding the modbook when you're out and about sketching? Or do you make sure to sketch on your lap? Thanks.

Louie del Carmen said...

Hey Gerald!

Thanks. The home set up has indeed been great and my workflow and efficiency have greatly improved.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the MB performed during a fast-paced drawing class like that. The sketches are not bad but I know they could get a lot better.

Surprisingly I have not encountered any arm fatigue issues as of yet...I think it's because I am seated often when I sketch. My default pose is with the MB cradled on my left forearm as it rests on my lap. This gives me about a 40 degree angle for which to sketch. This works way better than having it laying flat on my lap. (better for the neck!)

It's like holding a mixing plate when painting traditionally...

Jose Saenz said...

This is the first time I'm hearing of Modbook! I'm totally geeking out!

Love your artwork, btw. It's my first time on your blogs as well, but I'll definitely be checking them out often!

-Jose S.

Louie del Carmen said...

Hi Jose,

Thanks for your comment. You are a talented artist yourself. Got you linked via MySpace as well!