Technical setup questions for Wacom Tablet ( Cintiq )

[Elodie]

TVP animation doesn't depends on Graphical cards, so the problem can't come from this =)

Try to draw with the mechanical pencil very slowly : you should see a big difference

[Byron]

Ah - well perhaps my CPU doesn't support it then (it is rather old!). I don't notice a difference with the mechanical pencil.

I would be sad to see the second side switch disabled, by the way. I currently use the first side switch for it's default action (right click), and the second for pan. This is a great way to operate TVP, as it allows drawing, erasing, panning and access to contextual menus - all with one hand. I find that neither of the side switches will work for pan with the sub pixel mode turned on.

Edit: Yes - I do see the difference now, when drawing lines at shallow gradients, I see a definite stepping without sub-pixel mode.

[Paul Fierlinger]

I understand subpixel should be turned off only to correct something when using a tablet PC, otherwise you will see a lot of pixilated stuff in your regular PC. BTW... I'D HATE TO SEE THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE TWO PEN SWITCHES MESSED WITH!!! I use the top one for toggling the light table off and on and the bottom one to erase tiny spots. Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase...Draw, LT on/off, erase... I would hang myself and LIFE would come to half an end if half of this rhythm got cut off.

[Elodie]

Hervé, did you "hear" this ?

EDIT : *siiigh*, Okay, Hervé hadn't disable the second button, but he had "break" the interaction this button had with TVP animation... To be more understandable : this button is still recognized by TVP animation, but now, it will only be linked to a specific keyshort (whatever you want : shift-u, alt, ctrl...), but won't be a click anymore.

[Paul Fierlinger]

it will only be linked to a specific key[stroke]

That's how I have it already -- saved! So once more: what will be the benefit of this for us?

[Byron]

...what will be the benefit of this for us?

If I understand correctly - it won't effect the way you have it set up, but it will make the second sideswitch more flexible for those who want to assign it to something else. Although, having it set to light-table toggle sounds like a good idea, I might try that. I had it set to 'W' for flipping - which was also quite a nice way to work. Ideally I would like to use it for pan though (I think I may have mentioned that before! )

[Paul Fierlinger]

Try it for awhile and see how it works for you. When you think of it, the three most common things you do repetitiously as you animate is to draw, erase and turn the LT off and on. All the functions associated with the positioning of your drawings you want to streamline I have assigned to my Wacom4 express keys (on the left) and to my numeric key pad. I have a keypad that can be manually unclipped from the body of the keyboard and have snuggled it right up to the side of the Wacom, next to the express keys, so it works like an extension of the tablet).

Using Sven's new Tool Swap script, which I have assigned to # 7 and advance prev/next cel which I assigned to #8 and 9, I draw most of the time with my left hand hovering over these three keys . Toggle all/one layer I assigned to the asterisk for complete comfort. I should add that I have placed a long, soft pad on my desk to lean against with my left arm (I used to draw with my left hand in my pocket -- those days went out the window when paperless animation came in ).

[Byron]

I will. Thanks for the tips. I have a usb keypad, I got it so I could operate my framegrabber remotely when I'm doing stop-motion. It's recently been superseded by a Contour ShuttlePRO though - Which I love. I'm still in the process of setting up which of it's buttons I want assigned to what - but the jog/shuttle wheel and dial are just the job for animation.

[scholar]

Okay then in the next version!, while you are there Elodie, please add some more flexibility to the Zoom too.IE be able to 'Zoom' if you set the Touchstrip to Zoom and not Auto/Scroll in the Wacom Properties.

As Zooming via the "<, >" is far from ideal ,as it seems to zoom in and out from a common origin, instead of the actual middle of the screen, which will cause problems in a multiple monitor setup (IE Cintiq) .

What this means is that if I start zooming out via pressing the '<' , it will also 'move' it out to the left of the screen.
Also the increments are just too big.

Thanks!

[Elodie]

Okay, why not, I will suggest this to the developpers on monday.

But you know, even if the alt + rmb drag are a little strange to use at the beginning, you will see it is a great pleasure to use them.
Personally, my wacom tablet (an intuos 3) has one button set as "alt" and the other set as "ctrl". Just with those clicks, I can instantaneously choose between pan, zoom in, zoom out or rotate my workspace, and I can decide this with the exact position I want.
The "< / >"'s problem is, even if we smooth them and make them move when zooming, you won't never have the exact zoom you could want. You will always be stopped to a number "33%, 25%, 15%"... etc.
Don't hesitate to give another chance to alt + rmb drag, I'm sure if all TVP users succeeded to use it, and finally appreciated it a lot, you could do too.