Once you have all of your settings all done up right, you'll now need your tablet. As I said before, make sure it's plugged in before starting Photoshop and test your pen on a blank canvas first to make sure the pressure is working. DO NOT SLAM YOUR PEN INTO THE TABLET. You will need to get the feel for using a tablet before you start. You don't even have to touch it to have your cursor move across the screen, light pressure is what you need to sketch. Before that though, lets look at the pen and tablet.
No I'm not making Gang signs at you with my tablet.
Some people like to use the mouse, I don't personally. I never saw any need for it, but it helps for other programs like MAYA. The pen is really where the magic comes in.
You'll notice that on the top of the pen near the nib is a little bumper. You can press the top of this bumper down to automatically get to the brush size and hardness settings. You can ALSO set this to do whatever you want in your tablet settings after installing drivers. This makes drawing stupidly easy without having to constantly move through tools. On the back is your eraser. Simply flip the pen over while drawing and erase like you would for a pencil. You may need to tweek your eraser tool a little to get the best result, but yes it is still pressure sensitive.
The last notable part of your pen is the nibs. Some tablet pens come with different kind of nibs to simulate certain kinds of pens or tools. They also change pressure and act differently. You'll have to replace your nib about once a year, more or less depending on use. These aren't chew-toys, trust me. They're also fairly expensive so don't screw around too much with them. Your tablet will come with a nib removal tool so when it comes time to replace it you just pop it out and push another one in.
Now let's get onto using photoshop to draw. Open a new layer, and try to draw something simple. Vary your pressure to get better line weight. Like I said, play around a little. One of the notable things is you will not get very straight lines or very clean lines with a tablet. You may have to gesturally draw (Loose lines) and go back and erase until you're satisfied. For this.. I drew a pumpkin.
You're going to want to use drawing fundamentals here. Just like real life. Gestural lines, Value, and transitional effects such as Stippling (dotting) Crosshatching, and Hatching. These will make your image pop. Don't depend too heavily on photoshop.
Like I said, just play with it a little and see what works best for you. If you need some help feel free to leave me a message or comment below. Don't forget to play with your opacity and flow at the top to get the most out of your work!
No I'm not making Gang signs at you with my tablet.
Some people like to use the mouse, I don't personally. I never saw any need for it, but it helps for other programs like MAYA. The pen is really where the magic comes in.
You'll notice that on the top of the pen near the nib is a little bumper. You can press the top of this bumper down to automatically get to the brush size and hardness settings. You can ALSO set this to do whatever you want in your tablet settings after installing drivers. This makes drawing stupidly easy without having to constantly move through tools. On the back is your eraser. Simply flip the pen over while drawing and erase like you would for a pencil. You may need to tweek your eraser tool a little to get the best result, but yes it is still pressure sensitive.
The last notable part of your pen is the nibs. Some tablet pens come with different kind of nibs to simulate certain kinds of pens or tools. They also change pressure and act differently. You'll have to replace your nib about once a year, more or less depending on use. These aren't chew-toys, trust me. They're also fairly expensive so don't screw around too much with them. Your tablet will come with a nib removal tool so when it comes time to replace it you just pop it out and push another one in.
Now let's get onto using photoshop to draw. Open a new layer, and try to draw something simple. Vary your pressure to get better line weight. Like I said, play around a little. One of the notable things is you will not get very straight lines or very clean lines with a tablet. You may have to gesturally draw (Loose lines) and go back and erase until you're satisfied. For this.. I drew a pumpkin.
You're going to want to use drawing fundamentals here. Just like real life. Gestural lines, Value, and transitional effects such as Stippling (dotting) Crosshatching, and Hatching. These will make your image pop. Don't depend too heavily on photoshop.
Like I said, just play with it a little and see what works best for you. If you need some help feel free to leave me a message or comment below. Don't forget to play with your opacity and flow at the top to get the most out of your work!
