From the course: Wacom Essential Training

Why use a tablet? - Wacom Tutorial

From the course: Wacom Essential Training

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Why use a tablet?

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- Every computer comes with a mouse. Touch devices utilize your fingers. So why wouldn't you use either one of them to paint and draw? While a mouse or finger is a great pointing device, they are not particularly good at drawing. These input devices can only go up, down, back and forth on a flat surface. A pressure-sensitive stylus, on the other hand, has the ability to sense the articulation of an artist's hand. This ability enables highly expressive gestures, and then there is the issue of repetitive stress. A tablet and stylus are much more suited to prolonged gestural input. Because we already have a prolonged history of stylus usage with writing instruments like pens and pencils, using one in conjunction with the computer is fairly straightforward. There is a bit of an initial learning curve, but using a stylus with the computer becomes natural with practice. Pretty much all graphic applications like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Corel Painter and Silicon Benders' Sketchable have significant built-in tools for maximizing the use of a stylus. If you're completely new to a tablet and stylus, you may want to visit the Tablet Calisthenics chapter and follow along with the exercises. If you have experience using traditional art tools, you'll be happy to find that your existing skills transfer to the computer intact. The bottom line is that a tablet and stylus will greatly enhance your expressive mark-making experience.

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