Wacom tablet wiki - testing needed

[Loïc Martin]

ubusarah a écrit :
> I just found the page a moment ago, and while I haven't tried any of it
> out yet, I was rather happy to find all that information in one place.
>
> The questions I have that I didn't get answered, however, were: if I
> don't have a graphics tablet and I'm thinking about buying one, do I
> have to buy a wacom tablet? If so, which one(s) will work? If not, what
> are my other options for a tablet that will be compatible with Linux
> and/or Dapper out of the box without lots of painful configuration?
>   
Although some other brands might be supported by the linuxwacom driver, 
there's not much point getting them if you're interested in drawing. 
Even though they can be far cheaper than the high-end Wacom tablets, 
they are not really accurate (don't get impress by the "technical 
characteristics") and that makes them quite useless. If your budget is 
limited, go for the cheap Wacom ones, not for the cheap others.

Bear in mind that you can by a second hand (they're almost unusable, 
except for the pen tips, but that's about 10 € for a few of them, and 
anyway some people resell them after not much use when they don't manage 
to use them well enough) and that the best size is A5 - enough to draw 
and better than A4, that are too big to stay on your lap (A5 tablet size 
is in fact slightly more than A4, even if the area is A5 - A4 is really 
hudge). Best is to go somewhere you can see/try them, else look for the 
dimensions on the official Wacom site.

The list of Wacom supported tablets is on 
http://linuxwacom.sourceforge.net/ however it's for 0.7.4 - Ubuntu has 
0.7.2. Everything should be supported, except maybe the two last models 
of Intuos (but their dimensions are not standard and you want to go for 
A5 anyway :) ) and you might have to check for Graphire 4 (I think it's 
ok but don't take my word for it).

Update : 
http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=379944&group_id=69596 
show Graphire 4 is supported.

Pen angle isn't really used on Linux, so you could do with a cheaper 
tablet than Intuos (however, thay can be worth it. Intuos A5 is 300, you 
could try to get it second hand for 200-250, knowing you can resell at 
the same price if you decide you won't use them).

Take some time to get used to it, don't get discouraged at first if it 
looks like kid's drawing. Start writing till you can write naturally in 
a straight line, that means you've found the right angle for the tablet 
on your lap/desk. Then set your application parameters till you're 
satisfied with it (it can take a few days). Once you've mastered it, 
you'll see it's worth it.

Try with inkscape first (the wiki has an example with parameters I find 
good for an Intuos 3), because the Calligraphy tool (becoming more and 
more an Ink drawing tool) is great, smoother than Gimp (vector), 
lighter, and it will look far nicer (vector again!).
> Oh, and I really appreciated the detailed info about gimp and inkscape;
> I didn't even know about inkscape, and can't wait to play with it!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Sarah
Yes, Inkscape is really a great app. Hopefully they'll turn it more and 
more towards artistic drawing, and we'll be able to do things à la Gimp 
but with vectors... (Inkscape lacks painting tools and an animation 
module, but it's perfect for sketches and ink drawing.)